Jonathan Toubin (born July 29, 1971) is an American DJ, record producer, musician, writer, and historian. He is the founder and proprietor of the New York Night Train event production company. Heralded "The most-liked man in the soul music scene" by

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

and "New York's best DJ" and "the only DJ we actually like" by

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

, Toubin is best known for his energetic dance party sets consisting of tightly juxtaposed obscure 1950s and 1960s

Rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

, and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

45s.

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describes the DJ's fare as "cleaner and more appreciative of American pop music history than much of the rest.". He is also known for his New York Night Train parties and their role in "revamping the entire landscape of New York and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

from midnight till the after hours" in what the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

describes as "his own kind of dance revolution". His best known event is the New York Night Train Soul Clap and Dance-Off, which has been called "the most popular soul dance party in the world" by SXSW. It is the only soul dance party to have had an entire night dedicated to it at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

Midsummer Night Swing and at SXSW, and plays in dozens of international markets and major festivals annually plus monthly at the Brooklyn Bowl. In over 1600 gigs since 2007, Toubin has appeared in hundreds of night clubs. In 2014, Toubin was voted Best New York DJ in the Village Voice Reader's Choice Contest. He currently has DJ compilations available on

Burger Records Burger Records was an American independent record label and record store in Fullerton, California, United States. The label was founded in 2007 by Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, members of the power pop band Thee Makeout Party. The record/video s ...

and

Norton Records Norton Records, is an independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock and early rhythm and blues.

Early years and education

Born in 1971, Toubin grew up in Houston, Texas. As a child, he was obsessed with rock and roll. At age fifteen, he "put on punk shows...for anti-nuclear causes in the

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

era." He moved to Austin in 1989 to attend the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

where he received a B.A. in English. He also deejayed on their station KTSB, which later became KVRX. In 1998, he moved to New York where he subsequently joined the band

Grand Mal Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

. After the band lost their record deal with Slash Records and the shock of September 11 (he had worked in both of the Twin Towers), he quit music and entered the graduate program in American Studies at City University of New York. During this time, he published an academic paper for Institute for Studies in American Music titled "Uptown-Downtown: Hip Hop Music in Downtown Manhattan in the Early 1980s", which appeared in the anthology ''Critical Minded: New Approaches to Hip Hop Studies.'' He directly links this research to his approach to creating noteworthy events within the current music landscape stating, ""It definitely made me wonder what was going wrong with culture and if anybody could possibly do anything cool in terms of parties, unique music, public social culture, etc. in this day and age." He abandoned his thesis in 2005 and moved to Williamsburg in order to return to his music career.

Career

Austin

Toubin's first professional DJ gig was

The Dictators The Dictators are an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth." Origins The band was formed in 1972 by Andy "Adn ...

and Lunachicks show at The Back Room in Austin, TX in 1991 while he was still on student radio. Although he accepted a few more paid club gigs between bands at The Back Room, he was not interested in being a nightclub DJ and never pursued it any further. He played guitar in the band Cheezus from 1991 to 1992 and then in the band Noodle from 1992 to 1995 – with whom he toured the US and appeared on the ep's "I Sold Out to Fat Ass" (Rise Records) and "I Had A Wet Dream About the Girls from 90210" (Little Deputy) plus tracks on the compilations Live at Emo's Vol 1 (Rise), Penis Cowboy (Bunkhouse) and World War III (Bunkhouse). He then joined the band The Hamicks, with whom he would regularly record and tour with until 1998. His lead guitar can be found on the singles "Oxymorons"/”Networks" (Scooch Pooch 1996), "X-Ray Eyes"/”Dot to Dot" (Big Jerk 1996), "I Don't Believe in Valentines Day" split with the Primadonnas (Big Jerk 1996), the EP Ventriloquist Con-Artist (Framed 1997) the LP The Hamicks (Creepy Drifter 1999) and the compilations Lone Star Showdown II (Little Deputy 1997), Scooch Pooch Plays Their Original Sins (Scooch Pooch 1997) Toubin was also active in crafting the bands' aesthetics by creating their flyers and booking shows. He has appeared on a total of sixteen records as either a guitarist, bassist, organist, or vocalist.

New York

Not long after Toubin moved to New York in 1998, he joined the band

– a band with a record deal on

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

in the U.S. and on

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in the UK and a distribution deal on Polygram. He plays bass on their Bad Timing LP (Arena Rock Recording Company, 2003) and guitar and organ on their song "Hey Man" on This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn Based Compilation (Arena Rock Recording Company 2001). In 2005, Toubin returned to music and joined post-punk band Cause For Applause. You can also hear Toubin's backing vocals on the track "I Don't Think So" on Psychic TV's Hell Is Invisible... Heaven Is Her/e.

2005/2006: The Genesis of New York Night Train

On October 31, 2005, Toubin launched the New York Night Train

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and record label to focus on the life and work of his friend ex-

Cramps A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction or overshortening associated with electrical activity; while generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the aff ...

The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...

/ Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds guitarist

Kid Congo Powers Brian Tristan (born March 27, 1959), better known by his stage name Kid Congo Powers,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 25, 41, 359 is an American rock guitarist, singer, and actor best known as a member of ...

and his new band Kid Congo and the Pink Monkeybirds and other underground music by his friends. His first New York Night Train party was held on March 3, 2006 at Lower East Side venue Tonic, and was a double-record release event for the label's first two LPs Kid Congo's compilation Solo Cholo (NYNT 001) and Kid Congo and the Pink Monkeybirds' debut Philosophy and Underwear (NYNT 003). That night also involved

Julee Cruise Julee Ann Cruise (December 1, 1956 – June 9, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She released fo ...

Ian Svenonius Ian F Svenonius is an American musician and singer of various Washington, D.C.-based punk bands including Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, XYZ, Escape-ism, and Chain and the Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has release ...

Thalia Zedek Thalia Zedek (born 1961) is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable alternative rock groups, including Live Skull and Uzi both of which, according to ''Spin'' magazine, "made big ...

, and

Gibby Haynes Gibson Jerome Haynes (born September 30, 1957) is an American musician, radio personality, painter, author and the lead singer of the band Butthole Surfers. Early life and career Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Gibby Haynes is the son of actor ...

, among others. Later that month, New York Night Train produced an official South by Southwest showcase at The Velvet Spade (currently the Mohawk) featuring Kid Congo and the Pink Monkeybirds, Viva l'American Death Ray Music, and Toubin's band at the time Cause for Applause. Toubin also presented two unofficial daytime showcases that weekend featuring a number of bands. On March 30, 2006, New York Night Train threw a release party for

's "Love is the Best Con in Town" (NYNT 002) also at Tonic. Around this time, Butthole Surfers' Gibby Haynes brought Toubin along to DJ with him at a gig on the South Williamsburg waterfront. He was also approached by

Nation of Ulysses The Nation of Ulysses was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in spring 1988 with four members. Originally known as simply "Ulysses," the first mark of the group consisted of Ian Svenonius on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kron ...

'/ Make-Up/Chain and the Gang frontman Ian Svenonius and Beat Happening's

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

to organize and promote two DJ gigs for them based on the success Kid Congo's Record Release party. These events, one in Williamsburg at Monkeytown August 21, 2006 and the other in Manhattan at Sub-Tonic August 22, 2006 were the first two exclusive New York Night Train dance parties. Soon, Toubin was asked to put together a DJ party for a Wednesday night he bartended at the Lower East Side's Motor City Bar. His first nights included guest Dj's, such as Gibby Haynes and

Bob Bert Robert Bertelli, better known as Bob Bert, is an American rock drummer. Biography Based in Hoboken, New Jersey, Bert initially came to prominence as drummer for the experimental rock band Sonic Youth during the early to mid-1980s. Bert pla ...

from Sonic Youth. Over time, Toubin began doing most of the nights alone and wound up doing a weekly residency that lasted until ending with his accident in 2011.On these early New York Night Train nights, Toubin played primarily

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, 1960s

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

, psychedelic rock,

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...

girl groups A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

, surf, Blues,

Rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

, and country. Gradually, he began incorporating the soul and r&b records that he would later become known for. Building off of the success of the New York Night Train Wednesdays, Toubin started holding larger dance parties at Glasslands in Williamsburg. These included Happenings at the Live With Animals gallery, a multi-media art project/party, and his Soul Clap And Dance-Off. In 2007, he made the decision to use 45 rpm exclusively in order to elevate the quality of his parties and concentrate more on unique record curation. He went on to produce events all over New York City including Thursday Thump at Enid's, Boogaloo Shampoo at Beauty Bar, Land of a Thousand Dances, the Ya-Ya Yacht parties, and Shaking all Over Sideways and Down at Home Sweet Home.

Car accident

On December 7, 2011, Jonathan arrived in Portland, where he was booked to play the fifth anniversary party of the "I've Got A Hole in my Soul" dance party at club "Rotture". The next morning at approximately 11:00am, a cab driver was struck with a diabetic seizure and drove her taxi through the windowed wall of Toubin's hotel room, landing atop of him as he lay in bed. Four men lifted the stuck car over what was left of the smashed wall to allow a hotel employee to back the car off of Toubin and he was rushed to the

Oregon Health & Science University Hospital Oregon Health & Science University Hospital (OHSU Hospital) is a 576-bed teaching hospital, biomedical research facility, and Level I trauma center located on the campus of Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland in the U.S. state ...

. He suffered from crushed lungs, twelve broken ribs, a smashed scapula, a broken pelvis, severed tendons in his right arm and hand, a punctured spleen, a damaged pancreas, and loss of hearing in his left ear. While in an induced coma, Toubin went through five surgeries and developed pneumonia the following week. Toubin made a full recovery and was released on January 13, 2012 into a rehabilitation center, where he considered the probability of the end of his life as a DJ. While in the hospital, a benefit was held for Toubin at the Brooklyn Bowl, where a host of major label acts performed including the

Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compl ...

of the Butthole Surfers, and John Spencer's

Heavy Trash Heavy Trash is an American rockabilly band based in New York City, formed by Jon Spencer of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Matt Verta-Ray (formerly of New York bands Madder Rose and Speedball Baby). The band's music draws from an eclectic m ...

Return to music

In early April, Toubin attempted to DJ again between music sets a Portland club and found himself struggling with his ability to slide records out of their sleeves and with his hearing loss as his hearing aids reduced his ability to mix records. However, as he practiced, he found himself able to mix by focusing on his right ear. He soon found himself back to full capacity and quickly went on to gigs such as opening for

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...

and in his residency at Home Sweet Home in NYC. In 2013, Toubin was the first DJ to ever be given an entire evening to himself at

's Midsummer's Night Swing. In the same year, Toubin was the first DJ to be given an official SXSW showcase. To accommodate his increasing popularity his monthly Soul Clap moved from Glasslands to the larger Brooklyn Bowl. As of 2009, Toubin has partnered with Panache Booking and tours internationally, bringing his Soul Clap to Europe and Australia.

Sound

Toubin's sound emphasizes an aesthetic based on quality vintage sounds that he asserts can only be found on 45" pressings. This leads him to take advantage of the veins of obscure hits, which perhaps may be unknown, yet possess the same dynamics that can energize the dancefloor. This leads him to search for regional obscurities that may not have seen a larger stage in their heyday. In a

interview "The

Rust Belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions an ...

has the best record stores...Cleveland, Toledo, Pittsburgh – Detroit is like a record mecca." Toubin's eschewal of hits and his focus on obscure tracks is also due to his theory that playing more popular songs introduces individual associations to the dance floor and takes away from the newly shared experience that unifies a Soul Clap. Seeing shows at the legendary blues club Antone's contributed to Toubin's understanding and taste in music. In an interview with Greg Beets in the Austin Chronicle, he says: Jonathan describes his music as "Rock and Soul 45s of the 1950s and 1960s" Despite the era's tendency for music to have long

fade-out In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theatre lighting in much the same way (see fade (filmmaking) and fade (lighting)). A recor ...

s, Toubin aggressively beat-matches his 45s without the assistance of ubiquitous

DJ software A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

such as Serato in order to maintain the energy level of his music sets. Toubin's primary use of the 45 rpm single is not one that he attributes to novelty, telling the Wall Street Journal, ""I used to DJ records, CDs, mp3s and it never sounded good...And then I found a box of great 45s on the street, so I started playing more of them. And I loved the way the 45s sounded. They were so much louder, like a punch in the face." ''"Sixties and Seventies 7-inches are recorded, mastered, and pressed unlike anything before or since," Toubin asserts. "Even on one beaten to hell, the tone is so much richer than later reproductions of the same records. On the good ones, the drums resonate as if they're in the room with you."'' "They learned how to make drums sound huge. They haven't repeated that drum sound much since." He tells Digital Journal: "You...have to create an atmosphere and a rhythm through a sequence of juxtaposed 2-minute bursts of sound." To maximize the focus on the party aspect of the music, many of the songs Toubin spins reference a trend in the 1950s and 1960s to highlight a particular dance move named after an animal, such as "The Monkey" or "The Dog."

New York Night Train

New York Night Train initially started off as a record label in 2006 releasing albums until 2009 when Toubin decided to focus his energies on nightlife.

Soul Clap and Dance Off

In 2007, at one of Toubin's parties, two dancers got into an argument over who was the better dancer. They settled it in front of all on the dancefloor, leading Toubin to dedicate one night a month to a dance contest, while playing exclusively soul music. A prize of $100 goes to each night's winner. At approximately 1:00am, fifty contestants are chosen and given a number, which is pinned to their back. Five (often celebrity) judges are chosen and sit on the stage and watch as the dancers perform in any style that they please. Judging is non-standardized and is based upon the own individual values of each judge. "Pro dancers rarely win. They're always very disgruntled when they don't. But it's more about style." Toubin attributes the success of his parties to the fact that they offer a unique musical experience to a broad audience of sub-cultures. Rock and rollers, while familiar with the music, may not be familiar with dance parties. Likewise, club kids and downtown art scenesters, who may be more interested in the dance aspect of the Soul Clap and Dance Off, are introduced to a subjectively new experience. Toubin consciously looks to build a bridge between music scenes through events like Soul Clap, remarking "...art girls and Brooklyn rock boys make a great mix if you can get 'em on the same dance floor." On February 22, 2014, the first ever National Soul Clap Dance-Off was at Brooklyn Bowl. First-place winners were flown in from around the US to compete for a grand prize of 1000 dollars with

Andrew WK Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier (born May 9, 1979), known professionally as Andrew W.K., is an American conceptual performance artist, rock singer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor. Raised in Michigan, Wilkes-Krier began his mus ...

as the contest selector. The Soul Clap party has been the official closer of SXSW in Austin for both 2013 and 2014.

Mix releases

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toubin, Jonathan 1971 births Living people American DJs Musicians from Houston University of Texas alumni Place of birth missing (living people)