Where are you from and what brought you to Cairns?
I’m from Sydney, I lived there for most of my childhood, about 18 I headed overseas, went to Holland, Amsterdam & discovered dance music over there about the age of 20. Spent a couple of years there, came back with a partner & we spent 6 months in Sydney, but he only had a year’s visa and we wanted to see as much of the country as possible so we bought a campervan & headed North… ran outta money about Byron Bay & did a bee line for Cairns – arrived here in our campervan and got jobs the next day and haven’t left – that was 6 years ago.

Tell us how Taste-y came about…
Taste-y started off as a dance party about 3 years ago actually. We only had the Basement to go to and I mean, me being the regular party goer – I was very bored with going there. So I approached the Playpen, like I knew what I was doing, and told them I wanted to make a regular dance night down there – they had an extra venue, I asked for the Court Jester Bar and did the first 4 parties there, just one a week at my own expense. I had to pay for everything, charged about $4 to get in and broke even after the 4 parties. After the 4th I went back to them and asked them to cover half of my expense so that I could actually make some money for the next one & they offered me Millennium Bar and I basically got myself a job. They asked me to run the parties for them & they were gonna pay for everything. The party was called Taste, it rocked on for about 6 months, running 2 nights a week, sometimes 3 (we tried a bit of Drum & Bass and a couple of other things), but it worked. It was the off season and I continued to get people in there. It was hard because it was attached to the Playpen and no body wants to go to the Playpen, but it was a lot of fun.

Why did it end?
Well I went to Sydney for New Year and Jeremy kept it running and when I came back they gave me one week’s notice and virtually gave Jeremy my job. But the club never really did any promotional work for it, and without that it only lasted about 2 or 3 months before the whole party was sort of axed.

So now the shop?
It started out as more of a clothing shop for myself and Pauly-Paul, but it didn’t actually work out and after he left I started thinking back to music - there’s a market for music, my heart’s in the music. So we started with a box of records, that weren’t even my records, put them in the shop and within 2 weeks they were all gone. So I saw that there’s definitely people out there that want vinyl and started to stock it. I’ve got a fairly good knowledge of music & it’s definitely gotten a lot better & broader. Slowly and progressively the shop transformed into a music shop.

How has that been received?
The DJ’s love it. It is predominately DJ’s that buy the music, but there are a few collectors and a lot of bedroom DJ’s out there. It’s fairly underground, I mean I don’t get a lot of tourists in the shop because we are off the main street, it’s very local market.

How many are involved with shop?
There’s 3 of us mainly. Jeremy J who does a lot of research, he’s the reader – all the DJ magazines – he keep’s very up to date. He’s got a very broad knowledge of labels, artists & what’s fresh, what’s hot and what’s not.
Exclusively, Kequoin is doing his own fashion label from the shop; it’s very exciting and has been really successful.
Between the 3 of us we make it happen.

What do you want for the future of Taste-y?
Ideally I would like to, and have spoken about for the last 2 years, open up a venue, like a bar or a restaurant. I wouldn’t want a nightclub – I’d like to keep my life – but I’d like to open a lounge bar.

Can you tell us anymore?
I’ve got lots of ideas, we’re looking for venues, and I’d like to do this with a friend…. Do you really want to talk about this? I hate talking about shit. I’d rather just get out there and do it. It’s not something that I really want to talk about too much. I don’t want to be one of those people that talks about something and never gets around to it, so when I’ve got something a little bit more concrete, then I’d be interested in talking about it.

Has being involved in a business changed you at all?
I’m a fairly trusting person, but in the last year I’ve learned that you don’t really trust anybody. I’ve always been a very strong character & a strong person, but I suppose it’s made me a bit stronger. When it comes to opening up a business I think it’s just trial and error really. It depends on the individual – as much as they say it’s business, it’s all very personal y’know. I’m good friends with all of my customers, but there’s the discount factor – locals wanna get a deal, they expect it ‘cause their locals – but it’s too hard to work out where to draw the line.

Anymore Taste-y parties?
Na, I’m hoping for a venue. The thing about me doing a Taste-y party is that I’d have to deal with someone else’s venue – their security, their bar staff, their smell. Na.

How do you rate the Cairns dance scene?
It’s changed a lot since I came here and I’ve sort of gone from being the party goer, to the promoter, to being kind of behind the scenes now. It’s a bit of a shame that there isn’t a bit more support or patience – or somebody with the right ideas in a venue that could actually make it work – ‘cause I believe it could. I wanna commend all the local DJ’s and people like Dan Marshall and Werner from Northern Beats – all the people that put their energy into making this scene more – making it work, nationally & internationally, which will happen I’m sure.

Favourite way to spend a day?
Lately? Just in my new house, pottering around, digging in the garden, painting the fence – I’m mellowing out! I love hanging out with my friends and listening to good music.

Is Cairns home for you now?
Definitely. There are some wonderful people up here. I’m not going anywhere.

Check out Taste-y 's website