99: Let's start with a quick timeline. How long have you been in NYC, what brought you here, and where were you before?
YT: Born in Japan, moved to West Chester, NY in kindergarten, went back to Japan in 4th grade, came back to NY in 8th grade. 8th-12th back in Weschester, Freshman-Sophomore at SUNY Cortland (between Syracuse & Bingamton), NYU for a summer, Emerson in Boston from 96-98, NYC since 98...
99: Why did you move back and forth b/t Japan and NYC so much?
YT: Mi padre's job.
99: So your dad's job took him around...did you like moving as a kid, and did you prefer either Japan (what city did you grow up in) or NYC?
YT: Moving around was tough. Language & getting used the culture on both sides on the Pacific. I lived about 40 minutes outside of Tokyo on this beach town where everyone was a surfer...Now, I definitely prefer living in the US but am considering living in TKO for a year or two.
99: What kind of environment did you grow up in?
YT: Fish & rice with my "eastern" family/ cheese burger deluxe & fries with my "western" friends.
99: Do you come from a musical family? If not, what was your guide?
YT: My dad played the B3 organ & piano in a band. I started playing the guitar when I was in 8th or 9th grade - played in a really intense and original High School cover band and then a live dnb band here in NYC a few years back.
99: You said your dad played b3 and piano in a band..was that what he did for a living, or something on the side?
YT: No - something on the side - I think college and a little bit after college.
99: Did you bang on pots or hum fur elise as a baby?
YT: I was forbidden to bang on stuff.
99: What music did you grow up with around the house? Was it kinda funky in the Awanohara household?
YT: Hmm... my mom was into classical/opera type stuff, my dad was into jazz and the 60's greaser-type stuff and my older sister used to listen to a lot of the 80s stuff when I was a kid like Duran Duran, Prince, etc. - and then she was the one who gave me a bunch of mix tapes with some old techno.
99: What track/song always makes you cry?
YT: Coldcut's "Autumn Leaves (Irresistible Force rmx)"
99: What makes you want to run screaming and pierce your eardrums?
YT: That guy from the B-52's as the CD skips constantly.
99: What's the most embarrassing music you own that you love dearly or for whatever reason you can't get rid of?
YT: I used to own Paula Abdul's first album on CD. I also came across Boyz to Men in my CD drawer.
99: What do you like/hate to wake up to in the morning?
YT: Like: NPR radio / HATE: Getting up.
99: Besides your sister, you say you got into this stuff from friends and going to parties. When did you start your clubbing career? Where did you like to go, and what inspired you to get active?
YT: Not too long ago - probably about 95. One night I went to Konkrete Jungle @ Coney Island High and that was it...I think Andy C's "Quest" came on and I was hooked. I used to go to a lot of parties in NYC & Boston when I was in college - I definitely miss the dnb parties they had on Thursdays at Twilo - didn't start spinning until I got out of college. Started producing about 2 years ago. Somewhere in between, I played guitar for this live dnb band - played at Izzy's a lot for their live dnb parties...
99: What was the name if it?
YT: Sol-I was the name of the group. I think they don't exist anymore. I remember there was a brief period where there were a few dnb bands here in NYC.
99: How long had you played guitar?
YT: I think I started when I was in middle school - we had this cheesy cover band in HS. Don't really play much now but I'm planning to do a track with some guitar soon.
99: What was the first peice of music you ever bought with your own money or coerced somone to buy for you?
YT: "A-Ha" cassette tape at a Pathmark.
99: What was the first record you bought after you decided to start djing?
YT: The first vinyl I ever bought was Technotronic's, "Pump Up the Jam" prior to my interest in one day becoming a super star disk jockey.
99: How did you come to discover the music you're into now?
YT: Had a college radio show with a friend - used to play all Ninja Tune/Mo Wax stuff - then got hooked on jungle and sort of moved on to other things.
99: Where was your radio show?
YT: That was in upstate NY. I think 4 of our friends listened to the show. No one was really interested in the type of music we were playing. We were in the boons.

99: How long have you been djing/producing?
YT: Not long enough.
99: What's the meaning behind Yellowtail?
YT: Not really sure - but mostly because I'm yellow.
99: hahah!!!
99: What was the most craziest, most off the hook, heavenly gig you ever played and why?
YT: 18hr non-stop "In The Mix" with my shirt off, at this truly underground party, in front of 15,000, all-women, topless, odorless-sweat-drenched crowd - and with me on the stage, a 24-strong, all-women, Brazilian carnival danceteam movin their body to the sizzling beat.
99: The shittiest?
YT: This tiny bar called BarB (original Royal Flush spot) in NYC. When we first started, our parties used to be on Monday nights starting at 12:30AM right after some acoustic solo folk singer dude/gal and everyone would leave once this dude/gal finished playing. They would be laughing, making out, and slapping high-fives and the place would empty out and then it's just me and my partner Andy...Trying to look like we're really into the "vibe" and pretending like people are actually comming and the bartender's yawning and reading yesterday's newspaper and he's scratching his left ballsack as we pay for our drinks.
99: What are you up to now? What projects you got cookin'?
YT: Still doin' the Royal Flush parties (apperances by Domu, Afronaught, P'Taah, Moonstarr, Titonton, Champion Soul, Mad Matz, Beanfield, etc.) - we've also partnered up with Freeskool and Boundless so we can really push our events. We've also started "IAMNY", which is a series of events that showcase NYC artists and producers playing all original tracks. Also been busy on the production side as well - finished some rmxes for Irma / Head To Toe and workin hard on new joints and hoping that things will get heard.
99: ok, I'm really curious about this all-women topless brazilian gig....
YT: yeah - to tell you the truth, that never happened
99: Damn. I was so hoping for some radical brazilian lesbian festival where everyone has good taste. So what was your best non-imaginary gig?
YT: That's a tough question. I've never done any big gigs or anything. Pretty much doing our parties here.
99: Who cares? My favorite gig was a house party in a basement. Give me the party where you *felt* the best
YT: I have plenty of bad gig experiences that I remember but none that was great. Which is sort of sad right?
99: Aw man, we'll have to work on that. Well, your Royal Flush parties are the bomb. You've gotten some really great guests and I always have a blast. How did that party develop from its humble, ballsack-scratching beginnings?
YT: Thanks! Well - my friend 5Star and I had a party going in a couple of places in Brooklyn and Manhattan, then he left for New Orleans and that's when I hooked up with Andy - we started off as Golden Shower (which the bar owner hated), then Marmalade, then Royal Flush - since it seemed NYC had this huge gap in the party scene for Broken/Future Jazz music, we decided to start one ourselves.
99: When did you start those parties? It has to be, what, like 2-3 yrs ago now?
YT: I think the first party was sometime in 2000. But Royal Flush didn't really materialize until 2002/2003
99: How did you keep your resolve on the nights that the turnout was a little thin? How did you fight off the promotion blues and come into your own? How did you start hooking up with the bigger names and booking them? You've told me before that you bascially don't turn a profit, and sometimes lose money, yet you charge a paltry $5 for the best talent in the world. Are you insane????
YT: Not sure - we just kept at it and we also had a lot of support from the local DJs/artists. They definitely helped us get to where we are now.
99: By spreading the word?
YT: Yeah - we used to lose money all the time.
99: It's kind of like starting a small business I guess..you don't expect to turn a profit until year 2 or 3, but the payoff for you has been great.
YT: But now that we've merged with Freeskool and Boundless Music, we're cutting our losses (actually doing alright).
99: Speaking of amazing sucess, you have tracks all over the place. If the label is hot, you've got a track on it.
YT: Thanks!
99: And it seems like this flurry of activity has really only come about in like the past year. Am I wrong, and what changed?
YT: Yes - this past year has been a good year. It's been tough juggling the day job, party and music production thing. A lot of late nights - and I'm constantly sleepy.
99: Do you just mailbomb labels, or is a lot of this accomplished through shady back room dealings? Word of mouth? Are labels commissioning tracks or are you shopping them around? Do you plan to settle on one, or continue to flirt, or start your own?
YT: A lot of mail bombs - I send demos out all over the world. Sometimes I pay around $100 just on postage. Then it's email bombing everyone I sent to and following up.
99: Ok, I'm stating to see a pattern...persistence.
YT: Persistence is my motto.
99: Consistent hard work eventually breeds great success.
YT: That's what I'm hoping for.
99: You've said you never really thought about what keeps you going. Do you just not even think about the hard times, and just continue? Because I think so many people struggle with the thin times and it's easy to give up. I mean, there are some similarities between our projects...we face a lot of the same battles and I'm just very impressed with your consistent motion. A lot of the people reading this will be trying to push the broken sounds in their home town and wondering what the magic ingredient is.
YT: I think the key is not to have enough time to think about the hard times.
99: Ha!
99: Can you give me the philosophy behind IAMNY?
YT: IAMNY was something SeanB (Freeskool), Brett (Boundless) and Royal Flush came up with. We were bustin' our asses trying to set up shows for non-NYC artists and we thought why not start something that promotes artists in NYC?
99: Do you guys dj with cds, or live PAs??
YT: CDR, Live PA, live vocals, etc.
99: How many have you done so far? How has the reception been?
YT: So far, we've done 2 of them and it's been a great success. Artists are psyched and the crowd is curious to hear what NYC has to offer.
99: Finally getting your propers from the locals. Do you find that it's difficult to get respect inside your own city?
YT: Everyone's been supporting us - I think a lot of DJs, artists are happy to see this type of event.
99: I'm really happy to hear that.
YT: Thanks!

99: What studio gear do you use?
YT: MacG4, Cubase, Reason.
99: What kind of message or sound are you going for when you write? Do you have a mood you're going for?
YT: Hmm...I guess it depends on that day...And I try my best to try to come up with something with a original feel. I literally sit down, and start constructing the track - I rarely think about the track prior to getting started....
99: Cool, spontaneity
YT: Yes - so i have a lot of tracks that go no where and some that make it to the demo CD

99: What's your day job?
YT: Work at a design firm and I, "serve as day-to-day liaison with clients to ensure successful and timely completion of design projects ranging from print, video, music and web." And apparently, "strong interpersonal, client-service, and organizational and communication skills are required."
99: What do you like to do when you can't stand to think about music for even one more beat? Aka, hobbies?
YT: Lie still in bed - in a poorly lit room - and stare at the cracked ceiling and try my best to think about nothing.
99: Best thing about NYC?
YT: Riding a cab across the Manhattan Bridge back to Crooklyn at 5am/ late night fried dumplings and pan fried noodles in Chinatown/ The never ending pain in the ass hustle.
99: Worst?
YT: For some odd reason, I'm always broke.
99: Your impressions of Philadelphia?
YT: Thinly cut slices of steak with fresh green peppers & onions w/ fries on the side with an extra-large thick strawberry milkshake.
99: Astrology: a force to be ignored at your own peril, or stargazing new age hippy crap?
YT: Stargazing new age hippy crap to be ignored at your own peril.
99: Goal for this year?
YT: Diversify my time.
99: Hope for the world?
YT: Stop the nonsense
99: Contact info?
YT: royalflush0033@yahoo.com