Creating the sexy throwback party Balls Deep Disco in his native Canada nearly a decade ago and quickly building it into a sensation, Kris Steeves aka DJ Burn Baby soon spread the fun out to more great venues… including Brooklyn hotspot C’mon Everybody, where it returns to this weekend!
Thotyssey: Hello Burn! Thanks for chatting with us today! We’re basically mid-September now, but it still feels like summer… how is the month treating you so far?
Burn Baby: So far so good. The weather hasn’t turned yet, so there’s still some time to wear our shorts and crops tops!
That’s the important part! You travel a lot for work and hopefully for pleasure… where are your favorite places to DJ and / or kiki?
I do have to say, NYC has my favorite nightlife scene. There’s so much diversity, and contrary to a lot of cities it’s easy to access. You can walk around Hell’s Kitchen, East Village or Brooklyn, and hit up a few different places on a night out.
My personal favorite is of course C’mon Everybody, where I’ve been doing “Balls Deep Disco” since 2018. Such a great vibe and great staff, and people go there to dance! I also have to add that Animal has really been hitting it out of the park since it opened. I played there in the summer, and it’s a really fun room the play.
While growing up in Canada, was disco always your thing or was it a later discovery?
I really fell in love with house music first. I was into DJs like Derrick Carter and David Morales growing up… classic house DJs that were heavily inspired by the disco scene. It was through a lot of house music that I discovered my love for disco. Once “BDD” got going, I fully-immersed myself. My favorite thing about disco is that it’s celebratory music… it instantly puts me in a good mood.
Totally! And it evokes peak gay sexiness. So much imagery from the gay 70s disco scene still holds strong today! That’s probably why you get generations are getting into it now, right?
I think so… disco really exploded during the gay liberation movement of the 70s. I just watched that PBS documentary Disco: The Soundtrack Of A Revolution — highly recommend. So many pioneers, and so much rich history from the era.
You debuted your signature party “Balls Deep Disco” at the Black Eagle in Toronto.
We’ve been doing it since 2016. It’s a disco party with a bit of disco house and classic house thrown in.
What were the early days of “BDD” like… and how did you decide it was time to expand it and bring it to other cities?
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“BDD” has been popular since we started. In the early days, our demographic definitely skewed older. Younger people would associate disco with the kind of music you’d hear at an older relative’s wedding. But the longer we’ve been going, the more diverse our crowd has become.
When we started “BDD,” I never intended on taking it on the road, but Eric Sosa (one of the co-owners of C’mon Everybody) was an acquaintance of mine. He saw on social media what we were up to, and thought it would really work at C’mon. His instincts were right!
This past year we started doing “BDD” in Montreal (my hometown), and it’s been an absolute delight. We’re looking to hit up other cities in the future… stay tuned.
“Balls Deep Disco” returns to C’mon this Friday night! What can the kids expect this time around?
I’ll be playing, plus I’ve invited my buddy Patrick Kyle to play with me! He’s one of the resident DJs at the bathhouse nightlife juggernaut “ConTEAnental.” Expect some disco favorites, some, edits and some cunty beats! Plus, I’ve been told C’mon has a new dark room area. You can live out your cruise-y 70s disco fantasies!
Then Saturday night, you’ll be DJ’ing at Animal after Gant Johnson. That’s a great newer venue that the dancing kids are coming out to in droves.
Yeah, can’t wait!
What else is coming up for you?
I’ll be back in Montreal for “BDD” on October 5th, and I’ll be playing some events in Toronto in October. Then “BDD” is returning to both The Eagle in Toronto and New York in November. In the new year I’ll be playing an event in Europe… I’m really excited about that!
Wonderful! Okay lastly… what’s your best advice for a new baby DJ who wants to make it big in NYC, or another major city?
Well, firstly you’ve gotta be obsessed with music. I think the best DJs are the ones who spend a lot of time digging for unique tracks. It’s easy to play the hits that you know people want to hear, but for me what makes a night really special is dancing and vibing to music you didn’t know you wanted to hear. And just know… it’ll take awhile for you to get good. Start playing shorter sets at smaller venues, and be patient with yourself. Sometimes mistakes turn into magic.
Wisdom! Thanks, Burn!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for DJ Burn Baby’s upcoming appearances, and follow him on Facebook, Instagram (here and here), LinkTree and the Balls Deep Disco website.
Thotyssey 