Halloween Story Time With Grandtheft

I never had any creepy or unusual Halloweens as a kid, but maybe four years ago, I kind of felt possessed.

Halloween is always a big time for DJs. There are tons of great parties, and I typically try to book three or four around the holiday, getting into the spirit with good costumes. I’m never trying to be too cool; I always want to dress up as something funny.

I was booked for a party at this pretty big venue in Montreal with my friends Torro Torro, and I decided to drive up from Toronto as Kenny Powers [Danny McBride’s character in Eastbound and Down]. That show is classic, so I got this custom-made baseball jersey for the Myrtle Beach Mermen, which is Kenny’s South Carolina farm team, and I had a mullet wig and sunglasses and everything.

“I’m really non-aggressive, a chill dude. But this happens with no explanation, and before I know it, I step off the side of the stage with this guy and get all in his face.”

Fast-forward to the party, and Torro Torro just played. It’s pretty crazy, lots of positive energy coming off this crowd of like 1,500; then I get on and start my set. I’m maybe a half hour in when this guy rushes up behind me, into this weird tiki hut DJ booth we’re using, and pushes me out of the way and turns off the music.

I’m really non-aggressive, a chill dude. But this happens with no explanation, and before I know it, I step off the side of the stage with this guy and get all in his face, and we start pushing each other. The promoter is there—he’s yelling at the guy, who is yelling at me—and it’s turning into this whole scene. There I am, caught up in the moment, when I look over at the Torro Torro guys, and they’re smiling and laughing. I suddenly realize I’m dressed as Kenny Powers, a guy who is always getting in fights, and I’m getting into the only shoving match I can remember ever getting into. I immediately went from mad about why nobody had my back, to laughing at the whole situation.

Apparently, there was some other big fight at the back of the venue, which is why they needed to turn the music off. But nobody told me what was going on, and suddenly my inner Kenny got out. It was so out of character for me, but a perfect embodiment of him.

The whole thing went on for so long that it killed the party, and I never went back on. After that, we crushed a couple cold ones and went to a cool illegal loft party, where I listened to late-night techno still dressed as a mullet-wearing redneck. I had to own it at that point.

What reminded me of this was playing in Clearwater, Florida, recently and buying cheap wraparound sunglasses before we rented jet skis, which is a most Kenny Powers thing to do.

You can catch Grandtheft doing his thing at Escape: Psycho Circus 2017, which takes place Friday, October 27, and Saturday, October 28, at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA. For more information, visit the official website.

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