DINNER WITH DJS: BadCat
Before I go on about the details of this dinner I feel it a fair moment to admit that Dinner with DJ’s wasn’t just an idea I had on my own. It was a concept developed over years and years of hanging in my living room with friends I made through this music and this culture.
Smoking, drinking, eating, and just talking for hours, while the soundtrack of our lives played in the background. We shared the music we loved with the people we met along the way, and I believe that’s what we still do to this day.
To me, those conversations we’ve shared are just as valuable as any dancefloor I’ve experienced in my life, and I look back knowing they prepared me for what has become Dinner with DJ’s.
Now on its fifth edition, and feeling like it’s only getting better with this one being extra special because it’s a perfect example of how much this idea has truly grown.
I didn’t always have the courage to interview others, though, especially DJs, and I didn’t always have DJs who said yes. It had to start somewhere, with someone, and something.
That’s the first thing I’d want you to know about my connection to Jennifer Highfield Castro aka DJ BadCat.
She helped me make this thing come true, and it happened sometime around four years ago, when I was nothing more than someone looking for a new path.
BadCat helped me with that by inviting me to dinner and a conversation. Hosting me at her house up in Santa Fe, where we had a wonderful night of charcuterie, music, a beautiful New Mexico sunset, and the creation of an idea we now return to years later, as things continue to change for both Badcat and me.
This dinner would be the last one in this specific house, one I called ‘the house with the blue door’ the first time I saw it. Here’s how the night went. I hope you enjoy it.
It was a Saturday night, I believe, and my partner Sonya and I made the trip we’ve made many times together up to Santa Fe from Albuquerque, which usually takes around 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic, and is usually made in anticipation of a rave, but this time it was for dinner.
For quite some time BadCat had encouraged me to come see her house and how much redecorating she had done since our last visit, and as soon as we arrived the changes were obvious even down to the fact that her front door wasn’t blue anymore, but rather black, which is something my techno heart just can’t find a way to complain about.
As soon as we entered and began to scan the room for changes, it jumped out at me like a modern extremist jungle of colors and textures and different aspects of Badcat’s mind all transformed into physical representations of both her as a DJ and as a person.
BadCat would later explain to me that the actual style was her interpretation of classic Hollywood Regency style, and I could see where that comes from since it felt like I was at the Hollywood Hilton hotel in the 70s but still with that modern BadCat twist.
I slowly walked through her living room and admired every little detail of each piece of art that was chosen for specific reasons and quickly I realized these things that decorated her wall were another way of her telling her own story in the same light as a DJ would tell their story with music.
Layers upon layers of unique pieces of art covered her walls and even the furniture had its own character and life to it.
What I especially enjoyed was hearing BadCat tell us stories about how each one was acquired. Traveling back from Florida, stopping in Texas along the way to pick something up; Paintings by her mother, also paintings of friends she’s lost, both feline and human.
We take for granted how much of a journey this life is and sitting there seeing the physical representations of this one person’s journey was incredible to experience.
I especially loved a painting she had of Freddie Mercury done by her mother Claudia Clark, also known as Chill. I laughed at the fact that I was going to wear my Freddie Mercury shirt for the night, but changed into my Harry Potter one.
What a wonderful coincidence it would have been but then again all of this life is just one big coincidence. The stories behind each one led us right towards the dining room table where the first course of our meal was already served.
What appeared to be a loaf of bread was Baked Brie and habanero blackberry preserves with a pastry crust. The appetizer was surrounded by these wonderful crackers and as we cut it open the cheese poured out and became the spread on the crackers we devoured with delight.
From there she led us to three more plates which would be considered the second course since we had almost finished the Brie without even thinking twice.
First, was this smooth dip that had a unique flavor to it that I just can’t describe; then another dish she described as an Elote without the cob, but with everything else called esquites, and then my personal favorite, room temperature potatoes with soft-boiled eggs. A Peruvian dish called papa a la huancaina.
I am a huge potato lover and yet I never thought to just eat a potato at room temp like that. It was done in such a way that it was immediately my favorite dish of the night.
I’m still thinking about those potatoes now, and I’ll admit I spent the rest of the night sneaking back to that one dish just to sneak as many as I could.
After that, Badcat’s partner Brandon brought in the main course, which was a freshly grilled steak, It made me jump for joy since I don’t eat red meat like I used to but love it as much as ever, and as he served me my plate he said ‘Made just for you,’ and I appreciated that so immensely from them both.
The hospitality and kindness they have shown me over the last few years cannot be understated and it’s something I have learned to share more and more with others as a result of their example.
It’s sort of like rave culture itself. When you start in this life you just want to make it to the next one and the next one. You never actually think of the people you meet along the way.
But as you start to age and dance a little bit slower, the people become just as important as the music. Then one day, you can’t help but always connect the two, because to you they are now the same.
The people you find in this life are the music and these moments are the dancefloors we find together.
We’ve got to remember that one and find a way to share that with others, especially the next generations that are discovering our culture. Even if they don’t know what it’s about, it’s our job to teach them.
It was then that BadCat shared with me that she had recently attended Movement Music Festival in Detroit, which I have no shame in admitting is still my favorite festival in my favorite city.
We joked about how you dance so much that it makes you feel old, and then she told us about one night over the weekend and how it started raining so hard you couldn’t see anything around you and she was stuck downtown not knowing what to do.
But suddenly, like magic, the rain stopped and she found herself walking the streets of Downtown Detroit looking for an after-party she was planning to attend.
Without directions or direction, she wandered wondering if she was lost or just finding her way, and then she heard it, the music in the night. Like a beacon through sound somehow she knew it was the one she was looking for and she used her ears to end up exactly where she was meant to be.
It warms my heart to know that a city like Detroit is magical to many people for many reasons, and I was happy for BadCat to have had that moment.
Even after she told the story to me I marveled and remembered my own memories of the city and the music, and recalled yet again, this life isn’t just for some of us, but for all of us, as long as we’re willing to go get it.
After our steaks with asparagus and red wine, it was time for the dessert, warm shortcake with whipped cream and strawberries Romanoff.
She even managed to find me a Coca-Cola to sip along with it. It was a wonderful and nostalgic ending to a one-of-a-kind meal and a great night of conversation and stories.
I sat with Badcat’s two cats and enjoyed the dessert as Badcat herself did a b2b with DJ Sonya G to end the night right.
Years ago, when Sonya was considering becoming a DJ, Badcat was the first person to invite her over, teaching her some tricks and giving her the confidence to become a DJ herself.
It was a full circle moment for all of us, and I’m so glad and thankful we got to experience that before Badcat moved into a new house and this one would never be the same again.
Before we knew it the night had come to an end and the last dinner we’d share at this exact place and at this same time was over. We thanked Badcat for her hospitality, and she even gave me a souvenir to take home.
Even then we knew, though, this wasn’t the final story. It’s just simply time to start a new one, both with our homes and with each other. I can’t wait to see what Badcat does with her new house and how she uses that to tell her story.
Thank you again to Badcat not just for the nights of music and conversation we spent in that house, but also for believing in me enough before anybody else did, and trusting me to hear your story.
This was yet another reminder that not all success can be measured in dollar bills and not all moments are meant to be forgotten.
See you on the dancefloor, and perhaps if you’re willing at the dinner table too.
Ourdancefloor.net 