Gonzo Junglism
Without missing a beat on the road with DJ C-rat

By Eric Shann--Life writer

Three drunk junglists in the back seat of a wide-ass Chevy careen toward Owen Sound maxing 160 clicks on a muggy night last July.

Surrounded, sweating and swilling Red Stripe in the middle is Chris Lytle, a.k.a. DJ C-Rat, the headliner for the night's tented beach party on Georgian Bay.

He wonders whether Johnsy and Smokey - the two shirtless, sunburned and thankfully sober promoters up front - will crash the car before or after the rusted underbelly of the trunk crumbles beneath the weight of his record crate, spewing rare oldskool ragga jungle vinyl on to Highway 25 for curious squirrels to scratch.

The spray paint on the side of the vehicle reads: ``Bionic Circus.'' The sticker on C-Rat's crate reads: ``Pray for me and get a kick in the ass.'' C-Rat's furrowed brow reads: ``Scared S---less.''

Representing Toronto as a junglist on the road is no small feat. Situations turn ill, and there's a reputation to uphold.

This musical hybrid was fused from Caribbean reggae rhythms and European 170-beats-a-minute hardcore in early '90s London, England.

Toronto now has the biggest drum and bass/jungle scene outside of London, with local world-renowned DJs such as Freaky Flow, Mystical Influence and Capital J playing regularly alongside international headliners at the city's many downtown clubs.

Demanding Toronto crowds are accustomed to big- name stars, and Toronto promoters are used to losing big-time bucks thanks to booking expenses for out-of-towners and city-enforced ambulance and police services.

This means, for a local DJ like C-Rat trying to make a name for himself in Toronto, the domestic environment is somewhat stifling. What's he to do but grab an attorney, hope the Hells Angels aren't too disgruntled and drive toward the Canadian Dream?

``I got two gigs in Ottawa! I'm going on the road. I want you to come along. It's gonna be a jam, and I need you to be my attorney!''

C-Rat is perhaps a little too enamoured with Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas author Hunter S. Thompson. Over six months on the road with Chris' barrage of culture-jamming Adbusters accolades and it becomes clear that with Chris, even the little things in life are culture jams.

As a third-year anthropology major at York University, he is a member of the Black Students Alliance, though he's white.

After losing motor skills in his right side following a stroke at age 5, he joined army cadets with his friend Grant McKeown (now DJ/Producer Jawbone) and the two would listen to Ellis D's jungle anthem ``Nice Up Your Scene'' to get psyched for missions at Downsview base.

When Chris' brother Tim received a tiny raise after working at Indigo for two years, they schemed to bring a fluffy white McCain cake into the staff room for everyone to celebrate.

``They all thought it tasted good. They didn't get it,'' Chris says with concern.

While Freaky Flow flies Aeroplan Elite around the world, C-Rat is broke and can't drive and I don't have my licence, so the chances of us renting a Great White Shark for our ride to Ottawa last August were slim to nil.

Still, though my briefcase was lacking in mescaline, ether and adrenal glands, and despite hearing of Chris' past catastrophes, when I saw him decked out in full camo gear at the Greyhound terminal with his gold tooth glistening in the morning light, I knew that accepting the offer was a good idea.

This was gonzo junglism.

``Regular junglism is downing your box of Glosettes by lifting it above your head to get every last one,'' says DJ C-Rat. ``Gonzo junglism is banging the back of the box to get the crumbs, then blowing into it to make a whistle.''

This is Chris' third out-of-town gig destination, following journeys to Guelph and the Owen Sound nightmare. He's spun in Ottawa once before, with his friend and fellowtorontojungle.com representative Victor Chen, a.k.a. DJ INS, for promoter Johnny Loan in July at a party by Future Wicked City Productions.

Arguably Ottawa's best collector of oldskool jungle mixtapes and anim* videos, in Clark Kent mode, Johnny works as a correspondence officer at the Ministry of Fisheries (in Ottawa everybody either works for Canada or lays fibre optic cable), while in his Superman evenings he promotes for Future Wicked City.

``Good oldskool is really hard to find,'' says Johnny, ``so to hear it live we have to throw parties and call up DJs who spin it. Chris has mad tracks I haven't heard in years.''

Johnny meets us at the bus terminal and checks us into our haunted hostel, formerly the Ottawa Penitentiary, then we all head out for dinner with the whole Future Wicked City crew and 20 gruff breaks DJs from New Jersey. (Chris abstains. He refrains from illegal narcotic abuse, although he's surprisingly adept at beatmatching his records after an evening's Budweiser binge.)

At the Gallery in downtown Ottawa later that night, the club is packed and the crowd is loving it, singing along to Ellis D & The Specialist and Congo Naddy tracks as Chris spins a three-hour ragga jungle set. Using only one hand, he enters new tracks into the mix perfectly beat-matched four seconds after slapping them on to his turntables.

After his second show - for 600 people at a billiard hall in Kanata - Chris sleeps till 6 p.m. at an executive suite kindly offered by an FWC promoter, then downs waffles and martinis for breakfast while blurting back-patting patter like ``I would never get paid to do this in Toronto!'', ``They want me to come back and I've got a show in Montreal now, too!'' and ``I can't believe I bought this head-in-a-jar - it's the perfect gift for my brother.''

No sooner is C-Rat home than he's planning the next getaway from his two regular jobs - slicing cheese with an industrial cutter at Pastissimo's restaurant and spinning dough at Classico's Pizza near his home in the Eglinton and Yonge neighbourhood.

``I can't believe they paid me $100,'' says C-Rat over 5 a.m. Golden Griddle blintzes after a shirtless set in thetorontojungle.com/Vinyl Syndicate Boxing Day bash at the Docks. On the side stage, he and INS had dropped two freshly pressed dub plates to the small contingent of party-goers who did not listen to U.K. heavyweight producers Bad Company in the event's main room.

``That's unprecedented cash for me at a Toronto show, but I'm getting even more in Montreal next week. I'm being paid $280. That's insane!''

Less influenced by hip-hop trendiness than Toronto's, Montreal's scene is anchored at Club Blue Dog on St. Laurent Blvd, where ex-pat Guelph DJ Teo Dakker, a.k.a. Krinja, has established a stellar weekly jungle night based on the juxtaposition of different drum and bass styles.

``Last January my bus touched down and it was snowy harsh,'' Krinja says of the night's origins. ``I was the only one rocking camo gear, and the scene was ruled by techno. Mike (Dumont, DJ Backstabber) was very dirty-synth and hardcore-oriented, whereas I was dance hall reggae-influenced.

``We'd get drunk and switch it up, battling three tracks each back and forth. We call it Soundclash Fridays and we used to be happy getting 30 people dancing. Now we're disappointed without a packed house (100-plus people). The vibe is spreading.''

The night is Jan. 5, and C-Rat is spinning Jah Screw's 1995 relic ``Here I Come'' as requested by Montrealtorontojungle.com photographer Nico Oved.

Chris' set goes well even by his four-second beer-hazed beatmatch impeccability standards, and Nico is loving it on the indanceably packed dance floor.

C-Rat drops back to back dub plates he cut back in Toronto, and Blue Dog goes wild. On the mic, Krinja bigs up Toronto and asks the crowd to show their appreciation for the DJ before his last track, Beanie Man's dance hall classic ``World Dance.''

``Krinja stopped the music before I dropped it and everyone in the crowd started screaming. That's the best thing that can happen to a DJ,'' saysC-Rat after his train ride home from Montreal.

He thought his set a

CookieMonster@420

I know Eric.. He's like 18 i think..... He threw a party last halloween - cool guy.

~Lesslyn~

yeah I read that too...never heard of him though..