ode to vinyl NYC

Jess Cross aka Fly Hendrix aka Cross Colours, from the trees of Marin County, California has created an insurmountable buzz in South Africa and now New York City from an all vinyl party and live music event entitled Vinyl Digz. I was able to sit down, relax, water some plants and talk about her life through music.  We spoke on her earlier years jumping up and down hearing Earth Wind and Fire from a record player to how she got to this point as a DJ and creative. I mean it ‘s crazy how easily it was for her to open up. Therapy.

Alright Jess…

What got you into music? Was there someone in your family that introduced you to music or was it something you discovered on your own?

My Dad was who initially introduced me to music, was a singer. He actually was a Banker, but was a singer. Every morning going to school he would pick my brother and I up and he would be singing various scales. I mean every morning. He would say “c’mon Jessie c’mon!! Sing! So I would sing with my Dad. My Mom funny enough was a DJ who worked at a record store and had an amazing collection of records. So to answer your question, my relationship with music started early; like 5 years old. I think my earliest memory of records was Earth Wind and Fire’s Greatest Hits.

My Mom had left me by myself and had gone to the grocery store. Being the inquisitive individual that I am, I remember digging through her collection and putting on various records. Earth Wind and Fire is the one that stuck out to me. Listening to the melodies; from that album even at the early age of 5, I remember dancing my heart out. I mean not just dancing but non-stop jumping from couch to couch.

So… I’m guessing you still have some records from your Mother’s collection. Right?

Sad Story, she gave her collection away to one of my brothers friends. This was before I showed interest of her any interest that I would have wanted and appreciated it. For the most part, right now in my personal collection I have attained most of the records that my mother owned.

Isn’t that the best feeling? Attaining records that you lost or weren’t able to get in the past and now being able to own them and add them to your collection. Which leads me to ask, how many records do you currently own?

Honestly umm… I think I might have close to 3,000 records. Wait… I have anywhere from 3 – 5,000 records. This is totaling my collection in San Francisco, South Africa and New York.

Wow. That’s a hefty collection. I mean at this point you must have everything your looking for or ever-wanted right? The only issue would be shipping your collection from one place to the other. What keeps you digging and adding to your collection?

New Music. There is always new music. I love collecting new music on vinyl. I love going to record store and finding new artists, then I’ll come across something that I don’t have.

That Sounds expensive lol.  I mean you don’t have to tell me, but how much would you say you spend on average visit to the record shop?

Well… I don’t go out and buy records that frequent believe it or not. I usually first shop with in my own collection. I don’t buy a record once a week. I instead, create a list and then hit a designated record shop and buy 20-25 records. But to answer your question, price isn’t really an option when it comes to records,  so I honestly don’t keep a track on the total. But it gets up there in price. Okay, I would say on average it can get anywhere from $200- $400 per visit.

Wow. I mean that is expensive lol. On another note,  I don’t think I’ve told you this enough. I continue to learn so much about music, records, refining a sound and over becoming a better DJ from you. I don’t believe I ever asked you, when did you start DJing?

With Vinyl or just DJing in general?

In general… 

I started off DJing… Well… I was a singer at first and I was in a band. I started as a lead singer in a band when I was 12yrs old. An all girls rock band put together by my music teacher. In fact the band was called “The Girls Rock Band”. He approached me and said we are starting an all girls rock band and you are going to be the singer. I was like no (laughs), I don’t sing. He was like yes you do. We went back and forth for a little while and I finally gave in. He was right. I did sing. I mean I would sing in the shower and of course I was singing every morning with my Dad in the car. But, I didn’t tell anyone that I could sing.

So how did he know?

He just knew. I guess, I mean he was the music teacher (laughs). He never heard me sing either. He just had a gut feeling that I could sing. Maybe it was my talking voice that gave it away. “The Girls Rock Band” was dope. We had a break out performance at my schools Christmas Showcase in our gymnasium. There were about 500 people in attendance. This year though, being that it was our first showcase, I decided to sing, “Everything is Everything” by Lauryn Hill. I sang and did the rap too… and we received a standing ovation. I mean everybody stood up. It was amazing. It was like something that I have never experienced before. I was like WTF. It was like my first performance like that and from there, that’s where my music career started. I was in that band for 3 years up until 8th grade. I would right after enter this amazing school that had a phenomenal music program. I would start a soul band at that school. Soon after I started a reggae band. In that reggae band we would have 2 huge concerts a year for a total of 4 years. My last year of high school we played at the Golden State Warriors half time show. In that show we did Stevie Wonder’s Superstition… uhhh James Browns Sex Machine. The Meters. Yeah we sang dope shit. I say this because since I was a musician and I was constantly searching for new music, I would DJ parties or for the most part by curating playlists that i would make for myself..to play in my car. I always listen to music in my car. But matter of fact I was always expected to play music since I was always the one who had music. I was so intertwined with being associated with music amongst my peers that when we went to a party and if the DJ sucked, we would go to my car and blast music from out my trunk and we would have a huge party in the parking lot smoking blunts, dancing, the whole thing. I mean, I still do that from time to time.

So basically, you had a musical taste level that people were both intrigued by and drawn to. When did you invest in your first Dj set up? I mean the set up at your loft now is pretty dope.

So... when I moved to DC for college, I was at Howard for a year. I came upon a collection of records. My relationship with Vinyl has been magical. It has always connected me to a spiritual path that I have been on. Like I knew I was always in the right place when I would see records on someone’s wall. I would always curate records, like vinyl on my wall since high school. It was more so for the art. I wasn’t able to listen to the records, well because at that time I didn’t have a record player. So when I got to DC. Which is a whole other story. I ended up staying at this house that had an amazing soul collection that was left abandoned in a basement that I would end up inheriting. I still have those records now. A lot of those records were pretty beat up which led me to repurchase select copies. I can say that, that was the first time I attained a huge amount of records. But it wasn’t until I went to South Africa that I really started DJing professionally. That is when I really started investing in equipment. The people over there were drawn to my musical taste. They wanted to know what I was listening to since I was an African American. At that moment I knew this was a unique situation because I had something to offer on a greater scale. If I were in the US, my sound wouldn’t be as potent, since there would be more competing sounds. The people of Cape Town were eager for this music. They loved it, and I was eager to give it to them. I would soon link up with Dj’s in Cape Town who would swap music with me. It was an exchange of culture; it was an exchange of sounds. It was amazing. That is when my sound became more unique. It became a blend of African Sounds like Kwaito, House, Trap, Hip Hop, Reggae, Soul and Sultry R&B.

So wait.. You discovered House in South Africa?

Yea. Before that, I never listened to house (laughs). I was never a house person.

So let me get this… you grew up listening to soul, funk, hip-hop, R&B

I also grew up listening to a lot of Punk and Rock since I hung around a lot of skaters. I was a rebel, a soul Rebel. I hung around those kids and lived that life that was relatable. That was my connection to that music. That is something that I miss. I’m searching for that connection in New York where I can play that kind of music and introduce other sounds to people. My overall goal as a DJ is to bring people together. I feel like there are people who would relate to a certain sound that might not know of another sound during my sets but are coming because they trust my knowledge and taste. I mean that’s my mission. It’s very personal. It’s a soulful connection to me. I can relate to people through that.

That’s Dope. That’s how we connected, we vibe on the same ethos. I feel that music is the remedy for people to understand culture and perspectives on life. Thank you for your time and openness to sharing your words of truth. It really means a lot to us at Ode to Vinyl. But before we wrap this up, what should people know about Vinyl Digz… What is Vinyl Digz?

Vinyl Digz is a gathering of people around vinyl in cities where people can be themselves. Vinyl Digz isn’t genre specific. We try and capture the soul of the city, in soulful venues where we can attract soulful people by playing soulful music. It’s really the magic of the people that creates a soulful experience. That’s what Vinyl Digz is. 

Jess Cross is currently touring South Africa until May ‘19. Follow her IG @crosscolours where you can be kept up to date with all things Vinyl Digz. 

The Lake #004 [2015]

Jess Cross aka Cross Colours: Wax Junkie