Can You Dig It? Vol 21: DJ Ayres

Name: Ayres Haxton aka DJ Ayres

Claim to Fame: The Rub and T&A Records





Representing: I'm from Natchez, Mississippi but I've been living in Brooklyn for ten years.



Years in the Game: Around twelve years since I started DJing for money.

Best Digging City or Town: New York City



Most Prized Piece of Wax: I couldn't possibly pick just one record; my answer today might totally change tomorrow. I'm not into wall pieces and I love so many different records from wildly different eras and genres. Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back changed my life as much as any other record so let me pick that one for today.



Favorite Album Cover/s: I love album covers with food on them. There is a Mongo Santamaria joint that I love called Stone Soul.



Dollar Bin Miracle: I’d say around half of my records came from flea markets and used shops. I was never someone to seek out collectors items; it was always more that I was looking for specific songs that I wanted to play, or if I liked an artist and came across something I didn't know, I would pick it up. When I digitized my collection to switch over to CDJs and eventually Serato, I sold off a lot of my records. I was surprised when some of those 12" singles from the flea market sold for $100, $200, $300. I guess it's a lot harder to find Kool G Rap promos at the flea markets in Tokyo!



Total Records Owned: At one time, around 5,000. Now I probably have around 2,000.



Best Digging Story: I've found myself in some interesting situations looking for records. Once when I was in my late teens, I was introduced to a friend of a friend who was in her thirties. It turns out that her ex-husband is a pretty well-know DJ (I don't want to blow up his spot here) and he left some vinyl when they divorced. I told her that I was into funk and disco. She said she had a few crates of records at her apartment that she didn't want, so I got her number.

A week later I went to her house in Queens. She showed me the records, and let me listen to them and pick out what I wanted. She had just gotten off work and said she was going to take a shower. I picked out a bunch of funk, nothing too crazy but a lot of solid albums like Main Ingredient, Sylvers, New Birth and so forth. It had been a while so I knocked on the door to her room and she called out for me to come in. I entered and she was turned away from me, toweling her naked body. I was surprised and aroused by her taught, dripping flesh. She turned to meet my eyes and asked, "Have you found anything you want?" Sike, I don't have any good digging stories!



To learn more about DJ Ayres, visit his MySpace and Website. You can also learn more about The Rub by visiting their MySpace and Website. And last but not least, check out the T & A records MySpace.