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"KINKY SOUNDS IN THE SOUTHERNMOST CITY"
by Terry Schmida.
After a "year of introspection" in the Northeast, Key West's most dynamic DJs is back in town. Peter Downie, 25, known for his deft spinning at the old WAX nightclub under the moniker Peter Worth, the Pandemonium, Southernmost House, Rock The Boat parties on the Sebago catamaran and other events, has returned to his first American hometown, ready to rock the house with his own brand of sleazy house music, and produce several upcoming party events.
"I wanted to be closer to my clients' bank accounts," said the Scottish-born Downie with a laugh. "Plus, I found that Philadelphia has all of the crime of New York City, with none of the excitement."
Currently DJing at the Blu Room on the last Friday of every month, a night he calls "Kinky Sounds," Downie is also designing everything from party flyers to book covers, and working on other entertainment-related projects.
But it was actually an offer to produce a business-related radio show that brought the dynamic DJ back from his self-imposed exile in Philadelphia.
"Steven Pribramsky offered me a gig producing his radio show The Key West Business World," Downie said. "We developed the title, content and concept. I introduce the guests and such. We've taken what could have been a dry subject and made it interesting, I think, and Christine Wissman who works for Steve has done a great job booking in the guests."
The show, which airs at 9 a.m. Sundays on WKWF 1600 AM, pairs financial specialist Pribramsky with guests from the Key West business community, such as restauranteur Richard Hatch, Realtor Jeffrey Dunaway and tourism expert Eric Bannwart, and this week's guest, Kelly Friend of Audio Video in Paradise.
It's another step forward for a man who thrives on change and evolution.
Fans of Downie's DJing will notice that's he now eschews vinyl LPs, in favor of an all-digital format he can control from his laptop. He's also been building websites for his many local clients, a trade he's taught himself in just the last eight months. He's quick, however, to dismiss the notion that he's any kind of artist.
"Graphic design is essentially layers, colors, and trial-and-error," Downie said matter-of-factly. "I'm sorry to piss people off, but to call a graphic designer an artist is like calling a DJ a musician."
Still, it's difficult to ignore the creative dimension to Downie's DJing. Or the fact that he loves to share his work with others. "I would describe my music as sleazy electronic filth, across the board" Downie said. "Whatever I'm into at the time, I play. I rarely play the same song twice and don't do requests. I no longer play back-to-back anthems all night long. My music is a wee bit deeper but it'll still get your rump shaking in the most severe of ways. And through the years I've mixed some great CDs. I've set up www.djpeterworth.com to share them. Since August they have been available for free, and I have now had over 25,000 downloads."
Among his other new projects are www.keywestbachelorparty.com, a custom bachelor party planning service he is starting with his friend Joe Mitchell, and www.coolkeywest.com, a Key West portal site that is about to move into it's second phase.
"There are big changes to come for this site," Downie said. "I built the current site in lieu of a heavy night out for New Year's Eve, and over the coming months it will be shaped into a more dynamic experience, with much more content and interactivity. Visitors will be able to leave their own reviews and comments on local establishments, view all Key West has to offer, and book services and so on."
And last, but certainly not least, there's the www.wodumedia.com graphic design business that Downie's been plugging away at, since arriving in the United States, seven years ago.
"This year, it's just headed into the stratosphere, and with each new project I try and reach higher." Downie said. "Last year, when I left town for a bit, I got stuck right into the website design. I am lucky to have clients such as The Grand Cafe, Pisces, Dunaway McKenzie Realtors, Pribramsky & Zuelch, Reed Appliance, Charest-Weinberg Gallery, Key West Realty, The Commodore, nine one five, Antonia's, Coastline Realty, We've Got The Keys, and the list goes on and on. Internationally, I just finished up a new look website for Triton ATM Systems, which worked out beautifully, and I am currently working on sites for La Trattoria and Virgilio's, Elegant Island Homes, Ambrosia Guesthouse, InZon Corporation, Remax Panama City, and Calypso, who run the ATM network in Canada."
But if it's graphic design and web work that pays his bills these days, it's the music that drives him. He'll be among the featured DJs on hand at the Hangover Survival Guide worldwide release party, taking place from noon-?, May 28 2006, at the Southernmost House, 1400 Duval St.
In the meantime, Downie invites readers to check out his many sites and help themselves to some free downloads from his DJ site.
"Key West is whatever you want it to be," Downie said. "It can be a party or a day at the beach, but it can also be a bike ride around the island. I'm glad to be back in Key West and I feel blessed that I found it in the first place."
tschmida@keysnews.com
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OTHER PRESS
KEY WEST BARTAB INTERVIEWS DJ PETER WORTH, JANUARY 2007
The Key West Bartab asks DJ Peter Worth how to rock a dancefloor amongst other things. Read the article here.
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