All over campus, you see those small square stickers with the “Herzog” logo he designed himself, but this week’s Campus Celebrity Simon Herzog does not consider himself a celebrity – though he was recognized by a fan in Westside Market a few days ago.
Name: Simon Herzog
Claim to fame: DJ and producer
Year: 2012
School: Columbia College
Major: Sociology
Hometown: Vienna, Austria
Age: 21
Relationship status: In a relationship
Are you better known for being a DJ or as “the guy who started the Columbia 2012 Facebook group”? At this point, I am better known for the DJ thing but when I first got here I definitely used to get recognized by the Facebook group.
On-campus activities: I tried to start an electronic music society freshmen year, but ABC makes it really hard to start a student group.
Favorite things to do on campus: Explore the tunnels or roof tops
Pet peeves: I really don’t like the word “societal.” People should just say “social.” I’m also pretty clean.
Dream job: I would love to start my own company and produce music without financial pressure, just to start something of my own.
You started playing the Jew’s harp, harmonium and harpsichord, when and why did you make the switch over? I started classical piano and thought the sounds were limiting. I had sounds in my head that I could not express with traditional instruments so I started experimenting with electronics.
Your music falls under many different categories including Electronica, Dance, IDM, Dubstep, Electro House, Breakbeat, and D&B, but I have to ask … what is Dubstep? It originated in England, took roots from reggae and two step, and is very slow, syncopated, and bassy – very much about the bass. You should look into it.
How does your college experience differ from that of most Columbia students? I focus less on my major than other people because I think it is important to take classes that are random. For example: Mongols, which has nothing to do with my major; I just think Mongols are really interesting. I’m also in a grad level electronic music class, so I go up to Franklin Hall on 125th Street where they have a lot of great electronic music instruments. There are a lot of great classes here that people don’t know about because they are grad school classes.
Do you have any superstitions regarding performing? Not really, but it’s always a problem that I depend on laptop because it’s a fragile machine.
Have you had any problems during a performance? Oh yeah. I’ve had breakdowns and power outages while I was performing.
What do you do when that happens? I start sweating a lot and try to fix it as quickly as possible. It becomes very much of an adrenaline thing where you only see directly what’s in front of you.
Does anyone stand up there with you? There is always the occasional girl who wants to stand with the DJ, but I don’t really interact with them. I focus on the technical things.
What are you like when you perform? When DJ’ing, I really try to sense what kind of mood people are in. I play songs they don’t know but that I like, and then I mash up songs they know in a new form. I’m not the typical party DJ becuase I’m more technical about it. When I’m performing my own stuff, I’m still shy about it and look really carefully at people’s responses and see how they respond to my music. I get a lot of compliments, and that totally makes my night when people come up to me after a show and tell me how much they enjoyed my music.
What is your most memorable performance to date? It was probably at the beginning of last semester on The Intrepid during NSOP week. There were 2,300 people there and I had a fantastic crew, a great sound system, a great crowd of people who were really into it, and I could see the NY skyline – definitely my most memorable.
If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be? And why? Danger – he is this French guy. We probably wouldn’t get along, but nobody knows what his face looks like because he only performs within a full body suit. He makes music that the music of the 80s could have been like if people knew what they were doing. And he designs his own graphics that he plays during his shows.
What is the number one venue you want to perform at? Music festivals – any British festival like Glastonbury or the
Urban Art Forms festival in Austria.
Music festivals are great because people come exclusively for the music and it’s a great way to get seen.
Now for some fun questions … Have you been following the CCSC elections? Any words on who you’re voting for and why? Usually people vote for their friends, but that’s a shame. I will definitely try to inform myself before the vote. But I do like your (UniteCU) Roof Day idea, I love going up on the roofs.
If you were stuck on a desert island, you would need: Something to make music with (my laptop), something to write with, the Jews Harp (this little overtone instrument, you press it against your teeth and pluck the spring and it resonates in your throat or mouth and you alter the sound using your throat and mouth), and water
Every guy needs these three things in their closet: A nice button down, vests, and a cool pair of shoes for special occasions
Did you put your stickers all over campus? I probably shouldn’t answer this. I hand them out to friends and its up to them what they do with them, but quite a few were put up by me. I hate self-promoting, but the stickers are a fun way to push myself, and it’s relatively harmless. Plus, I designed the logo myself. Maybe I should start plastering my face all over campus.
Is it expensive to book you for a show? I put in my time doing free shows. I used to have to reach out to groups and ask if they wanted me to DJ their event, but now groups approach me and I perform almost every weekend.
What about other NYC events and venues? I can only really perform at Columbia events because of my citizenship, unless I get paid under the table. I just started my Green Card process and it takes over 5 years. I have actually had a few serious marriage offers to help with the issue.
Are you considering those offers? If a few years down the line I want to stay in New York but don’t have a Green Card, then yeah, I would do it.
Have you had any record label offers? I just got my first serious record offer from Expat Records. They found me. It’s the first time I’ve gotten a serious offer, and I’m not sure how they found me. Probably on your website.
So you want to stay in New York? Yes, New York is by far my favorite city, and there is no close second. You can be anyone you want in this city.
Your perfect date in seven words or less: Coney Island picnic at sunrise
HamDel decides to name a sandwich after you and it’s called: Euro Slice – kind of like JJ’s buffalo chicken wrap but no mozzarella, so it’s a HamDel buffalo blue with no mozzarella, on a wrap.
Tried and true pickup line: “Hey I’m European”
Favorite off-campus location: The highline – I think it is exactly what a modern park should be.
Spirit animal: This is going to sound weird, but I really like vultures. My dad and I would go to bird shows, and there was this amazing vulture named Mucki at one and it was the only bird that did not follow orders. It would just fly away for weeks at a time and then it would just fly back. I was 6 years old, but it has always stuck with me. I’m also a cat person.
If you could have a super power, it would be: I love flight, but if I could have an additional sense where I could visualize music, that would be it.
If you could invite anyone to dinner, you would ask: Arnold Schwarzenegger – he seems friendly.
Dream wife: Somebody intelligent, funny, and cute rather than hot, but if this is my dream wife I guess both cute and hot. She should definitely be spontaneous and have passions and do things that are special to her. Passionate is what she should be.
What’s on your Columbia bucket list? I’ve actually been working down my bucket list pretty well with the tunnels and roofs. But, I have actually never pulled an all nighter in Butler, so I guess that.