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The Perry Twins had a pretty experienced tour guide to the world of Clubbing: Kristine W. It wasn't long ago that these Billboard charting producers were just average college DJs with a love for dance music. Back in their undergrad days, Derek and Doug Perry hit up a Boston club to see a live show by Kristine, one of their earliest inspirations and a regular artist on their university radio program. But the underage brothers were told to scram from the velvet rope. At that point, they hatched a plan: not just to get into the club, but to do it with serious VIP treatment. "We went around to all the different hotels," recalls Derek. "We thought we'd take a shot in the dark and try to find her! We actually ended up calling her room and leaving a message explaining who we were… we said we'd be in the lobby, and if there was any way we could get on the guest list or something to see her perform…" An hour later, the hotel concierge handed Derek and Doug a telep "It was Kristine on the phone," says Derek. "She was so nice, and she said it was no problem… that we could come in with her and her entourage." From that point on, The Perry Twins began to foster a friendship – and as their music career grew, a professional relationship – with one of the biggest divas in the biz. Thus began a trend that took these identical brothers on a common trip from the womb (eww!) to the recording studio (yeah!), with a few more coincidental collaborations along the way. Take their recent New Year's '08 weekend performance. The stage (literally) is poignantly set in Boston once again. The Perry Twins are spinning an energetic set for a packed crowd at The Estate nightclub, but the boys themselves are simply charming, down-to-earth guys. They goof like brothers, are fun and conversational, and just want to have a good time as they mix a trademark combination of hot circuit beats, vocal house, and melodic dance-pop that should restore faith in anyone who thinks dance music is in a downturn. But The Perry Twins are also trained dancers and choreographers, so they decide to bust a move in support of the night's leading lady, Gioia Bruno. "We used to love Exposé in the ‘80s," says Derek of Bruno's chart-topping girl group. Once again, the brothers are united with another one of their former idols. "We'd go see her perform… and now, to be working with her…" Call it fate, call it fortune, or call it a focused vision, but Bruno is one of several artists (includi "We just do what we like, and what we think other people will enjoy," says Doug. "Not everyone's going to like it, but [what matters] is that we're happy with what we're doing." That kind of focus has certainly served The Perry Twins well so far. Growing up in a small, rural Rhode Island town, Derek and Doug had 20/20 foresight from a very young age. They always saw themselves going in to music; their parents front a local rock band, and music was a major part of the family life. They always saw dance music as their genre of choice, taking choreography lessons at an early age and – especially throughout their teenage years – directing their gaze towards the radio friendly dance-pop that characterized the ‘90s. And speaking of the sights… ahem, they're not too difficult to look at themselves, either. But if you'd asked them to envision working alongside the biggest names in the industry, and to imagine one day standing on the other side of the DJ booth or performance stage… Well, if their early preparation is any indication, they might have seen that coming, too.
The self-taught DJs also had work as dancers and dance instructors at various East Coast gigs. But when they realized that club music was truly their calling, they packed up and headed over to the other coast. "We felt like we had kind of exhausted the possibilities [near home]," says Doug. "It was really cool, but we really wanted to take this thing to the next level… it was either New York or Los Angeles." So in 2003, The Perry Twins became LA transplants. They started working the club scene, forming more industry friendships, networking professionally, and doing their best to learn from the greats of dance music. "We had a lot of goals we each wanted to achieve when we first moved out here," says Derek. "Along the way we learned a lot from our friends, other artists and producers. We saw what they were doing, knew that we had a passion for it, and knew that we could do it, too." And though the brothers still do their own separate gigs on occasion, the also knew that they wanted to work together towards those common goals. "I don't think it was the original plan, to work together," says Doug. He says that they have their natural dose of sibling rivalry, debating mixes, track selections, song approaches, and even album covers (though they won't spill the beans on which brother voted in favor of skin). But overall, collaborating has definitely been the right approach. "We saw that we worked really well together," Doug says. "We thought we would get further, it would be more fun, and just a better situation."
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hone… and their key to Clubland.
"We ended up having our own radio show [Dance Planet, which broadcast for 5 years in Rhode Island and Massachusetts]," says Derek of their early start. "We played a lot of music that we heard at the clubs, and then started mixing it and getting into that."