ANTHONY DOBSON has been spinning records since he was about 15. The veteran connoisseur of music, better known as DJ Tone, says it’s a simple love of music and making people happy that keeps the tunes coming.
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“I have always loved music but never learnt to master an instrument,” Dobson said.
“I fell into deejaying. Friends would have parties and ask if I could bring some music.
“It grew from there and became an occupation.”
Since then Dobson has enjoyed long residencies at many clubs and pubs across Newcastle, his current tenure at The Exchange Hotel, Hamilton, is in its 11th year.
Dobson bought his first set of “decent” turntables, Technics 1200, when he was about 18.
“I bought a pair of them out of the Trading Post off a guy in Western Sydney. His name was Nissan Nissan,” Dobson says laughing.
“That’s when I started to learn to do it properly...it went from being a backyard party thing to a paid club thing.”
His first job was at the now defunct Watt Street nightclub Leroy’s in the early 90s.
He said his many residencies, which include stints at various incarnations of the pub now known as the CBD Hotel, the legendary Fannies, and The Castle – now The King Street Hotel, have allowed him to get to know and understand the patrons.
“It’s not about pushing some bold frontier of music or any of the beard-stroking, I like to make people happy,” he said.
Every Saturday night you will find Dobson behind the decks at the Exchange Hotel.
“Ironically, it’s a lot of people I was playing to in the 90s who have had kids and come back,” he said.
“It’s a place for them. It’s not a place for young kids, it’s pitching to a whole different demographic, which is thoroughly interesting.”
He plays a vast array of music from the 1950s onward.
“That’s the best thing about it, it has so much scope, it’s not about playing what’s new that week and it’s not about sticking to the top 40. It’s about picking the eyes out of five or six decades of music and just having fun with it.
“They are consistently a really open minded crowd, you can jump from one place to the next, Kate Bush or Elvis.
“It’s one of those places that attracts really good staff, so it always feels like family, like home, and it’s been that for 11 years.”
And while Dobson grew up listening to bands like Sonic Youth, his years in the industry have given him pretty broad tastes. He has a collection of 8500 seven inch records.
“I don’t turn my nose up at music, if people enjoy it and you can make a room full of people happy with it, you can appreciate it on its own merits,” Dobson said.
On the last Sunday of the month Dobson, with DJ Dan Phelan, hosts Sunday Soul Sessions at the Maryville Tavern, from 3pm. Entry is free.
On Thursday nights at the Exchange Hotel Dobson also hosts a music and movie trivia night, and on Wednesday nights he’s at the Commonwealth Hotel, where the theme is pop-culture.
Both start at 7.30pm. Free entry.