DJ Juan Vesuvius
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Writer, actor and DJ Barnie Duncan created the character Juan Vesuvius in 2013 while attempting to fuse three projects that he'd been working on separately: experimental comedy, DJing and radio documentaries about unique genres of music.
The first element to develop was the character's name, Juan Vesuvius, taken from a 'come as your own porn star' party that Duncan attended at 17 years old. Not entirely sure of why he'd come up with the name at that age - it probably had something to do with explosions - his hunch was that he wanted Juan to be from a Latin American country, as Duncan had lived in Paraguay as a young man and wanted to use the Spanish language in the show as well. For his first Juan Vesuvius production, Duncan chose Calypso as the musical style he wanted to explore. All Calypso music seems to be about three things - sex, politics and making fun of people - in other words, the perfect themes for a comedy show. Duncan then realized that Juan Vesuvius had to be originally from Venezuela, as it is the only South American country where Calypso has a strong foothold. Plus, Juan plays the maracas, and maracas rhymes with Caracas. Juan Vesuvius' first show, Calypso Nights, introduced people to Calypso and Soca music, and also the character of Juan, who manages to DJ vinyl records whilst maintaining a surreal physical comedy show. Next came Juan, Two?, which delved into a Caribbean sub-genre called Chutney and was all about the beauty of mixing one thing with another. The show combined subtle undertones of 'don't be xenophobic' and a brief history of colonialism in the Caribbean. And finally, the third installment in the Vesuvius chronicles - Juan Vesuvius: I Am Your Deejay - is a look at the history of Disco and House music, starting in post-Stonewall New York 1969, travelling through a transitioning Chicago and ending with the Second Summer of Love in London in 1989. |
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