A Life With the Wave: Mike Huckaby Tribute Pt.2
Mike Servito, Kai Alcé, Laura Indorf & Unreleased Huck from 1999
This is the second installment of a multi-part tribute to Mike Huckaby. Friends, mentors and mentees were asked the same five questions in order to create a collage of Huck’s life, influence and legacy. Read part one here.
Mike Huckaby was many things to many people: taste-maker, educator, mentor, DJ, producer, friend. In his role as buyer at Record Time throughout the 90s and early 2000s, Mike determined what records made it into Detroit, shaping the trajectory of dance music during the city’s most crucial years. A staple behind the decks throughout the Midwest (and later Europe and Japan), Mike was one of Detroit’s foremost ambassadors to the outside world. His productions span 25 years and most genres in the Detroit canon. In the 2000’s Mike mentored a new generation of electronic music producers via the city’s YouthVille program.
These are the broadest strokes. They paint a crude picture of a profound, multifaceted life. No life can be reduced to words alone, but each of the below interviews projects an image of the man and his legacy. Considered together, they build a three-dimensional vision of the life of Mike Huckaby.
Mike Servito is a Detroit-born DJ living in NYC. Mike began DJing Detroit raves in 1995 and continues to play clubs, undergrounds and festivals around the world.
When and where was your first encounter with Huck?
Mike: My first encounter with Mike Huckaby was at the original Record Time location, the smaller one on Gratiot on the Eastside of Detroit. Huck was in there, Rick Wade, and Brian Gillespie. The Dance Room was the spot. Our main interaction was in there. But, it was always a "cross section" (pun intended) of places because he was literally everywhere, playing every weekend. He was that DJ. He was at Industry in downtown Pontiac. He was at St. Andrews Hall upstairs playing with Bileebob every Friday night at 3 Floors of Fun. So I was always running into Huck. Mostly listening to him play and subconsciously training my ears for the future, I suppose.
In the years since, and considering all aspects of the man and his various roles in your life, who is Mike Huckaby for you?
Mike: Mike Huckaby was a mentor, a teacher, and a dear friend that was always looking out for us in Detroit. He really wanted to spread the good word on proper dance music. He had no ego about it. He genuinely wanted us to engage and be the best. I think he was a bit of a saving grace for a whole lot of us. He gave us a sense of knowing how important music can be in your life. I hope he realized what impact he left on us all.
He was inspiring and he was generous. On the decks he had a way with records that just seemed so magical. The way he mixed and transitioned in and out of tracks was complete sorcery. In the shop he would just hand me records and honestly I bought all of 'em. He just knew how to guide us in the right direction. So, naturally we were getting fire suggestions from him, weekly for years. The taste level was beyond. His ears were impeccable! Huck was determined to get you records. Before Discogs existed, he was doing special orders, oftentimes trying to track down an import from Europe. He didn't have to be that guy but he was. If it was of importance to you it was important for him to seek it out and get it for you, or at least try. He never gave up. That level of care he had – that was Mike Huckaby!
What is a particularly treasured or important memory you have of Huck?
Mike: Honestly, just the way we greeted each other every damn time! I miss that the most. "What's the word, Mooooiiiike!”. I can still hear his voice.
What is a record you will always associate with Huck?
Mike: Ramirez - “La Musica Tremenda (La Tormenta Mix)” He was the first person I ever heard play that track. Probably 1993 at St Andrews Hall. Decades later, I scored a yellow copy of it and posted it to Instagram, randomly. Immediately, Huck messaged me and was like..."I never seen a yellow copy, Mooooiiiiike!".
What is a record that you will always be thankful Mike hipped you to?
Mike: Pretty much every hot Dub Mix! There are way too many to name! But, Huck did help me ID a track that felt impossible at the time to track down. I was obsessed with this one track and it took years to figure it out. So I ran it past Huck after forgetting about it for years. He knew instantly. The track is “Gwiz Theory”. It's this Blackwiz record by Kidz of Tomorrow. An absolute House gem. He knew what it was immediately! I will say, he hipped us to the best House and the best Techno. That's why we loved it all. The way he presented this music to us each and every week; we were truly blessed by a musical genius. He is greatly missed.
Kai Alcé is a longtime DJ, producer and owner of the NDATL imprint. Kai is the force behind Deep Detroit, the yearly party that carries the torch of 90’s Detroit House culture into the future.
When and where was your first encounter with Huck?
Kai: One of my first memories was seeing him open for Bad Boy Bill at The Latin Quarters in Detroit. I remember asking about a record which then led to me always going to see him at Record Time.
In the years since, and considering all aspects of the man and his various roles in your life, who is Mike Huckaby for you?
Kai: Mike was teacher, supporter and a peer that I would bounce ideas off of. He constantly pushed me as well as rewarded me with recognition when I did something that he had not done himself.
What is a particularly treasured or important memory you have of Huck?
Kai: A few memories surrounding my NDATL Special Edition 12". First he was pleasantly surprised that I could command $30 for a 12" which prompted him being part of Deep Detroit #6 and part of the Music Institute Series. He also was the one that pushed me to do Deep Detroit 2x12 which he said retail for $60! But we went with a $50 price tag.
What is a record you will always associate with Huck?
Kai: Of his music: "The Jazz Republic" or "Radiance". Then I always associate my tune "Sak Pase" as he would periodically call for a fresh copy as he would burn his copy out!
What is a record that you will always be thankful Mike hipped you to?
Kai: This promo white label of Derrick May's "Wiggin" with an unreleased alternate version, which was maybe my first knowledge of there being different mixes on promos.
Laura Indorf (née Hardgrove) is an Atlanta-based DJ, producer and promoter. Living in Toledo, Ohio in the 90’s kept her in close proximity to Detroit’s burgeoning underground.
When and where was your first encounter with Huck?
Laura: I met Mike at Record Time in Detroit, 1996. Mike readily struck up conversations with customers while working. Under a grumpy, non-approachable façade, he was pretty inquisitive and often looked up from the turntables in the Dance Room to survey who was in there. I was new to DJing and pretty intimidated (sometimes the only woman) looking for tracks, so I stuck out. He mixed vinyl to engage the shoppers and show off what he had recently completed production-wise. Harmonie Park was already a stalwart Detroit house label and I had seen Mike many times playing at The Shelter and the basement of St. Andrew’s Hall.
He had heard that I played the piano and asked if I had any formal training. I told him I started taking lessons from my next-door neighbor at age six and trained classically. He responded, “I don’t hear that you’re playing with the symphony anytime soon, so you might want to do something else with that.” Pretty much at that moment I was charmed by his sarcasm and dry wit. I explained that I just started producing in Derrick Thompson’s studio with my boyfriend and production partner at the time, Todd Perrine (who I was usually in the store with, along with other DJ ’s from Toledo, Ohio), but no DJ gigs yet. He said, “Practice. Watch others. You already know how music works, but nothing prepares you like practice.”
Record shopping meant networking and exploring for DJ’s, so the years that followed included many trips to Record Time and many conversations with Mike. Mike came to Toledo a handful of times and played with us. There were afternoons spent at his apartment trying out a new synth (he was teaching himself how to play) and having lunch together. He was an insane foodie. He would ask about restaurants in Toledo and even what I had for lunch on the way to Record Time. Music, food and conversation with one of the wisest and funniest cats around.
I was included in Detroit collectives, Women on Wax and Bang Tech 12, and had released on Soiree Records under the moniker PH Concept. I was finally DJing in Detroit and Mike hooked me up. He picked tracks in Record Time that he knew I would enjoy and bring them to me while I was shopping. He’d say, “Trust me with this.” I wouldn’t even have to listen to it. He knew.
In the years since, and considering all aspects of the man and his various roles in your life, who is Mike Huckaby for you?
Laura: Mike Huckaby was not only a mentor and friend, but what I consider “chosen family”. I am a professional School Counselor at a high school and talk about the concept of “chosen family” with my students. Sometimes blood family members are not there for various reasons - death, addiction, incarceration, mental illness – so it’s okay to choose others who support you in life. He always sought to be realistic and driving in his guidance. He knew what was important in life and was constantly giving advice, focusing on what was within control. Really no use worrying about anything outside of that. We shared the importance of nurturing the next generation and giving time to them. I’m in awe of all the people he impacted this way. And he continues to do so.
What is a particularly treasured or important memory you have of Huck?
Laura: I had taken 10 years off from everything music related in order to focus on family and career. Mike played in ATL in 2017, and we had a great visit and it inspired me. When I jumped back into DJing in 2018, he was there and just as inspirational and real. He was very interested in my career and family life, and referred to me as “Super Mom”. He would say things like, “You seem really happy” and “You can do more than you know”, making it not so scary to put myself out there again as an artist. I was working with Todd Johnson from Detroit putting together a Charivari event in ATL and had reached out to Mike to play. Covid hit. Mike and I were in the midst of talking and organizing via texts when he was hospitalized. He had, in weeks prior and in true Huck fashion, helped me grapple with the normal BS involved in putting a party together. “Laura, you got to have a thick skin for this.” He continues to be right about that. Every day I consider what he would do in any given situation. I’ve learned to be tougher, not personalize the shit that undoubtedly happens and see things through the lens of what ultimately brings me peace and what is truly important in life.
What is a record you will always associate with Huck?
Laura: When I started DJing again in 2018, Mike sent me 7 records that he had released more recently, including his double pack of white vinyl, Too Many Classics (To Be Left with Little or No Protection). It includes the track “Flashback ‘78”. I bought the original pressing from him at Record Time in 1996. I also love the track “The Jazz Republic” which I had the honor of playing at Charivari Detroit 2022 this past August while sporting a shirt with his face on it. I think he would have liked that shirt.
What is a record that you will always be thankful Mike hipped you to?
Laura: All the vinyl purchased from Mike at Record Time is sacred, as well his tracks sent to me when I started up again. That time with Mike is even more sacred, and I’m truly humbled and grateful for the wisdom he passed on to so many.
Sincere thanks to Mike, Kai and Laura for the time and consideration they put into sharing their thoughts and memories of Huck.
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As an audio supplement to this set of interviews, Bileebob (whose words will be featured in the next installment) has generously provided an extremely deep cut from Huck. Originally released on a CD compilation accompanying Bileebob’s F:amiliar zine in 1999, it’s a simple prototype of the sound that would become the blueprint for Huck’s S Y N T H imprint. After the 1997 release of “The Jazz Republic” EP, his productions went in a new direction with the purchase of the Waldorf Wave synthesizer – a piece of kit that would come to define the rest of his original work. In an interview with Resident Advisor, Huck speaks of his mindset at the time:
“I can only continue to put out records if I'm continually learning. Otherwise it's over. In this business you're only as good as the last records, the skills you learn. You'll get eaten up in this business. You've got to keep reinventing yourself […] Looking at where you're at, what you've done, how long can you continue doing that? The more I learn, the sampling just dropped off, I stopped sampling so much”
Learning at this point meant piano lessons and wrapping his head around the extremely complex Wave:
“I actually sat there for a couple of years without even actually using it, and not really getting much out of it and, one day, in a bind for cash, I had thoughts of selling it... I was like, "Whatever happens, I'm not selling it." Then one day I woke up and said, ‘You have a $9000 synth that's not making you any money. You bought a $9000 synth; you need to learn to play a $9000 synth.’“
The below track, “Mono Patterns”, (under his Roland King alias) sounds like a first attempt at the pivot from sample-based house to synth-driven techno. The S Y N T H era would begin in earnest in 2005 with remixes of DeepChord’s “Electromagnetic Dowsing”. Seminal remixes for Pole and original productions like “Sandcastle (The Culture Box Re Edit)” would later solidify the dubby, bumpy and atmospheric sound of S Y N T H.
Roland King - “Mono Patterns”
Speaking of deep S Y N T H cuts: one of the entries in the label’s catalog is a Japan-only CDr mix with Huck blending dub techno new and old. Classics like Motorbass’ “Visine” and new school takes (Ben Klock’s “Subzero”) sit side-by-side. Unfortunately Mixcloud doesn’t play nice with Substack, but smash the link below to be one of the less than 200 people outside of Japan that have rinsed this CD.
Mike Huckaby - From The Mind Of S Y N T H