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Ah, Ibiza! Long a home to many a European on holiday, this small Mediterranean island off the coast of Spain has in recent years become a sort of mecca for partying youth; a sort of EU version, if you will, of American undergrads going to South Padre Island each spring break. The main tourist town of Ibiza now sports over a dozen legendary "superclubs," including the largest danceclub in the entire world; the island is also the home of some of the planet's most legendary electronic musicians and studios, as well as the inspiration for a popular genre of trance music.

It was while listening to such music that Boston-based DJ Jinky first became aware of Ibiza; and after that became quickly entranced with one of the most notorious clubs there, Amnesia, recognized by most as the global birthplace of foam parties. After year after year of seeing his plans for traveling to Ibiza fall through, always because of the price of international plane tickets, Jinky did what any grid-savvy obsessed fan would do; he recreated the club in SL, and is now holding his own parties there while patiently saving his airline money in RL.

I recently had the chance to talk with the delightful Jinky (known in SL as Brad Campbell) at the recreated Amnesia; topics included what kinds of gear is used by the modern DJ, the origins of his Ibiza obsession, and what exactly he thinks the real club is going to do when they find out about all this. The transcript of our talk can be found below.

In The Grid: So why don't we just start with a little of your background, since I myself am not too clear on it yet either? You're a DJ in RL, is that correct?

Brad Campbell: Correct. I've been DJing for about three years, and I'm currently going to college [as well].

ITG: In the US?

BC: Yes. I'm right north of Boston, so I'm not far from some great nightlife.

ITG: And what kind of music are you into? What do you mostly spin?

BC: All types of dance. Techno, funky house, house, hardcore, trance, the whole bit.

ITG: And what kind of experiences are you getting to have right now out in RL?

BC: I usually get asked to DJ at house parties; but I was recently messaged and asked to compete in a competition at the Avalon, which is probably one of the best nightclubs in Boston.

ITG: Are you involved with your college radio station as well? Or any other kind of DJ opportunities on campus?

BC: I'm always DJing at parties around campus, but it's tough with the music choice. Techno isn't as popular as it should be around the States.

ITG: What kind of gear are you using? Are you mostly a vinyl person, or making the move to digital like a lot of the most current DJs?

BC: Definitely digital. I haven't been around long enough to [use] vinyl.

ITG: I have to admit, digital beat-mixing just confuses the hell out of me. I used to do some club beat-mix work in college myself, in the late '80s, and don't know any other way to do it than physically move that record around.

BC: [Laughing] I was born in the '80s. I've been around electronics [my whole life], and I familiarized myself with computers [early].

ITG: So how does a digital system like yours works? Is it basically two iPods or other devices, like the old two-record system? Or just one big hard drive, and everything goes on within one interface?

BC: Well, I have Pioneer mixers, along with an Apple laptop. The mixers are also able to play CDs as well.

ITG: So you have a physical mixer with knobs and slides, and then a large laptop holding all the actual music files? Is that how it works?

BC: Right, right.

ITG: Is there a certain piece of software that you like to use, for holding it all together? Are there apps out there being specifically designed for club DJs?

BC: Hmm, its hard to say. All DJs that I've met use different things. I use Virtual DJ sometimes for online DJing, along with Mixmeister. Pioneer has a great DJ program as well.

ITG: So let's talk Ibiza. How did this section of the world first come to your attention?

BC: Ibiza first caught my attention when I was listening to the Vengaboys CD, and the song "We're going to Ibiza" came on. I had no idea what Ibiza was, so I ended up looking online, and found out everything about it. I love the crazy lifestyle, and how it's a party day and night. Ibiza is the place to be [laughing].

ITG: So have you ended up visiting yourself?

BC: I haven't! I'm going this upcoming summer. Flight fares over there are beyond ridiculous. That's the only issue [left], getting a flight that's under 2,000 US dollars.

ITG: So how did this particular club, 'Amnesia,' first come to your attention?

BC: Well, as I looked through the internet, I came across photos of foam parties. All I wanted to do was be in the club and in the foam, and Amnesia was the place to go to for that. Amnesia is one of the most well-known clubs [in Ibiza] nowadays. They use a sound system made by themselves, if I'm correct.

ITG: And how long have you been a SL resident now?

BC: Well, I first visited SL back in the beta; but when I heard of the prices to sign up, I didn't stay with it. I came back about a year ago, when they began offering free trials, and have been here [since].

ITG: Was it way back from the very beginning that you started thinking about building a danceclub here, or only after getting regularly involved and seeing what other people had been doing themselves?

BC: When I realized that SL had nightclubs, I became obsessed with the idea of streaming music, to people all around the world. I thought it was amazing.

ITG: You hadn't thought of doing that before in RL, via streamcasting?

BC: Nope, I [had never been] introduced to it before. I came in SL and other DJs started showing me all these things, and I was amazed. Then quickly after that I found Shoutcast. I didn't realize how easy it was to buy your own stream.

ITG: And why a recreation of Amnesia? Why not a new club from scratch, since it's so easy to do here?

BC: Where should I begin? With my love for Ibiza, and my failed dream of actually getting to the RL island, I had to do something about it. I used the resources, and brought the club to me. Here I am, sitting in Amnesia; who would have thought? [Laughter]

ITG: And how did you go about gathering the material you needed to recreate the club in the first place? Are there lots of photos of it online?

BC: I captured so many photos around the net; I think I have over 150. I was trying to really capture the real feeling and such. I had a friend, Farrah Duport, who owns Paradise Island Resort, help me out. She needed help getting Paradise Island back on the map, and I plan to help her with that.

ITG: And how much detail were you able to reproduce? For example, were you able to find textures that closely matches the decor of the real club?

BC: I was able to get the bar texture, and I tried recreating the rest of the walls and floors. The [animated] dance floor, of course, doesn't look like that in real life. But in SL, people need to see something flashy beneath them, or they won't bother dancing.

ITG: Yeah, I was just about to ask, what the public reaction has been so far to your version of Amnesia. How long have you been open now?

BC: We just actually opened the club to public viewing. The grand opening is tentative at the moment; we're thinking of Friday at 9:30 pm, which would be Fiesta Del Agua.

ITG: Have you gotten much feedback yet? Especially from anyone who's been to the RL club?

BC: I've gotten a lot of feedback. People congratulating me on how great it looks and such, asking if this is the place from Ibiza. Before the club was open for public viewing, there was a giant box around it so no one could see what was going on inside. People were constantly pressed up against the box walls, peeking inside [laughter]. People were shouting, "What's in the box!" It was entertaining. I [received] the nickname 'Box Man.'

ITG: And how's your club going to work? Will you hire a series of DJs around the world, so that you're "live" 24 hours a day? Or will it mostly be you at first, with specific hours of operation?

BC: I was hoping you'd touch on that subject, and I wanted to talk about the current clubs in SL.

ITG: By all means.

BC: The nightclubs in SL.... I've never seen such a big money pit before. I don't call them nightclubs, I call them moneyclubs. People don't go there to dance, they don't go there to listen to music; they go there to grab free money. I'm not here to do that. I'm here to share the experience of a real nightclub with people in SL, and whether or not they choose to hop on the bus is up to them. But that's another reason why I built Amnesia. I was sick of the so called "night" clubs in SL, and I had to do something about it. I'm not in it for the money; I [just] love DJing, and I love to see people having a good time. Phew. [Laughter] That was all bottled up. Okay, back to the topic of events [laughter]. There is a set of events during the day; and then at some point at night, the club will close for a thirty-minute period, after [which] the daily Mega Event will go on. During those thirty minutes, the club will be decorated for the event. After the last event is over, the club is closed for the night, until the next events start on the following day.

ITG: I see. So will it be RL European DJs spinning during the "day," which is in actuality perfect clubbing times there?

BC: Hoping so. I'm currently hiring DJs, so if anyone's interested, phone me. One interesting thing we are doing is mini-parades. The group of dancers here called the Amnesia Go-Go's, and other employees, will do a route around the island, holding posters and such, promoting that night's Mega Event.

ITG: Almost like a little Carnival, maybe?

BC: Yup! So everyone is aware of what's going on that night

ITG: Is there a dress code here? A certain type of etiquette or attitude you like to encourage?

BC: Well, if you've ever been to Ibiza, everything goes! There's no holding back anyone.

ITG: And finally, because I know this must be going through the minds of a lot of ITG's readers right now.... What happens when the real Amnesia finds out about this? Have you contacted them?

BC: I've contacted them several times [now]. Let's just keep it on the down-low [laughter].

ITG: Ah, but the cat's out of the bag now! Are you expecting a certain kind of reaction from them? Do they seem like people who would get a kick out of this, instead of angry?

BC: I think they would love it; I mean, [this is] pretty much the biggest compliment any [club] could receive. And If they have a problem with it, I'll have no issues negotiating.

ITG: Maybe you could talk them into hiring you to be their SL general manager, in return for one of those $2,000 plane tickets each year.

BC: [Sighing] I can see it in my head now. Thanks a lot [laughter].

Amnesia is "maybe" having their grand opening tomorrow evening, Friday, September 29th; in any case, the club is now open to the public [Farrah Island 111/160/25] whenever you feel like coming by.