Behind the Booth: Tedd Patterson and David Harness Return to Pines Party
Tedd Patterson & David Harness
For more than three decades, Tedd Patterson and David Harness have shared dance floors, DJ booths, and a friendship that has grown alongside both of their careers. Individually, each has built a singular voice in dance music. Together, they have become one of those rare DJ pairings whose chemistry feels completely effortless, shaped by years of playing together and an even longer friendship away from the decks.
That friendship does not stop when the music starts, and it certainly does not end when the party is over. They talk on the phone constantly. Sometimes they are exchanging new music or talking through the realities of life as touring DJs. Other times, they are simply figuring out what they are going to eat after the set. Spend a few minutes watching them behind the booth and it all starts to make sense. They are just as likely to be laughing together between mixes as they are cueing up the next record, and that same connection extends to the dance floor. Years of playing together have given them an instinct for reading a room, pushing one another creatively, and bringing the crowd along wherever the music goes.
Now preparing to return for their third consecutive appearance at Pines Party’s closing celebration, Tedd and David caught up with Sainte Francis ahead of this year’s event to reflect on decades of friendship and why returning to Fire Island remains one of the highlights of their year.
Sainte Francis:
Tedd, David, it is so great to catch up with you both again! This will be your third year playing Pines Party together. What are you looking forward to most about coming back?
David Harness:
It’s an honor to be part of the party’s history, especially coming all the way from the West Coast and knowing New York has a plethora of amazing DJs who can do damage.
But not like us. (laughs) I will take any opportunity to play with this crazy queen right here.
Tedd Patterson:
Its true. Everything David said, I echo. Every time they ask me back, I’m surprised. Really? They want us back?
Pines Party was not historically part of my journey, so every invitation still feels special, Important. David and I also love that we can bring something different. We are from a certain generation, we’re Afro-Americans, and we each bring our own tribal experiences. Bringing us together creates something that is entertaining even for us because we feed off one another.
Sainte Francis:
I am so curious. How did you two first meet?
David Harness:
I don’t remember anymore. Ive known Tedd for fifty thousand years. (laughs)
Tedd Patterson:
There are two stories. Our mutual friend, Joseph Solis, had a party called Lift at DV8 in San Francisco, and I was invited to play there around 1994. Years later, David and I were talking about it, and he said, “Well, I was the DJ there.” So, we may have first met at DV8. Thanks Joseph!
Then our friendship continued through Winter Music Conferences because our circles were connected. We kept seeing each other, got closer, and eventually we were talking every day.
Sainte Francis:
One of my closest friendships is like that too. We do not remember the first time we met, but we both remember the moment we came into each other’s consciousness. Like, “This is my friend. This is my brother.”
When did that happen for the two of you?
Tedd Patterson:
I don’t know that either. I swear to you. It just happened over time.
Sainte Francis:
How often are you in contact now?
Tedd Patterson:
Sometimes it’s several times a day. Sometimes it’s every day for a week. Sometimes we won’t talk for a whole week or so because we are both busy, and then suddenly we are talking twice in one afternoon. It depends.
David Harness:
Sometimes I call because I just want to hear his voice. Other times it’s, “I need to talk to you. I am about to kill somebody over here.”
Or, “What are you eating?”
Tedd Patterson:
Or, “What are you cooking?”
David Harness:
Exactly. We talk about everything.
Sainte Francis:
Both of you have had a lot going on this year. David, what have been some of the highlights?
David Harness:
I have another project coming out on Quantize with DJ Spen, and we are working on a gospel remix together.
One project that is especially meaningful honors a music director from GLIDE Memorial Church here in San Francisco who passed away this year. I resurrected one of his tracks, and it should be coming out soon on Moulton Music.
We also just finished Mighty Real. Every year, I put together a mixed compilation to accompany the party, and then we do an afterparty with Juanita MORE! I am also recording a show for Black House Radio and heading back to Los Angeles to play with Doc Martin and Marques Wyatt.
The wheel is going.
Sainte Francis:
I also must ask about you playing with RuPaul. A few of my friends were there, and they could not stop talking about it.
David Harness:
It was crazy. I was just happy to be in RuPaul’s presence and see what outfit and shoes she was wearing. The outfit slayed. The shoes slayed. It was Ru doing what Ru does.
I was nervous because I knew the audience would be younger and more commercial than some of the rooms I usually play. I did not know whether my music would connect. But man, I had those little kids eating out of the palm of my hand. I loved every friggin’ moment of it.
Sainte Francis:
Congratulations on Black House Radio too. How do you prepare for a set like that?
David Harness:
I will probably prepare hundreds of songs.
Whenever Tedd and I talk, it’s, “What are you going to play?”
And the answer is always, “I don’t know.”
Then the next time we talk, we have enough music for four sets. I always overprepare, get behind the decks, shake the dice, and let it be what it is going to be.
Sainte Francis:
Tedd, you have had a big year too. I am going to be popping up behind you and scaring you again at Honey Dijon this weekend.
Tedd Patterson:
That’s right. That is a thing you are doing. (laughs)
Sainte Francis:
David, for context, I flagged Tedd down while he was playing at House of Yes during Pride Weekend, and I was not convinced he could see me.
Tedd Patterson:
It surprised me because I looked up and thought, “That cannot be Sainte Francis here right now.” I went in for a hug and a kiss, but I was also trying to make sense of it. What are you doing here?
I only had my reading glasses on because I was waiting for my new pair. I could see motion, but I couldnt really see who was standing there. I was so glad it was you.
Sainte Francis:
(laughs) Tell me about playing with Honey and some of the other highlights of your year.
Tedd Patterson:
I am going to be playing with my baby sister, who I have known for many, many years. I taught Honey Dijon how to beat match records in my apartment. I’ve known her that long.
Its been a great year. I traveled to the south of Italy a few weeks ago, played Pride at House of Yes, went to San Francisco to play with David, and played a Pride celebration at Flash in Washington, D.C. I am also a resident at Battle Hymn, so Im always playing with Eli Escobar, The Carry Nation… and all those children. :)
On the music side, “Restless,” the record I did with Ultra Naté, was released as a single. I also have a remix of the Illustrious Blacks’ “Wake Up” thats just been released. My beat is snazzy and hot and funky and sizzly, and kind of sissy-fied. ;)
David Harness:
Fierce.
Tedd Patterson:
Right, David? It is.
I also did a remix for David Morales featuring the Illustrious Blacks. I am still working on my album but touring and rebuilding my studio have kept me out of it more than I would like. After Pines Party, I’m going back to Italy and then heading to Los Angeles to play with Jack Faulkner at Axis.
Sainte Francis:
Tedd, I saw that you had some travel woes getting to San Francisco for Mighty Real.
Tedd Patterson:
You mean the nightmare that would not end?
I played House of Yes until four that morning, and around three, Delta canceled the flight I was supposed to take to San Francisco. My suitcase was already behind me in the booth because I planned to go directly to the airport.
I managed to get another flight through St. Paul, but there was a storm, we could’nt land, and we had to divert to another city for hours. When I finally got back to St. Paul, they told me I might not leave until the next day. I found two seats on another flight, called Delta, and the agent got me on.
I landed in San Francisco, finished preparing my USB in the car, and made it to the party with thirty minutes left. I had so much adrenaline. I got behind those decks and let those bitches have it for thirty minutes!
David Harness:
The whole time, I was thinking, “I have not heard from him.” Half the congregation kept asking, “Where is your twin?” Once I knew he was on the way, I told everyone. He arrived with thirty minutes left, and the rooftop was still packed.
Sainte Francis:
You have clearly learned how to have each other’s backs. What is your dynamic like behind the decks?
David Harness:
It is like trading playing cards as a kid. We go through our music saying, “Do you have this? Are you going to play that? Ooh, I am going to play this.”
Then we figure out how one song can lead into another. In the meantime, we are talking about what we are going to eat later, the trade that’s on the dance floor. (laughs)
People watching us probably wonder what we are talking about. If only they knew. It’s shenanigans the whole time. Even at Pines Party, we are carrying on and having a kiki behind the decks.
Tedd Patterson:
There is another side to it too. I really like how David plays, and I like that my dynamic is so different from his. When we play together, I am reminded that it really works.
David Harness:
We each have our own approach to music. When you have a friend with a similar foundation who brings a different perspective, it elevates what both of you do. Sometimes Tedd will put two songs together, and I will think, “I would not have thought of doing that, but that shit works.”
Sainte Francis:
How would you describe one another’s styles?
David Harness:
I was going to say chicken, chicken and more chicken. (laughs)
I’m kidding. What I love about Tedd is that he always brings a level of tribalness. We can teeter on the edge together. Sometimes I am not sure whether I want to go somewhere, but then I hear how he brings the groove in, and it makes me think about what I have that can meet him there.
His presence makes me comfortable. And I love the bitch. That is my sister.
Tedd Patterson:
I love David’s musicality and musical education. He has a way of referencing the past in an updated way that makes me appreciate his artistry.
He is also willing to go wherever you go. We have played big rooms for white queens, small rooms for Black queens, festival crowds, voguing queens and kiki queens. We know how to handle whatever comes our way from one another.
David is underground. He’s a smart programmer, its intuitive. He doesnt try to be commercial, and his sound is still very appealing.
David Harness:
I never realized I was underground, but I will take it.
Tedd Patterson:
You are underground, damn. I say that in the best way.
After years of playing, you learn what is digestible for the people in front of you. You test the crowd and figure out where they want to go. Now we know how to turn on a dime.
David Harness:
And there is always a groove. You can take something commercial, pitch it down, put an Afro groove underneath it and make the kids say, “What the fuck?”
That is what we do.
Sainte Francis:
How are you approaching Pines Party this year?
David Harness:
The first time I played Fire Island, my feelings were hurt. I have played for all kinds of audiences and know how to get a dance floor moving, but I could not figure that room out.
When Tedd and I played together for the first time, I still had that experience in the back of my mind. But I was more comfortable knowing I was with my bestie and that we were going to play records that were fun for the dance floor.
The energy these past two years has been completely different. Now it is what I feen for when I build my folders.
Tedd Patterson:
The context is that David played an early set the first time, so people were not really moving yet. He was mentally doing himself in, but he played a great set.
Especially last year, Pines Party pulled something out of us. You cannot help but rise to meet the occasion.
Another thing we share is that its not about us up there. I dont go to put on a show. I go to play music. I want to connect with the people in front of me. I want us to have the party together.
David will set me up to play something, and I will set him up to play something. It happens naturally.
Sainte Francis:
What have you learned about each other that could only come from decades of friendship?
Tedd Patterson:
I was going to say shes a cold-hearted snake. (laughs)
The biggest thing I’ve learned is that David is willing to be a friend. Ive learned that hes trustworthy. I trust him. Thats something you learn over time, whether you can trust somebody or not. He my dawg.
David Harness:
Vice versa. I can bring questionable situations to Tedd and ask, “Has this happened to you?” or “Have you dealt with a promoter doing something like this?”
This business can be fickle and really fuck with your anxiety. There have been moments when Tedd has talked me off the ledge, and Ive talked him off the ledge. Those are the things the rest of the world doesnt always see.
Tedd Patterson:
We are also in a special club. We are both gay people of color, and I don’t know of many of us still actively playing and making music for our community, or allowed visibility.
We have similar experiences. People treat us a certain way, and sometimes we have to lean on each other to make sense of it or talk each other into letting something go. Im glad I have this relationship because I don’t have it anywhere else.
It’s a big pond but a small community. You want to matter in it and make a difference. Sometimes people have already made a decision about you before you get the opportunity…
But they don’t know. We can wipe the floors with these bitches.
Sainte Francis:
Well, they are going to learn!
I have so much reverence and respect for both of you. I want to end with a few rapid-fire questions. What is one record that works anywhere?
David Harness:
“Brighter Days” by Dajae. Every time. As soon as people hear that beat, they go crazy.
Tedd Patterson:
Right now, I would say “War Cry” by DJ Spen & Inaya Day.
David Harness:
Gospel house is having a resurgence, even though its always been around to us. “War Cry” is a praise moment and seeing all kinds of people get their lives to it is incredible.
Sainte Francis:
Who is one DJ or producer people should be paying more attention to?
Tedd Patterson:
Jack Faulkner. I heard him at Fairyland, and he surprised me. I didnt know all his records, but they were great.
I love when somebody knows how to choose music and keep you interested instead of playing all the hits people like us (who’ve been playing for years) made. It’s too easy to play the hits. Dig something up and create a hit!
Sainte Francis:
When I interviewed Jack last year, I am pretty sure he named you as one of his favorite producers.
Tedd Patterson:
Youre kidding me. Thats very sweet. He better take me to that Chinese restaurant my friend keeps telling me about in Los Angeles when I play at Axis next week!
David Harness:
For me, its Coflo. He’s fun to watch and is really blowing up the house community with his style and groove. He is also a good dude who vibes with everybody.
Sainte Francis:
Last question: Fuck, marry, kill, three genres of music.
Tedd Patterson:
I am killing hard rock. But I am marrying house because house is a derivative of disco.
There was no deep disco, tribal disco, soulful disco or tech disco. It was disco. All of it was one thing. Disco and house are one thing to me.
David Harness:
I am also marrying house and disco. I am still a new waver, so I would let new wave put the tip in.
I love all kinds of music, but there is something about country and western lately that makes me not be a fan. I think it is the climate.
Sainte Francis:
Any final thoughts?
Tedd Patterson:
We are grateful and looking forward to Pines Party. We take it seriously, even though weve spent this interview carrying on. It really is an honor. We love that the crowd has a musicality that surprises us every time we go deep or left of center and they come with us.
David Harness:
We always try to find something relatable that they may not expect, something that makes them say, “I did not know there was a version like this.” I appreciate you bringing us together again. This was so much fun.
Sainte Francis:
The pleasure is all mine. I endlessly appreciate you both, and I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.
Tedd Patterson:
Lots of love, buddy. We will talk to you soon.
Catch David Harness and Tedd Patterson at Solaris: The Closing Party on Sunday, August 2 from 3pm - 8pm.
