DJ Dan Wilcox Working “9 to 5” with Ed Helms and A.C. Newman

From KCRW DJ Dan Wilcox:

When I woke yesterday morning, I would have no idea that my day would contain a running theme provided by the hit song “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton.

It all started when I recorded a new Guest DJ Project session yesterday afternoon with actor Ed Helms, best known from his role in “The Office” as well as the blockbuster comedy ‘The Hangover.” Ed selected a variety of tracks that reflected various moments throughout his life. He recounted how as a young teenager he was awakened to the idea of female sexual attraction through his obsession with Dolly Parton (hard to argue with). As a tribute, one of his Guest DJ Project song picks was her undeniable hit song, “9 to 5.” **

Cut to late night… I was deejaying at fellow DJ Chris Douridas’ Monday residency ‘School Night’ at Bardot in Hollywood. The night was billed as the official after-party for The New Pornographer’s concert at The Music Box @ The Fonda — bandmember A.C. Newman was scheduled to cap off the night with a DJ set. He showed up at 1AM to step in after me, however I soon realized he had never deejayed before. Ever.

Things were further complicated not only by his set-up (running from one iPod to another) but also by the fact he had not planned anything to play. So, as I was showing him the basics of mixing, he was furiously flipping through each iPod, trying to find a song to keep the dancefloor going. A.C. was cool and incredibly patient and did an amazing job at his first time behind the decks, er… iPods… keeping the room bumping with selections from The Cars, The Psychedelic Furs, The Easybeats &and The Doobie Brothers (!)… although it wasn’t without the occasional hiccup (he accidently played one of his own songs and his friends relentlessly busted his chops about it…).

He soon ran out of appropriate songs for the occasion and needed one last closer before the night was over… after a tense moment of dialing through his playlists, he stumbled upon the perfect capper: Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”. The people flipped out and, if only for a moment, all was well with the world.

And as great as it was to hear this track at the end of the day, it was a cruel reminder that we all would have only a few short hours rest before we had to start our own “9 to 5″‘s in the morning. Lucky for me, I work freelance from home… so it would be more like “10:30 to 5”.

Dan Wilcox

**Ed’s Guest DJ set will be airing later this year. Definitely keep an ear out, he was hilarious.