The Chatham Arts Council is investing in artists through our Meet This Artist (MTA) series, introducing you to 12 Chatham County artists each year in a big way. The fine folks at Hobbs Architects in downtown Pittsboro are powering our Meet This Artist series this year. Architecture is art, and the Hobbs crew values art in our community. So, take a look. Meet your very inspiring neighbors.
Emmett “Mouse the DJ” Davenport is a DJ, podcaster, and café owner whose lifelong passion for music began with mixtapes and grew into a career of curating eclectic sounds and experiences. As the owner of Davenport’s Café Diem in Pittsboro, NC, they’ve not only created a favorite pit stop for commuters to grab a cup of delicious coffee, but a creative space that reflects their love for quirky themes and community connection. With an ethos of inclusivity and fun, Emmett embraces the playful spirit of their events, which range from whimsical steampunk soirées to energetic goth dance nights. Through their work—whether at the DJ booth, streaming online, or behind the counter at Café Diem—they aim to cultivate spaces where art, sound, and community can thrive.
Do you remember when you were first introduced to art and music?
I’m not sure if there’s a particular age, but I’ve always been very, very in tune to music. It’s definitely been a part of my life since I was small. My mom sang in a blues band when I was three and four, and so I grew up hanging out around musicians. I cannot draw. So I am not an artist in that way. Despite the fact that I have tried, I’m not good at that. Music has always been my go-to.
In high school and college, I used to make mix tapes for friends. I’ve always wanted to share music with people. The DJ thing grew out of that love of finding new music I wanted to share with other people. Like, let me make it listenable for you, and let me put music together for you that you wouldn’t necessarily think about going together.
Then, I started DJing. Probably around 1996 was when I first tried my hands at it. I was–
Weirdly, I was at a frat party. The DJ there was watching me look through records. I had asked, “Hey, can I look at your records? I’m really curious about this.” And he had said, “Yeah, yeah, sure.” And then, “Hey, can you watch this for a little while? I have to run an errand real quick.” And I was like, “Okay, I’ve never done this before.” He gave me a quick, “Here, this is how it works. It’s easy.” And then he went away for about 45 minutes, and I was just playing records going, “I don’t know what I’m doing. Alright.” And then he returned and was like, “Oh no, you did really well. You want to do– Would you like to do it some more?” So I did that for a little while until I moved down here from New Hampshire.
When I moved to North Carolina, I didn’t really have the kind of job where I could afford to buy equipment. I also didn’t know anyone when I first moved here. So I kind of let it lie fallow, but I never stopped making mix tapes and mix CDs for people. After some time, a music ethnographer friend and I were at an event listening to music. I was going, “Oh, I bet this song is going to play after this song, and then this song is going to play after this song.” And I just kept pre-cognitively noting which song would work. And he just went, “Why aren’t you doing this? Why don’t you start your own event?” So that’s when I started a goth night called “Dracula’s Daughter” in 2004 through 2008. We did it at Ringside in Durham, which sadly is a club that doesn’t exist anymore. I DJ’ed there almost every weekend for that whole period.
When you go about curating a playlist, what sort of things do you draw inspiration from? And how do you make it cohesive?
Sometimes I pick a theme. Sometimes I have an idea of an emotion or an event, some sort of occurrence, a message that I want to get across. And I pick music to fit within that. Sometimes it’s a more random assortment of sounds, just the music I want to hear put together. Sometimes it’s because I’ve watched something on TV or I saw a movie or I hear a song, and I’m like, “Oo, I like that song? Now where do I go? What goes with that song?” I kind of follow it as its own thing. So it’s a little hodgepodge sometimes, depending. When I do events, it’s a little different. We tend to have, not necessarily a strict guideline, but there’s usually a mood we’re trying to create. If I’m DJing an eighties night, I don’t want to be playing disco.
You have to work within those limitations.
Right, sometimes there are parameters. I have also worked at events where they have specifically said, “These are the songs you cannot play.” And I then think, “Ooh, that song would go really well after this track, but I can’t play it!” My brain is a jerk sometimes.
What are your favorite kinds of events to work as a DJ?
Fun ones that don’t take themselves too seriously? For a long time, I used to really love doing our steampunk events. I like doing the goth stuff. My goth events are usually pretty silly. Yes, everyone wears black and likes to be sad and mopey, but at the same time we’re out having fun. And so I would be–
A bit cheeky too?
Yes. I would do little weird theme nights. We would have little theme parties within the goth night to make it so that it wasn’t so dour and serious. We’re playing dress up; we’re playing with steampunk; we’re PLAYING. I feel like it should be fun. We’re pretending that we’re in Victorian times and also have ray guns! I don’t understand how you can possibly take it too seriously. There has to be a little bit of silliness to it.
And also having a good co-DJ always makes any event a lot more fun. So I seek out people to partner with who seem to share that same love of good music. I want to enjoy listening to their selection and enjoy spending time with them. I used to say that I don’t ever trust DJs that don’t dance or tap their feet when they play music. If you’re looking so serious, are you having fun? Yes, this work can be enjoyable, valuable even.
Yes, absolutely. You’ve been doing the “Graveyard Shift” goth night events here in Pittsboro recently. How has that been going?
I started in June at The Plant. That venue was very nice, but now we’ve shifted to The Mod, which is more of a late night venue. They have a bar, and the new owners would like to have more events there. It’s a big space. We’ve now done two events there, and the crowd has grown a little bit. I had said to the owners, “Please give me some time to build up the crowd before you decide to can it, because it’s going to take a little while. We are a small town; people are going to have to drive from different places.”
I’ve always taken the stance that if I see five people I’ve never seen before at an event, then that’s a good event for me. That way, I’m never disappointed. Cool! Those five people will hopefully come back, and they will bring five new people.
I missed the last few, but I would love to make it out some night!
Hopefully we can keep it going. With building an audience, it really depends on your area. In Durham, two or three months is all you need for a monthly event to become established. But in Pittsboro, which is a population of 5,000 people, you have to give it a little more time. We definitely had a bigger crowd this past month, bigger than we did the previous month. So I think it’s growing.
Also, it was very interesting to watch the juxtaposition of the regular clientele with our attendees. We didn’t seem to alienate them–the people who were there already who were playing pool and hanging out. They stayed. And I would look over and they were tapping their feet, having fun. The September event was also my birthday, and we were a little sillier.
Happy belated birthday.
Thank you. We played a lot more eighties music, which was accessible to a broader crowd. I think that made it feel a little bit more friendly, playing things that they may have heard before. Anyway, we had a much bigger turnout, and I’m hoping that in October, because DJ Spider from Charlotte will be joining me and because it’s Halloween, the event will draw more people.
When is the Halloween goth night?
It’s scheduled for Saturday, October 26 at The Mod. And then we’ve got another one in November. I’m hoping to continue with a monthly event for a little while. We’ll see what happens, but I’m very hopeful.
We had a bar here when I first opened Café Diem 14 years ago. We were operating as a bar/coffee shop, and we had a goth night and a steampunk night. We had different bands come and play. I had worked in bars for a long time, but it was the first time I had owned a bar. I made a few mistakes. I now have realized that in this town, we are not open seven days a week. If we’re open on a Tuesday night, for instance, we had better have an event scheduled.
I definitely would like to see more of this kind of stuff happen in town. And I think it’s possible because we have had big turnouts before, back when we had burlesque and bands. Our steampunk party hit capacity pretty much every single time we held it. We had people waiting to get in. So I think it’s just a matter of time and growth and getting the word out and also making it accessible for people. Inclusive and not exclusive.
Talk to me a little bit about your podcasting and where people can find your content online.
I am actually doing two different radio shows that are on Mad Wasp Radio. There’s “Dracula’s Child,” which is a goth show (dark, creepy, goth music), and then there’s “Clockwork Cabaret.” “Clockwork Cabaret” started off as a steampunk show and has morphed into something else entirely. I dunno; we play weird music, and we get a little too honest with ourselves. Both shows are archived as podcasts, and you can listen to them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other places.
But yeah, I’ve been doing the “Clockwork Cabaret” for a long time. 17 years.
I’ve been listening to “Clockwork Cabaret” for at least 10 years.
Oh! Yes, I had someone who told me that they got introduced to it by their parents listening to it when they were a kid. I told my co-host, Nicole “Lady Attercop,” that I’m doing it until we hit the 20-year mark. I don’t know what will happen after that. Either someone else will have to take the reins and be the new organizer of it, or it will go into obscurity. Everyone can lament about that or enjoy the archived catalog and say, “I remember listening to this weird show once. What was it called?”
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