Turntable master
Behind the scenes with one of Durango's OG DJS, Spark Madden

For this week’s Between the Beats, I sat down with arguably the hardest working DJ in town – and my dear friend – Shawn Matney, aka.DJ Spark Madden. I’m not exactly sure where we met, but dozens of shows and a decade later, Shawn has become my closest DJ friend in town.

Together, we’ve weathered the epic highs of peak Taste of Durango, all-night Channel 37 parties, all-day Silverton Whiteouts, and the icy lows of COVID-era, socially distanced gigs – not to mention encouraging each other when it’s an empty floor on a Saturday night.

What sets Shawn apart besides his knowledge and decades-long dedication is his humility, generosity and enthusiasm for all things dance music and the people on both sides of the DJ booth.

You want to throw a party? Contact this guy. He’ll do everything he can to help you – and you just might learn a thing or two about MasterClass-level mixing and track selection. Not one to be boxed in by labels, you’re likely to find Shawn playing house, mid-tempo, techno, breaks and retro. It gives me great pleasure to honor Shawn as we lurch closer to his birthday at the end of May, when he’ll be throwing a banger of a party at none other than the Black Heron Lounge. Happy Birthday, Shawn. Love you, buddy.

And now, a snippet of my conversation with local legend DJ Spark Madden. As always, see you on the dance floor!

SS: What first drew you to DJing? 

SM: One of my friends in college went home after the summer and came back with turntables, and it just kind of started from there.

We all kind of started the dance music scene here together with Pat Fee, Brian Ess and Jeremy Swain. Essentially, a bunch of Chicago kids moved out here to go to school, and they kind of already knew each other a little bit. They all loved house music, and it kind of went from there. We used to play Steamworks every single weekend.

SS: What was your first gig? 

SM: My middle school dance with my brothers. We used two tape decks to play a song and then we’d play another tape deck, and we’d just go back and forth and back and forth. That was probably about 1992.

SS: How would you describe the Durango music scene when you started out compared to now? 

SM: Back then it was … basically Top 40 music for College Night at Solid Muldoon’s. There were punk and metal bands around Durango back then, but not as much as there is now.

SS: You also DJ in Denver and other cities quite a bit. What makes DJing in Durango different from bigger city scenes?

SM: These days it’s just the love and the young talent that’s coming up behind us now. It seems like people in Durango are really digging the electronic scene. It’s really taken root. We’ve had to build it over the last 30 years, but it’s finally kind of come to a head now.

SS: What’s a track you’ve played a hundred times and still love? 

SM: Green Velvet’s “La La Land.”

SS: Is there a quintessential Durango DJ moment in your career?

SM: I think there’s been quite a few. Working with Eugene (Salaz) a lot. Getting to open for big acts like Mark Farina and The Crystal Method. Fort Knox Five 5 is a big one, too. Everybody else has been opening for them, and finally this year, I got to do it. 

SS: What’s one piece of gear that you can’t live without? 

SM: My Pioneer A9 mixer … getting back to playing vinyl again has been really big for me, too.

SS: What’s the weirdest request for a song you’ve ever gotten? 

SM: I’ve had so many! You know, where people walk up and ask for country music or a hip-hop song in the middle of a completely sold-out house or techno night? People are really getting down and having the best time of their life. One drunk guy is going to come up to tell you, “Oh no bro, you should play Jay-Z!!”

SS: What advice do you have for new DJs trying to get started? 

SM: Just work at it. It’s easy to get started, but it’s hard to really get it down. Just practice every day. Even if you only have a few minutes, make sure you beatmatch a couple of songs.

SS: Who would you want to play your dream back-to-back set with? Alive or dead. Anybody, anywhere, anytime.

SM: Tiga. He’s probably by far my most favorite producer. 

SS: Is there anything coming up that you’re excited about in terms of shows or parties? 

SM: Yeah, this party for my birthday should be fun. Local heavy hitters BabyDel and Red are going to join me for what should be a really good night at the Black Heron.