DJ Copper Top
Gretchen “DJ Copper Top” Banning tries to strike a balance when selecting electro and industrial songs for her appearances.
The right mix, she said, will bring about familiarity and surprise.
“I want to please the patrons when they walk in the door,” she says. “At the same time, I want to turn them on to new sounds.”
To maintain her expertise, Copper Top studies trends and rehearses her sets.
She’s issued six albums and performed for audiences in several European countries.
Even so, she considers music to be a pastime and not a career.
At 46, the Fort Wayne native says she didn’t foresee being part of the electronic dance music scene.
“It seems people aren’t judgmental about (a DJ’s age),” she says. “I figure as long as they’re not, I might as well do it.”
Gender hasn’t been an obstacle, either, according to Copper Top.
“It’s pretty wide open for a woman to be a DJ,” she says.
As part of the Random Productions crew, which also features DJs Caroline and Rony, Copper Top appears once a month at the Melody Inn.
It’s an opportunity to explore the latest in “hard, aggressive beats” to which she gravitates.
“I’m not standing up there playing the same set I was in 2000,” she says.
But she concedes an occasional flashback hit from a band such as Nine Inch Nails or Depeche Mode always serves her well.
“When you slam into a retro track when people least expect it, you’re going to take them to the next level,” she says.
