Sydney DJ Sleater Brockman aka Levins has had his fingers in many pies; both in the metaphorical and culinary sense.
He’s been a presenter on FBi Radio since its beginnings, he’s toured around Australia and America DJing as part of the Ro Sham Bo crew, and last but not least he co-founded the charity and record label Heaps Decent with Diplo.
He’s now opened up a new eatery called The Dip in one of Sydney’s newer venues, Goodgod Small Club. He chats to Music Feeds about stepping out of the DJ booth and into the kitchen.
Music Feeds: You’ve worked as a producer, DJ, radio presenter and also co-founded the charity and record label Heaps Decent; what have you enjoyed the most about your work so far?
Sleater Brockman: Getting Heaps Decent up and running is definitely at the top, I’ve had a lot of amazing experiences running workshops with young people in Juvenile Justice Centres, in Wilcannia, Western Sydney and Redfern. Lots of really unique and crazy moments. I’ve been presenting on FBi since it first went to air in 2003 and have hosted maybe 5 completely different shows during that time? I’m definitely the most proud of the show that’s still on the air at the moment – Ro Sham Bo Sunset on Tuesday evenings. DJ wise I’ve loved travelling all over Australia with my friends, making new ones at new clubs I’ve played at, touring America twice and meeting lots of artists that I’ve been a big fan of.
MF: Gordon Ramsey has proved on Kitchen Nightmares that running a restaurant is pretty hectic and time consuming; are you going to continue DJing or presenting on FBi?
SB: Yeah I’ll be keeping the Ro Sham Bo Sunset show going with my pal Moriarty and working with Heaps Decent each week, but I’ll be cutting back on the gigs – you’ll still be able to find me at Halfway Crooks, my hip hop party each month plus I’ll be DJing at Goodgod a lot after my kitchen shifts! Apron off and headphones on!
MF: What kind of food have you put on the menu at The Dip and where has the influence for the menu come from?
SB: It’s a lot of my favourite food to eat on the menu. Tried and tested BBQ hits. Influenced by American cuisine, especially Southern food plus a lot of Mexican stuff too. There’s a roo burger on the menu too! I basically looked at the concept of a diner in The States and thought about what that culture would be like in Australia, taking influence from everywhere. There’s hot dogs, nachos, burgers, sandwiches, chips n dip – all with a nice little twist that makes them unique to The Dip!
MF: Mmmmm, Yum. So Goodgod Small Club is open until pretty late on the weekends; how late will we be able to get a feed from The Dip?
SB: We’re open from 5pm – 11pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 5pm – 12am on Fridays and 6pm – 12am on Saturdays. If people are still hungry maybe we’ll extend our hours and run some crazy late night menu for the gremlins that need to be fed after midnight.
MF: If we head down to The Dip in the coming weeks, aside from maybe a few Gremlins, who else can we expect to see eating at The Dip and playing at Goodgod?
SB: A stack of my favourite bands actually! Collarbones and Ghoul are coming up on June 3rd, Oscar and Martin are up from Melbourne on the 10th for their album launch. There are some big parties coming up too – United Colours, Jingle Jangle and The Friday Fry Up Rock’n’Roll Revue to name but a few!
