Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Iceland tops music producer’s bucket list
Best known to music fans as Lady Gaga’s friend and collaborator, DJ White Shadow (ne Paul Blair) is a Grammy nominee (“Born This Way”). He is also a businessman, who opened the trendy eatery Honey’s in Chicago’s West Loop, and is the North American music director for W Hotels Worldwide. This spring, he launched the opening of the W Sound Suite in Seattle.
“This studio is for people who would not have an opportunity to be in this kind of professional environment,” he says. “When I toured with Gaga, we would write songs but didn’t always have the opportunity to properly record the track. That’s where I got this idea. It’s not just for established musicians, but for anyone who wants to record in a really good environment.”
An edited version of our conversation follows.
Q. Where do you return to consistently?
A. I love Asia as a whole (continent), but I try to make it to Korea at least once a year. My sisters are adopted from Korea, and my mom and dad were very big on making them aware of their Korean culture. We had kimchi in the house all the time and ate Korean food. I love it.
Q. What don’t you love about traveling?
A. I don’t enjoy the first hour or so when you’re dealing with getting to the airport and checking in, but once I’m sitting on the plane and having a glass of wine, I love it. I don’t think I’ll ever be jaded by it.
Q. Why are you based out of the Chicago suburbs rather than New York, Los Angeles or the city itself ?
A. I love Chicago. It’s the most wonderful city. But I’m rarely home, and when I am, I spend all my time in the city for work. So it’s nice to come home to some place that’s less hectic. That’s why I picked Glenview. I also like that I’m close to the airport and can go anywhere. It’s a nice central location that’s close to everywhere. But if I’m to be completely honest, I picked the northern suburbs because of John Hughes’ movies. I tried to buy the “Ferris Bueller” house. It was listed at $1.5 million, which doesn’t seem like a lot for the Ferris Bueller house. But it was a teeny, tiny house in a state of disrepair. It would’ve cost a lot to fix it up.
Q. What is left on your travel bucket list?
A. So many places, but the one that is at the top of the list is Reykjavik (Iceland). I really want to go. I feel like I’ve been to so many places and I don’t have regrets about not having traveled more. But that’s the one place that I have to go.
Q. What is the best way for you to get a feel for a new city?
A. Just walking around and taking the time to soak it all in. You get a real feel for a new place when you’re walking, even if it’s just going to the neighborhood grocery store and seeing what the specialties are.
Q. Can you name a few places where you have enjoyed some of your favorite meals?
A. Tokyo. I love Japanese food. It’s healthy and delicious. The food in Italy was so good, and I could eat it every day.
Q. What’s the most unique hotel you’ve stayed at?
A. We went to this place in South Africa called Kruger National Park that was so beautiful. We stayed at the Lion Sands Game Reserve, and it was miraculous. They have a thing there called the (Chalkley) Treehouse, where you sleep in the open air. I stayed there overnight. They drop you off with a walkie-talkie, and that’s it.