Crowned a “cultural icon” by New York Magazine, Clubplanet caught up with Franceso Civetta, aka Izzy Gold, an entrepreneur, artist, and one of the cherry-picked DJs at New York’s exclusive GoldBar. A dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker whose socialite roots runs deep: his parents own upscale an Italian restaurant, Primavera, on the Upper East Side and good luck finding him not wedged between royalty like Ali Hilfiger, Sean Lennon and Olivia Palermo. Besides making headway as a DJ and fixture on the New York social scene, the aptly-named Gold has his own record label, designs a clothing line (www.izzygold.com) sold in various high-end boutiques (Blue & Cream, Big Drop, Atrium), and is also an artist with pieces on display at the Chelsea Art Museum and in the recently re-opened Mannahatta in the Bowery.
Clubplanet: Your real name is Francesco Civetta, what prompted the change to Izzy Gold?
Izzy Gold: I started going by Izzy Gold as a stage name for DJing and performing as well as a way to promote my brand of clothing and luxury goods.
CP: Music, art, and fashion are often intertwined, and you’re a perfect example of that. How did you get your start in these various areas?
Izzy Gold: I’ve always just done it. I am a multi-dimensional individual, and my skills and styles in these different mediums have always just come from the same energy. I started drawing and painting at a young age. At 11, I used to dabble with our old-school video camera and VCRs at home, splice MTV videos and footage I shot around NYC, and lay them over music tracks that I’d mix with CDs and vinyls. Then I bought real DJ equipment when I was 16 and began DJing school dances in the city before starting to DJ professionally in nightclubs at 17.
CP: How about fashion?
Izzy Gold: I feel fashion just came naturally being surrounded by nightlife and the art/film scene. One day I decided to start putting my artwork on t-shirts, I would wear them out at night and everyone would ask where I bought them, so I decided to start manufacturing and go into business.
CP: You’ve grown up around celebs and count many socialites among your friends. Any thoughts on the whole nightlife-celebrity-socialite thing?
Izzy Gold: Well, I’ve said it before: LA has there movie stars and New York has their socialites, but in the end they’re all people, and don’t people like to party?
CP: Do you think growing up in New York shaped your taste in music, fashion and art?
Izzy Gold: Immensely and tremendously. New York is by far the most inspiring, edgy and tough city, totally infused with high and low culture standing together and blending with each other. Whether it be the street style, downtown “hipsterism” or the upscale preppy looks, everything seems to be intermixed in one way or another. In New York, I was influenced a lot by hip hop, funk and rock, as well as European music like Daft Punk. If America is considered the mixing pot, I feel New York is the golden mixing pot.
CP: How is the NYC music-scene different from anywhere else? Could you live anywhere besides NYC?
Izzy Gold: The NYC scene is always very cool and hip. I feel it is less pretentious then places like LA.We all come together just to have a good time and listen to interesting and eclectic music. I lived in Italy and it was fun, but I always only last for 3 weeks to a month before I would get homesick for NYC.
CP: How did you end up with your GoldBar gig?
Izzy Gold: My best friend and honorary older brother Bill Fresko, who owns Mannahatta on the Bowery, hooked me up with Jayma Cardoza and Rob McKinely from GoldBar, and we had several meetings. Then in July, I received a call from Jayma and she asked me to spin on a Saturday night and I’ve held my Saturday night ever since…
CP: What’s been your favorite place to DJ?
Izzy Gold: Honestly my favorite place is GoldBar. I have my own room there where my friends can hang out when I DJ and the crowd is always amazing and really energetic. I used to DJ at Central Park in Florence one summer a few years ago—that was fun for a while, but no place has held my attention more than GoldBar. It really is tops for me.
CP: What’s a typical outfit for you when you’re spinning at GoldBar?
Izzy Gold: The same as what I wear every day: jeans, sneakers, one of my Izzy Gold T-shirts, maybe an Izzy Gold sweatshirt when the AC is high, or a blazer. Sometimes I’ll wear an Izzy Gold hat, or an American Flag bandana if I wanna play the Hunter S. Thompson look (laughing). But mainly I rock my Izzy Gold gear always…
CP: Any place you haven’t DJed that you’d like to?
Izzy Gold: I would like to DJ in LA or Vegas to spread the NYC vibe out there. I have had so many people begging me to go out west ‘cause they’re dying for what I play and my styles. I think it’d be fun for a few nights. Also, I would like to play in Paris or Europe ‘cause I dig European girls.
CP: Do you take requests?
Izzy Gold: Rarely. Maybe if it’s from a celeb I respect, a hot girl or a really good song, but usually I like to just play my music and let people be surprised by what I play next.
CP: Favorite restaurants, bars and clubs?
Izzy Gold: Ristorante Primavera on the Upper East Side—best Italian food in the country. Also I’m a fan of Elizabeth, Wild Wood BBQ, BLT Fish Market, Mercer Kitchen, Pastis every once in a while, GoldBar, Cain, Mannahatta, and Rose Bar—it’s one of my favorites. I used to always go for cocktails there in the early eve, and I like it at night also because its relaxing. I used to go to Beatrice a lot last summer, but haven’t been there since September. I used to go to Bungalow 8 a lot, probably ‘cause I always got in without having to show up with a slew of models (laughing).I am a little nostalgic for the old days of Bungalow. Also, I really like the Randolph on Broome Street—it’s pretty cool and classy.
CP: What’s your take on New York nightlife? Do you think it’s changed these past few years?
Izzy Gold: New York nightlife has definitely changed over the past few years, but it’s always changing and evolving. Every time has its place, same as every music genre has its time of most impact. It’s always fun, you just have to know the right spots to go and be surrounded with a fun crew of people.
CP: Who are your favorite artists?
Izzy Gold: Kanye West, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, David Bowie, Billy Idol, MGMT, Jay Z, Biggie Smalls, Justice, Daft Punk, Izzy Gold, Sean Lennon, Grand Master Flash, the Doors… I can go on.
CP: What do you think is the biggest music trend right now?
Izzy Gold: I think electro music like Justice, MGMT, The Teenagers and Ghostland Observatory seem to be a big hit over the last few months. I’ve been playing tracks by these groups and people really get down, but I also play a lot of rock and older hip hop, and even old rock from the ‘50s and ‘60s—that always gets people happy and dancing so it’s hard to say. Also I’ve been hearing a lot about a minimal trend that’s getting very popular.
CP: I’ve never heard of minimal. Can you tell me about it?
Izzy Gold: Minimal music has come out of Europe. It is basically minimal dance music which has emerged. The parties that have begun have been reminiscent of the old rave days. One of the traveling parties is called minimoo.
CP: What prompted you to start your own record label? Any exciting upcoming projects?
Izzy Gold: I met super producer Chris Young a while ago and we began to make tracks together. We worked so well together that we figured maybe it’d be cool and make sense to start Izzy Gold Records. So we had a studio in Soho on Spring Street which was cool ‘cause it was a few blocks from GoldBar, but as time went on we realized we needed a bigger space so we moved into a studio at Planet 2 Planet on 30th Street. It’s been very productive and exciting. Currently we’re recording my album, which will hopefully be done over the next few months. We have a few other projects but we are keeping it a secret for the mean time.
To check out Izzy Gold’s wares, go to www.izzygold.com.
For more info on Izzy, check out his MySpace page.