Last week, we debutedHi, Doctor Nick!, our new weekly advice column piloted by NYC badman and life guru Nick Hook. As he’ll be doing every Thursday, he’s once again gathered up some wisdom and answered another batch of reader questions. This week, see what he has to say about girls in the music industry, the right gear to perform electronic music live, and breakfast burritos.

Hi Doctor Nick,

What kind of advice can you give to any females who dare to have a career similar to yours (performing/DJing/producing/booking/advice columnist… am I forgetting anything)? Maybe not directly because you aren’t a female, but from a male’s perspective? Do we really have to be the bitchiest and have balls bigger than the boys in order to be successful?
Sonya

I think I do have some light to shed on this. I’ve been lucky enough to work extensively with Tiombe Lockhart and Azealia Banks, in my opinion two of the more creative and dynamic women in music today, as well as knowing a bunch of dope girl DJs.

Azealia and Tiombe both have such a clear-cut idea of what’s dope to them, style for days, and beyond that, they are fucking fearless. Azealia once showed me this video on YouTube by Elektrik Red, “We Fuck You,” and it made me rethink my life.

I wouldn’t say you have to have bigger balls or be the bitchiest, but I think in many more ways, you have to be on point in a different way than us as men. It’s sad to say, but for some reason, I think people remember the one slip-up a girl makes, so being on point is ALWAYS important.

Also on the real, I think it’s important to read quick if a guy really wants to work with you and build your career, or if he’s just trying to fuck you. I think my working relationship with the majority of the females I’ve worked with is based upon the fact that I just believed in them as artists, and we’ve built amazing levels of trust because it’s not just my long-term goal to try and get it. That’s not to say I haven’t caught feelings for people I’ve worked with, because creation is such an intimate thing.

Keep in mind, this shit isn’t easy for anyone, boy or girl. I’ve literally sacrificed my entire life and everything about it to be writing an advice column right now.

Hi Doctor Nick,

In your experience, is there a practical way to play electronic music live that doesn’t involve thousands of dollars worth of equipment? (I have an APC40 and a laptop, any suggestions?)
Ben

An APC40 and a laptop are working for a lot of people out there. Flying Lotus uses an MPD32 and a laptop, and he’s murdering everyone. I started using Abelton and a MIDI controller live after my old band got ALL of our shit robbed in Detroit. In my studio, I have tons of analog gear, and I love it, but I realized something: only like six dudes are gonna notice if you have thousands of dollars of gear, and they will talk to you for six hours after the show. The girls don’t know.

Use what you got and make it you. Then, if you make some money, invest it. But you don’t really NEED anything beyond that.

Hi Doctor Nick,

Breakfast burritos every morning on tour? Is this good or not? Also, if I play SpaceGhostPurrp at a show, will this scare girls away or make them feel sexy?
Bryant

I say one breakfast burrito a week, so it’s special. Oatmeal with banana the other six days. Bring your own oatmeal. You’ll feel way better and save mad loot. Trust me, it works.

As for SpaceGhostPurrp, it depends what girls you are going for. The girl I like the most right now likes SpaceGhostPurrp and she’s so tight. So, Spaceghost all the way in my opinion. Aren’t we trying to weed the wrong girls out?

Do you have a question for Doctor Nick? Please submit your inquires to [email protected]. Nick Hook can help you.