Quite possibly, more than any other DJ in the world right now, Sandra Collins has the potential to disappoint. Thrust, in recent years, into the spotlight on so many levels - as an ambassador of dance to the worlds of rock and hip hop, as a female in a male dominated profession and as an American DJ receiving the highest levels of respect and admiration in the European market—Sandra carries the weight of many worlds upon her shoulders. On the phone from her home in Los Angeles, Sandra talks about this role that’s been cast upon her, the mixed blessings her storied reputation has granted her and her struggles to overcome that image and rise above the rumors. Forget what you thought you knew about Sandra Collins. Sandra sets the record straight.

With the release of her first CD in nearly two years, countless side projects in the works and a highly anticipated solo artist album getting closer by the day, Sandra sounds relived to have her latest project nearly behind her. “The tour is just ending. It was long and exhausting,” she confesses, “but I was very happy with it”.

The title of the disc, Perfecto Presents is actually quite fitting, in that this is the first time we have been able to see Sandra in the broader light of the two-disc format – something that she feels has made a huge difference. “My [live] sets have expanded to six hours,” she says, “if I can play for seven hours or longer, I do.” She tells me that the release actually represents two parts of a continuous work, with each disc being able to stand uniquely on it’s own. Broken in half, “[The first disc] is something that I would do earlier and the second disc is something I would do later,” she explains.

Over the course of that six or seven hours, one of the things that Sandra always strives to do is to tell a story – something with a beginning, a middle and an end. Many DJs find it difficult to translate the energy of what they do live into a mixed-CD and Sandra is no exception. “Because you don’t have the time to do it, ” she says, “And if you do take that time, people can get bored. Like, I might play for two hours in my [live] set and it might be boring and not make sense, but then after six hours, it makes perfect sense. Doing that with a CD is difficult - you want to keep [people] excited, you don’t want them to listen in their listening station and go, ‘this is boring.’ People are in their car and they want to hear something exciting, they don’t want to hear this looong beginning for like twenty minutes until the next level,” Sandra laughs, “But it’s about trying to complete something that’s also exciting at the same time.”

Perhaps it is sheer irony that Sandra, with her ability to tell a story, has become the subject of so many stories herself… only some of which, apparently, are true. Finding herself looked upon more and more as a role model—not just to female artists, but to young people worldwide in general—more than ever before, Sandra seems to feel the need to finally free herself of the one-dimensional “decks, drugs and rock n’ roll” reputation that has been synonymous with the words “Sandra Collins” for years. As the conversation turns towards this topic, Sandra’s casual, carefree (often silly) demeanor becomes more focused. An unquestionable sincerity falls over her words as she discusses the challenges she’s faced in her 15-year career, her coming to terms with how others see her, her desire to break free of the reputation that, some would say, has played a significant role in her success.

“I’m thinking that there are some people out there – I mean, I get approached a lot and people do say that,” Sandra says when I ask her how she feels about being a role model, “But if anything, my reputation I feel as if—I really wish that—they could maybe know a little different side of me because I don’t want to be a role model as far as my reputation goes,” she says, “And my reputation is exactly that because there are rumors. All that kind of stuff, I would love not to be a role model in that way, because right now, I would like for them to know the good parts – the parts that I want them to know - not the rumors, not the way people think that I am, because we all know what people say, and that’s not who I am.”

So what made Sandra want to shed this reputation? “The thing is, the beginning will haunt me forever. I was very, very young and…” she pauses, “you know, I looked up one day and I wasn’t in my bedroom anymore, I was in front of thousands of kids and I’m like ‘Okay, my life is not my message,’ you know?”

Despite her somewhat crazy past, she refuses to let it stop her from accomplishing the things that she wants to do now. “I can’t shake that ever, but it doesn’t stop me because I love what I do and I’m doing it and I’m not going anywhere.” She sees herself as a survivor and seems to have developed this instinct to a level that has, at times throughout her career, served her well.

“I think anything has a backlash, no matter what. And if you can survive that, then you’re good. And it’s like, you know, I’m doing it for the right reasons and,” Sandra seems to laugh reflectively, “I guess, have survived the worst so far.”

Of the number of things Sandra has survived over the course of her career, one of the most significant was learning how to deal with how she thought she was seen, for a time, through the eyes of her fans. “I think for a little bit I was really naïve to the whole [thing] – until the message boards came around.” The pitch of her voice turns up and delivers her next few words in a somewhat ditzy tone for dramatic effect. “I really thought that people really liked me and I just had such an innocent – like a little kid’s head.” She reverts to her normal tone, “If someone said something, that’s what they meant. And so I went on the boards one day and I’m like, ‘they think this about me?’ I started to second-guess what I was doing and [thought] ‘should I play like this? Should I…’ and then I realized, ‘you know what? I’ve gone this far as who I am, I have to stick to who I am because I’m only good at that.’ Maybe it had a little bit of an effect on me. At home at least, I was freaking out. If I ever had any drink, you know, alcoholic beverage, I would not drink it in public.” Sandra laughs, “But it’s like, come on, I’m entitled to a drink – maybe not a whole bottle of tequila like some would think, but yeah it did change me artistically for a little bit and then I got over that because I watched how things happen and everything has that and it’s about surviving it.”

Sounding hopeful and ambitious in her new role as an ambassador, Sandra goes on to divulge her desire to be looked at in a way that reflects who she is as a person and a genuine desire to give back to the community that she holds so dear. “I always want to do better, for that reason and it’s actually changing what I want to do for people,” she says. “I want to reach farther and I want to go beyond the whole music thing and I want to starting helping and, you know, talking to maybe teenage girls, troubled teens and I want to help and influence and educate in other ways other than just the music,” she says, “I have an info@sandracollins.com email and I do read all those emails. And there’s people who write me from rehab and I really want to talk to them and make them feel comfortable about who they are. It’s a new email so I’m not getting too many that it’s absolutely ridiculous, so I personally respond to the emails.” And just so you don’t think Sandra is giving up her music career for these future endeavors, she is careful to state, “I’ll never stop with the music – I mean, that’s what gives me the inspiration to do those things.”

With regards to her much anticipated solo artist album, Sandra assures me that it’s in the works, however, she tells me that it may be a while before we see a finished product. “I should have a single – maybe a couple of singles out – within the next year, probably sooner, and then I’m working myself up to an artist album.”

Indeed the stories of those among us who rise to the level of success that Sandra Collins has come to know are often filled with struggles, bad experiences, things one would rather forget. While the former would certainly apply to this story, the latter is something with which Sandra profoundly disagrees. “I think that everything – everything – in the past, everything that has happened has shaped who I am and you can not take anything back because then you don’t learn from it. You know you’re gonna experience that, you’re gonna do it anyways at some point and that’s who I am today. If I’m happy today, then that means I can’t regret what’s happened in the past.” Sandra pauses and half laughs, “You know, I might have been really miserable, but you know what? That’s why I’m not right now.”

They say that art is sacrifice. If this holds true, then for her sacrifice, rest assured, her new release, Perfecto Presents shows us, without a doubt, Sandra Collins at her finest. That is to say, Sandra at her finest “so far.” As we know, Sandra Collins knows how to tell a story, and this story has only just begun.

Sandra Collins’ Perfecto Presents was out on Perfecto/Thrive on February 10, 2004.
Sandra Collins is on tour permanently.