>> rose: welcome to the program. we begin this evening with superstar tennis player maria sharapova, following a ruling that reduced her suspension from tennis. >> i was fighting for my right to get back to the court by making an honest mistake, but i was also fighting an organization that wanted to ban me for four years, and that was wrong. that was wrong because they didn't do their part. from the beginning, i came out two or three days after i got that letter about the violation, i came out to the world, and i explained my story. >> rose: also this evening, superstar and electronic dance music steve aoki. >> you make this music so you can connect with people when you actually play it out. and when you play to a global community, you're playing all over the world, so you get to see the impact it has from, you know, people in spain to people,

you know, in el salvador or japan to australia to all over europe to america. it's incredible having this global connection. >> rose: social media, get ready. maria sharapova and steve aoki, when we continue. >> rose: funding for "charlie rose" has been provided by the following: >> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information services worldwide. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> rose: maria sharapova is here. she is a five-time grand-slam tennis champion and one of the world's highest paid and highest profiled athletes. in january she tested positive

for meldonium, a matter medication recently banned by anti-doping regulators. show disclosed the infraction during a news conference in march. >> i wanted to let you know that, a few days ago, i received a letter from the i.t.f. that i had failed the drug test at the australian open. i did fail the test, and i take full responsibility for it. >> rose: in june, the international tennis federation banned sharapova from competition for two years. today the court of arbitration for sports cas announced it was reducing her suspension by nine months. it ruled the i.t.f.'s penalty went too far for a violation committed unintentionally. sharapova is to return to tennis in april in time for the french open and the u.s. open. thank you for coming. >> thank you for having me.

>> rose: tell me about this. friday morning was a beautiful day for me and my family and friends and just the thought of coming back, i was in my bedroom and i received the note from cas and i screamed to my mother i'm coming back. the last seven months or so i have been really strong. i knew i had to. she came up and ran up the stairs and i gave her a hug and, all of a sudden, i was so emotional. everything let go because something i wanted so much, i was having another opportunity at it. >> rose: how heavy did it hang on you, the two-year suspension? >> it was a lot, and it was -- i went through so many different emotions from finding out when i received the first email that i had taken the substance and it was a shock to me.

i said, how did i not know about this? so i went through this shock, anger, sadness, and then, i don't know, something inside of me went above everything and i felt it was almost like the process of going through a breakup. >> rose: a breakup? yes. i went through all these emotions, and, in the end, after a little time, i just felt really above it. there's some sort of strength in me that just felt really good about things, and i went through two different hearings, and obviously, i was very nervous about all of them, but i was so strong inside, and i knew that the truth of my story and me being up front and honest from the beginning would get me through this, and it did. >> rose: it came after investigation, as you suggest, that you testified and some of your team testified and they looked carefully into it. is it for you a repudiation of the international tennis federation?

>> it is. it's sad to say that, but i think it really is. i feel that, in many ways, you know, i have this incredible opportunity to play tennis again, but what i went through and, as i said, when i received the email back in march, i was so shocked in the first place because i was taking a substance that was completely league fortunately ten years that a doctor recommended for me after so many different medical tests. i was 18 years old. i had won a grand slam and, all of a sudden, i'm signature in my bedroom and i get an email from the i.t.f. saying i had this violation. >> rose: after the australian open. >> yes, a month after. >> rose: the testing took place at the australian open. >> yes. and i thought, how could i not have known this? there are so many ways that i could have known and i did not.

i've had a lot of time to think about it, and, obviously, i think i took it for granted that i became comfortable with the fact that it was just natural for me to take something that's completely legal, that i was getting laboratory reports from moscow and confirmation that it was legal. >> rose: this was prescribed for you by your doctor in moscow. >> it actually wasn't prescribed. it was an over-the-counter product. >> rose: he suggested you use it for diabetes possibilities and heart issues? >> mostly because i had irregular ekgs when i was 18 years old and they were quite concerned wit and it came after all the physical demand i started receiving after winning a big major, playing for tournaments, teenager at the time. went to a doctor, never had a doctor before, and i was, like, well, i'm going home. i basically don't want to practice for a week.

this is not the normal feeling for an 18-year-old. so my parents are, like, we should probably find a doctor to do bloodwork to do some examinations. after doing all that -- >> rose: it was called meldonium at the time? >> i always have known it as mildronate. when i saw it in march and saw meldonium, i googled meldonium. i had no clue. i had always seen it as mildronate. that's what hundreds of millions of people in russia see it as. >> rose: but not used here or in europe as well, just in russia and other countries is this. >> the majority of middle eastern countries, millions of people, and my grandparents take it. >> rose: do you consider it a performance enhancer. >> absolutely not. >> rose: you don't? even now, you don't think it has the possibility of enhancing

performance? >> no, because i know how common it is. i know how common it is. i know it's on the vital and essential list in russia which protects along with ibuprofen. it's taken as as prison in russia. to me, i can't even grasp my head around that fact. when i first started taking it, i took it under my doctor's orders and how i kept taking it for years. >> rose: one issue is why didn't you know. >> right. >> rose: they sent you a notification in december. might somebody in your team who knew you were taking this -- there were others who knew you were taking it -- >> right. >> rose: -- why didn't they know? >> because the notif notificatis were completely inadequate. it was false advertisement. the e-mails that we had received saying main changes to the anti-doping rules had no additions to the prohibitive list, no signs, no warnings. if you look at the other

federations, weight lifting, figure skating, if i was in that association or part of that federation, none of this would have happened. >> rose: more significant set of warnings in the other sports. >> there were no warnings, no one. >> rose: they have said clearly and they have said a number of things as a result of the investigation, the report they had today, they said they rejected the core argument you were significantly at fault for taking a prohibitive substance to enhance performance, that you did not try to hide the use, that you took it in good faith over a long period of time. they said among other things this was not about an athlete who cheated. under no circumstances could you be considered an international doper. so the question has to do with their motive, in part. how could they be so -- believe that this, in your words, deserve a 24-month suspension? >> well, i got a 24-month suspension, but they wanted four years for me, charlie. >> rose: they wanted four

years. >> the i.t.f. wanted to ban me for four years, and i went through the i.t.f. hearing, which in front of an arbitration that was chosen by the i.t.f. so i'm in a hearing knowing that the people i'm speaking to -- this was four or five months back in london -- the people i'm speaking to were chosen p by the people that i'm actually in a fight with. so i'm not sure -- they call that neutral? that's not neutral. cas is neutral and that was awarded to me. >> rose: do you think they're trying to make an example of you? >> i never wanted to believe that, but i'm starting to think that. >> rose: someone used the expression paul poppy. >> never heard that expression. >> rose: the suggestion you were perhaps in the minds of

some, saying doping has no place no matter how strong or celebrated the person was, if they thought they were using drug enhancement, they'd take them down. >> right. hard for me to speak for them. i think i know what i was fighting against, and i was fighting -- well, i was fighting for my right to get back to the court by making an honest mistake, but i was also fighting an organization that wanted to ban me for four years, and that was wrong because they didn't do their part. from the beginning, i came out two or three days after i got that letter about the violation. i came out to the world and i explained my story and i'm proud of that. >> rose: because you wanted to control your own case. i mean, you wanted to make sure that -- >> no, because when i saw that, i knew i wanted the world to know. there is no way i was going to tell people i'm injured or let me pretend it's something it's

not. this is it. >> rose: you wanted to take command of it yourself. >> yes, and i owed it to my fans, i mean fans that wake up in the middle of the night to watch me play, that supported me and who have died during my matches, i owed that to them, yes. >> rose: two aspects of this, one, as you were going through this, did you find people who you expected to support you didn't? >> you know what i learned is i think i've always been an athlete that i've said this from the beginning if my career, i never personally had a role model when i grew up. i watched television, but there was never a person who i said i want to be just like them. as i have been going through my career and young boys and girls would come up and say i want to be just like you, i would say, no, you want to be better than me. dream to be even better than i ever was. but during this process, i really realized how impactful my career has been towards millions

of people and how it impacted young girls and boys and older generations that have watched me through a 17-year-old girl till now, how much they've admired me, the amount of people that have stopped me in the last seven months is more than i ever have seen in my life saying i hope you get through this, you absolutely deserve to get back, you never deserved to get punished like this by the i.t.f., this is wrong. the amount of people i didn't know in different industries contacted me, e-mailed me, showed their support, and i think that's when i realized that, you know, i always try to -- maybe i was a little bit naive about everything, my accomplishments and how it impacted so many people's lives, and have inspired them, and it made me realize that, no, you set an example and that's why i was proud to have the fact that it came out and was able to say

that. >> rose: were your sponsors and the people you have endorsement contracts with fully supportive from day one, or did they pull back and say let's see this through? >> my sponsors have been incredible, and i must admit it was difficult in the beginning because none of them knew until my announcement. >> rose: didn't know about it until -- >> until i came forward, until my press conference. so from that point of view, it was a shock to everyone, as i'm sure. but i wanted it to come from me and not from anyone else and that's why, for three days, only a small group of people knew about it. nike made a pretty tough statement, and it was hard. i have been with them since i was eleven years old. >> rose: what did they say? i don't remember word by word, but it was aggressive in the way that they have been through a lot with athletes, and i took it personal because i considered them my family. i mean, i have a lot of pride in being part of their family, so it took a little bit of time to

speak to mark parker about, you know, what happened. >> rose: and then when you told him? >> we had a great conversation, and he's been amazing and, yeah, all my sponsors have been incredibly supportive. >> rose: so you will not lose any sponsors because of this? >> i hope not. >> rose: but the interesting question, too, is that, you know, a remarkable career, but to be away for 24 months could have had -- and you're, what, 29, yes? >> i am 29. don't say it like that. >> rose: well, no, but you have a remarkable career. but this kind of absence, if it had been two years or four years, could have had an incredible impact on your career. it could be over. >> absolutely. my career was never going to end this way. never. from the first day i got that letter, that was when i started

my comeback. i started my comeback in march. >> rose: did you ever doubt you would be sitting here today feeling very good about the future? >> i never doubted that i would be back. i certainly had tough days and negative days, and i went through the ups and downs. >> rose: who did you depend on when those days are bad? your mother? >> my mother. my mother and my father, my team, a very small group of people. my coach has been amazing through this whole process. i feel there are people in my career and in my life at this time for certain reasons and one of them was this. >> rose: let me talk about the career. you were born in chernobyl. >> i was. >> rose: and then -- my mother was pregnant with me for eight months about 30 kilometers from the explosion. >> rose: and you left chernobyl. >> left chernobyl.

i was in belarus and we fled to russia when my mother was pregnant. i was born in the north in siberia, and when i was two we moved to s so sochi, a much warr place. i started playing tennis when i was 4. when i was 5 and a half or six, someone in sochi at a tennis park, i went with my dad and he played recreationally, they said i had talent. ip not sure how anyone could say that of a 6-year-old girl. but there was an exhibition and they said why don't you be a part of it? so my father and i went, and i was on court with hundreds of kids. it was chaos, and she was, you know, feed ago few balls to the kids, having a little chat, and i'm not exactly sure what

happened, but the next thing you know, i did see her coming up to my dad and having a conversation, and i think what she said was that she thought that i had talent and that we should do something about it. a year and a half later we were on our flight to miami. >> rose: on your way to see nick balateri. >> yes. >> rose: and he didn't take you at first glance. it took you two years. >> i think we went to a few different academies, kind of knocked on everyone's door unexpectedly, here's a 7-year-old girl and she wants to play tennis and she has this dream, and i've never been back to russia ever since to live. >> rose: never been back? not to live, no. >> rose: your mother came later? >> yes. i came with my father because he got a working visa and i joined him as someone who could at that time with that type of visa and my mom couldn't come for the first two years, so i didn't see her for the first two years. i couldn't go back and in and

out of the country. >> rose: you had to communicate any way you could? >> yeah, at that time i believe it was regular mail. >> rose: when did you know you had the right stuff, that you could win competitively against some of the best players in the world? >> i don't like to ever know that, because that's what keeps me motivated. that's what keeps me on the edge. i never feel that i'm great. people ask me the question about legacy and grand slam champion, been number one in the world, and i go to a tournament as if i never won it. i feel i have to have the edge in a way where i inspire my ownself, and that's how i do it. >> rose: you won garis twice so the next time we see you play competitively is rolan garis.

>> that will be my first time back. >> rose: tell me how you see your game today. >> i haven't seen it in months, so i don't know what to say about that. i haven't thought about my game in a while. >> rose: so this has preoccupied you since you got the phone call from them. >> yeah. well, i have been very occupied. i actually haven't been home that much. i've traveled a lot. i've done things that i just never that did the opportunity to do, and in a time where i never -- where i didn't know what my future would be or had so many questions. i actually felt i had a schedule and a plan and i never knew what weekends felt like. for the first time i know that there's a saturday and a sunday and i'm actually looking forward to the days whereas before your mindset are so different the weekends are grand slam finals and that's what you're working for and that perfective changed and also in terms of training.

i have been training in a different way where i'm not training for a tournament. i'm not training to get back in a few months. i was just training for myself. >> rose: and what's that like? felt so good. it felt so good because you're doing it for you. you're doing it to feel good. and i feel that how i set the tone was the day after i had made the announcement. it was a very long night, as you can imagine. i didn't get much sleep. i signed up for a spinning class at 8:30 a.m., and i knew it might have been wishful thinking, but at least if i sign up, i won't be able to get a refund. so i'm going to go for it. and about 7:45, i called my coach and i said, i don't think i'm going to make this class, because he was in town with me. and something -- and he's, like, okay, obviously, it's understandable. at 8:00 a.m. i got out of bed and i said, i'm going.

i set the standard for myself that i was going to push the limit and push myself, and i went there and for an hour of that class, ifs miserable because i had no energy, i had one of the longest days in my career, but i pushed through it, and i felt like that set the tone for my body, for my mind and, ever since, i have been doing different workouts, i have been training differently, and it's all been for me. >> rose: so you feel like some of the best tennis may be ahead of you? >> i hope so. i know that today, yesterday got the best gifts that i could have gotten for my 30th birthday. >> rose: you had some reason to believe that they would reduce the suspension, simply based on what they'd done in the past. i'm sure john the attorney had said, you know, they have done this in the past and with some variety of occasions. >> but you never know. you never know. that's -- look, the i.t.f.'s

tribunal in the past has been overruled by cas the last six times including my case. so, of course, you can be optimistic and hopeful, but -- >> rose: but it's your life and career that's at stake. >> yeah, and, you know, you can go into it thinking, yes, i went into the cas hearing with a different mindset. i went into it as, you know what? this is my career on the line and i'm going to do something about it. yeah. i think it was more of an internal feeling. >> rose: do you feel like it's a fair description of you to say -- be defined as tough in the face of adversity, that somehow the kind of life that you have lived has given you some of that stuff? >> i believe so, and i've never used the word "rejection" in my life. i don't believe in rejection. i don't believe in nos. i just get through it.

i was born to be a warrior, and in tennis and in my life. >> rose: how were you born to be a warrior? >> because there is something, when i've had challenges in my life, i've persevered, and that's not just in me. i feel whether you're a tennis player or other career, when you have challenging moments in your life -- my first came when i had shoulder surgery, i was out for a year -- and there is something that build and you don't know it's happening, it's something inside i don' of you that buildd almost becomes an immunity to pain, almost. during that time, i was training and doing everything i could with no knowledge that i would ever go back on the tennis court after shoulder surgery, with no one that i could look to that ever came back and won a grand slam after shoulder surgery, but i went through it. and day after day after day, i

grinded it out, i kept going, and when i went back on the court and playing tournaments and making errors and losing matches maybe i shouldn't have lost and people are saying she's never going to come back, nothing fazed me because something i built inside of myself, the strength i built over that time got me through that. for me, this is another example -- >> rose: that's my point. when you go on the court against serena, in your mind you think you're going to win? >> of course. ( laughter ) why would you go on the court if that's not the way you think? >> rose: serena can intimidate people. she's won more of the recent matches one on one than you've won in a significant way. >> yes, in a huge way, but that's, as a competitor, you can't think of that if you go out on the court. you should just leave and book your ticket. >> rose: if you think you can't win, you don't want to be

on the court. >> you shouldn't be. >> rose: but people get intimidated because to have the strength of their game. >> yeah. >> rose: and, in fact, you did that to people. >> i think there's a certain -- there is definitely -- when i walk on the court, a lot of times i feel that i have a great edge, and i haven't even hit a ball is that because you have confidence in what you can do. >> yeah, it's a confidence that transitions into -- you see, in tennis, it's different a little bit maybe than other sports, but you don't have to be the best version of yourself every single day. you just have to be better than your opponent on that day. so if that means that you're better than your opponent by being mediocre on that day, that's good enough on that day. >> rose: and when you lose, what do you say to yourself? my opponent happened to be better than i am this day? >> i mean, that's one of a few

things. >> rose: what else do you say? i'm tough on myself. i expect a lot from myself. i do. what do i train for if i don't? >> rose: so what do you think you can do in tennis now? wind grand slams? you've won every grand slam. you've won the u.s. open, the french, wimbledon, the australian. that puts you in the hall of fame right there. >> i hope so. >> rose: well, of course it does. so what are the career objectives now? >> it's to continue that, to -- i don't think of a particular title. i don't think of a particular trophy or tournament. of course, the grand slams are special and especially when i've had the amazing opportunity to hold all four, but when i go in the middle of nowhere to play at a tournament, and it's a smaller

event that's maybe not covered on tv, my attitude of the way that i enter the court is no different than the way i go out and play a final of a grand slam. so, of course, i want to say, yes, i want to win grand slams, but doesn't matter if i'm going out and playing an exhibition. i still travel with my team to make sure that i'm doing the right thing. >> rose: who's on your team? my coach. >> rose: your coach. my fitness coach and a little partner and occasionally my mother travels with me. >> rose: one of the people who said nice things about you during this thing and quickly came to your defense was the number one male player in the world, novak and said he believes in you. you.

>> yes, it does. i received a lot of personal notes and e-mails and text messages from many players and male players as well. every time i would receive one of those messages, i would be quite strong, okay, this is going well, then i would receive one of those messages and get so emotional. the respect level is incredible. i've always said i've gotten a great opportunity to meet people from different industries, actors, musicians, but when i meet athletes, there is a sense of respect for each other just because we know -- we know our careers, and we know them from tin sides and outs, and the sacrifice we give and what it takes. so it meant a lot to me, absolutely. >> rose: there is also this, though, one you did not know,

nobody on your team knew, you didn't open the one email, and a i guess there was some question as to whether they had made repeated efforts before. >> the i.t.f.? >> rose: yes. did they do that or not? >> oh, no, i opened all the e-mails in 2015, but none of them talked about the new prohibited list. >> rose: there was no email you opened that said there was a new prohibited list at that point? >> because that didn't exist and that's been talked about in the c.a.s. report, the warnings. >> rose: you didn't intend to take a performance-enhancing drug. you took something you thought you were taking for medical reasons. >> i didn't think i was. >> rose: you were. just a question of intent. yet you will have to sit out 15 months. >> that's a lot.

>> rose: or do you simply say, yes, i did this thing, it was a prohibitive drug and therefore i have to take the medicine they prescribe. >> well, according to the current rules and the current system, it was impossible to get less than a year. so i knew when this happened i would be out for a year for sure. >> rose: by that definition if you take performance-enhancing drugs you have to get a year suspension? >> not in other sports, not baseball or football, no. in tennis for this particular substance and the category it was in. >> rose: so it was defined almost by law. >> yes, so that was the leave. so i received 15 months because i did not delegate to my manager how he was checking that list. i just gave him the responsibility from 2013, and in 2015 that list wasn't checked, and that's why i got the three extra months. >> rose: so what's the lesson you learned from this? >> i've learned many lessons. i've learned many lessons.

i've learned that there are a lot of things that could have been done to prevent this. >> rose: by you and your team? by myself being more proactive, by speaking to my manager at the end of last year and say did you take czech it, is it -- did you check it, is it permissible. but i learned what other federations did in this case around this substance. >> rose: by informing players and athletes. >> they informed players directly. we're not in hiding. we play over 20 tournaments a year. we're constantly on the road at events. the i.t.f. organizers are always around us. i played the fed cup which was one of the biggest events in the year. i was on the monitoring list

where they test med numerous times. they knew i was taking meldonium and there was no direct access to me. i was right there. they could have told me. >> rose: they knew you were taking it, and then it became on the list and they should have told you, they knew you were taking it and they owed that to you? >> there is a reason there is a monitoring list. they said there is a confidentiality breech if they would let me know. what confidentiality breech would there be if you went directly to me? this is a very popular substance in eastern europe, millions of people take it, like as prison in the united states, why not make a bigger notice of it. >> rose: do you know of other players that were taking it. >> no. >> rose: other players from eastern europe or russia. >> no. >> rose: just never talked

about it. >> no. >> rose: when you look at this, it raises questions about the nature of all the exposure this has gotten as to whether there is a drug enhancement, performance enhancement in tennis. is there to a significant degree, in your judgment? >> i think i can only speak from this case and from my own experience. i can't speak on behalf of anyone else or any other players. you know, when i found out about my violation, i took it into my own hands. i knew my medical history. i knew why i was taking the substance under doctor's orders and that's it. as far as anything else that goes on, i have no idea. >> rose: no knowledge, no information? >> no knowledge. >> rose: there is the old saying if it doesn't kill me, it

makes me stronger. does this make you stronger? >> i believe in that saying so much. i do. i do believe it. there are a lot of things in my life that have made me really strong, and i had a very tough upbringing. i moved to the nate as a young girl with my parents, we didn't have much money. >> rose: with one parent. yeah, with one parent, with $700, with no knowledge of where we were going in the united states. we went through that. i became -- i was living a dream. basically, my parents paved the way for me to realize my dream and my potential, and i'm riding that. i've gone through a lot and this is part of my journey, and there is no doubt in my mind that, as i said before, i started my comeback in march and i'm coming back in april. >> rose: thank you for stopping by. >> thank you for having me. >> rose: maria sharapova. back in a moment. stay with us.

>> rose: steve aoki is here, the global superstar deejay known for his energetic and infectious sounds and onstage antics include crowd surfing, caking and champagne showers. diplo says steve has an abundance of personality. with over 300 shows a year, he has been called the hardest working deejay in the industry. a new documentary on netflix reveals the story behind his self-made success. here's the trailer for "i'll sleep when i'm dead." ♪ ( cheers and applause ) >> performing your music and having that connection, that is the ultimate rush, and the truest of addictions. last year, i cracked over 300

shows. >> he's a machine, man. brought a rocking attitude to dancing. ♪ ♪ >> i think he's motivated by whatever weird passion his father had. his father is the same person, too. >> his dad was almost like a super hero to steve. he broke a world record hot air ballooning. he didn't know what he was doing, he just did it. growing up, it was always how do i impress my father. >> when he became a deejay, he chuckled. >> i didn't know how to run a label. he would always say, you need to get a job, you need to do something with your life. >> job number one, health two, family three. >> i wanted to prove to him i could be successful with music. >> i think it's about showing his dad i can uphold the aoki

legacy. >> he said he was crazy, the man with nine lives! >> as dangerous as your competition keeps you up 24-7. >> i just feel so lucky i'm in a position, i don't want to sleep on it. >> rose: i'm pleased to have steve aoki at this table for the first time. welcome. congratulations. good to have you. i met your father. >> europe was his stomping grounds. >> rose: i know. whenever i come here, i think about him. >> rose: right. what was it? was thing that sticks deepest in you as the life he lived, as a kind of sense that, you know, give it all you've got? >> yeah, i mean, he instilled that in every waking moment when i was around him. you know, he is the busiest man

that i knew, and, you know, he has -- his work ethic was insane. and he's always, like, drilling that into his kids. he's always drilling that into me. >> rose: but you had that, the same kind of work ethic. >> right. yeah, i mean, i feel like he taught me by -- in a way, he instilled this idea that you have to do it on your own, i can't just and things to you, and if i hand things to you, you're not going to understand how to survive. i felt like, if he was, like, hey, you know, this is my business, i want you follow in the footsteps, then i might not learn the survival skills and the business ethos to really, you know, possibly run a company like that, that scale. so instead he's, like, you guys figure out what you need to do with your lives.

when i decided it was going to be far different from what he expected, then he was, like, okay, this is not what i intended when i said step out on your own. then i had to prove to myself and a lot of it to him that i can actually make it on my own. and at the tail end of his life, i was able to show him that, you know, that i got to a place where he didn't have to worry about me. >> rose: was music a part of his life? >> not really. >> rose: i didn't think so. it was funny because he started as a bassist when in high school and i think he retired that because he didn't see a career path for him there. but when i picked up the guitar, the bass and started being in bands, i thought he was sharing an affinity with me. at the time he was, like, go ahead and have fun with your toys and you will eventually grow up. >> do something real.

yeah, then he realized this was the career path i wanted to choose and knowing that, when you near these bands, you're not making much money. when you're starting a label, at the time, you're not making much money. so he saw a short life span as far as where my career path was going. like any traditional job, as a parent, he said you need to wake up, get a real job, a stable job, and you're not going to like it, but you're just going to have to do that. >> rose: you said once if you weren't a deejay, wow would be dreaming of a life as a deejay. what is the life of a deejay? >> i guess the life i'm living now. >> rose: music and music. making music and playing your music. >> rose: yeah. that's essentially the same thread i was doing when i was in bands. >> rose: is it the performance aspect of it that is most appealing to you? >> it's definitely the end result. you make this music so you can

connect with people when you actually play it out. then when you play it into a global community, you're playing all over the in the world and you get to see the impact it has from, you know, people in spain, people in, you know, el salvador, japan, to australia, to europe, america, it's incredible having this global connection. ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ ♪ >> rose: and do you consider

yourself an artist, a musician, a deejay? performance artist? >> i would say all of the above. >> rose: performer, musician, createssive? >> deejay kind of wraps it up. >> rose: what's the deal about throwing cakes at the audience. >> i'll rewind back before then. there's a point in time when i wasn't doing any sort of activities on stage. >> rose: right. and when i had the opportunity at coachella in 2009 to really have a stage show, i really methodically thought about what i would be bringing to the stage. i went through, this song, i will be stage diving. at this song, i will be bringing out these rafts in the crowd. i was thinking about new ideas to bring the show to entertain the audience, and some of them stuck, some of them were really popular. and the caking was something i

introduced in 2011 because every artist wants to bring a unique element to the show, something that says, hey, that's a steve aoki thing, i want to go see that show, i want to get caked in the face or i want to ride in his raft or, you know, these kinds of things. it's like what makes -- >> rose: it's a defining act. yeah, it makes it, like, unique and expert experiential. >> rose: but unself-conscious for a moment and tell me how you think you changed electronic dance music. what did you bring to it that you think was not there and how did you make it become more of something? >> it definitely was a part of a group of people that brought a level of entertainment, if you will, to the show. as far as the live show, i brought a level of entertainment that might not have been there before or just, you know, added more color. >> rose: you added color and expression and tone. >> yes. and as far as the production

side of things, which is why people even come to the show in the first place, because you have to have the music to draw people there, my goal is always to work outside my status quo world. i prefer to work with hip-hop artists. you know, i work with country artists. i'm working with singers who have not worked in this space, and i really wanted to try to find new ways to reinvent this sound and not be so pigeon holed. because the sound is changing. medium artists are top of the charts as far as what's out there in music, chain smokers and calvin harris always steadily being number ones, gives us more of a forum to think outside the box and not necessarily think is this going to effect only the dance floor. >> rose: and where do you think you are if calvin harris is where he is, where are you? >> i don't really think about it in the sense of -- because, like, if i think i need to write

a number one hit so i can survive -- i mean, i've always survived without even having hits, which is where i feel lucky because i have a very healthy ecosystem that exists and my music survives in that world. but of course, you know, we can all dream to have songs that perm nate culture and, you know, are listened to by millions and millions of people. that's essentially the goal. >> rose: what about social media for a medium? >> at lefo me, it's a big deal. you get instant feedback. i mean, not always good. but, i mean, i love that feedback. the feedback is a really big part of the process. >> rose: where do you see the evolution of all this? or are you just in the moment an that's it? >> i definitely -- you know, ever one thinks about the five-year plan -- >> rose: not as much as a plan but how it has its own momentum and you know it's going

somewhere. >> right. >> rose: it's headed somewhere. >> yeah. i mean, that's the hardest thing to answer because that question is always asked,. >> rose: where is it going. where is our music going. >> rose: yeah. it's always fluctuating. never been bigger or stronger, never been more listened to and performed. >> right. >> rose: its moment is now. ight. there are artists that have reached the top of the charts. so we at least have that as an outlet and that has, you know, a ceiling, which is the top, so that's incredible that we have that. >> rose: suppose somebody is watching this show right now, and they're saying to themselves, what is electronic dance music? is it simply what they say? it's electronic and dance and music? >> that's why you have such a great term for it, you know, even though it's a very recent term really. it's maybe 5, 6 years old as what's been defined.

the words are very much what it is. >> rose: yeah. basically, it's about these producers mainly that produce electronic dance music and then, you know, you can merge with different genres and that's what's exciting. now it's happening more and more. >> rose: did the bubble burst in america? >> the bubble in my opinion has burst to a point where there's, you know, like the level of inflation existed maybe a few years ago and there was a huge influx of deejays coming in getting paid at a really high value and now it's simmering down to the economics of the business where especially in las vegas is a perfect example where the deejays are paid in proportion to what they're bringing to the table. >> rose: in terms of -- in terms of, let's say, at a club, the deejays getting paid an exorbitant amount of money,

is it valued at the right price if the club is making more or less than that. >> rose: you're saying a certain percentage of the gate? >> yeah, the deejays, there are certain ones that can exist in that system. >> rose: night after night. that with bring in that amount, and the rest are being valued at the rate, you know, that the economic scale of the business. so, like before, it was just an influx of everyone coming in, and the hype was there. and now it's leveling the playing field out. >> rose: ah. and there must be a whole bunch of people, now, seeing the economic success, seeing the popularity, saying this is what i want to do. >> of course. >> rose: i want to be a deejay. >> absolutely. >> rose: you know, i don't want to be -- that's the kind of music i want to perform. >> when i was a kid, i want to be in a band and i did. >> rose: exactly. and i was happy getting paid $20 to play in front of 15

people, i was extremely happy about that. now i have been a deejay for 15 years, so it's -- you know, and i see that as like this is a generation's choice of music. you know, this is at least wherever i play, i feel that kind of gravitational pull. it's a lot of the youth coming into the scene becoming young producers, young deejays, and they really have a strong voice. some of them are the strongest, like martin garrett who is young, been a deejay since he was nine years old and he's one of the most influential voices in the whole ecosystem. >> rose: in terms of what he does is where the business is going? >> yeah, he's also part of the future of the business. once again, it's about the connection you have with your fans. people really connect with him, you know. i think also because of the age and because he writes and produces incredible music, you

combine the two. it's an exponential one plus one equals ten kind of that areio. >> rose: your father said his priorities were work, health and family. >> yeah. the first time i heard that was when i watched this film. but that's not foreign to me. >> rose: that's not. not at all. >> rose: you knew it because you lived it. >> yeah. when i watch that, most people would be mouth dropped. it's a very rocky style, and that's what -- he drove that into everyone around him, work is number one. >> rose: what criticism bothers you the most? >> well, i mean, i love what i do and i care about a it deeply.

so when people, you know, trod on that, that's what hurts. i don't deejay, i don't produce, i don't do this, i don't do that, try to cut me down in that way, when i worked hard and i've worked hard to get to this point, that's what hurts the most. >> rose: to not get the full credit you think you deserve. >> yeah, exactly. at the end of the day, the way i see it is i just keep doing more, and that, you know, makes me feel like -- it gives me a sense of, you know, of my ethos. people take anywhere else, if people are hating or criticizing your work, you just create more work. >> rose: yeah. the idea for the documentary, "i'll sleep when i'm dead," your

title? >> i'm not entirely sure if it's -- i mean, i tattooed it on my neck. ( laughter ) it's definitely a motto of mine. >> rose: in a visible place? it's right here. "i'll sleep when i'm dead." >> rose: where do you want to be next year if we come back and do another interview at this table a year from now? >> i would love to come back. >> rose: we'll do that. i have, just like my previous projects, i have a third one coming and working on that album, and i'm actually going to write a book. >> rose: so you've got a documentary, a book and you're continuing to perform 300 nights out of 365? >> my magical number is 220. >> rose: 220. i'd like to hover around that number because 300 was excessive. the low 200s is comfortable

for me. >> rose: before i go, let me talk about this, i love the fact that this is an lp. you had not seen this before? >> that's my first time of seeing a physical copy of that. having you holding it, you know, that's a special moment, having you hold the physical product that i have been staring at on a computer screen. >> rose: i can't wait to go back home and play it. future odyssey. >> a collection of my first two albums with selected new tracks and future is my obsession, fascination with future science plus ray kurzweil, speaking on it with j.j. abrams and kipp thorn who is a huge astro physicist as well as gray who wrote about trying to stop aging altogether. so i have all of them on my

album. it's just having them as well as my music as part of the whole concept of neon future. >> rose: great to see you. thank you. >> rose: thank you for joining us. see you next time. for more about this program and earlier episodes, visit us online at pbs.org and charlierose.com. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

>> rose: funding for "charlie rose" has been provided by: >> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information services worldwide.

>> the following kqed production was browsed in high definition. >> it's all about licking your plate. >> i should be in psychoanalysis for the amount of money i spend in restaurants. >> i had a horrible experience. >> i don't even think we were at the same restaurant.