Ronson hasn’t entirely renounced the D.J. life. He does a weekly show on East Village Radio (eastvillageradio.com), on which he debuted most of Allen’s and Winehouse’s recent music, and he flies out to Vegas for a standing monthly gig (“An important part of paying the bills,” he says). To that end, he also takes on the occasional high-profile assignment, like the TomKat wedding last year in Bracciano, Italy, where, like all the hired help, he aimed to please. “I think it was the first time I’ve ever played a J.Lo record,” he says. “Tom came up to me and was like, ‘You’re killing it, man.’ He literally said, ‘You’re killing it.’ ”

Several hours and vodka tonics later, Ronson and his manager, Rich Kleiman, were on their way back to the hotel when the alcohol he consumed came back for a return trip—“a pavement pizza to the Italian countryside,” Ronson says drily. For once, though, it was a relief to be the least-important person on the scene: “Rich was like, ‘Maybe there’s paparazzi taking pictures of you throwing up,’ and I was like, ‘Rich, nobody knows who the fuck we are.’ ”

Related:

• Archive: “Music Features”
• Articles by Jon Caramanica
• Table of Contents: April 30, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!