Down w/ PACIFIC SOUNDS OUTERNATIONAL w/ Liloa, Mr. Bone, DJ Dunza, I-Chard www.myspace.com/pacificsounds -- much respeck going out to Positive Regime Sound System, Direct Descendant Posse, Stone Groove Family, Nocturnal Sound Krew, Treehaus, 00 Spot, and the whole crew that supports quality music dance events in Hawaii!
Influences
Grew up in the most rural, ugliest, swampiest place in America, Southern Georgia...namely Ray City, Georgia close to Valdosta. My Dad was stationed at Moody AFB. You'll see that a Military brat can really get around, good & bad. Anyways; I used to marvel at the radio. It was the only way I could hear what the non-isolated world was listening to.
I was 13 yrs old in 1986 trying to tune in far away radio stations with AM & Short Wave and over rigging make-shift antennas on my clothes-line for FM way out in the swamp. I could tune in stations from Mexico, Florida, New Orleans, and sometimes; JAMAICA!! That was a lot for a backwoods white kid obsessed with frogs & little league baseball...music quickly became top billin' in my life…not making it, not singing it...but playing it back in an entertaining way. I used to make cassette tapes by recording the radio, using the pause button, making mix tapes kinda. I would stay up way past my bedtime, tune into radio stations to hear the "extended mix" of songs, and it would trip me out because it sounded different than the local station's radio edits. I began to understand the role of a dj, remixer, and producer.
RESCUED: My family & I were moved to Madrid, Spain during the peak of the Cold War, Europe was waking up from History as Jesus Jones said. The wall was falling, Romanian dictators were being hung in the square…the late 80’s were a lot of fun for an American kid in Europe…I quickly learned Spanish and my way around. I walked everywhere with a Walkman with cassettes of everything I could get my hands on. European radio is a mixed-bag. You would hear an Eric B. & Rakim song, a cheesy Italian love ballad, a Flamenco song, and a Level 42 pop hit in one set. I was thrilled. I listened and recorded the radio all day & all night.
I began to buy vinyl in 1988 and spinning out at a pub near an old magnificent church in the Madrid suburb of Meco, which is a small pueblo with cobblestone roads and herds of sheep running through the town and all. A lot of fun. Reggae was a major international movement in Europe, but I was spinning mostly dancefloor bangers like dancehall and hip hop jams coming out in the States. Anyways, being an American kid, I quickly rose in notice and began my first residency in 1989…
….just in time to for me & my family to be relocated to New Jersey in 1990.
Remember 1990 though? GREAT MUSIC!! New Jack era came in, people were dancing, hip hop was more afro-centric than ever…I lived amongst a lot of Caribbean peoples, like Puerto Ricans, Jamaicans, Dominicans, Haitians, and Cubans and my music catered to a lot of what they like: Dancehall influenced Hip Hop became my strength, while I kept freestyle jams in my box for my Boriqua posse. Philadelphia & Trenton suburbs was bubblin’ with great music back then. I would listen to Drexel’s radio station, Power 99’s Da Mystic Mack on the mix, Princeton’s station was dope…WDAS was Philly’s black-owned station…great late night mix shows. I could tune in NYC and listen to Ed Luva & Dre, Red Alert, Bobby Konders; this was back when Hot 97 was a latin geared radio station: used to listen to keep my freestyle & club music on hit. I played mostly house parties, occasional one off jams, I fell in love with turntables and quick mixing. I loved making tapes. I wish I kept em!
In 92, I went to school in Merced, California. Moving from NJ to Cali was the first time I ever truly experienced culture shock. Merced is in the middle of California, a small town in between Fresno & Modesto. I made some really good friendships there, threw some parties in 1995 with my pholks… was way up in the Yosemite area, a lot of fun.
Freestyle & house music are big there, with a majority Mexicano population, and I enjoyed it. I used to spin a lot of house parties, club nights, pretty cool. I liked Merced.
My parents moved out to Hawaii in 1996, I moved back to where my family’s deep roots were at in Chattanooga, TN to take a job. Its where my Dad was born, where my Grandfather preached at a small Babtist church in the 40s. About 2 hours north of Atlanta, 1 hour south of Knoxville, TN…situated on the Tennessee river & Georgia border…Chattanooga is a beautiful classic southern city. But not the best place for a reggae & hip hop dj, but nonetheless I tried. I threw some parties there too…I felt like I was exposing a lot of music & culture to people that weren’t able to move out of the South like I was able to as a kid. While I was there, I stacked up a lot of DJing gigs that helped establish my career…opening for Burning Spear, Family Man’s The Wailers, Femi Kuti, Slum Village, Natti Love Joys, and buncha others.
In ’04, I stopped visiting Hawaii to see my family and took a job in Honolulu…this is where I now spin about 3 to 4 times a week, including my own nights Rudegyal Retreat and Redda Fire. I also spin at weeklies like The Limelight, Get Fresh!, and many more that just pop up. On the hip hop tip, I joined the Direct Descendant Crew and the Pacific Sounds Outernational Sound System. Hopefully you & I can meet and you can tell me about how you got into certain musics…that is a subject of fascination for me. Thanks for reading!
Sounds Like
Music I spin:
Reggae
Dancehall
Old School Hip Hop
80's
90's
Freestyle
For real man!! My brother that booked me on that came over and folded it down as soon as I got on. He's good people...he knew I wouldn't like that shit just like you my man! Peace + Protection
Hey 45 Revolver! We have two cool shows coming up and we really hope you can make one or both.
Friday, June 5th, we are at Jazz Minds from 7 to 9 p.m.
Saturday, June 6th, we are at Sand Island R&B with two other bands. WET is a dance/rock cover band playing from 8 to 9:15. Friends of Adam is a shredding blues/rock/SRV trio playing from 9:30 to 10:45. Stratus Blue will close the place from about 11 to 1 a.m.
You Can Do All Things Through Christ Which Strengthens You. The Road To Success Is Not Straight. There Is A Curve Called Failure, A Loop Called Confusion, Speed Bumps Called Friends, Red Lights Called Graves, Caution Lights Called Family. You Will Have Flats Called Jobs. But, If You Have A Spare Called Determination, An Engine Called Perservance, Insurance Called Faith, And A Driver Called Jesus, You Make It To A Place Called Success...
Have Faith In Him...
Have A Blessed Day N May God Be With You Always...
6 on 6 crew battle winners get FREE ADMISSION to Undivided bboy battle May 29-30 and 2 free workshops of their choice. 1 on 1 Bboy Battle winner gets $100. Blackbook battle winners get Katch 1 Books.
ALL PROCEEDS GO TO GRACE BIBLE CHURCH YOUTH MINISTRIES!
Good times brother! Hit me up with your mailing addy and I'm gone get you a package in the USPS in the next week. (miss you guys already!) Peace + Protection
Thanks for the add!!! If you would like to sample more of our stuff, you can check out the other Stratus Blue Myspace pages listed on my Top Friends. Welcome to our world! We are happy to be a part of yours!!!!
