Ill Insanity

Rob Swift (Ill Insanity, X-cutioners), Me, & Total Eclipse (Ill Insanity, X-cutioners)

Me & DJ Precision (Ill Insanity, 2007 DMC US Champ)

Me & Total Eclipse (X-cutioners, Ill Insanity)

I'm a big time fan of these guys. They are pioneers of the turntablist era. Their show was like a live mixtape on six turntables- lots of great jams, scratching, juggling, and team routines. Before the show they were at Uprok, and I found myself digging in the crates next to Total Eclipse.

Legion In-Store Performance

I could do this all day

We performed at Legion, a local skate shop. They let us do whatever we wanted. Good move. This gig was great, cuz we played almost all unknown stuff. We have deep crates, so it's nice to play for people that are open to new music. We mixed everything from underground hip-hop to electro house, to brazillian club tracks. All night we had people coming up and asking, "whoa, what track is this?"

It's hard to tell here, but the store was packed front to back

The photo above is the view from the booth. The owners projected skate videos on the screen above the front entrance. It was a lot of fun. It was like an in-store house party. At first people were just watching us spin, but it wasn't long before we had them dancing.

View of the store from the street

For once Provo felt like it had a nightlife. Next door a new cafe Penny Royale was having it's grand opening, and there were 2 other venues down the street that had concerts going on. I stepped out during CHu's set and there were crowds of people just hopping from venue to venue. I ran into some friends and some dude dressed like a vampire offered me a gig at some underground drum & bass club in Salt Lake. We didn't go.

UPDATE: It's been a while since this gig, unfortunately,  Legion and Penny Royale mentioned in this article have fallen victim to the economy. While at the time I hoped this sprouting scene was going to be the new norm for provo, I haven't seen it since. Maybe we'll get two new themed frozen yogurt restaurants.

Pigeon John

DJ CHu & Pigeon John (Los Angeles)

Pigeon John adds some much needed levity to the hip-hop game. It's nice to see some cats that don't take themselves way too seriously. His music is also very diverse and quite upbeat. Good music from good people.

Pics from Bridal Veils

Bridal Veils Night #1 - 80s Night

They played clips from 80's movies during the dance, the visuals were a nice touch

At first, I frowned at the idea of DJing an 80's dance. It's so corny and played out. But I did a lot of research beforehand and found some good tunes to play. I mean, you can't just play Footloose and Billie Jean for 4 hours straight (although some people would probably like that). I decided to go for more of the 80's R&B and hip-hop. It definaltley had a different feel than other 80's dances I've seen. The crowd was awsome, I even mixed in sme new jams that take influence or samples from the 80's and they loved it. Being outdoors, the records blew off the turnable and into the crowd twice. They just laughed and brought the records back and the party was back on. The vibe was very positive, very upbeat.

Bridal Veils Night #2 - Jock Jams

The party started at 9, people were there early for once!

I guess word spread from last week,  cuz about 3 times as many people showed up. Probably around 200 people. The space filled up quick and it was packed by 9:30. Even though we had a long night ahead, we were prepared to go strong all night. CHu kicked it off, and I was up for the second half. CHu did a great job of reading the crowd. I picked up where he left off and I must say, we killed it! We had them going crazy! By the time I finished my set, I had them all doing the twist and la bamba! The party stayed packed up until we had to shut it down at like 1:30 am. The promoter was blown away.

Bridal Veils night #3 - Space Theme

DJ CHu at soundcheck

I didn't make the last gig cuz I was in Hawaii at the time, but CHu took on the crowd by himself. He reported that the crowd was even bigger than last week. He estimated a good 300. We debated a lot about what a "space" themed dance should sound like. The promoter wanted like a spacey techno rave. CHu said it ended up being a top 40 dance. When crowds start getting that big it's hard to do something as niche as techno. Over all it was a very positive experience. The event crew was very professional. It's nice when things all come together.

Bridal Veil Film Fest

The 40 foot movie screen. That's DJ CHu on the bottom left.

We were invited to spin at the Bridal Veil Film Fest. The event featured several foreign films and dance parties after the movies. They do these events all over the world, but the head dude is from Utah, so they brought it home for the first time ever. The event is to help out refugees, particularly those in Africa. We played 3 Saturday's straight, each with a different theme.

This is how I enjoy nature.

For sound they had like eighteen 15" powered Mackies and twelve 18" QVC subs. The sound was massive, but perfectly balanced. You could hear the music perfectly which is rare for an outdoor event. The sound guy was from Africa, and it was his first time in Utah. Really nice guy. He said it was weird to see the sun setting in the west.

Sound check before the show.

I've done a few outdoor events before, but this was the most scenic venue I've DJed at. The falls were to our immediate right. The last night I was there, after everyone left, I play some brazilian jazz for myself and just soaked it all in.

Vortexas in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Click to view large.

I'm so proud of my boys! Great write up from the Fort Worth Star Telegram. For those that didn't know, me & juc go way back since fat crayons and nap time.

Cut Chemist

Me and Cut Chemist of Jurrasic 5. Super nerd kudos if you know what "million dollar legs" is a reference to. I know, but I'm not telling.

Cut doing his thing.