Artist Interviews

The Chicago House Dj INTERVIEW !

Who Influenced You ?
Muzikally….WOW!!! Everything!!! Let’s see without giving up my age how can I do this…Hmmmm. Well I started DJing in 1977 so of course Disco was a big part of my life…& as the years went on funk,rap,punk,new wave then of course Chicago House Music which I got in2 in 1985 when my cousin hit me up with a WBMX radio mix tape from Chicago of Farley “Funkin” Keith now Farley “Jackmaster” Funk. I was blown away to the sounds I was hearing from Italian disco to Detroit Techno by Model 500 to of course tha raw beatz coming out of Chi-town. Though I believe it was the Italian Disco Farley was playing that caught my ear 1st. At that time I was heavily in2 Depeche Mode, New Order, Ministry, Front 242, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Until December and alot of Gay Hi-NRG Disco with groups like Fun Fun, Giorgio moroder, etc…Oh, and of course the Village People…I’m not talkin YMCA….I’m talkin their more underground lp cuts like “fire Island”, “San Francisco”, “Hot Cop”, etc…
As far as DJing wise….my influence start with my cousin Fernando in Cleveland, Kochis Collier another great Cleveland jock…then of Course Farley “Jackmaster” Funk who is the Godfather of House in my book;) and the names continue such as
the whole Original Hot Mix 5 & Super Mix 6 teams on WBMX, Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles, Lil Louis, DJ Pierre, Larry Levan & of course my all time favorite Junior Vasquez.

What do you like most about djing and or producing ?
As a producer…just the whole idea of creating something muzikally & tieing that in with DJing playing what I just created & playing it for my crowd. Just seeing the reaction on the dancefloor is an Ultimate High”) Thank GOD all the responses have been good;)

Your Thoughts on vinyl vs mixing software ?
Well, I mix 90% vinyl still.. The cd’s I play r the promo’s I get. As far as software…I just can’t see myself playing with a laptop/program. I think the whole art of DJing is being lost with that. & that’s starts with the crate of records you bring with you 2 a gig…& I’m not talkin about not Serato & computer. It’z like a graphity artist with no cans of paint to do thee art. I think cd’s is the farthest I go???

The last song you just listened to ?
“Wrong” by Depeche Mode

Top 5 Favorite CUTS OF ALL TIME “any genera”
Wow!!! This is impossible…but I will name 5 at the top of my head.
1. Imagination “Just an Illusion”
2. Prince ‘I wanna be your Lover”
3. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Two Tribes”
4. Farley “Jackmaster” Funk “Farley Knows House”
5. Depeche Mode “Halo”

Where have you spun ?
London, Scotland, Amsterdam, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, New Hampshire, Orlando, Miami, Tampa, Gainesville,Cleveland, etc….

Best party ?
Wow!!! another tuff one….Hmmm, I believe @ one specific night @ one of my Infamous Paradise Box parties in Orlando, florida. It seemed like as if everything I spun worked. That night I went from Deep Disco to Acid House to Detroit Techno to Wildpitch, etc… and the dancefloor kept getting more and more packed. That was an amazing night! Most def as the dancers that came up to me and said…this was one magical night….U just had to have bn there. Funny thing I tried to record it and for some strange reason…the right channel never came in when it was recorded. Example..when I’d go from my left turntable to the right it would mix in2 nothing (in the recording) very weird??? But as they said b4..You had to have bn there to expierience it.

Worst party ?
I won’t name the Club…& It was promoted very poorly or at all and there was like a thousand DJ’s in the lineup. Coming from a school where only 1 DJ would play the entire night…that was overwhelming”0

what gear do u prefer to mix on ? 2
technics SL-1200MK2 turntables (if necessary 1 Pioneer CDj 1000) and my secret mixer that I’ve had for over 25 yrs”)…if you saw it you would b like what and why??LOL It jus has thee M-TRAXXX sound;)

What gear did you start on ?
1 belt drive turntable with a tape deck & 8-trk and I used the Aux switch to go from turnatable table to tape deck, etc…

If you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be ?
Hmmm…these r some good questions…I would have these promoters book the DJ’s with a knowledge & passion for the muzik…NOT cause itz an In thing…as we all know every1 and their mother & stripper sisters r Djing. I alwayz say, Itz Not an In thang, It’z a House;) I feel like alot of people wanting to get famous quick jump on the DJ bandwagon…and half of these peeps have NO Clue/knowledge on dance music. Their main goal is to just b seen playing records or well…in this case…a laptop witha program that mixes the tracks for you. Nice right”)

If you could change one thing about the world you live in what would that be ?
Homelessness & people starving with no place to go. One of my goals is to get more involve to volenteer my time to help and give…
Other than that…You can read my LOOOOOOOOOONG Bio and listen to my muzik procutions & event schedule & Radio show listings on

Contact DJ M-TRAXXX aka Bat-Manny The Dark Knight of House VIA myspace CLICK HERE

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