BIO

dj onceamonth

Lab-Oratory Records
Dirty Cuttin Scoundrels
State of Confusion
EV Productions

Contact/Booking Info
MySpace
Email

May 16th, 1981: Ian Osborn was born on a bright and sunny day in beautiful Crystal Lake, Illinois. His early years were like every other kids:
days filled with playgrounds, backyards, and soccer fields. However, in 1988, something happened to young Ian to make him realize there was a bit more to the world than the picket fences and manicured lawns of suburban Illinois. 1988 was the year N.W.A. released their groundbreaking debut, Straight Outta Compton.
Thanks to an older cousin who resided in Chicago, Ian heard this masterpiece and instantly his life changed.
While most people who heard the album were touched by the gritty street tales told by the emcees, Ian was enamored with the “wikki wikki” sounds
of DJ Yella scratching records in the songs. While at first a bit unsure of where the sound was coming from or how to recreate it,
he then decided that this is what he wanted to do with his life. While Crystal Lake has never been a hip-hop Mecca, Ian tried his best to figure out how to scratch
on his own. This led to a broken needle on the family record player, torn up Billy Preston and Led Zeppelin records, and some very pissed-off parents.
But young Ian was hooked.

Flash forward 18 years. Now known as dj onceamonth (a name bestowed upon him by a one-time collaborator…
it’s a long story, don‘t ask) the kid from the suburbs of Chicago is respected around the U.S. as one of the most complete and talented DJ’s in the Midwest.
He has won more battles than you can count on an abacus, rocked clubs from Detroit to San Francisco,
played in a few bands, DJed for several emcees, recorded with damn near everyone in the Chicago hip-hop scene,
and opened for everyone from Grandmaster Flash to Kanye West. In 2006 alone, once rocked the stage at Lollapalooza with his former band,
The Cankles, took 3rd place in the Midwest Regional Finals in the prestigious Guitar Center DJ Battle, did studio work on six major albums,
opened for several world-famous emcees and DJ’s, and still managed to spin all over Chicago one or two times a week as a guest of the resident DJs.

Considered one of the top battle DJ’s in the U.S., once has applied his precise beat juggling, scratch skills, and trick mixing prowess into his club sets,
making him one of the most exciting DJ’s to touch the turntables. His blends, transitions, and live remixes are meticulously on point,
and his ability to work a dance floor is unmatched. It is his competitive nature and battle background that makes him a threat to any DJ.
Give him a chance to shine, and he will make your favorite DJ look wack. He has rocked jaw-dropping sets in nearly every venue in Chicago.
He has opened for some of the most important artists in hip-hop. He has guest DJ’ed in Milwaukee, Phoenix, and everywhere in between.
He has done cuts on some of the most important albums in Chicago hip-hop in the past few years. His skills are some of the best you will see,
and you will not be disappointed when you see a set from the man known as dj onceamonth.

Please see artist’s Myspace page (myspace.com/big_once)
for two videos from 2006 DJ battles as well as a live mix of ‘chill-out’ hip-hop recorded at D’Vine in Chicago in March 2006.

BATTLES

Battle Tally

2004
1. Kool Mixx Chicago Prelim
2. Guitar Center Highland Park, IL Prelim (Champion)
3. Guitar Center Highland Park, IL Store Final (Champion)
4. Guitar Center Midwest District Finals
5. Vinyl Combat Chicago Regional
6. Battle for Midwest Supremacy, Cincinnati, OH

2005
1. DMC Chicago Regional
2. Guitar Center Highland Park, IL Prelim (Champion)
3. Guitar Center Highland Park, IL Store Final (Champion)
4. Pepsi / Power 92 / Bassment DJ Battle, (2nd place)
5. Guitar Center Midwest District Finals (3rd place)
6. Scribble Jam DJ Battle, Cincinnati, OH
7. Grills and Skills, Rockford, IL (Champion)
8. Elixur / Groove Shop Battle, Rockford, IL (2nd place)
9. Cuts and Bruises Battle (3rd place)

2006
1. Sam Ash Turntablist Battle, Buffalo Grove, IL (Champion)
2. Sam Ash DJ Summit 2.0 Mix Battle, Buffalo Grove, IL (Champion)
3. Indiana University Hip Hop Awareness Festival DJ Battle
4. DMC Albuquerque Regional
5. DMC Chicago Regional
6. Guitar Center Highland Park, IL Prelim (Champion)
7. Guitar Center Chicago District Final (Champion)
8. Guitar Center Midwest Regional Finals, Detroit, MI (3rd place)
9. DMC Battle for U.S. Supremacy

?’S

1. Who Influenced You ?
- Battling : My crew, Dirty Cuttin Scoundrels (D. Compose, Brown Royal, and SEK Uno), Lo-Lives, Platter Pirates, Turntable Technicians, Allies, Beat Junkies, 5th Platoon, X-Men, Lordz of Fitness, Animal Crackers, C2C, Table Gimps, Battlestar, West Coast 1ders, and pretty much every DJ thats entering battles right now. I try to study every DJ I see and try to take something from them, whether its a world champion or a nervous kid entering his first battle.

-Party Rocking/Clubs: I’m mostly influenced by Chicago DJ’s… Spontaneous, Pickel, Intel, Maker, MTM, Zebo, Hess, ScanDLS, Boy Wonder, D. Compose, Rude 1, TeeBot, and many many more.

2. What do you like most about djing ?
Everything. Battling, rockin clubs, recording, digging, playing in bands, djing for rappers, everything. Battling is the most intense though, theres nothing like having 500 people staring intently at your hands for 6 minutes. If you kill it, the crowd reaction is indescribable.

3. Where do you think djing will be in the Future ?
Unfortunately, real djing is going down the drain. The advent of serato and programs like ableton allow hipsters who have never bought a single record to get booked at clubs when they have no idea how to beat match or mix. Real DJ’s like myself and the people i have mentioned have to struggle to make a living because posers take our jobs.

4. If you could mix any party which would it be ?
Wherever i can play T.I., Project Pat, and Lil Wayne all night and not get shot at.

5. The last song you just listened to ?
New beats by my roomate Earmint (hottest producer in the game ya heard?!)

6. Where have you spun ?
Everywhere. See list.

7. Best party ?
Lollapalooza 2006 (with my former band, the Cankles), opening for Jurassic 5 in Milwaukee in 2004, opening (and closing) for Grandmaster Flash at Zentra, and the Getdown! in Aurora with the Comeups, DJDQ, ScanDLS, and Brown Royal a couple months ago. Those are the ones that jump to mind.

8. Worst party ?
I’m sure theres been a few. I don’t dwell on the bad gigs though. They are forgotten the next morning.

9. Top 5 Favorite CUTS OF ALL TIME “any genere”
I hate questions like this, because my answers change daily, but this is what comes to mind right now…
1. Ice Cube - “No Vaseline”
2. People Under the Stairs - “Flex Off”
3. N.W.A. - “Express Yourself”
4. Jim Jones - “We Fly High”
5. The Cankles - “Bunny Killer”

10. Top 5 Cuts of the Last year of Record shopping ?
1. Too $hort - “Blow the Whistle”
2. Jim Jones - “We Fly High”
3. Modill - “Nightly”
4. DJ Khaled ft. Lil Wayne, Paul Wall, Fat Joe, and Rick Ross - “Holla At Me Baby”
5. Young Dro - “Shoulder Lean”

contact / booking Info

VENUES

Venues/Clubs
Lollapalooza (Grant Park)
Congress Theater
Abbey Pub
The Metro
Subterranean
The Note
Double Door
Empty Bottle
Hideout
Betty’s Blue Star Lounge
Hot House
Black Beetle
Darkroom
Vision
Zentra
Ontourage
D’Vine
Mixx
Bar Vertigo
Morseland
Logan Square Auditorium
BeviAmo Wine Bar
Danny’s Pub
115 Bourbon St.
U.s. Beer Company
Premiere Lounge (West Chicago, IL)
Clearwater Theater (West Dundee, IL)
Martini Bar (Aurora, IL)
End Zone (Aurora, IL)
Elixur (Rockford, IL)
Posh (Detroit, MI)
Mantra (Milwaukee, WI)
The Rave/Eagles Ballroom (Milwaukee, WI)
Annies Outdoor Pavillion (Cincinnati, OH)
Madison Theater (Cincinnati, OH)
Sunshine Theater (Albuquerque, NM)
Hidden House (Phoenix, AZ)
Club 6 (San Francisco, CA)

Opened For
Grandmaster Flash
Kanye West
Common
Twista
Method Man
Jurassic 5
Lyrics Born
Glue
Wordsworth
Bump J
Eyedea and Abilities
Visionaries
ModIll
Longshot
Psalm One
One Be Lo
Animal Crackers
Grayskul
Hangar 18
Arsonists

Discography
Fear of Sound – di-fi (2001)
Fear of Sound – Focus (2002)
Fear of Sound - …and there the devil stood (2003)
Me, Myself and Rhyme – MMR LP (Lab-O, 2003)
State of Confusion – Sampler CD (Under the Table Music, 2003)
Dusty Bottomz – Pollito Con Papas EP (Under the Table Music, 2003)
Apoc – Salesman Shipwrecked (Lab-O, 2003)
Earmint and Elfamail – The 3rd Eye Pizza Party (Lab-O, 2004)
Lab-Oratory Records– Changing Seasons (Lab-O, 2004)
Apoc and Earmint Present: The Zooey Files (Lab-O, 2005)
Dusty Bottomz – J.A.S.M.I.N.E. (PPBS, 2005)
Apoc – Gods and Ghosts (Lab-O, 2005)
The Cankles – Goddamn! (Shinfoot, 2005)
EV Records – Sampler CD (EV Records, 2006)
Modill – Midnight Green (EV Records, 2006)
Elfamail – Dead Hookers! (Lab-O, 2006)
Verbal Kent – Move With the Walls (Gravel Records, 2006)
EV Records - Everything (EV Records, 2007)

Completed work on upcoming projects:
The Ritz – The Night of Day (Chisel Sound, 2007)
Illogic – Make Moves (2007)
ScanDLS – yet untitled (2007)

a live mix i did at d’vine in march of 2006

Check This Mix out

this is the tracklisting:

1. No ID & Dug Infinite – The Real Weight
2. Black Moon – I Got Cha Opin
3. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth – Ghettos of the Mind
4. Masta Ace ft. Big Noyd – Do It Man
5. Jeru – D. Original
6. Encore – Ice Age (remix)
7. Viktor Vaughn – Ode to Road Rage
8. Smif-N-Wessun – My Timbz Do Work
9. Inspectah Deck – Movers and Shakers
10. Group Home – Supa Star / Beastie Boys – Sure Shot
11. Mobb Deep – Shook Ones Pt. II
12. Miles Tackett – Good Vibrations / Das EFX – Real Hip Hop
13. Giant Panda – 90’s
14. Sound Providers – Get Down
15. ModIll ft. onceamonth – Nightly
16. Pitch Black – Its All Real
17. Longshot ft. Profound & Diverse – We Here
18. Royce Da 5’9” – Boom
19. Cypress Hill – Hand on the Pump
20. Oh No ft. J Dilla & Roc ‘C’ – Move Pt. II
21. Ugly Duckling – Friday Night
22. Nas – I Can / Made You Look
23. GZA – Breaker Breaker
24. DJ Krush – Bypath: Would You Take It?

Check This Mix out

Contact/Booking Info
MySpace
Email