Music:
Member Since: 10/31/2006
Band Website: www.grahamfunke.com
Band Members:
This requires very little introduction:
VH1 Fabulous Life: Million Dollar Babies
Graham Funke & DJ StoneRokk on YO on e!:
Yo! This bio is a bit outdated because I've been busy writing everybody else's bios for them. The info is still pertinent, but it needs an update. Anyway...
BIO:
DJ GRAHAM FUNKE
Upfront, here’s where you can find him these days: Monday nights at
Area in Hollywood, Tuesday nights at
ghostbar inside the
Palms in Las Vegas, Wednesday nights at
Green Door in Hollywood, Thursday nights at
Six in Phoenix AZ, Friday and Saturday nights at
Ivan Kane’s 40 Deuce inside
Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Saturday and Sunday afternoons at
Tao Beach outside the
Venetian in Las Vegas, and Sunday nights at the
Playboy Club inside the
Palms in Las Vegas, in addition to monthly appearances at the premiere clubs in San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, St Louis, and beyond...
While most DJ’s resumes are inundated with past parties for whichever reality star is hot at the moment,
Graham Funke’s resume is actually chock full of heavyweights, from presidential candidates like
Hillary Clinton to A-list movie directors like
Bryan Singer (Superman Returns) and
Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) and
Taylor Hackford (Ray) to number one recording artists like
Christina Aguilera and
Sting and
Jessica Simpson to box office stars like
Will Ferrell and
Sharon Stone and
Dustin Hoffman to the most eccentric personalities like
Marilyn Manson and
Jenna Jameson.
Having worked as a DJ for over a decade,
Graham Funke has been instrumental in launching some of the legendary clubs that have shaped today’s highly-competitive nightlife market. Based solely in Los Angeles at the time, he was the resident DJ when the doors opened at
The Downtown Standard Hotel,
Nacional, and
Spider Club, and worked every other hot spot in Hollywood until leaving for Sin City in Fall 2004.
In 2006, Uncle Sam said “I Want You!†and sent
Graham Funke out to the military bases in Asia to entertain the US troops overseas; he is the first and only DJ to have this honor. Another tour is in the works which will cover the Middle East, primarily Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
Graham Funke leaves his politics out of it, focusing less on the policies that put these men and women in action and more on delivering a “lil bit of home.â€
Graham Funke has appeared in publications such as
Maxim Magazine and
Intouch Magazine, been featured on
E! Channel and
Bravo!, and has worked for tastemaking corporate entities such as
MTV,
VH-1,
Juicy Couture,
Grey Goose,
Moet,
Red Bull,
Vogue Magazine, and the
American Music Awards.
And you might even recognize
Graham Funke’s face from the slew of national television commercials he has appeared in, from
Starburst to
Citibank to
Adidas to
Fed Ex, or seen his name in the byline of a feature article in
Scion Magazine (circulation 500k), for which he documents those things on the forefront of pop culture.
Now, with all the hype out of the way, here is how
Graham Funke got there...
Graham Funke was raised in the legendary offices of
Charles and Ray Eames, where his Oscar-winning father
Alex Funke was a cinematographer.
Graham Funke was exposed to a wide variety of groundbreaking projects and ideas which cultivated his young mind.
While in high school,
Graham Funke would sneak out all night, entranced by the burgeoning Los Angeles underground club scene of the early 1990s. It was there that he first witnessed the spoils of DJing, carrying records for Hollywood pioneers
DJ Mike Messex and
PimpDaddy Sean Perry. He became very aware of the attention they received upon entering a room and the power they wielded while working. Plus the free champagne and big paychecks.
During a 6-year stint of college in San Francisco,
Graham Funke paid close attention at the side of
DJ Andrew Jervis, famed record collector,
Ubiquity Records curator, and
On-The-One Magazine editor. He absorbed the Brit’s knowledge of records and adopted the proper amount of snob appeal needed to succeed as a DJ.
Once the Y2K bug came and went,
Graham Funke moved back to Los Angeles, working at first with
Insomniac Productions and DJing large events at the
Los Angeles Coliseum, the
LA Sports Arena,
Empire Polo Fields, and the
Queen Mary.
Soon after, nightlife impresario
Ivan Kane, the man who “almost single-handedly made nightlife sexy†(
Vegas Magazine), took notice of
Graham Funke and made him the Saturday night resident at the world-famous
40 Deuce Burlesque (www.fortydeuce.com). Upon witnessing
Graham Funke’s fluid and eclectic mix of hip hop, rock, pop, and favorites,
Ivan Kane knew he had found his new music directeur.
They opened the
40 Deuce at
Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in 2004, and more
40 Deuce establishments are on the horizon in San Diego, London, Miami, and the much heralded New York club, which opens in Fall 2007 with partners
David Bowie and
Sting.
Graham Funke looks forward to spinning and unearthing talent in each new location.
By 2006,
Graham Funke had become one of the few go-to DJs in Sin City. When the new
Palms Casino Fantasy Tower opened,
Graham Funke DJed the grand opening and was offered the coveted Sunday night residency in the world’s only
Playboy Club. He enjoys being associated with the world class brand and loves his co-workers, who wear bunny ears.
And by Spring 2007, he had crossed paths with the forward-thinking nightlife guns behind
Tao at the
Venetian,
Jason Strauss and
Noah Teppenberg, who recently unveiled
Tao Beach, a VIP daytime playground, where
Graham Funke will spend the season playing records and enjoying the European aspects that seem to surface when booze, music, and a pool collide.
Stay tuned....
photo: www.darkroomdemons.com
Influences:
Sounds Like: CHECK OUT:
www.localitesVEGAS.com
www.localitesLA.com
Record Label: Unknown Indie
Type of Label: Indie
