About Me
Since his transition from drummer and percussionist to DJ in the late eighties, turntables, music, and a love of performance have continued to shape and help define DJ Silent as both a DJ and producer. In the late eighties and early nineties, DJ gigs consisted of everything from backyard house parties to weddings and school functions. With such a variety of gigs, versatility was a must, and playing the crowd meant mixing everything from Hip Hop and Old School, to Latin Freestyle and early dance tracks. As the nineties progressed, he began DJ’ing and producing beats for a local hip hop duo named 1st Degree, as well as dedicating more energy and countless hours exploring scratching and other turntablism oriented skills. He continued to delve into this aspect of the craft, fusing it together with his predominant play of hip hop and old school, while eventually entering a few local DJ battles.Around the mid-to-late nineties, he began to take notice of the remerging local dance scene and was intrigued by the various genres in which it encompassed. Jumping right in, he began to explore various styles of house, trance, progressive house, tribal and techno, ultimately helping to define his present sound(s). More concerned at the time with mixing for his own satisfaction and that of immediate friends, he refined his mixing skills and continued to evolve in terms music selection, while unknowingly approaching a series of events that would for ever alter his perceptions as a DJ/producer. In 1999, while visiting family in NYC, a visit to the infamous Sound Factory in Manhattan, gave witness to full-on dance club madness. Experiencing the culmination of incredible music, visual effects and theatrics, lowered inhibitions both sexual and otherwise, coupled with a maze-like venue and the collective energy from several thousand dancers would for ever define his perception of what a DJ and producer should bring to the equation!Motivated from the experience, he worked his way into the AZ rave scene playing parties like Breakdown @ The Nile and Fusion, and moving into club venues such as; Freedom, Myst, Sky Lounge, Suede, The Cajun House, Iron Bar, Acme, Sampan, Phase 4 Studios, Lucky 7, etc., in addition to maintaining a residency at the long-time afterhours party - Peppermint Disgo. In July of 2003, Silent co-founded PROGRESSION Thursday nights at Furio in Scottsdale, which because of its success eventually relocated to a larger venue at Suede nightclub.After DJ’ing for numerous years and dealing with countless local promoters and venues, Silent's focus has shifted to the production and song writing aspects of music, utilizing his past musical training and percussive experience as a means of bypassing local constraints. He teamed up with three old friends, two of which were fellow drummers and the third a guitarist, and further evolved the already existing dj/production crew known as “sickvibe†productions, which Silent co-created in the late ninties. Currently, Silent and sickvibe and are finishing their second dance floor-friendly promotional EP, which is predominantly funky progressive house with cuts featuring local vocalists and lyricists.While he continues to evolve as a DJ, producer and as a song writer, his motivation remains constant – to rock the dance floor and have fun doing it!!!
