DJ Prestige has been collecting music his whole life. From the time he was a small boy he was influenced by his father's record collection that contained music by artists such as The Beatles, Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MG's, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder.
He started collecting records and music when he was in middle school. He heard Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" and the dreams of being a DJ began. Drawing influences from rap, reggae, punk, ska, new wave, and classic rock, his quest to become a DJ led him from college radio at 91.7 WLFR at Stockton State College to a summertime gig at the Jersey shore. Opening for such national acts as G Love and Special Sauce and The Goats, Prestige honed his skill and confidence on the decks. As fate would have it, he became a full time DJ in 1998. His first project he was involved in was a live band called Surreal Audio. With members such as MC Alex J, (Nervous Records) New York guitarist Chris Buono (RWE, BubbleFro, Diablo Project) and drummer Jay Diablo (Diablo Project (Universal), Dragpipe (Interscope), Prestige got his experience in by touring New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York with the group. This project came to a halt after much praise. When the band broke up, Prestige went on and created a weekly party in Red Bank, NJ called "The Soul Circuit".
The Soul Circuit was the only party of its kind in the Central NJ area that played rare grooves, funk, soul, and classic and underground hip hop. There was also an open mic slot for local MC's. It went on for close to 2 years, and had many special guests and DJs, including rap photographer Rickey Powell (who provided an exclusive slide show), and DJ Un-G ( P.I.C ), who Prestige currently collaborates with.
His next party called "Dimensions In Sound" with 45Grave (Ari Katz formally of the bands Lifetime, Zero Zero (Jade Tree), and Miss TK and the Revenge, took you on a journey through down tempo beats, DJ Shadow like rhythms, and out of print funk 45's. When Dimensions and the Soul Circuit came to a halt, Prestige teamed up with Un-G and decided to move their party to New York City. Having played various venues and parties in the city, (Bar XVI and the seedy C- 54) the two settled on The Patio in the up and coming Lower East Side of Manhattan. "Sexy Picnic" was born. Classic and underground hip-hop, funk, soul and rare grooves were served up on a weekly basis. It ran from November 2001 to April 2002. Gaining momentum from these gigs, the two branched out and brought their sound to the now defunct Angel on Orchard St. and The Parkside Lounge, also in the Lower East Side. While the Parkside provided "The After Work Special" on Fridays, Thursday Night's "Sexy Picnic" at Angel was going strong. In between he had managed to do a bi-monthly at the The Downtown Cafe in Red Bank, NJ with the funk band Brown, spinning rare grooves and hip hop there two Fridays a month. Sexy Picnic finished up with much success in June of 2003, where he moved to the next stage, which was touring with ex-Lava/Atlantic Recording act Tony C and the Truth. As a member of Tony C. and the Truth, Prestige manned the decks, creating music, cutting and scratching beats and samples. He can be heard on TCATT's only release on that label, "Demonophonic Blues" . DJ Prestige toured with the band for three years until June 2005. He has opened up for the following bands: The Killers, Jimmy Eat World, Sugar Ray, Uncle Kracker, Chevelle, DJ Mike Relm, Cee- Lo Green, Finger Eleven, Andrew WK, Papa Roach, Yellowcard, Living Colour, King's X, Dada, the Toasters, Gomez, Fastball, Blues Traveler, Bad Brains, the Bouncing Souls, the Lordz, and Collective Soul among others. After touring with a band, Prestige returned as a solo artist in 2005, starting two parties in the Asbury Park area, "The Sunday Tighten Up (now defunct), and Saturday Night Rockers and the Good Foot (RIP 10.06). For his newest party he has teamed up with the selector known as J5 and their Strictly Butter Party, one Friday a month at the Asbury Lanes. He's also teamed up again with DJ partner DJ Un-G to step it up in the '07 with Rock Box Saturdays at the Sidehatch in Asbury Park. The newest edition to the family is The Asbury Park 45 sessions, a party strictly on 45. No 12" allowed!
Always continuing his quest for vinyl, Prestige passes his time buying records and digging in the dust at yard sales, flea markets, and thrift shops looking for breaks and beats. No vinyl is safe! (If your uncle has records in the basement, feel free to contact the DJ.) You can also find him spending time with his lovely wife, taking photographs, designing tee shirts, chasing his two dogs, kicking a soccer ball around in a Liverpool FC jersey, riding vintage single speeds, and drinking a few Guinness and Newcastles. For more info go here: DJ Prestige
