About Me
The latest MashUp Bootleg Remixes can be found at WWW.DJJOHN.NET
Come Drink The Kool-Aid!!
A new Myspace music page for DJ John can be found HERE
Disc Jockey
You know how these Bio's go. blah blah blah.... Well, here's mine.
It all began as a teenager listening to the classic "remix" shows on Bay Area radio in the mid to late 80's. I was heavily influenced by the infamous Cameron Paul and his Mixx-It record label. In 1988, I started a mobile disc jockey service which continued in college, where I attended Chico State University and catered to the fraternity and sorority circuit. Over the years, my business expanded to include weddings and corporate events and became quite successful. Despite the success, I ended the mobile scene a few years ago to pursue other interests.
I've spent a tremendous amount of time working on studio production and remix projects. With 20 years of experience, I can finally claim "I know what I'm doing." In school, I majored in Communications with emphasis on Radio and TV broadcasting. I also earned a Minor in Recording Arts which provided the "music theory" that contributes to my music production skills today. Ultimately, it's the endless hours slaving away in my home studio, in front of my PC, with a lethal mix of espresso and energy drinks that fuels my creativity.
Remixes and Bootlegs
Since 2004, I've been involved with bootleg DJs throughout the world to develop White Label remixes, bootlegs and mashups. For those unfamiliar to the music terminology, Mashups are remixes of two or more songs (typically of different genre) combined in a way to create something fresh and new. They are almost always illegal and desktop & bedroom DJs from around the world are making them. Many of these Mashups suck (due to lack of experience, understanding of harmonic mixing, poor execution of tools, etc), but a few become underground hits and spread via the internet. Software tools I use include Mixmeister, Protools, Reason, Serato and others.
I'm often asked what kind of music I prefer to "spin".
My style is eclectic. I mix harmonically and don't confine myself to any particular genre of music. I tend to remix mostly old school dance beats from the late 80's and early 90's and also gravitate towards classic rock tunes I listened to growing up in the late 70's. I do try to stay on top of new hits, but most of today's music confuses me. I also mix ambient/downtempo, electronica, trance, house, hip-hop, disco, alternative rock and anything else that has a beat. I love turntablism and have been integrating computer-based remixing with traditional vinyl techniques for years. My strengths are production and hashing little medleys together into complex compositions. I get bored with simple A+B Mashups, but sometimes they can be the most effective and pleasing to the ear.
Although the concept and practice of Mashups have been around since the 80's, I never embraced them until the beginning of 2004. Since then, I've been fortunate to hit the ground running and have made it onto a number of compilation cd's and vinyl pressings across the globe. One of the more memorable milestones has been having a number of my Mashups bootlegs released by a Bay Area independent label called Replicant. Replicant is run by the same owner of the Bomb Hip Hop label, known for the popular "Return of The DJ" series.
Hey! It's DJ John!
Where can you find me? Well, I gave up the nightclub circuit during the 90's. However, once per year, you can find me attending/performing at the popular Bootie! anniversary party held in San Francisco at the DNA Lounge in Sept. By far, it's the nations epi-center to listen & dance to the worlds best Mashups and if there's a celebrity status behind the bootleg scene, it's the place to find some of the best and brightest mash-up DJ's in the western US (including me - lol).
Did anyone actually read this far? If you did, you win a special prize. Claim it by emailing me at SouthBayDJ AT hotmail DOT com
Thanks, John Liechty
** NOTE: Due to hackers based in China, my music website, www.djjohn.net is down until further notice.
