I was born into this world on January 13, 1977 in Atlanta Georgia at Grady Hospital. The product of parents, Carolyn and Bernard King, who both have extremely high appreciations for music, of all forms. I can remember getting my first record player. It was a small Fisher Price record player with 4 plastic records, and had to be wound up to play. In hindsight, I realized I was only a year old. Quickly I grew bored of my toy and preferred the real thing. The very next year I got my first “real†record player. It resembled a suitcase, with red and white stripes on the top, (If you have one, let me know…cause I wanna buy it…lol). Just about every Friday, my mom and I would visit Third World Enterprises on Decatur Street in Atlanta to buy records. At that time 45s were a dollar, and since my record player was small, I could only play 45s, well at least until I broke off the lid to it…talk about ingenuity! Everywhere I went; my record player went with me. My first 45 was Heartbreak Hotel by The Jacksons. I think I played that record until it was no longer audible.
As the years went on, my fascination for music, records in particular, intensified. When my parents had parties I wanted to play the records…and I did. I became very familiar with artists such as, The Manhattans, The O’Jays, Jean Knight, O.V. Wright, Enchantment, Johnny Taylor, and the list goes on. There were days I begged to play records in the early morning, and even late at night. Even when I visited relatives’ houses, I wanted to play records. It was kinda weird, because when there was a “component set†in the room, my attention was completely fixed to it, and nothing else mattered. Eventually, the cassette era would set in, and things changed for me a little.
In the mid 80s, the cassette was the form of media which everyone raved. Where it was the latest innovation in the music world, the cassette never really intrigued me the way vinyl did. The concept of pushing buttons and watching two wheels spin was boring. Nevertheless, I jumped on board and began recording various radio shows (Now, the recording aspect was kinda cool!). The radio show that comes to mind is “The Fresh Party†on V-103, in Atlanta. They would play all of the rap artists of that time, from MC Shy-D, 2 Live Crew to Moni Love and Salt n Pepa, just to name a few. I mastered splicing tapes in order to create a seamless effect. But I quickly grew bored with that, and took a hiatus.
At age 11, I began playing the trumpet. I chose that instrument only because of the way it looked. What can I say, I’m visual…lol After getting to Columbia High School, my band director, Robert Coln strongly insisted that I play Baritone/Euphonium. Great decision, because I excelled greatly. I later became section leader, ultimately making drum major. This is where my music career halted…at least for a while.
After High School, I joined the Marine Corps as a 1st and 2nd echelon mechanic. Great experience! Would I do it again? No. After the Marine Corps, life took its twist and turns and low and behold I turn back to music.
In 2000 I met the person who I can attribute a lot of my progression. Tonya Gaston was probably the pivotal person on my music journey. Born in Chicago, she knew her music, especially House Music. She bombarded me with early mixes from a few legendary DJs. Including, Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, to name a few. It was at this time my thirst for music again redeveloped. It seems House Music may be the thirst quencher I’ve longed for. It’s creative, different, intriguing. I feel stimulated again.
In 2003, I stumbled upon what is now the legendary MJQ here in Atlanta, where I became a regular, by the way. Kai Alce and Cullen Cole were the DJs at the time. I stepped into the DJ booth, and was floored to see turntables! Wow, they are playing with records, I said to myself in astonishment. That was the night; I realized there was still hope for a guy like me. Just when I thought vinyl was a thing of the past, I saw otherwise.
These are just a few things that have brought me to where I am today. A House Music DJ. I appreciate the beauty and creativity of House Music. No other form of music stimulates my senses as does House Music. I try to convey that through my mixes and hopefully I can convey that through you.Tanario
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