DJing

MC Magic: Havana Brown's "We Run the Night" Should Have Been An Even Bigger Pop Smash

Every once in a while I run into a record I've never heard of, even though it's been out for a while. "We Run the Night," by Australian DJ-turned-recording-artist Havana Brown, is one of those records, and I'm surprised it didn't become a pop smash in the United States. It boasts over 29 million vi ... More >>

Fact 135 on Watching DJ Swamp Light Himself Aflame While Smashing Records

David Dimmick isn't much of a braggart -- at least as far as we can tell -- but he's got every effin' right to be. Since becoming a DJ in 1996, the dude's C.V. includes sharing stages with some pretty stellar icons from hip-hop history, like the Wu-Tang Clan, Pharohe Monarche, A Tribe Called Quest, ... More >>

LES 735 on Conquering the Competition at the DMC Phoenix DJ Battle

So what didja wind up doing last weekend? Get drunk and act the fool at a club, perhaps? Or did it involve sacking out in front of the latest episode of Game of Thrones or Mad Men? We're willing to bet it was nowhere near as pimp as how Valley resident Les Sias spent his off hours. Last Saturday, ... More >>

Mr. P-Body: DJs Have Become Nothing but "Living, Breathing iPods"

Besides the likes of Pete "SuperMix" Salaz, Z-Trip, and Robbie Rob, few cats in the Valley epitomize old-school DJ culture than Stephen Peabody. For more than 16 years, the performer known as Mr. P-Body has worked turntables at practically every major club -- both past and present -- in metro Phoeni ... More >>

DJ Element Performing One Final Gig at The Blunt Club in Late February

We once asked local turntablism guru Logan Howard to approximate how many gigs he's performed over the course of his 16-year stint as DJ Element. While he wasn't able to answer the question exactly - which you can't fault him for, considering the staggering length of his career - but estimated it wa ... More >>

Bum Squad DJs Toy Drive @ All Starz

DJ Munition on How "Gangnam Style" Will Drive Afterlife Wild Tonight

Tyler Sherman has been privy to more than a few major ragers, despite the embryonic nature of his DJ career. As his alter ego DJ Munition, the ASU student, who's currently pursing a bachelors degree in chemical engineering, has only been in the track-dropping biz for a mere four years, but has reign ... More >>

DJ Brett Ortiz on How "Return of the Mack" Got Him Into Destroying Turntables

Ask DJ Brett Ortiz what the best part of his job is, and he doesn't take long to answer: "Knowing [that] you alone can make a room full of people have the best night of their life," he says. The 27-year-old does his damndest to fulfill that goal every Friday evening at Wild Knight or on Saturdays at ... More >>

DJ Filthy Flip on Why He's A One Man Wolfpack

See also: Collective Chaos on Misconceptions About Scottsdale DJs See also: Pilots on Their Airplane Shtick, Harry Potter Obsession, and Busting Into the Local DJ SceneBy his own admission, Filthy Flip still has plenty a lot to learn about the world of EDM. The fresh-faced local DJ is a relatively n ... More >>

Nancy Whang @ Bar Smith

Macy Gray Performs Special DJ Set Tonight at W Scottsdale Hotel's WET Deck

The DJ booth up on the W Scottsdale Hotel's WET Deck will host a special guest spin session tonight, and its someone you might not normally associate with the world of turntables and club nights. Grammy-winning R&B singer Macy Gray will dialing up tracks on the mixers during her set this evening d ... More >>

Teen Beat

EDC 2012: Calvin Harris Plays CDs of Himself Singing

See more EDC Vegas coverage: EDC Vegas Pulls Plug on Music Due to High Winds EDC 2012: House Music Beef With DJ Sneak Plays Out in Steve Angello's DJ Set EDC 2012: Coachella or Electric Daisy Carnival: Which One is Better? Slideshow -- EDC Day 1 Slideshow -- EDC Day 2 Dance music is fighting for i ... More >>

Frequency Fridays @ DWNTWN

Jay "Akshen" Valdez Talks Para One, Jam Master Jay, Fools Gold, and More

If you pay a visit to AZ/88 tonight, its urbane décor and trendy drinks won't be the coolest thing going on inside the haute Scottsdale hangout. DJ Akshen will be working hard on the wheels of steel providing a fitting tribute to the late Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys during his weekly gig Fluid F ... More >>

Al Page on Sonic Youth, Marvin Gay, The Hidden House, and More

There are a slew of reasons we dig Al Page. Not only does the cat have one of the most fly Afros in all of P-Town, he's also one of the most laid-back and approachable DJs in this 'berg. Every weekend, Page busts much ass on both the record decks and behind the scenes at the Hidden House, putting ... More >>

DMC Phoenix Regionals @ Civic Space Park

Feist @ Orpheum Theatre

DMC World DJ Championship Regionals Coming to Civic Space Park on April 20

Turntablists of Arizona, you'd better start practicing. A little more than two weeks from now, one of the biggest DJ contests ever will be bringing its regional battle to Phoenix and your shit better be tight. The DMC World DJ Championships, widely considered to be the most premier turntablist con ... More >>

DJ Alvin Bitsue on Strip Club Music, Crate Digging, the State of Phoenix's Punk Scene, and Getting into Fights Over Records

​ If you've attended a local punk show anytime in the last two decades, chances are good you've seen (or rubbed elbows with) Alvin Bitsue. The 36-year-old vinyl freak and punk fan has been a part of the Valley's punk scene for years -- whether working the door or hanging in the audience -- and wit ... More >>

Jen Deveroux Talks Björk, '80s Music, Wye Oak, and the Challenges of Becoming a DJ

NightfuseJen Deveroux​If you're a member of the trendy dance music scene, chances are likely you've seen the name Jen Deveroux before. Most likely on a flier for any of the myriad club events, fashion fetes, and hip parties that she's helped promote over the past five years or so.In recent months, ... More >>

DJ Dario Talks Pitbull, Latin Music, the Racial Divide at Downtown Phoenix Clubs, and More

DJ Dario Varela​On any given evening, you're likely to find Dario Varela inside of a Valley nightclub. If it's during the weekend, he'll be working the mixers at joints like Oceans Seven. On other nights, however, he's usually on the other side of the DJ booth, observing other selectas order to he ... More >>

Powersurge Music Festival @ Madison Event Center

Z-Trip Talks Growing Up in Phoenix, Johhny D., Crate-Digging, Mexican Food, Smite, and More

Z-Trip​If you ever took the time to plot out a flowchart depicting Phoenix's vastly interconnected DJ/dance scene, its incredibly likely that the name Zach Sciacca, better known as Z-Trip, would be at its heart.Practically every turntablist, mixmaster, or knob-twister in the Valley has some sort o ... More >>

Red Light Disco @ Club Red

DJ Sophia Gunn talks Boomstick, Beginnings and Being Crescent's Thursday Go-To Gal

If you want to see Gunn, you'll just have to get out to one of her shows. She's just a little camera shy.​Sophia Gunn blends old and new professionally.She brings her "younger" humble beginnings to some of the Valley's hottest nights and mashes them with fresh, new technology to give her turntabli ... More >>

DJ Evil One @ AiRIA Nightclub

DJ Smite Brings Latin and Cumbia-Crunk to Two Las Fiestas Patrias Events

​September 15 marks the celebration of Grito de Dolores one of the five Fiestas Patrias, or national holidays in Mexican history. It's an important day, coming directly before Aniversario de la Independencia, the day Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called for the end of Spanish rule in Mexi ... More >>

Metal Night at Yucca Tap Room

​Long ago -- or earlier this year -- I used to DJ Ten High Tuesdays at the Yucca Tap Room, spinning power-pop, soul, and whatever else I felt like. I liked to think of myself as pretty eclectic, but I generally tried to keep to things that people could dance and nod their noggins to. But t ... More >>

Justin Upton's Big Night

Memorial Day Madness

DJ Funkface Talks Steve Aoki, Beatport, Sex in the VIP Room, Club Freedom, and More

DJ Funkface​Name: James Edwards Hammerschmidt III AKA: DJ Funkface Genres spun: Whatever is on Beatport's Top 10. Current gigs: My cousin asked me to work her wedding next weekend. I'm also dating one of the go-go girls at Axis/Radius, so I'm hoping to get a guest slot there sometime soon. Ho ... More >>

DJ Sam Groove Talks Underground Raves, Cops, Dirty Trickz, Oliver Twizt, Cool Kids, and More

DJ Sam Groove​Name: Samuel Groove AKA: DJ Sam Groove Current schedule: Audiometric is the next event my company, United Groove, is throwing at Club Stratus on November 6. You can usually catch one of my sets on a Friday or Saturday night at any given underground event in the Valley, and from ti ... More >>

DJ Noiz.fkr Talks Tranzylvania, Vampires, Industrial Music, Dryft, Pan Sonic, and More

DJ noiz.fkr​Tranzylvania's last hurrah at Palazzo goes down later tonight, so I figured it was a perfect opportunity for a visit with noiz.fkr (a.k.a. Rob Poe), the goth night's grandmaster and longtime resident DJ.Though he might not may or may not believe in vampires, he's certainly encountered ... More >>

Taste Nimbus Brewing's A-1 Beer on First Friday

​Have you ever come across old beer bottles and cans at antique stores? I've always loved looking at the labels of long-lost, once-ubiquitous regional brands, and often tried to imagine what they tasted like. What was beer culture like before the mega-brands took over? I get a little nostalgic for ... More >>

Aaron Taylor Talks KISS FM, DMX, Bob Marley, Usher, Masters At Work, and More

DJ Aaron Taylor​Name: Aaron TaylorAKA: Vanilla Gorilla (not really)Current club schedule: Thursday at Jackrabbit Lounge, Friday at Suede, and Saturday at Myst.Genres spun: Hip-hop, Top 40, old school, electro, reggae, or anything else you might tip for.How did you get started as a DJ? Back in '94, ... More >>

Spin Cycle

J. Alan Talks Bad Requests, A-Trak, Bad Boy Bill, Scottsdale Clubgoers, and More

​Name: J.Alan Ehrhardt AKA: DJ J. Alan Current club nights: Thursday at Suede, Friday at Axis/Radius, Saturday at Suede, one Sunday per month at Martini Ranch. Genres spun: Hip-hop, house, electro, and Top 40 How did you get started as a DJ: Rob Wegner was DJing at Club 411 at the time. He and ... More >>

DJ Mastamonk Talks Hipster Fans, Bar Smith, Silver Medallion, Patrón, and More

DJ Mastamonk​Name: Anthony Biggers AKA: DJ Mastamonk Current club nights: Friday at Vintage in Tempe or Dirty Pretty in Scottsdale, Saturday at Whip Lounge in Tempe, and a Sunday monthly residence at Martini Ranch in Scottsdale. Preferred genres: Man, there's waaay too many things I like playi ... More >>

Pinky Ring

Monsters Ball

Best of Phoenix A'Fare 2009

Pinky Ring

DJ Dossier: Rob Wegner

While he doesn't dress in monk-like robes (like Qui-Gon Jinn) or offer advice in backwards fashion (à la Yoda), Rob Wegner is most definitely served as a Jedi Master to DJs across the PHX for most of the last decade. He's taught many a Padawan how to spin up a song in that time, including MCB and J ... More >>

Hang (with) the DJ

Suburban Renewal

Taggers and scratchers invade C-Town

Superheroes & Villains Party

A Marriage Made in Hell

Rivetheads, goths snuggle up at Homme

Alice Unchained

Euro-fabulous MC turns the tables at Myst

Soul Live