Spring Fling 2003

Trance / Progressive

Some spring cleaning this year uncovered the master copy of this mix. This is actually the last vinyl mix I ever did, it was done in one take right from my turntables. Filled with vocals and progressive trance tracks, but definitely a bit more underground than the average trance mix. I managed to put my spin on this style once again with upbeat and emotional tunes. This one starts with a deep breath and ends with one of my all time favorite Chemical Brothers tunes. I love this mix, hope you enjoy it also.

Songs For a Summer Night

Trance / Progressive / Anthems

This mix is filled with classic trance anthems circa 1999-2000. The literal cream of the crop of this sort of music - my all time favorites still to this day. All with a summer vibe, I remember finishing this up right around the 4th of July, 2000 - and I couldn't hold on to any of the copies I made, they went like hot cakes! It was a good summer, I started gigging and playing big shows - a lot of that came from this mix. But watch out - this powerful mix may cause flashbacks in some of you old school folks, so you may want to sit down while you listen - seriously.

This was the first CD I made using a computer to record with. I spent some serious time editing and adding effects - but all of the mixes were done straight from vinyl. Maybe not the first take, but all the mixes came from a live performance that I did over and over until I got it right. This one started it all for me, computer recording, engineering, all of that. How far I've come since then.

Bustin' Out

Hard House

This was my next release, more in the style of what I was known for in my hey day - Banging UK hard house. I really pushed the limits of what I could do technically, it's hard to find a spot in this one where I'm not mixing, cutting, choppping or tweeking something with my old Roland DJ-2000 mixer. I really dug into the tunes and figured out where I wanted to cut and made it happen. There are some pretty sick fader cuts and technical mixes in here if, I do say so myself.

This is a brutally hard mix with some technical twists. The first tune starts with bass real low and starts building, then about 3 minutes in I hit the kill switch on the second tune and blow it up - I love that part. Although, at the time, I never thought about how people might just listen to the first 3 seconds and turn it off because it sounds weird - but those who stick with it are rewarded with a huge beat drop from such a long build. The original CD had the track markers in really strange places, so you could hear the actual mixes instead of when the mix ends. This one never really caught on - just proof that technicality should always take a back seat to the actual music itself. Given that, I was always pretty impressed with myself for putting this one together, no detail was overlooked and I put in some serious time to make it exactly how I wanted it.

Live at Release 05/26/2001

Hard House / Hard Trance

This set was recorded live, at a beat-up old warehouse party in Denver at around 3AM in front of a few hundred people. The crews I was running with back in the day organized this shindig, a throwback to what parties were like before throwing parties becaume a commercial endeavor. It was invite only, only the people we wanted there were there - and I killed it. Some of my favorite tunes ever are in this one, along with some great memories.

Live sets are always a bit rough, and I was pretty fader-happy and there is definitely flanger-overkill going on, there are a lot of cuts and tweaks - possibly some that could have been left out. Lesson: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should! Oh well, I was young and full of energy and it was a blast at the time. This mix features a few of my edits that were specifically put together for this occasion, my favorite is the beginning - I cut the first track out of an old DJ Dan CD (because I couldn't find the original record anywhere) and put in some breaks and builds to kick things off with a bang. I kill it for awhile and switch gears at the end to bring it way down - which is what most people there needed after getting their ears pounded for an hour at 4AM!

Towards the end, when things get a bit trancey - You can find Deepsky "Stargazer" - One of my favorite vinyls ever - I remember that bass drop in the breakdown shaking the entire warehouse, so sick. Also notable is the track, "U" the Dj Scot Project remix - an epic tune I only dropped on special occasions, and this is the only recording it ever ended up on.

An Evening At Blue 67

Mainstream Club

The big Blue 67, home of 67 martinis - now gone, but my first steady club gig. This one forced me to go in a completely different direction to accommodate the posh martini drinkers at this Denver lounge, which was definitely a hot spot back in the day. After a few months of feeling it out, these were the tunes that got the yuppie crowd going week in and week out. Of course I sold my soul in the process, but learned a lot about what it takes to keep a weekly residency going - constant new tunes, dealing with shady club owners and drunk people that don't like the music I like. You may not be able to tell from this mix, but I ripped the roof of that place more than once - it's all about working the crowd all night so you can do what you like later on. Mainstream classics from back in the day can be found in this one, taking you on a 1 hour journey based on the progression of a night at the lounge.

Connect

Hard House / Hard Trance

I had to do this mix in hurry. At the time, I went all mainstream and was spinning hits 4 or more nights a week at lounges, but I was working some underground gigs and promotions on the side so I could still play what I wanted to play. This mix came as a result of the CD release party I decided to throw for myself, even though I didn't have a CD ready. Never do that, bad idea. I was scrambling to get it done, and I think I was still putting the labels on the CD when I got to the venue after I stayed up all night getting it done. At any rate, it's another hard ass mix, featuring some rare UK vinyl and some nice work on a Pioneer EFX-500.

Winter Love EP

Trance / Progessive

This is a shorter mix, with some songs I was loving at the time - still love them. Classic trance records for sure. Didn't spend a ton of time on this one, just got in a mood and threw down some classic vinyl tracks.

Broken Beatz

Breaks: Progressive / Nu-School

This was my first venture into break beats, which were coming up huge at the time. This mix features some dirty, underground break beats with a few rare tracks, including a Chemical Brothers track I've never heard anywhere else and some big drops and sick bass. I never really marketed myself as a "breaks" dj, but after doing this mix I found myself integrating more and more into my sets.