When Johnnie McGinnis takes on his DJ Sonic Era persona, he likens himself to an artist at an easel. Every Sunday at Club Shadows, he transforms two turntables into a canvas and a catalog of 400 vinyl LPs into a colorful palette. “I got into this as an art form,” says the 25-year-old McGinnis. “I can’t let vinyl die. There’s no artistry or talent in pushing a button to play a CD. Half the DJs out there have laptops, and they’re making tons more money pushing play. That’s not where I come from.”
McGinnis started spinning house, techno, and trance tunes 10 years ago, when he was a freshman at Lakewood High School. He would sneak into rave parties on weekends to pick up tricks. “Finally, the guys throwing the parties said I was ready,” he says.
Since then, McGinnis has landed prime downtown gigs at Metropolis, Traffic, and Spy. At tonight’s show, he’ll unpack his collection of deep-house mixes. “A lot of DJs are trying to make a name for themselves by playing things you’ve never heard of,” he says. “That’s fine if the crowd has come specifically to hear you. But in a club, you have to have all sorts of genres and mixes with an energetic tempo to keep them dancing.”
Sundays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 2007
This article appears in May 23-29, 2007.