What have you been listening to lately?
Discs from local DJs Mike Metz, Jamie Tyler, and a tag team between Jason Soditch & Jayme O'Brien have been my favorites. On a national level, alongside recent releases from Kaskade, Miguel Migs, and Fred Everything, Desyn Masiello's latest Balance008 mix transcends any stereotypes associated with the series. I've also been digging tracks from All Good Funk Alliance, Shy Fx, Chuck Love, Luke Dzierzek, and Kraak & Smaak.
From a DJ perspective, I always pick up tracks by Kaskade or Tampa artist Jask. Anything that sounds good to me that I think will entertain a crowd is what I buy.
Name some discs that made you want to be a DJ.
The Communards, Depeche Mode, Camouflage, and Prince and the Family were my biggest influences, and compared to what others listened to in the small town I grew up in, that was some pretty out-there music.
What's some of your favorite stuff to spin during the peak hours of your set?
The foundation of all of my sets is house music, and if I'm playing a one-off, that's pretty much what I stick to. If I'm playing an extended set in a weekly residency where people are expected to dance, I tend to cross into other genres a little more. Most everything I play is either funky, vocal, or has something recognizable in it, so most of my sets end up being pretty accessible. I try to have many different peaks in my set, and tracks produced by Kaskade always seem to do the job for me.
What do you like to ease the crowd down with at the end of the night?
I like to leave the crowd with something they know, so people walk out singing. A lot of times I'll close with some classic records; other times I'll find something downtempo or a little slower so people can filter out or just groove or wind down.
