DJ Purple (the duke of House): Blog

Old habits are hard to break; some are IMPOSSIBLE to break. I have one such habit and it is called “vinyl”. Now it has been debated (and will continue to be) that the recent technological advances in DJ equipment have made vinyl virtually “a thing of the past”. Instead of carting around 100 records for a gig a DJ can carry 200 tracks on a laptop and just plug-in using any of the “DJ-master” packages such as Vinyl Scratch, Serato, etc. Then there is the music distribution itself. The major labels are still CD only, with a few of them releasing a limited number of LPs or 12” singles on vinyl. There is a respectable number of independent labels that follow the same pattern of vinyl releases but many more of them are digital only. Finally we have the chosen media itself. We are in the digital age and that means we are saturated with technological wonders – musically speaking that would be the iPod. Where do I stand amidst all of this? My response is, “to each his own”. The [...]

It is now six days before my next big gig in Salt Lake City and I have decided that now it is time to re-tool my “brand”, re-evaluate my “mission” and present a renewed “package”. In other words I will put a new “stamp” on my love of music and show everyone what DJ PURPLE will bring to the table.

I have been a DJ since 1993 and I have purchased music since 1983 – add in my lifetime appreciation for music in that I’ve listened to it practically all my life. My love of music is as strong now as it has ever been. Now I am at the point where I feel that my eclectic taste in music can no longer be held back and kept in bondage by “imaginations” and “strongholds”. What I mean in a literal sense is that while the function of the DJ is to entertain there is certainly room for education.

In my reinvention I am incorporating several different catch-words that will now define DJ PURPLE - Purple: royalty. Duke: a ruler of a territory. Spiritual: of the spirit or [...]

I immediately went to work on submitting a photo since I felt as though I had no time to lose. I took a series of full-body shot, as well as head/shoulder shots, and finally found the one that I liked. I was able to email the chosen shot the same night that I received the email. However, in my excitement over the news that I was selected as a finalist I forgot to ask which CD got everyone’s attention since I did remember sending two mixes. Response follows:

“'Twas the green one, "Soul Revival"”

Sometimes it pays to stay in your element…

This milestone actually took root 3 months earlier, thanks to my subscription to 5 Magazine, which is based out of Chicago. I had only begun my subscription in May, and was able to purchase all of the back issues so that I could get caught up. I got right on track with the June 2008 issue, which featured a call for DJs to submit their best mixes for the 5 Magazine DJ Series Search. The DJ Series began with the March 2007 issue and was presented as a monthly featured House mix submitted by DJs who were either up-and-coming or very well-known. Also featured would be a profile where the reader would see what’s on the DJ’s mind. When the June 2008 issue was released Volume 15 of the Series was well in circulation and so the staff decided to hold a contest. The rules were simple: record what you want as long as it’s something you’re proud of, keep it under 78 minutes and send your mix in ASAP. The judging would be performed by a panel of the magazine staff, the owner of KStake [...]

I am taking a class called "The Impact of Music on Life. So far I think the class will be enlightening. I had to post an essay in response to a study question. The one I chose was this: "How are ethnicity, class, gender, and region embodied in country music, hip-hop, or some other music that you know about?" Naturally I chose House Music, and here was my response...


"Study Questions 8 and 15


Question 15

There is a class/genre of music that is very much misunderstood, and this question affords me the platform to address it. This genre is called House Music. The reason that House Music is misunderstood is because it is typically an “underground” genre, meaning that it is prevalent in after-hours nightclubs and college radio stations. House Music got its beginnings in downtown Chicago via the night club. The majority of the patrons at the time were young Black men, but soon all sorts of people from various other parts of town were frequenting the clubs across the city. In [...]