I spent the final minutes of 2011 performing my club and live remix sets for an amazing crowd at Ghostbar in Dallas. Definitely one of the most fun New Year’s Eve’s I’ve ever had. I love it when a crowd appreciates my live remixes! Thank you Ghostbar Dallas!
It’s now halfway into January 2012 and I’m back into my groove. What better way to start off the year than (finally) redoing my basement studio with some proper furniture. First I used Google Sketchup to create a 3D model of the furniture and the room. Got everything from Ikea, which is great because you can buy parts separately and it’s relatively inexpensive. Why create a 3D model? Because that’s what nerds do:
I wish I’d taken a “before” picture, but here’s the end result:
Just needs some rearrangement of wall items and new paint. Any ideas on color?
Cirque Du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson – THE IMMORTAL World Tour” opened in Montreal about a month ago. So honored to have a small part with this show! Musical Designer, Kevin Antunes (Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna) brought me on his team to help out with some of the arrangements for the show. All of the DJ elements that I added are mimed by the on-stage character, Bubbles (the Monkey, and well…DJ). I also helped program on a few of the tracks, including the “Megamix” which combines “Can You Feel It”, “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”, “Billie Jean”, and “Black or White.” I also created the mix for the pre-show entertainment.
Check out Kevin Antunes on the feature on Good Morning America HERE.
Epic Records in conjuction with the Estate of Michael Jackson will be releasing “Immortal” as a CD release on November 21, 2011. Right now, you can download the full version of the “Megamix” on ITunes HERE.
Perez Hilton recently gave that “Megamix” some blog love.
Congrats to everyone that worked on this show. I can’t wait to finally see it myself!
Next month I will be traveling to China to DJ at Richbaby. On November 11th, I will be at Richbaby – Shanghai and on November 12th, I will be at Richbaby – Guangzhou. Check out the flyer below:
I recently left the USA, performed in Tel Aviv, Dubai, and Singapore, and returned home…all within the span of 8 days. I basically went east from DC, then kept going till I ended up in DC again. I had an amazing trip and got to see and spend time in some of the coolest parts of the world.
The first stop was Tel Aviv. Had a nice little 10 hour flight to Istanbul and worked on some music at my 7 hour stopover. Then just a short 2 hour flight after that and I was in Tel Aviv. This was my first trip back here since the end of the Madonna - Sticky & Sweet tour in 2009. It was a very special place for me because it was the very last city on our tour. Here’s a view from the hotel room. Stayed at the Dan Hotel, which is a couple of blocks away from where we stayed in 2009 for the tour.
The day of the first gig, the promoter took me out for authentic local cuisine for lunch. Not sure what I had, but I liked it! Then later that night before the gig, he took me into a yogurt shop. Toward the back there was a door and what appeared to be a doorman. We walked through the door, and bam…we were in a club. He took me to another spot after that. This one was a deli. Again, there was doorman on the inside toward the back, and bam…another club. I guess it’s convenient for those that love sandwiches, yogurt, alcohol, and music.
My actual gig was at an outdoor spot, which might have gone well if it hadn’t been for faulty equipment. The turntables didn’t work, and the only CD players they had were really old. I basically played off of one CDJ400 the entire night. Wasn’t really in my zone that night honestly.
The next night at Cat & Dog was much better. Got a proper soundcheck this time. I’m pretty sure this says “do not touch”.
I really love the energy in the crowd in Tel Aviv. I had a great time at Cat & Dog. I even did some live remixing there to good response. The one thing I regret about my trip to Tel Aviv was that I didn’t get to spend any time on the beach. I kept waking up at 3pm jetlagged and had no time. Maybe next time!
The next morning I learned just how tight security is at the airport in Tel Aviv. I was interviewed by at least 2 or 3 people before I even got to the security line, which is well before you even reach the check-in desk. I arrived 3 hours ahead of my flight, and by the time I was done with security, I ran to the gate and just made it in time for the start of boarding. You can imagine the confusion on their faces as they searched all my bags and found all this DJ and audio equipment. At one point I was trying to explain what my Serato Box was for. The agent asked “what are turntables?” lol. It’s all good though. I felt VERY safe in that airport.
About 9 hours later I was in Dubai after a stop in Jordan. This was a place where I really regret not spending more time. I was in and out within about 24 hours. I did see the tallest building in the world as we drove in. I stayed at the Atlantis Palm Resort. The event was the DXB Festival which featured LMFAO as the headliners. The day of the event, I met up with some new friends DJ Fin-S and DJ Knowledge from Vegas. We hit the water park and had a great time. Felt like a kid again.
View from my hotel room.
Huge aquarium inside the hotel.
I’m in awesome shape.
DJ Fin-S and DJ Knowledge from Vegas.
Got a chance to hang with my friend Pete Wentz and the Black Cards before my set.
Dubai!!
Here’s shot with my camera phone of the crowd.
Here’s a video taken by someone in the crowd. I’m on the vocoder talking like a robot.
I had an amazing time with this crowd. I really love the festival environment. The people were so responsive and energetic. I was on a high as I packed up my gear at the end of my set. I couldn’t even stay since I had to fly to Singapore within the next few hours. I had enough time to pack, head to the room, shower, and catch my ride to the airport.
Next was a 7 hour direct flight to Singapore. The gig was at Avalon, which is the same brand as the ones in Los Angeles and Boston. Singapore is a beautiful city. Stayed at the Marina Bay Sands and made sure to hit the hotel pool before my gig.
Avalon is a unique venue. It’s right on the water in the marina. Literally right on the water. Great sound and lights and great view of the marina. The crowd was so fun in Singapore! Can’t wait to come back!
This is the largest LV store in the world.
Soundcheck at Avalon.
Avalon is on the left.
Marina Bay Sands rooftop pool!
I had one full day off in Singapore, which was the only full day off I had the entire week. Got some authentic local food for lunch with Alfred and later met up with some friends in town for the night safari. The night safari was amazing and a little scary if you think about how close you are to these wild animals. You ride a tram that takes you through the safari and there really aren’t many barriers between yourselves and the animals. I’m thinking, “ok what’s stopping that hyena (30 feet away) from coming over here.” I guess they keep them well fed. You don’t even sign a waiver or anything when you come in. There are also trails that you can walk. At one point, we walked through the Mangrove Bat Cave. For the record, I hate bats. The bats in this area were really really big. And they fly really close to you. And again, there’s no barriers. That took a little effort.
Check out this big a$$ bat munching on an apple.
The next morning I got on a 7AM flight back home. 20 hours later I was back in the United States. Of the 8 nights on this trip, I slept in an actual bed on 4 of those nights. The flying was pretty brutal, but an IPad really makes the time go by quicker. All in all it was a great trip. I’m really blessed to be able to visit new places and meet and perform for people all over the world.
