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It’s springtime in Amsterdam, which means that you have to transport yourself from A to B in constant showers of rain. The deal is that it’s dry when you’re inside and immediately after putting one step outside al watery hell breaks loose again. A pre-teen sun tries to bring some sunshine but it’s too weak to give warmth and too thin to give actual light. Yesterday I came home soaking wet cause I’m refusing to cover myself in non-fashionable raingear as long as there’s no Armani or Gucci mackintosh. I guess it was the 3th time I got wet that day, I opened up my mailbox and heeeeeeeeeeee, mail from the US in the size of CD!!
Full of anticipation, I hurried up 3 stairs, stumbled over to my cd player and played CD 1. Simultaneously on the sounds of breaking waves the sun started to shine through my windows… then a scanty but beautiful voice started to sing and an amazing strong feeling of summer energy emerged in my body.
THANKS FOR SENDING ME THE SUMMER..
Anyways, I only had the chance to listen to the first cd yet and I love the lightness, the funky, old-skool, house classics sound of it. Great mixes, fabulous crossovers. My favorites are Tana Gardner for the singing, Let the drums speak and the super frivol 1 step, 2 step. - fan letter
The top 10 finalists from Groovetickets' Do It Yourself DJ Contest have been announced. With over 150 submissions in genres ranging from Drum and Bass to Psych-Trance, these are the best of the best, one of which will soon take to the decks at Giant in Los Angeles.
The submissions were graded on the following criteria: creativity, mixing ability, programming, ingenuity, and overall impression. The genre of the mix made no difference to the judges, provided that the beats were dance floor worthy.
The good news (albeit the bad news for the judges) was that there were a large number of high quality entries submitted with the passion to fill several Giant clubs. However, like the movie says, there can be only one, so we had to start making some cuts. Much like your elementary school gym class, if we didn't pick you don't take it personally, we still want to share our fries with you at lunch, right now we just need the best kickball player in the class.
... Whether you are included on the top ten list or not, it is essential to the health and growth of electronic music and culture that you continue to push yourselves as artists and entertainers. Only then, will electronic and dance music be seen as a vital part of the American fabric and only then will we all be winners. So go out there...and…well you get the idea.
The Groovetickets Do It Yourself DJ Contest Top Ten Finalists
(in no particular order)
DJ Jeff Jaynes
Chava
DJ Alphamehl
Miss Valerie
KJ
K-OBA
Kristina Sky
Laslo Varodi
DJ Kinetik
Twiggy Stardust
Thank you to all who participated and keep up the good work. - Groove Tickets
Discography
DJ mixes are available for download at:
www.mixdepot.net/CharlesCushman
Photos
Bio
Many people, when you ask them what kind of music they like, say “Everything, well except Country.” But in reality, they don’t. A person might further define their tastes by saying they listen to Rap, Hip-Hop, and R ‘n B (which in most cases is the same now days) or Rock, Indie and Hip-Hop (umm, top 40?).
But I do listen to all kinds of music. If it is good, give me some more. From the classical that my father in-law always has going, to hip-hop jams on the local radio; Indie rock to Mississippi Delta Blues, love it. When I was introduced to dance music in 1999-2000 it was a whole new world opening up and I dove right in.
Now days I still listen to everything, but EDM is my passion. From the sweet sounds of Dimitri from Paris through the dark sounds emanating from Berlin to bouncy American house music I love it all and my DJ sets reflect that. I feel just as comfortable playing a lounge as I do the main room of a nightclub, and I have the music for both. I have been lucky enough to play clubs in San Diego, Raves in the LA desert, and Lounges in San Francisco.
What does the future have in store for me? Who knows, but currently I am trying to spend more time in the studio on the production side of things. I have also started an interesting partnership with Scottie Kaotik. With his energy, and my precision we are an exciting duo on stage taking things to the next level using two laptops linked through Ableton Live. Lastly, with my recent move to San Diego from San Francisco I am trying to establish myself here.
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