James Jameson

"A DJ isn't the star; but the director. The crowd wants to be the star of the show, and a good DJ can take them there."

James grew up in a small New England town, exposed to equal parts music and electronics. Like most kids in the early 80s, he had an interest in computers and video games. That plus lessons in traditional instruments like drums, piano and saxophone would combine for a love of electronic music 15 years later.

In late 1999, James purchased his first proper equipment - a PC, a MIDI keyboard, and, after tying an early demo, a copy of Reason 1.0. Finding early success with his music at mp3.com (then a play-for-pay website), James slowly took to DJ'ing at various clubs in his home town of New London.

"I did things backwards - producing tracks and later taking up DJ'ing. I didn't know what it was to be a DJ; I thought they just played all of their own music! It sounds crazy, but I never even touched vinyl. I had an early CD writer, a slow, bulky thing and a pair of cheap CD decks - this was around 2001. Other DJs thought I was crazy for playing mp3's live, but I was always the one with the newest music!"

James slowly built up a name in the Connecticut area, playing at just about any place that would have him. 2002 was a good year in which he held residencies in several local area clubs. In 2004, a high ranking entry in a remix contest garnered the attention of judges John Creamer and Lance Cashion. Soon James would do a guest mix for Lance on his Proton Radio weekly show.
"I thought the remix ["Tranquility Bias" by 3rdSpace] was fun . It wasn't the safe, boring progressive sound that most of the others had, and that made people take notice. I knew of Lance Cashion from ProtonRadio.com, and I was a huge fan. For me, Proton Radio was the major leagues of DJ'ing, and when Lance offered me the chance to guest, I was speechless!"

In 2005, James left the music behind to pursue traveling and education.

"I was bored with the music and the lifestyle. I was listening to everything BUT electronic music at the time. Three years later I popped in an old Global Underground mix by Deep Dish and fell in love all over again! I always thought of myself as just a music fan with a great collection. DJ'ing is a way for me to show this to my friends, to get them to feel the same love that I feel for the music. "

James moved to southern California in 2010 and continues to make music and work with local peformers and musicians.

"I'm trying to get away from push-button performances. I've seen it; DJs that show up with thier 'set' pre-recorded or push a few buttons on a machine and call it their show. For EDM to evolve, the DJ should push the limits using technology and innovation to put together an exciting performance."

James Jameson uses the following equipment:

Numark TT200 turntables
Behringer DDM4000 mixer
Native Instruments Traktor Scratch Pro 2
Native Instruments Kontrol F1 & X1
Native Instruments Maschine
Sony MDR-V700 headphones
Shure M44-7 cartridges