Who’s the freshest DJ in the D-F-Dub?

by Michelle Parsons

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We profile five scratch and scribble lovers to see what it takes to be the ultimate turntablist.

DJs are a breed all their own. They’re a fickle group who have very intricate, specific, and diverse styles. They talk funny, with a swagger dialect that seems to be only understood by their fellow turntablists. We here at Pegasus News wanted to know which DFW DJs were the freshest, according to the DJs themselves, but how do we quantify this freshness?

First, we had to find out the definition of a good DJ. So we asked. A good DJ, according to the beat masters themselves, knows what people want to hear before they think they want to hear it. It’s a subtle form of mind control that translates into reading the crowd and to seamlessly adapt accordingly. Their mixes also have to be smooth and their transitions seamless, with ample song selection and tempo control.

DJ Eddie Black, veteran DJ in Dallas for the last 20 years, said it’s also about knowing your history. “A lot of the DJs today don’t realize that just about every song out today is ripping off an old song. I want to know that the DJ knows where the original came from. That impresses me when they know their music history,” he says.

And, a good DJ will have his or her own distinct flavor and style, whether it be Top 40, hip-hop, house, or remixes of the theme song to Unsolved Mysteries. With today’s technology, almost anything is possible. While some old school DJs tend to shy away from the new school gadgets, DJs like YeahDef embrace it with open arms.

“The two turntables and a mixer metaphor has been around so long, it makes some people uncomfortable to see it crumbling away as a club standard,” says YeahDef. “I, for one, am just excited to be around for this point in time and can’t wait to get my hand on the next-levelness of the new gear to come.”

The sheer amount of DJs in the D-F-Dub is vast, and there’s a lot of ground to cover. To narrow the search down, we asked avid scratch and scribble lovers who they thought were the freshest crème de la crème of our fair city. Whether they’ve been around for years, or are brand spankin’ new, here are our revered knights of the round turntable:

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YeahDef

The Dentonites have always loved this guy, but lately he’s been poking his head out in Dallas and Fort Worth territory. After winning a few accolades around town, people have started to take notice. Joey Liechty’s special, kooky blend of electronic, hip-hop, and random assortments of whatever tickles his fancy is mixed at lightening speed. And that’s just the way he likes it.

“I’m pretty fast and loose with my style,” YeahDef says. “I drop some scratch-your-head-but-must-dance-anyway kind of stuff – video game soundtrack remixes and actually make them work on the dance floor. It’s all fun; I don’t take myself too seriously.”

Although the praise about YeahDef is just starting to spread, he’s been DJing for about seven years. Recently, he’s been doing weekly stints at Hailey’s in Denton for ‘80s and ‘90s night, and also a monthly Dub-step gig called Dentstep. His specialties are with the strange and unconventional. He has a reputation for putting odd beat and tone combinations together and making them utterly danceable, like his remix of the Unsolved Mysteries theme song, or his “Aquatic Ambiance” remix of Donkey Kong.

And just to make sure he keeps his listeners extra happy, he also lets you vote for the songs on his set playlist, through a program called Playlister on his site, yeahdef.com.

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Sober

Former member of DJ group The Party, Will Rhoten is not a rookie but a DFW staple. If you still haven’t heard of him, here’s a brief rundown: Spinning since 1993, the 33-year-old has a penchant for old school hip-hop, and got into spinning after a mesmerizing experience with a DJ at a house party in high school. The soft-spoken, pale, blond-haired music intellectual has a quiet demeanor that surprises people, especially after they hear his rowdy turntable technique.

“On the fun hip-hop and R&B tip, Sober is always there,” says fellow Dallas DJ Calvin Chynoweth of HOYOTOHO. “Sober’s a funny persona; his selection is just so tacky and perfect.”

Sober has performed alongside ?uestlove and for Erykah Badu, and he’s also an official Red Bull DJ. This busy bee turns out special album mixes quite often, in physical and downloadable copies including Desk Top Dance Mix, Satin Sheets and Automatic (with DJ A1). He even owns and operates his own t-shirt company, Decade Clothing. Recently, he’s put together a special night at The Cavern every second Saturday of the month called Dope on Plastic. He and special guest DJs will rock only vinyl, another testament to his diverse DJ artistry.

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Genova

James Genova has been the buzzword with his young fellow DJs recently. His peers call him the master of house music, and fellow turntablist YeahDef says he’s always impressed with Genova’s style.

“Genova is 1000 percent rock solid. Every track he picks is good,” YeahDef says. “He’s not really technical, just has excellent taste, which is rare.”

Genova has been in the turntable game for 10 years and has a compulsion to perfect his skills. “When I would see DJs playing, I wouldn’t really party or dance, I would stand by the DJ and just watch them for hours,” he says. “In my eyes, a DJ can never plateau, which makes me want to build my skills more and more. I want people to look at me and say, ‘He’s doing more than just playing songs.’”

And that seems to be the rep he’s made for himself now. He’s known for his impeccable taste in house, electro, and down-tempo, and draws his influences from DJs like Qbert, Craze, and Klever, plus musicians he says “push the envelope,” like Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and producer Prefuse 73.

Genova is also part of a DJ family called Broken Teeth, an artistic and music collective that promotes in places like Berlin, New York, and Texas. Catch him at one of the several places he spins, like PM Lounge, The Cavern, Fallout Lounge, Tei Tei, Zubar, and Bar Celine.

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Aiden

With a boyish face and hair full of spikes, DJ Aiden a.k.a. Luke Ondrej, leans a little more to the mainstream Top 40 than some of his fellow PegNews peers, but his skill on the ones and twos is rightly earned. After working his way up through the ranks and following in the footsteps of the classic Dallas DJs that did it before him, the 25-year-old is praised as a one-stop-shop DJ who can do it all.

Take it from a veteran who watched him grow: DJ Eddie Black says, “This kid just a few years ago worked for me, now he’s honed his skills and is a force to be reckoned with.”

Aiden’s tenacity and love of the hustle gets him on our list. He’ll play in any venue, to any crowd, to any music, and he’ll win fans over with his seamless execution. According to DJ Aiden, nightlife is in his blood. Hailing from a small town in East Texas, Ondrej played anywhere people would have him. Once he mastered his craft, he landed a residency on Saturday nights at Plush.

“I stick mostly with hip-hop and Top 40 because it gets me moving and up and dancing,” he says. “I like to entertain as much as I love to DJ.”

He also has a business called Need A DJ Dallas that specializes in veritably pimping out DJ services to every event imaginable – weddings, private parties, bar mitzvahs, you name it. And although he’s known for his mainstream style, Ondrej’s personal favorites are across the board. For fun, he spins in an ‘80s cover band called Live 80.

Ondrej also spends hours preparing for his sets, making sure to find the newest songs to add.

“I spend two to three hours on the weekdays getting ready for the weekends, putting new stuff together, keeping it fresh. So even if you’re a bartender at any of the clubs I spin at, you never hear the same set twice,” he says.

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Calvin Chynoweth and Ian Miles

These guys aren’t your typical 9 to 5 DJs. They’ve also got day jobs, playing in the psychedelic tribal rock band HOYOTOHO. But rather than separate the two, they decided to have one be an extension of the other. Although we’re still not sure which comes first, Calvin Chynoweth and Ian Miles’ style mantra is simple: If the beat is well-produced and the sound is dramatic, they’ll play it.

While their sets are usually planned out, there’s an air of volatility they bring that keeps listeners on edge. “I like being off-the-cuff and renegade … I’m definitely more of a vibe guy, letting it build up for four minutes and enjoying the track, not eating it like it’s cocaine and just letting it ride,” says Chynoweth. “But sometimes it’s just going to be a dirty cut. It’s kind of a rock ‘n’ roll sense in being very physical with movements.”

Although the duo haven't been DJing for more than a couple years, their brazen and risky style have caught people’s attention, and fans of their live band shows are converts to HOYOTOHO’s beat-making shtick.

“In my opinion, Calvin is the best DJ in Dallas, though while somehow simultaneously being one of the most talented musicians,” says fan Tyler LeBaron.

HOYOTOHO recently landed a massive gig playing the Electric Daisy Carnival on June 19, a music fest at Fair Park with four stages. They’ll be sharing one stage with the likes of Harvard Bass, JFK of MSTRKRFT, and Moby.

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Alternates/honorable mentions:

• DJ Rev, who spins Thursdays at Aura, Fridays at WISH, and Saturdays at Vice

• DJ Schwa, Mondays at The Cavern and every third Thursday at PM Lounge

• DJ Big J, Fridays and Mondays at The Cavern

• DJ Ocelot, currently touring worldwide

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