New York City – Before an outpouring of dance-music dignitaries and DJs of all stripes, DJ Times magazine celebrated its 30th anniversary this past Jan. 16 at The VNYL club in Manhattan.
Sponsored by BPM Supreme, Bose and Technics, the milestone event featured all-vinyl sets from New York-based DJs Tommie Sunshine (host of “After the Raves” doc on Netflix) and Phil Moffa (proprietor of Butcha Sound Studios).
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Attendees were afforded giveaways by sponsors, plus issues of the latest DJ Times edition, which details three decades of DJ evolution – the trends, the tech, the personalities. In addition to a number of current and former hitmaking record promoters (Issy Sanchez, George Hess, Joe B, Brad LeBeau, David Jurman and Debra Eriksen), party attendees included legendary disco pioneers (Nicky Siano), current NYC spinners (Sleepy & Boo, Melissa Nikita), radio influencers (Liquid Todd of BPM/SiriusXM, plus Bartel, Bodega Brad, and Eric Hertzog of KTU/IHeartRadio), area mobile entertainers (Mike Walter, Artem Lomaz, Brian Buonassissi, and Gregg Hollmann) and up-and-coming DJ/producers (Gattuso, Traveler and Tommy Capretto) – a true cross section of talents that perfectly represents the magazine’s long-running range of coverage.
Dr. D
The only “rule” for the evening’s two DJs? Play no music prior to 1988, the year that saw the magazine’s debut issue. Of course, Tommie and Phil had plenty of great music from which to choose, including Daisy Age hip-hop, British Acid House, American rave classics, New York- and Chicago-style house, French filter disco, Detroit techno and plenty more. (Tommie’s and Phil’s set can be found below.)
DJ Times was founded in late 1988 by Testa Communications president Vinny Testa. Publishing monthly, it became “America’s First Magazine for Professional DJs,” covering all pertinent information for club, mobile or studio jocks – news, reviews, business tips, event coverage and more. In 1990, DJ Times debuted DJ Expo and the annual event has become America’s longest-running and most-successful DJ conference and exhibition. (The next DJ Expo is set for Aug. 12-15 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.) In 2006, DJ Times debuted the America’s Best DJ, a promotion/fan vote for the country’s most-popular DJ, which includes an annual summer tour. The most recent ABDJ winner was Markus Schulz, who took the 2018 title.
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Thanks to sponsors BPM Supreme, Technics and Bose, party-goers were treated with an open bar, plus the opportunity to win door prizes. The Evening’s Two Lucky Winners: Manhattan’s DJ Flipside won the Technics OTTAVA SC-C500 HI-FI Microsystem, while Joe Berinato, also from Manhattan, won the Bose SoundSport In-Ear Headphones.
The party was produced in cooperation with Oracle Entertainment, Amped Summit and Digital Music Pool. In addition to DJs Tommie Sunshine and Phil Moffa, special thanks go out to Oracle Entertainment’s Debra Eriksen and MetroMix Media’s John Hohman.
