30 years of DJ Culture from East Los Angeles
by Pachuco 3000
I have written a couple of pieces on my blog about my involvement and history with DJ culture in Southern California. My academic focus has been on Chicano DJ culture focused on the Eastside of Los Angeles. Chicano scholars have not included DJ culture as part of our experience and DJ Culture/Rave Culture scholars have not included Chicano DJs in their investigations. This makes Chicano DJ culture a truly Chicano experience: ignored by both (our own scholars and outsider scholars), stuck in the middle between two worlds, not factored in.
This project I am working on with G727 is taking form everyday. We have been holding meetings and gathering friends and participants to make this happen. In researching our experience I have learned that we need to include as many voices as possible. We are not Chicago who has Frankie Knuckles, nor are we New York with a Larry Levan. Detroit’s history looks at the Bellevue Three. Here in L.A. we need to look at the hundreds of thousands. There are many factors that lead to the LA experience being different to the East coast.
We have better weather so we have outdoor parties 10 out of 12 months, in East Los a lot of us had large backyards to host massive parties, we are a car culture so we all could have mobile systems that we could easily transport and we could get to more parties in one night. The list goes on.
Anyhow, please support our first fundraiser at Eastside Luv next Thurs.
This is what I’ve been sending out to all my ’social networks’:
Based on my Master’s thesis “An Oral History of DJ Culture from East Los Angeles,” I am working with G727 on building a living collaborative archive. All DJs, promoters and dancers who were a part of or were inspired by Chicano DJ culture based on the Eastside are welcome to bring their flyers, memories and music to this project. We are having a few fundraisers for out supplies, please come out and support or send us a check.
“Featuring the Lightz and Soundz of…”
A 30-Year Survey of DJ Culture from East L.A.
June 7 - August 9, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 14, 7- 11pm
Gallery Hours: Thursday through Saturday 12-6pm
G727 is pleased to present “Featuring the Lightz and Soundz of…” an interactive participatory exhibition celebrating the first 30 years of DJ culture rooted in East Los Angeles.
This exhibition will develop over the course of nine weeks and invites the public to contribute their party flyers, images, anecdotes, and spinning skills to an ongoing series of events and remembrances, while developing a living archive that can serve as the basis for historical research of the genre’s contribution to the Southern California cultural landscape.
Working in collaboration with Power Tools (a weekly DJ mixshow program on Los Angeles’ Power 106 FM), which have chronicled the nuances of the DJ scene and continue to keep it alive in underground settings, “Featuring the Lightz and Soundz of…” will function as a staging ground for the search of the intimate and personal experiences that have contributed to the formation of distinct alternative dance movements, honoring the complexities of its chronology, geography, and surrounding social context.
G727 welcomes testimonies, photos, flyers and mixes (cassette, CD or MP3) to help build the narrative about the variety of spaces and happenings that make up the first 30 years of East L.A. DJ culture.
This exhibition provides a collaborative contextual framework for participants, past and present, to become active producers in the documentary process of their own cultural histories.
Contact:
Adrian Rivas
213 627 9563
gallery727losangles@yahoo.com
http://www/myspace.com/7dos7
About G727:
G727 seeks to generate dialogues on artistic representations and
interpretations of the urban landscape. The building blocks of a city
comprise more than simply buildings, streets, and sidewalks. They equally encompass personal experience, collective memory and narratives. These are the less tangible, but no less integral elements that transform mere infrastructure into place. Through photography, painting, writing and video installations, artists open our eyes to these elements and heighten our awareness of what makes a place a place. G727 welcomes these artists to its space to help us all better understand the complex nature of cities and
the urban condition.
funny, a few weeks ago i was talking to someone about how nothing’s been done about the history of east l.a.’s dj culture. nice to hear someone’s taken up the task. you going as far back as all the “musique” dj crews (pegasus, destination, etc.) and the copa discotheque?
YES we are starting in 1977 and going all the way to 2007.
BUT we need you and your stories to make it a fuller picture. We understand that the DJ culture in East Los is not about one person in one era, it is un chingo de gente, across generations. I know heads whose dad was a DJ and they are now teaching their kids to DJ. It is just like our lowrider culture: Generational and adaptable to technology.
What a great project. I’ll type up some memoirs for you
of the backyard parties we hung at in the 70’s-80’s
with the Vin de Champagne crews and Audio Climax
also the hip hop RADIOTRON club near McArthur Park in the 80’s.
Awe shit! Pah pah Patch was the first rave I went to (then circa 93), I think I was in 7th or 8th grade. I remember cholish party crews (memer operation X hats?) rollin in lowriders to raves back when we called them industrial parties. I gotta pull out some of my old rave/deep house party fliers from the 90s. Just thinking about it gives me acid flashbacks and memories of hearing 30 hoodrats sing “and you even licked my balls!” in unison.
I got a buddy who used to DJ who would be a good resource for this, I gotta let him know about it. Great post! Remeber the circa riot at the grand plymic, we were peaking when shit went down and had to carry a homie who was beyond candyflipping.
Hey Pachuco, my dad was one of the first mobile DJs in the Eastside/SGV. I’ll let him know about your project. Like you mentioned above, he passed on the skills to my brother and tried to teach me too but I was too shy to take it up. Stupid me!
Looking forward to hearing/reading more about your project.
Good luck on the project. While I preferred what people nowadays call “80’s music”, it always bothered me that the 80’s in LA has been redefined as only new wavey music, when there was a wide range of music, and a huge freestyle and house dance music scene. It also bugged me that local stars like DJ Irene and R.A.W. helped develop sounds that were sold back to America via people from Europe.
Please come to our weekly meetings on Wednesday nights at 7 pm at G727 S. Spring St. in dwntwn Los. This Wed. we’ll be celebrating Adrian b-day, going over the details of the fundraiser on Thurs at Eastside Luv, and discussing the logos, flyers, and video aspect to the show. If you can’t make it Wed. please do come out on Thurs. I promise it will be a helluva night.
This show is about stories and anecdotes like the comments above about flyers, memories and its role in developing and connecting our community within its borders and into the current global DJ culture. We did this. Not me or just him, ALL of us. We want to keep this spirit of collectivity alive throughout the show. That will only happen if you show up and drop some knowledge.
Right now we are in need of a video recording set up to do video testimonials and ofcourse more lights for the light sculpture, old DJ mixers for the mixers through the years collection, and flyers, always flyers. They are our raw data that show the trends, lingo, stars and vibes of an era.
This is so badly needed. I grew up in East L.A and Pico Rivera and was part of the “whittier party scene” which you know was intertwined with the ELA scene. The crew that I was down with was mainly a hip hop party crew.I was around but too young to participate in the disco scene around “The Casa” and Kennedy hall but I still remember the big hair and crazy make up. The history of the chicano Dj and party scene is ignored. I was speaking to a friend of mine how awesome it would be to chronical - perhaps in a film or documentary- the eastside scene. The frestyle,hip hop, and disco scene was a magical time in L.A history and history has forgotten that time. I would be more than happy to contribute however I can to this magical time. I still think that it needs to be put on film somehow. This generation needs to know about REAL cruising on Whittier Blvd, legg lake, what flyers used to look like, the pick up spots at Jack In the Box in Pico Rivera, the underground parties in ELA, the X hats, the dance battles, the MC battles, the guy and girl party crews, the “6 pack crews”, the partying at Turnbull Canyon. I could go un forever. This project is an important start.
Iz “Poet” Carrasco
mrdoolittle906605@yahoo.com
PS my email is mrdoolittle906605@yahoo.com
IZ
Lets see what I can dig up from my parents garage. I still have most of my DJ stuff and crates of LP’s since the early 80s. See you at the fundraiser!
Hey, i was a member of the ela party scence.From the years of 1992-1997. It became a pretty crazy lifestyle. It changed my life, friends killed, getting addicted and strung out on lots of different things. Almost loosing my own life. I made it a priority that me as well as my party crew were all well known. But its a dangerous thing, Party crews! but that was the life i choose
Hey Pachuco!
Great job! All that you did is amazising! But what do you what to have as a result? I mean no only the exhibition of Chicano DJs. What do you what to have for yourself?
Thank you for the kind words. They are much appreciated and necessary for me.
what do I want?
besides justice, peace, and a sustainable economic, social and political paradigm?
some Pioneer CDJ 1000s would be nice; a new radio for my car; cash is always great; new speakers; a digital camera; some new clothes; a new mattress; ceiling fan for my bedroom; people to buy my book; a movie deal with millions of dollars to hire the best and weirdest peeps to make the ultimate ELA DJ movie; a book deal; travel; more time to exercise; the answers to the big questions; the ability to come up with more questions and time.
You asked…
“a movie deal with millions of dollars to hire the best and weirdest peeps to make the ultimate ELA DJ movie”
A movie like this would be so awesome! I actually thought about this before…perhaps start with a novel or something and then move on to a film…
Also, I might still have it somewhere but sometime in 1989 or 1990, Vogue magazine did an article on the fashionistas of the ELA party scene. You know that crowd that thought of themselves as being of a slightly higher class (despite living in the same neighborhood as everyone else)? From what I recall, the interview was done at Don Quixote’s. I remember when I came across it in Vogue, I was totally shocked. As I’m sure you know, there was zero media attention given to the scene except in the 90s when Fox news came along with their undercover exposes.
I’ve heard about that article, but never ran across it. Throughout the project a couple of people have brought it up.
It is very rare that our night life is given any credit or notice unless of course it is to be used against us like, ‘Look at how crazy and out of control they are! We need to enforce the law!’
My radio show has been on 16 years and not once has any LA paper noticed. Our dance music scene has always been thriving but unless someone gets shot or o.d.s we don’t know it exists.
As Gamboa Jr. wrote, we are a ‘phantom culture.’
Some folks I know that have gone through the Hollywood machine say the powers that be in there don’t want Chicanos in the media because it will eventually end with how this is stolen land from an illegal war. And they support the existence of other states/nation states that were born of illegal wars and exist on stolen land.
We don’t exist because to acknowledge us it to admit they couldn’t wipe us out, how many of us remember and know our history, and that they have benefited and are only on top due to colonization/slavery and ethnocide.
Despite all that we still dance, create, have flavor, funk, and rock it like no others with elan and estilo.
YO THIS IS SOMETHING I GREW UP WITH..FROM ABOUT 84-94 I WAS A DJ IN PICO RIVERA..SO I KNOW WHAT Y’ALL R TALKING BOUT…THAT WHOLE CULTURE…CRUISING THE WINERY,TURNBILL, WHITTIER, PICO OF COURSE, E.L.A,ETC..CASA, DQ’S, BRANDI’S,& THE ROCK OF THE 80′S AT THE PICO RIVERA SPORTS ARENA..I DEEJAYED SOME OF THESE CLUBS..AND MANY MANY MANY HOUSE PARTIES..ANYWAY STILL HAVE ALL MY FLYERS FROM THOSE DAYS …HIT ME UP IF INTERESTED…PEACE OUT ..GOD BLESS..
Was wandering along some sites and came across this interesting blog of sorts.
I grew up in the ELA area, particulary Montebello and the Whittier Blvd segment. Actually went to Montebello Intermediate and was an Oiler for a minute. This era of creativeness still gives me the chills when I think of how deep it expanded throughout our hispanic culture. Before I left the Los Angeles county lines and moved into the Inland Empire, I thought we were all mexican and listened to Techno;House;Hip Hop;New Wave;80’s;Rock;KROQ;Power Tools; and for those old enough Mars FM! Oooh…how I loved that station so bad I would have to turn my clothes hanger just enough to catch the right reception even though I lived in Los.
At an early age living in Los Angeles I did what probably all of us did in the late 80s-to the early 90’s. Write on walls, skateboard, play baseball; and of course listen to ALOTT of music! Growing up around 80’s and rock, my dad was around plenty of dj’s, so I still hear songs that remind me of my early childhood (mainly new wave). Yet,the one music genre that sucked me in and just completely changed my views and aspects of music was…you guessed it, Techno.
I collected flyers at an early age because I was to young to party or hang out all night (10 yrs old). Every chance I had to buy a mixed tape or cassette @ music plus or exodus which I think is still there, I would. My fave djs form the LA scene that I can recall are: Dj Orlando;Tony Vargas;Thee-o;RAW; etc. Never was a fan of Humpty, but give him credit for Power Tools. You know I taped approx. 3-6 years of that show labeled and sorted in sequence untill my ex through them all out on the street afetr a bad break up. Now I wish I had them due to all the new cassette to mp3 rippers out there
Lets not forget how the tagging crews and party crews of Los Angeles contributed to the hispanic culture of the rave scene,or as one person wrote above “the industrial parties”, which is true. Aother great source to look up would be “Street Beat Magazine.” This publication actually took great pictures and small interviews with many of the ELA party crew scene, and even tagging crews. Never the less, if you wrote you were associated with party crews usually. If you banged, you were usually not associated with party crews or atleast the better crews. The oversized t- shirts with colorfull graphics and labels. The phat laces and airbrushed jeans, and of course the caps rep’n their crew with big bold letters! The one negative apsect,that ELA kids bring to the table that nobody can match,is the violence we reak on each other. I believe its the population and competiveness of ELA kids. We all wanted to be on top no matter what we did, which leads to violence.
Overall, the creativeness that was brought to ELA in the early 90’s was top notch. Yes, others argue that the east coast and Chicago were the originators of Techno and underground parties here in the States. The ELA movement was fierce and colorfull. We have more people, we have the best looking girls,we have sunshine 12 months out of the year, and we definetly have style and culture which is unmatched. The whole country copies what Los Angeles does in many aspects….
Now, I can see the whole rave scene and how far it has came. Doing research and collecting oldskool techno in mp3 format from the years 88-96. The European countries started the creativeness and self production of making music and it still astonishes me on how they recorded, and packaged their own music which led us to how we alott of us make music now-a-days in our bedrooms. The east coast gave us the first big name dj’s or artists to make it big and represent throughout the world. ELA was king to crews, parties, bitches, and countless ravers.
Someone needs to document this era and include works of art. The flyers and how the copyright law was just stepped on, and of course the culture itself. It would be impossible to give props to all the crews or promoters, and or dj’s. Yet its worth a try I guess.
If anybody is interested in the music of those days, I have a enormous collection of rare, and popular techno. Anything from strictly oldskool mp3’s: techno-acid-breakbeats-hardcore-and rare mixed tapes and live sets from back in the day! If you think the scene is dead, you better look again. Ive dj’d @ parties in the same neighborhoods I once roamed. Mainly ELA! Its not the same and the kids have no repsect to the oldskool, but the energy is hype like I havent seen since that first time I stepped foot into a rave. You all know that feeling?
L8RZ,
Royal
royaloner@hotmail.com
You can find me on the best oldskool internet radio station “Pirate Reveival”, and the finest oldskool peer-to-peer file sharing site “Soulseek.”
http://www.piraterevival.co.uk/forum/cmps_index.php
http://www.slsknet.org/
leeeeeeeeean in,
so the last post was fucken october?????????????????????????????????????????????????????
check it out.
im here and i caught a burz
musica blowing out my fucken ear drums
that shit hurts.
but i could type and shit
i think
call me a wierd vato
cuz i come from hollywood
yeah west side till i ride
just let me rhyme
somebody please, just give me a second
i know a d.j. is muchdiferent from a m.c.
but when my crew and i secured a ride to make it to the big bad EAST
and a ride to make it back to the western border of downtown
with enough cash for ass ad gas
shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit
we would make the fucken tripiada
it wasnt often
cuz we grew up prawly broker than you guys
but man
man
oh man
i cannot emphasize how fucking important it is to make our cultura common knowledge
make those recordings yall
those
old
school
fucken
mix
fucken
tapes
.
damn
yo royal and pachuco
you fellas are on the golden track
solid gold
mi gente
the deal real
yo please dont stop this movement
a whisper in a persons ear
is the message carried by the rebel in fear
soy,
elED