Booking #98: Direct Drive @ Midway, NYC

Last night was Direct Drive's return to Saturday nights in NYC. I booked Club Midway for the first Driven AM showcase in July, it went really well and the owners wanted us back, so now we are doing every Saturday night. We were scheduled to be downstairs from 1-4, but there was a band until about 2... So we ended up playing upstairs. I started with about 15 minutes of Electro House to continue what CT Burners (Chris Thomas) was playing. I like Djing house and they had a very professional setup, so i had fun. Then i played about an hour of DnB, started with some chill vocal stuff as were we technically in the lounge area. Nice size crowd seemed to be enjoying the music even thu the majority of them were not there for DnB. My set got a bit harder and the crowd for the most part stayed with me. Saw a bunch of new faces, and some of the regulars, big up to the new people who introduced themselves to me. I think it was a good start to the weekly event, good vibes in that place!

Booking #97: The Secret Night of Science, NYC

Raw Q

I've been trying to play this party for a year now since it started. Run by DB, Secret Night is likely the best DnB night in NYC at the moment. It is at Club LOVE which is an amazing underground place, literally and figuratively. Likely the best sound system in NYC, great light and lighting person (thou she does keep it quite dark), nice layout of the club, few places to relax/talk/rest your ears. The staff is also extreemly friendly, they are all about vibe and it works, happy dancing people all over that venue. The Dj booth is crazy. Built for House Dj's its all rotary knobs, no crossfader or regular up/down volume controls that DnB Dj's are used to. 2 Technics SL-1210M5G, which really thru me off, first time i think i have used them, the range for pitch control is +16 instead of +8, very sensitive turntable, and not something that i have been practicing on for 10 years now and am used to like the 1200/1210's. Still i played well and had a very nice crowd dancing for my set. I played after Raw Q, who killed it and left the floor busy after he finished his set. I played from 3-4, again i played all the new Lomax, Calibre, Lynx, Mixmaster Doc, Icicle, Nu:tone, High Contrast, i played the Photek Remix of Roni Size's Brown Paper Bag, that made alot of people happy. Artisan by Lomax was a huge tune, followed by Calibre's Hustin, i could see the crowd really enjoying that stuff. It was a real pleasure to play on that System, best i've ever played on, even thu the mixer was a huge headache. Many thanks to DB for having a Driven Artist Management showcase at his monthly, much respect! It was also my birthday set and Strife brought a cake for me! It was enjoyed by a bunch of friends and local dj/producers, really nice of her, made my night!

Booking #96: Paradise City, Albany NY

My first time DJing that far upstate. Road up with Dj Force, nice drive, not to long. Our hotel room reeked of disinfectant, but thats to be expected. The setup at the venue was very nice, Pioneer DJM-500 mixer, 2 cdj 1000, good monitor and great speakers. Unfortunately there was an outdoor area that was much more popular than the inside where i was playing, likely due to it being a great warm summer night... So i DJ'd to 5 or 10 people for most of my set while there were lots of people outside. Total disappointment. I did get to meet a few real nice people, and chat with some people i don't get to see often, so i did enjoy the night. I played all the new Lomax tunes, bunch of new Calibre, Lynx, Icicle, i played a deep harder than usual set.