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I am often asked how I evolved into a DJ that plays both party music, which is a very interactive style with little or no mixing, and club-style dance music, which is all about the seamless, non-stop mix, with little or no DJ talking on the microphone.

Well, it goes a little something like this: (NOTE: Click on the photo to see more details.)

DJ Scottie - The Dance Music DJ

I didn't start out as a Party Music DJ, mostly because I wanted to be a club DJ. Acutally, I was a bouncer in my college town's (Fredonia, NY) most popular dance club (SUNY's) and hated the miserable music the DJ (Perry) played every night. It was 1982 and this guy was playing 45s worse than a jukebox.

Well, to make a long story short, after months of badgering my boss, (Frank Pagano), to let me try being the DJ, he finally gave me a fill-in night. I went out and bought my first 12" singles, which included "White Lines", "Tainted Love", and "Don't You Want Me", among others. (And, yes I still have them.)

So, I got in the booth that night, never having done anything like that before, ever. I tried my best playing the 45s and album cuts the other DJ had in the booth, and (poorly) mixed five or so of my 12"s in through out the evening. At the end of the night my boss told me to stop playing those long, drawn out, "crazy" versions of songs because no one wanted to hear them. Actually, he yelled at me.

But the next week, when the regular DJ was back, he got a lot of inquiries as to where "last week's DJ was". He didn't tell me that, but two of the bartenders did, and thus my fill-in career was born. It was an uphill battle with Frank, but I bought my own booth monitor, so the mixes weren't off so badly, and eventually made a name for myself.

As a matter of fact, I built up enough of a following that I started hosting my own Happy Hour Dance Parties, (just like the Fraternities would do to raise money), but since I was a one-person promoter, I kept all the money. (Even though the first time my boss ripped me off, which he would swear to this day he didn't... but he did.) Frank finally came around though, when I moved my parties to Old Main Inn and The Caboose, which were other clubs in town, and he saw a noticeable loss of revenue for those nights.

DJ Scottie - The Party Music DJ

Within a year I was a pretty popular club DJ, with a good following, and lots of "Dance Happy Hour" bookings by campus clubs and Frats. And it was here that I learned that I needed to be as much a Party Music DJ as I was a Dance Music Club DJ.

You see, as much as any club DJ will tell you it's not true, the crowd really does want to hear you on the microphone. They want to interact with you, and they want to see and hear you having a good time with them.

It was the challenge of a lifetime for me to learn how to talk on the microphone. So much so, that in my Junior year at Fredonia, (this is a little known fact), I switched to a double-major adding a Communications BS, with a concentration in Public Speaking, to my Graphic Design BA.  I did this to become a better communicator, and god bless my Communications professor, Rose Kaussen for keeping me focused.

Learning how to speak to an audience, to read their non-verbal (and often drunkenly-misguided verbal) queues was incredible. I started to realize how to get the crowd into the party earlier and going all the way to the end. This may seem trivial to you, but at this point in my part-time DJ career, I had sold my full semester's meal card and bought two DJ turntables and a mixer. With that setup I made my first mix-tape (The Summer '86 Scorcher Mix) and went from dorm room to dorm room selling copies I produced at a dollar a piece, for $10 even. Within two months I had bought enough used PA equipment to become a "mobile" DJ, and re-bought my meal card, and moved off campus into my own apartment with Chris Hughey.

The mobile equipment was absolutely necessary as I was getting a significant number of requests for dorm parties, mixers, and off-campus parties, but until then didn't have the gear to do them, and at $75 to $125 a gig, renting gear for $50 sucked.

So, there I was, one of Fredonia's most popular DJs, both in the clubs and at the parties. I had pretty good taste in music, kept the library fresh and up to date via an awesome discount at the music store in D&F Plaza. (I fed the chick that worked there mix-tapes and got my 12" singles (mostly imports) for about $2 a piece, on average.) And, I knew how to mix when it was time to mix, and I knew how to emcee when it was time to talk on the mic.

After college I tried to keep the business going, but back on Long Island the environment was significantly different, with much more competition, and back-stabbing. I joined the largest record pool in New York City, (For The Record), and enjoyed meeting people like David Morales, sitting in the hallway outside the office on Broadway waiting for the UPS boxes full of hot new 12" singles to arrive. I worked at several clubs on Long Island including Harry's 110 in Jericho, and a few in Huntington, Northport, Greenlawn, and the South Shore. But it wasn't like college, and when Billy Ocean released "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car", I knew it was time to hang up the turntables. < S i g h .>

DJ Scottie - The Mid-Life Crisis Revival

Well, I really didn't DJ again for years, and years, and years. I did lug about ten milk crates of 12" singles with me when I moved from Buffalo to Virginia Beach and then to Harrisburg... not once playing one of them until 2001, at least a decade after I retired.

I don't know exactly what happened, but I think it was when I was taking pictures for MODE at Fat Daddy's and saw DJ Pumpin' Paul doing flawless mixes with two CD players resting precariously atop two Technics 1200s. (Shame on you Paul.) Anyway, it got to me, and I needed to spin again.

I talked to Matt Landis at Fat Daddy's and the next thing I knew I was the Saturday night deck DJ, spinning all the best party music from the 80s through today. It was a lot of fun, and I met tons of cool people, (who in York, had no idea what MODE Magazine was, or that I was the Publisher, and more importantly wouldn't care if they did). It was nice to be a DJ and not a Publisher. And that's one of my golden rules: "Never play with the people you work with or work with the people you play with." Write that one down folks, it's a keeper.

But Fat Daddy's, although an excellent experience, was a haul, and more often than not, hot, humid, gnat-angry, and I wasn't allowed to drink. Sheeeeeesh! So, I approached the management at Wanda's Deck and Beach Club, and launched Way-Back Wednesdays. From there it was on to the Lunar Lounge at Eclipse Nightclub in downtown Harrisburg. Back to Fat Daddy's here and there, and I finally landed at Scott's Grille, also in downtown Harrisburg, where I was the resident Friday DJ for many years, until recently when, for personal reasons, I needed to cut back from DJing every Friday night.

After my brief respite, I rejoined the Scott's cast every other Saturday for Sinful Saturdays. I wonderfully-wicked promotion that played upon strong liquor specials and the darkest desires of my often-evil patrons. I played lots of sexy "grind" music and, since Scott's air conditioning leaves a lot to be desired, the party was always hot and wild. I've got photos to prove it too.  ;-)

But the Scott's party finally ended. The crowd changed. The owner changed. And, I needed a change too.

So, it was off to Atlantic City and the Hilton Beach Bar for a wild and fun Summer of Reggae and Beach Party music to the rhythm of the ocean waves crashing on the beach.

As a matter of fact, my booking agent in Atlantic City was so pleased with my performance at the Hilton, I've been booked to perform at The Quarter in the Tropicana Casino and Resort on New Year's Eve. Now that's going to be a serious party!

But for now, I'm exploring a new gig at Max's Italian Restaurant in downtown Harrisburg. I'll give you more details soon.

Thanks for reading.

DJ Scottie

P.S. Wondering where the famous "Limo Photo" went?  It's been brought to my attention that my harmless leather fetish is a bit too risqué for the general public. So, I've moved that little blurb and the wickedly cool limo photo to a page of its own.
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