Jayceeoh: I went to Emerson College in Boston and spent a few years there after graduating,Grew up in LA and went to high school in Pittsburgh. [I'm] currently living in NYC. Yankee fans don't bother me... I'm no baseball fanatic. Steelers all day though!
H.O.: You really got your name out there through DJ battles. Tell me how you got interested in battling? What are some of your awards and accolades from it?
JCO: Scratching was actually the reason I started DJing... I was in 8th grade and saw an old X-ecutioners video and stole my parents tables shortly after. I probably spent the first few years completely focusing on how to scratch and juggle before i cared to mix records. I have been DJing for about 13 years. Most notable Battle accolades: 2nd at the 2006 DMC US TEAM FINALS , 3rd at the 2006 US SUPREMACY FINALS, Turntablist of The Year (2006,2007) at the M.I.C Awards. No world titles or anything but earned a few stripes and helped me develop my performance and stage show.
H.O.: Now that you're doing parties/showcases, take me through a typical Jayceeoh event? From the crowd to the music, what makes them unique? What can a fan expect from them?
JCO: Since my move to NYC Ihave been traveling a good amount and doing a mix of almost every type of party rocking you could imagine. Depending on the day you can catch me rocking a bottle service club... a hipster party... or running the gamet of hip-hop, boogie, disco, house, funk, soul, breaks, and brazilian music at parties like The Do-Over in LA. Regardless of what venue or genre of music I may be playing, you can always find me pretty locked in. I move quickly and always infuse cuts,doubles, and my own edits on the fly, trying to make every set as interesting as possible. I think my battle history helped me make my party sets more of a show than just background music. When you see me DJ you will be like ok, dude is working up there... As opposed to a start and stop DJ who rides every recordout.
H.O.: I see that you DJed for Res. How do you like DJing artists' shows? And are there any other artists that you’d like to dj for?
JCO: The Res show was a last minute thing during the Okayplayer x Frank 151 SXSW event. In General I have a blast DJing for artists. That is actually how I was introduced to touring. ...I have traveled to all over Europe, Brazil, and Canada backing rappers. Some people who I have held down sets for are Ed O.G., Sean Price, Akrobatik, Sadat X, Slaine (La Coka Nostra), Special Teamz , and Big Shug (Gangstarr). I have also done cuts on tracks with some legends in hip-hop like Pete Rock, J-Dilla, Talib Kweli, KRS-One, Buckshot, 9th Wonder, and Little Brother.
H.O.: What DJ/Artists have inspired you?
JCO: Some of the DJs who inspired me to start Djing include the X-ecutioners, Beatjunkies, Q-Bert, Craze, Klever, Z-trip, JS1, Funk Master Flex (60 Minutesof Funk Vol 1), DJ Revolution, Tony Touch, and DJ Premier. Currently I am finding a lot of new inspiration all over the place from listening to tons of new music to going out and watching other DJs. I have also gotten a lot of inspiration from all the DJs on the Super 7 Series [including] Fashen, Steve1der, Spider, Eleven, Benzi, Vin Sol, Excel, Bladerunners, Illo, Morse Code, Platurn, and B.Cause. As well as DJ ON&ON with whom I did The Masters "Ace In The Hole" Series.
H.O.: You’re from a hip-hop background. The Goody Goody Mix you did with PQ is a Baltimore Electro Mix. Is this a new direction that you’re going in?
JCO: Hip-Hop is the back bone of my style and you can find it mixed in all of my sets, but for the past few years I have been focusing on party rocking and dance music. Goody! Goody! Volume 1 is the first of many mixes from me and PQ. We are working on original production, remixes, and edits of all types. Two new original Goody Goody tracks were featured on Super 7 volume 2. I wouldn't categorize us as straight B-more / electro. We incorporate elements of all types of dance music. As longas its flavor we will touch it. People are going to be pleasantly surprised with the new releases coming out of Goody! Goody! . We are also kicking off amonthly Goody! Goody! Party in NYC this summer. Stay tuned for details. I alsohave a new mix coming out "Pop Bottles + Models" which is all up-tempo Dance music with a ton of new edits.
H.O.: I really like the Super 7 mixes. How did you get the idea for them? Is it hard to coordinatewith the six other djs?
JCO: I have always had a bunch of DJs who I wanted to collaborate with on some level, but coordinating a full mixtape with one other DJ across the country is hard withpeoples busy schedules. So I thought why not start a series where every DJ just does a 10 minute [set]. [It] wouldn't be to hard for any one DJ to make a hot 10. So I kicked it around in my head for a while then started making calls to confirm who was down to do volume one. I picked DJs who were all dope and had styles that were different but would be able to mesh together well on the same mix. I also consciously spread the map of Djs who lived and operated in different areas of the country. Figuring if each DJ pushed it in their own circuit it would get out to a much larger audience. I set a deadline for mixes and people went to town and recorded their 10 minutes and sent them over. I then worked on sequencing them all together so it would flow seamlessly. Volume One had such a great response that I thought why not start a series with this. Volume 2 came out in March. Volume 3 will be dropping this summer with a whole new line-up of DJs.
H.O.: What are some of yourupcoming projects?
JCO: Justreleased:
"SUPER 7 Volume 2" feat DJ's Jayceeoh, Fashen, Illo, Spider, Excel, Bladerunners, Vin Sol(March 2009) [DOWNLOAD]
"NY STATE OF MIND" Mixed By Scott Melker + DJ JayCeeOh (April 2009) [DOWNLOAD]
"GOODY! GOODY!" (JayCeeOh + PQ) Volume 1 (Feb 2009) [DOWNLOAD]
"GOODY!GOODY!" - LEGGO A DIS ONE [DOWNLOAD]
Coming Soon:
"POP BOTTLES + MODELS" (May 2009)
"DIGIWAXX Radio: Volume 4" Mixed By DJ JayCeeOh (May 2009)
"CHAPA QUENTE - BROOKLYN 2 BRAZIL" (May 2009)
"GOODY! GOODY! Volume 2" (June 2009)
"SUPER 7 Volume 3" (July 2009)