| Armando
An early acid-house pioneer while still
in his teens, Armando contributed several classics to the
Chicago canon during the mid-'80s, including "Land of
Confusion" and "100% of Dissin' You." Born
on Chicago's south side to Cuban immigrants, he was a star
on the baseball field until spinal meningitis forced him out
of the sport. To fill his time, he began spinning records
and was organizing his own parties at the age of 16. One year
later he was on the radio as well, substituting for Farley
Keith on Chicago's biggest dance show, the Hot Mix 5.
Already one of the Windy City's hottest DJs around the time
he received his driver's license, Armando formed Warehouse
Records with Mike Dunn, just in time for his first big releases,
1988's "151" and "Land of Confusion."
The latter single blew up in Chicago and quickly crossed the
Atlantic, just in time for Britain's acid-house explosion.
The following year Armando was on the leading edge of a return
to the underground minimalist style typified by his own previous
acid club-hits. He provided production on classic Warehouse
tracks by Ron Trent ("Altered States"), DJ Rush
("Child Play") and Robert Armani ("Circus Bells"),
and delivered as well with another of his own club smashes,
"100% of Dissin' U."
Though he worked on an album for Mike Dunn in 1993, Armando
did little actual production during the early '90s, focusing
instead on a residency at the seminal nightclub the Warehouse
from 1992 through 1994. After working on A&R at one of
the prime third-wave Chicago labels, Felix Da Housecat's Radikal
Fear, he began recording again with the Radikal Fear singles
"Transaxual" and "Radikal Bitch," both
of which made Armando a big house favorite yet again, and
the Dutch label Djax-Up-Beats licensed much of the Warehouse
Records discography for release (with new-school European
producers like Hardfloor and Edge of Motion providing fresh
remixes for the B-sides). Armando returned the favor, recording
singles for European labels including Labwerks, IDM, STR and
Djax plus Americans Jive and Dance Mania. In mid-1996, after
more than ten years of production, Armando finally recorded
his debut album, One World One Future. He also appeared alongside
Mike Dunn, Felix Da Housecat, DJ Sneak and Roy Davis, Jr..
on the Radikal Fear LP The Chicago All Stars, but died of
leukemia less than two months after its release.
Bad Boy Bill
So goes one of the legendary chants of
Chicago house icon Bad Boy Bill, who began name checking when
he first started out on the radio to distinguish himself from
the other DJs on the airwaves. Bill has come a long way from
his days as a radio mix show DJ. On his belt hang the titles
of DJ, Artist, Producer, Songwriter, and Entrepreneur. Not
to mention three-time DMC FINALIST, 1998 Winter Music Conference
MIXSHOW DJ OF THE YEAR, 1999 URB Magazine 2nd Place DJ OF
THE YEAR, and this year's #1 FAVORITE DJ according to BPM
Magazine. And now, after the success of the Bangin' In The
Box series, Bill is upping the ante to deliver Behind the
Decks, a new mix CD and DVD, on System Recordings.
Hailed by DJ Magazine as "One of America's most popular
and influential DJs," the renowned artist didn't grow
up dreaming of making music in his youth, he thought he
would perhaps pursue a career as a professional baseball player.
But in high school, after joining a DJ crew with some of his
neighborhood friends, Bill entered the world of DJ battles
and party promotion. "My DJ style originated with the
idea to remix a song live with two copies of the same record
and then combine scratching and hip-hop techniques with house
grooves." At only 16, his friend Julian "Jumpin"
Perez, who deemed Bill "the dopest white kid he'd ever
seen," stood Bill before prominent radio jockey Farley
Jackmaster Funk at WGCI, and he began scratching and mixing
the eight records he'd been practicing on for hours every
day. Farley was so impressed he recruited Bill right then
and there. After WGCI, Bill found himself on the airwaves
again on Chicago's B96, and eventually broadened his skills,
making his own tracks and starting his own record label while
still a senior in high school. Nowadays, Bill averages over
150 DJ gigs annually, playing everywhere from New York, Chicago,
and Los Angeles to international hotspots including Peru,
Colombia, Germany, England, and Spain.
Coming from a broad musical and cultural background, Bill
cites numerous personal influences. "My grandfather was
an opera singer so he was always into music, and was very
supportive," he says. "My dad took me downtown to
buy my first set of 1200s I will always thank him for that."
Additionally influenced by the likes of motivational speaker
Anthony Robbins and Chicago mix show DJs 'The Hot Mix 5',
Bill notes, "Everything I hear affects every song I choose
to play and the way I play it."
And his inspiration Spinning the crowd into a dancing frenzy
with his lighting-quick mixes (often playing up to 20 records
in the time the average DJ would mix in 5). "The payoff
for me is seeing people dancing and having a great time during
my set," he explains. And of course, another source of
inspiration: the ladies (Bill was named the "Wilt Chamberlain
of Techno" by Lotus Magazine).
The new double disc release, Behind the Decks, delivers
that famed Bad Boy Bill pumpin' house sound with his legendary
scratching, a cappella, and turntable tricks, but also takes
the entire live experience to a new level with DTS and Dolby
5.1 surround sound mixes and visuals. With this mix CD and
two-hour DVD, Bill hopes his audience can finally "get
a good picture of what I'm like and what I do." A perfectionist,
Bill is always striving to expand and improve upon what he's
done before. And Bill feels this new mix is doing just that
moving forward, progressing and growing. "My musical
style is constantly evolving. I used to spin deep house, acid
house, hip house, freestyle, techno, and the list goes on.
My sound today is what it is based on the music I have heard
or made prior," Bill says. Smiling, he adds, "My
personal style has changed as well, from Underoos to Wranglers,
Jordache to parachute pants, and then all the way to Snug
and Prada."
In spite of all of his accomplishments, Bad Boy Bill remains
modest, levelheaded and positively motivated about his direction.
"I am always thinking about the future." Working
in the studio up to 14-16 hours some days, Bill continues
to push the boundaries, both with Behind The Decks as well
as his next endeavour: his artist album.
You can catch Bad Boy Bill live and "Behind The Decks"
as the BTD tour rolls through a city near you because Bad
Boy Bill is "in the mix and he's live - Understand!"
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