www.handzonradio.com

Are you from Baltimore? If not, how did you come to settle here?
Yeah born and raised here. I lived in Gaithersburg for from 1997 to 2001 and I just moved back to Baltimore two years ago.
 

What was your musical influences growing up.
Wow. My dad was a Dj so I’ve been influenced by a lot of different stuff. If I had to make a list I’d say. George Benson, Roy Ayers, Chic Corea, Chuck Mangione, War, Lee Morgan,, Stanley Turentine, Mandrill, Earth Wind and Fire, Heatwave, Grand Master Flash, Treacherous Three, Run DMC, Whodini, Eric B. and Rakim, EPMD, Sylvester, Ten City, Mr. Fingers, JM Silk, Marshall Jefferson, Todd Terry, Tyree Copper the list goes on.

Tell us a little about yourself. (Your dj history, experiences, etc.)
Well I grew up back and forth between Baltimore City and Catonsville. I always had a dual love affair for House and Hip Hop. My first Dj experience was when I dj’ed my seventh grade dance with some Walkman head phones, a ELI mixer and two belt drive Fisher turntables (with no pitch control). Having a pair of 1200s was like having a Bentley back then. When I was fourteen I started playing Wed. nights upstairs at my cousins bar on Edmonson Ave. called G&Gs. I was a hip hop basement party regular back in 87,88,89. Did all the west side parties if any of you remember(Fayette & Fulton, Mulberry & Monroe). I got into house growing up around Dj Scratch who used to play on WWIN and a few other older deejays from around the way who are no longer with us. I started sneaking in to Fantasies when I was fifteen and that was just like crack to me. I couldn’t get enough of it. While I was in college in DC I did lots of parties at Georgetown, Howard, American U., and a couple raves and mini raves. The bad thing is that the only place that I could play House in those days were at the raves. House was usually played last and they were half dead by then.

What made you want to start dj’ing?
Well my dad was a DJ so the records and the turntables were right there all the time. It was just a matter of time before I started experimenting. Growing up, I was also surrounded by friends that had the same interest in Djing at a very early age. I used to go to my man Jason’s (Soul Providers) crib in the morning before middle school and we would go through his father’s crates looking for the original songs that the latest hip hop artists were sampling. What really got my attention was a song called Music is the Key by JM Silk. It was House with a rap in it! I immediately went out and bought that back in 85’ and I was hooked.

Some dj’s have a mentor dj that they learn from while they home their skills. Did you have one or someone that you looked to for inspiration?
Yeah, different dj’s for different reasons though. On the technical side I always studied DJ Spen and the Numarks for their skill with tape editing. It was amazing to me then and now. CJ Fresh , Boobie and the crew back in the day when they used to run four turntables with Boobie scratching the hell out of one of them. Musical choreography at it’s best. I always looked up to Dj Scratch for his sound quality. Back in the day his cassette tapes sounded like damn Cds. I still don’t know how he did that. He taught me the importance of sound quality. Tommy Davis showed me that it’s OK to dance like crazy while your djing. I still get down when I’m behind the wheels.

Everyone knows that the House scene in Baltimore hit a low for a longtime up until last year. Do you have any thoughts on this & why it might have happened?
Actually I have no idea. I just moved back to Baltimore in 2001 and I didn’t realize there was a slump. When I got back, they cancelled Pope and Oji . I knew it couldn’t have been a lack of support. I’m just glad that it is back and it’s good to see a lot of old and new faces on the scene.

Were you a fan of DJ Oji & Pope’s “Underground Experience”? If so, tell us how it touched your life as a dj?
Man I started listening to Pope and Oji in my senior year at Poly. When I went away to college, I had people tape their show for me so that I could listen to it while I was away. I even include an element of their show in my own live shows when I read off all the songs that were played in between breaks. This was very helpful for me as a dj and I’ve gotten email from other dj’s out there saying that they appreciate that. Well Pope and Oji is where I got it from. I always supported these guys. When I moved back to B’more, I used to record their show to Mp3 and send it to G-man from Deephouse for use on his web site. I was so proud of them I wanted every one to hear what was going down here in B’more. I even invited Oji to do some live shows on my site if he wanted. Hopefully he’ll take me up on it.

Where have you played and have you been featured on any radio/internet mix shows other than yours and the blackbookscafe.com?
I really didn’t want to come out and gig. I was content with djing to the world on my internet show. Since the launch of my site, however, I’ve been getting as lot of people asking about play dates. So I guess I’ll have to come out of my shell. I played at Sonar once and loved the sound system. I’ve been asked to play some Sat. nights and I think I’m going to take them up on it. I’m also trying to do some things over in Sweden. Even though I’ve been djing forever, I’m new to the giging game so I have to start from scratch. I have some guest mixes coming up on www.outofbreath.com

Your website is www.hanzonradio.com. Visitors can hear streaming mixes on the site too. Can you tell us a more about the site and why you started it?
Well about four years ago a friend of mine who worked at KISS FM in D.C. put a bug in my ear about starting an online station. We put a business plan together but unfortunately due to his untimely death and the new royalty fees that were placed on internet broadcasters, I had to put things on hold. With new legislation passed in favor of webcasters just this past Fall, I was able to bring life to our idea. I’v been an independent internet consultant and web designer since 97’ and I have been djing for most of my life. I put the two skills together and designed the site and began broadcasting in Feb. 2003. I just want to do my part in helping to keep the music out there.

Do you have any plans to be a producer?
Oh most definitely. I’m no stranger to the studio. I majored in Audio Engineering in college. That gave me free studio access for all four years. In that time I worked with a lot of artists and bands. I produced a lot of Hip Hop. I even worked with some B’more Hip Hop natives like Porkchop. I actually sold my beats over the net all over the world. Even had a web site for it. Check out http://djchuck.dyndns.org/Music.html to see my old site and even listen to some of the beats and promos I did.(Remember I did this site back in 95’ so don’t laugh). I stopped producing for a long time because I couldn’t afford all the equipment we had at school. Now, one or two computer programs can replace all that so I will be back in the game.

What should we be expecting from you in the near future as far as dj’ing, producing, or the website is concerned.
Well look for Handz On Radio to go Pro soon. We are going to start generating some advertiser revenue to help keep the site going. I’m currently installed the DRS 2006 database driven radio automation system. This will allow listeners to request songs from our database online. Also look for Handz On Radio Hip Hop coming next year. As for djing, I’ll probably do some gigs here and there but mostly on the internet show.