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Thursday, November 5. 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Arts/Entertainment
DJ spins in yesterday's style with his own music service
By KIRK ADAMS Staff writer
Staff writer
R radio today is not what it used to be, a local disc jockey says, because there are no real DJs spinning discs. Gone are the impromptu transitions, the hip addibbing that made radio exciting and personalized. Nowadays radio is broadcast by satellite, and the DJs are taped.
But Ray Velasquez still is doing music the old-fashioned way. To do so, he left a job as a radio announcer and formed his own com-mercial Apollo Mobile Sound, 723 Massachusetts St.
"I created Metropolis Mobile Sound as an alternative to the microdiscs DMs that plague it."
Velasquez, Lawrence resident and 1963 University of Kansas graduate, owns what may be Lawrence's hottest music machine. He says he is Lawrence's only full-time mobile DJ. A mobile DJ brings his music equipment to party locations.
Velasquez was a staff member and announcer for the KU student radio station, KJHK-FM 91, from 1981 to 1983. Later, he used the KJHK mobile system to provide music for local parties. He began announcing for KKKX-FM 96 (now KHUM) in 1983. At the same time, he began to work as a DJ for the Sanctuary, 1401 W. Seventh St.
During that time, Velasquez said, he was one of the first DJs to play innovative acts such as The Cure, The Violent Femmes, U2, R.E.M. and Prince. He has been the modern music DJ for Pogos Kansas City in Overland Park as well as Hurricane's in Kansas City, Mo.
In 1985, Velasquez became an agent for Sound Vibrations Mobile DJ Entertainment in Lenexa, but said that he eventually felt strained by his job as a radio announcer.
"There are some people who can make a great living with radio, but it was not for me," he said. "I felt too confined."
So, with a little help from a finance company, he started his own music service. Now, for about a year and a half, Velasquez has been blasting out tunes all over Lawrence and Kansas City as an independent.
His system consists of professional-quality audio components. Velasquez also has a staff of DJ's on call for when he has more than one show booked for the same evening.
parties, Velasquez also announces at clubs. Every Tuesday evening, he presents "Electric Circus," his alternative dance music program, at Eyes Nightclub, 323 W. Eighth St., Kansas City, Mo.
Velasquez usually announces for at least one show every weekend, and sometimes for four or five. Besides offering his services for
Last weekend, Velasquez announced at a Halloween party for about 100 pharmacy school students at Shirk's Barn north of Lawrence, and another for about 750 students at the Lawrence High School's Halloween homecoming party.
Velasquez knows how to please a crowd.
Jennifer Freund, Lawrence High School sophomore, said, "I think he played a wide variety. There's a variety of people here, and I think he played something for everyone."
Of course, there are always some people who are hard to please.
Catalina Garcia, Lawrence High School sophomore, said she wished Velasquez would have played more metal rock.
Knowing what kind of music to play for a particular group is a difficult aspect of being a DJ. Velasquez said. But he said that during the first half hour of a party, he tried to figure out what kind of music the crowd would enjoy the most.
"When I feel the time is right, I'll put on a killer cut," he said, "that that's it — they're there, they're hooked, and then I keep 'em."
At the pharmacy students' party, Velasquez kept the dance floor hopping all night.
Shane Cobb, Olathe senior, said, "He's doing an excellent job tonight. He's been playing old and new songs — he's got a lot of the new stuff."
Velasquez plays music for any group, from high school and fraternity parties to the Kansas City Art Institute and the KU Vietnamese Club. He also plays wedding receptions.
"A dance floor DJ has to be versatile enough to work with a different format almost every night, depending on what crowd he's playing for." Velasquez said.
To do that, he sends a music request form to his clients to find out what kind of music the group likes and whether there are any special songs the group wants to hear.
"For every show that I do, I make sure there's strong communication between me and the client," he said.
Mark Mohmlan, Overland Park senior and member of Delta Tau Delta, said his fraternity had hired Metropolis five or six times because Valasquez was so dependable.
make or break a party." Mohlman said.
Mohman said his fraternity once had hired a part-time DJ who had trouble with his system, which almost ruined their party.
"You can always play that he's going to be on time and play good music, and that can
Velasquez said he liked playing for high school students because they had so much energy.
"I love跟着 Lawrence High because there's a good mix of people — black, white, rich, poor." Velasquez said. "It's just great; I love that. And it's fun and they're all being brought together by this party, by this music, and that's really important to me."
Velasquez said he had a lot of competition from part-time DJs.
“It's hard for me to make a living, in a way, because there are so many other guys who aren't professionals doing it at half the price,” he said.
Ray Velasquez, Lawrence, spins records for a recent pharmacy school party. Velasquez is the owner of Metropolis Mobile Sound, a local company that provides music and disc jockeys for dances in Lawrence and the Kansas City area.
Brad Murphy, Topeka junior, owns Red House Audio, a recording studio and a mobile music service, which he operates from his Lawrence home.
Murphy said that there were quite a few people in Lawrence who had part-time DJ services and that there was a good deal of competition between them. Murphy said that his service was part-time and that he averaged about eight to 10 jobs a semester, ranging from barn parties to residence hall parties to wedding receptions.
More than anything, Velasquez said, a DJ must have empathy with his crowd. He also must have a strong knowledge of music history and respect for all music. He said a good DJ couldn't be afraid to try innovative, new music.
"You can't be afraid to try something on the dance floor, you gotta do it," he said,
"and there's always ways to mix it in. You pop it in; if they dig it you leave it on, if they don't dig it, you get out of it."
"That's the difference between a successful DJ service and a fly-by-night act. The guy behind the turntables has got to know how to entertain."
Velasquez said he had been interested in music since he was a child. His parents are also musicians. His mother and father used to perform in the Mexican festivals in Kansas City when he was young. Velasquez's uncle sings in a band, and his sister is also a singer.
The Beatles and other rock music groups of the 1960s were a big influence on Velasquez. Since the late '70s, progressive music has influenced him.
He said, "Since I was a little kid my dad
used to take me to the Katz drug stores and buy me Motown singles and Beatles singles and things like that.
"If you are what you listen to, I'm Beethoven as well as the Severed Heads. I'm the Beatles as well as Prince. I'm LL Cool J and also as Patty Cline, because they all communicate things that I can relate to and that I like."
He said a trick to having successful dance music was beat mixing, Valasquez tries to make sure there is no silence between songs he keeps the beat the same from song to song.
He said, "I beat mix to keep the energy going, and people dig that. It's like, 'Yeah, all right, this is another song!'
Velasquez said the most satisfying aspect of being a DJ was seeing the crowd react to the music he plaved.
"You put the record on and you see people dig it," he said. "I remember how good I felt in the early '80s putting on a U2 song when they had very little exposure, putting on an R.E.M. song or New Order song and watching the room explode. That's a satisfying feeling for me.
"Entertainment is number one, but it doesn't hurt to put some music in there and open them up, hopefully. If I can open them up just a little bit . . maybe they'll loosen up on political issues. Maybe they'll loosen up a little bit in the home, with their friends, with relationships, whatever."
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