ChicagoPride.com Groove Line:

Dancing The Night Away
The new CD that is sure to playing in the home, car and/or iPod of every party boy in the country over the next couple of months is ALEGRIA UNIVERSO (Tommyboy Silver Label), mixed by DJ. This double CD release aims to capture the musical sound, rhythm and spirit of the famously popular Alegria parties in NYC and Abel nails it perfectly. The first CD, "Peak Hours Session," starts off with some of the wicked-est beats around before segwaying to a string if vocal tracks by the likes of Tamia, Jeanie Tracy, and Bob Sinclar. CD2, the "After Sunrise Session" mix, takes the intensity down a notch and has an interestingly moody sensibility to it: from electro house, to funky piano house, to tribal, and then finishing up with some classic house tracks, including "The Whistle Song" by Frankie Knuckles and "Pacific" by Freemasons. Abel has masterfully programmed and mixed a musical journey that is sure to delight and keep listeners dancing all night – and morning – long.

Satisfaction Guaranteed
Taylor Dayne is on a roll. She wowed the Market Days crowd with a stellar performance this past summer, had a popular club hit "I'm Not featuring You" last year, and now she's bringing forth a brand new full-length CD called SATISFIED. This 13-track long-player, Dayne's fifth studio album but the first effort in ten years, marks her debut release on her own label, Intention Music. SATISFIED is quite an enjoyable musical ride filled with infectious and catchy pop tracks, including the first single "Beautiful," and some incredibly lush ballads that showcase Ms. Dayne's impressive vocal talents. This CD should delight her long-time fans as well as bring new ones into the fold.

Singles Life for the Clubber Set
Here are a few tracks you will surely want to add to mp3 player:

"Gorgeous" by Idina Menzel A whole slew of terrific dance remixes from the likes of Tracy Young, Craig C., and Funky Junction.
"Calabria 2007" by Enur This is just too much fun and will surely have you bobbing your head.
"Just Fine" by Mary J. Blige Retaining the tough and funky bass line of the original album version, the Moto Blanco Remix successfully is a prime example of translating musical excellence from the album to the dance market.
"Self-Religion" by Hardsoul featuring Fierce Ruling Diva Released on U.K. house label Defected Records, the Hardsoul Reconstruction Mix has a raw tech house intensity while the David Penn Remix goes the energetic piano house route.
"Toca's Miracle" by Fragma This old-school prog/trance classic has been updated and the Inpetto Remix is a piece of feel good music.
"Love Like This" by Natasha Bedingfield The original album version is strong and the Johnny Vicious Club Mix is worthy, but the Warehouse Mix is a fierce piece of tribal progressive fare that takes this track to the next level.
"Piece of Me" by Britney Spears This next big single from the troubled one has gotten remix assistance from Bimbo Jones, Friscia & Lamboy, and the legendary Tiësto.
"Don't Stop The Music" by Rihanna If you aren't yet sick of this song, Peter Rauhofer has a brand new remix available for download. Go to his MySpace page for details.
"Let Me Think About It" by Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand Electro-funkiness at its very best. And the video is too cool!

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About DJ Plez

DJ Plez (aka Michael Pleasants) has been DJing since the late 1980's, sharing his passion for dance music with dance floors and listeners around the world. After many years of successful toil in the financial services industry, he’s now spending much more time in a DJ booth instead of an office cubicle.
DJ Plez has quite a diverse range of dance music “likes” to accompany his true love of house music.
The incredibly wide variety of records and CDs that DJ Plez possesses helps explain the unique style he has forged: one that melds various forms of dance music - Chicago house, progressive, tribal, underground, and club - into a cohesive presentation that is rhythmically exciting, sexy, and energetic.
DJ Plez uses fresh approaches for each of his live sets, skillfully producing intricate mixes on the fly, creating a sense of dance floor drama with his in-booth programming, and most importantly to him, making sure his sets have one abiding element: GROOVE!

As would be expected from his wide ranging style, the DJs that have most influenced DJ Plez represent the vast global dance music scene and include: Victor Calderone, Derrick Carter, John Digweed, Danny Howells, Frankie Knuckles, Susan Morabito, Ralphi Rosario, Danny Tenaglia, and Junior Vasquez just to name a few. However, the most significant influence on DJ Plez’s abilities in the DJ booth are the experiences he has when he’s out dancing at parties and in clubs, staying intimately connected to the dance floors and partygoers populating them.
It’s this connection that allows him to truly find out and understand what makes a dance floor tick, thus leading to his success in the DJ booth.

DJ Plez sees himself as an ambassador of house music on a mission to help perpetuate and grow this Chicago-born art form. During the past year he had gigs in Zurich (Nuts & Bolts Party; Labor-Bar), Montreal (Unity 2; Chrome), and Miami (Cactus) and will be adding Amsterdam, Detroit, and Los Angeles to his travel itinerary. Locally, DJ Plez has residencies at Cell Block and Ezuli in Chicago and has made several appearances at PUMP!Milwaukee. In addition to numerous private and corporate DJing gigs, DJ Plez is the Music Editor of ChicagoPride.com.

Mixes of DJ Plez have been played on internet radio at www.circuitmix.com since June 2003. Additional opportunities to listen to more mixes by DJ Plez will come about in the near future on his web site www.djplez.com.