ChicagoPride.com Groove Line:

Spotlight on DJ Tracy Young

As this gets posted on ChicagoPride.com, DJ/Remixer Tracy Young will undoubtedly still be basking in the glow of having just headlined the signature event of Miami's 2009 Winter Party Festival: this past Sunday's Beach Party. This huge honor is but another feather in the cap for the supremely talented DJ who has been a big hit for almost a decade within the gay dance club/circuit party scene. She's not only spun at many of the most famous and biggest nightclub venues around the world, Young has also been a featured and/or the main event DJ for dance festivals such as White Party Palm Springs, Orlando's Gay Disney, Montreal's Black & Blue, NYC's Gay Pride Pier Dance, and the former Fireball that was held here in Chicago. As well, Young became known as "DJ to the stars," spinning various private parties for Cher, Smashing Pumpkins and Lenny Kravitz, as well as providing the soundscape for Madonna and Guy Ritchie's wedding reception.

More than just a DJ, Young has proven to be a creative force in the studio over the years with her various remix and production projects. Her remixes of Madonna's "Music" and "Hung Up" have garnered worldwide acclaim while dance floors have been energized routinely by her treatments of songs by the likes of Shakira, Pink, Cyndi Lauper, Kristine W, Britney Spears, Stevie Nicks, and Christina Aguilera. Her original works, which have become more plentiful of late, includes the floor-filler "What's Done Is Done" featuring Ceevox. The track is on Young's most recent CD, Genesis pt. 1, a high energy continuous mix that's been produced by her own Ferosh record label and that ably represents her current groove when she's in the DJ booth.

Young's demonstrated success in both the DJ and studio booths has fueled an exciting career that seemingly gets stronger and that has led to fame, popularity, and legions of fans around the world and in Chicago. She'll next be serving up a meaty and satisfying Windy City set this coming weekend on Saturday, March 7th at Hydrate Nightclub. (Event Details)

For more info about Young, check out www.TracyYoung.com.

If you're looking for a fun campy track to add to your MP3 playlist, then look no further than Cazwell's "I Seen Beyoncé at Burger King" featuring Jonny Makeup (Peace Bisquit). This hilariously catchy tune about Mrs. Jay-Z pigging out on fast food and also driving to JC Penny with a "forty" in her lap has been a mini-sensation on YouTube and came to me as a 14-track maxi-single. For dance purposes Matthias "Matty" Heilbronn delivers a soulful, groovy houser while Lost Daze turns out an energetic club mix that's pretty damn good.

I, like many of you, am a big fan of Kylie Minogue and thus am thrilled with the recent release of Boombox: The Remix Album 2000-2008 (Astralwerks). The fantabulous (it's a word because I say it so) CD includes remixes of her 21st century best by Chemical Brothers, Bini & Martini, Sebastien Leger, and Fischerspooner. It's well worth the effort to head over to Borderline Music to pick it up. Also worth efforting for are the Mark Picchiotti and Rich Morel Pink Noise remixes of "SuperLover," the single from Labelle's new album Back to Now (Verve).

A super-rich multi-million dollar banking heir, Sir Ivan is also a noted peace activist who is now trying to make a mark in the dance music world with his I AM PEACEMAN album, a collection of 15 classic 1960s folk/rock hits that have been freshened up for the 21st century. Pioneering a new dance sub-genre that he calls "technippy," – techno beats with hippy lyrics – Sir Ivan's latest single, a remake of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," comes in a variety of remixes by DJ Chus, Dave Audé, Mike Cruz, and Andrew Mendez. Given his vast wealth, 100% of his recording artist net profits will be going to his recently created The Peaceman Foundation, which supports charities dedicated to fighting Hate Crimes and for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Check out the music video of "For What It's Worth" and learn more about Sir Ivan at www.SirIvanMusic.com .

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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.