He plays
a mix of the latest music with many classics mixed in. He is known to feature
many exclusive tracks never heard before in any club, done by some of the top
DJ's in the world. The musical emphasis is deep, dark and sexy house plus some vocal, anthem, uplifting, circuit
party, tribal and progressive tracks that still
fit into a mainstream audience. He has legions of fans that come see him for
his set of classics.
SPYDER's interest in music goes back to his childhood. His father was a saxophonist and clarinetist in the 40's playing with various big bands, including Gene Krupa and his orchestra. Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Harry James' records were always being played in the house, with an occasional Tito Puenté album for a little flavor. Early on, SPYDER would also grab his mother's box of 45's and play some Elvis Presley and Bill Haley to really rock the house or her Barbra Streisand and Willie Nelson albums to mellow out. Today, SPYDER's father does a weekly radio show on WSHR-FM called "The Make Believe Ballroom" which features seldom-heard big band recordings, air checks and transcriptions of the '20s, '30s, and '40s. This is the only current radio show by that name that is authorized by the Martin Block estate. Martin Block made this radio show famous in the 30's-50's.
It was back in the early 70's that SPYDER was first turned onto disco music. His early song influences include:
Vince Montana and The Salsoul Orchestra - "Tangerine"
MFSB - "T.S.O.P." and "Love Is The Message"
The Spinners - "It's A Shame"
O'Jay's - "Love Train" and "I Love Music"
Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes - "The Love I Lost"
Lou Rawls - "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"
Barry White and The Love Unlimited Orchestra - "Love's Theme"
Donna Summer - "Love To Love You Baby"
Tavares - "It Only Takes A Minute" and "Don't Take Away The Music"
Diana Ross - "Touch Me In The Morning"
Loleatta Holloway - "Dreamin'" and "Hit & Run", etc.
The first LP SPYDER bought on his own was Barry Manilow - "Tryin' To Get The Feeling" in 1975. The first 12" single was Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight" in 1979. Up until those times, it was only 7" 45rpm records that he was collecting. Those early singles included tracks by Van McCoy, Hall & Oates, Aretha Franklin, KC & The Sunshine Band, Jackson 5, Bee Gees, Hues Corporation, Paper Lace, Silver Convention, etc.
In his high school years SPYDER was listening to rock music, with Led Zeppelin being his favorite band. Other rock favorites at the time were bands like Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Yes, Aerosmith, KISS, Foreigner, etc. This was in addition to the later disco groups like Donna Summer, Village People, Trammps, Cerrone, etc. In 1982, he got his first radio show in high school at WSHR-FM in which he played a mix of rock and disco, bringing in his own music, to stand out from the other DJ's who played only the records in the station's library.
While working as an district manager for Newsday on Long Island in 1983, SPYDER picked up his first job in the music industry in a warehouse for a national distributor called Big Red. Here he was exposed to an enormous amount of vinyl records. Having now collected all the early hits of Madonna, Gloria Gaynor, Thelma Houston, Vicki Sue Robinson, Kool & The Gang, M, Rod Stewart, Chic, Anita Ward, ABBA, etc., SPYDER wanted to start playing in public. He picked up a set of Technics 1200's, a GLI mixer, Radio Shack amp and speakers to create his first DJ setup. He began doing block parties, birthday parties, engagement parties, etc.
With an enormous record collection and knowledge of collectable records, SPYDER created his own business buying and selling rare vinyl. He was a regular vendor at record collector's trade shows in the NY tri-state area. He made frequent trips to record retail shops everywhere and almost never missed a garage sale to find the best treasures. His business of mobile DJ'ing and record selling was called Groovy Tunes.
By the time he went off to college at University Of Rochester, early new wave music was just breaking out. SPYDER got a radio show at WRUR-FM playing the music of some new bands like, Depeche Mode, O.M.D., The Cure, Joy Division, The The, Danse Society, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Ministry, Clash, Propaganda, Tin Tin, Vicious Pink, etc. His radio show gained a lot of attention around the city and became a stopping ground for musical acts who came to town for interviews. Many of these interviews were used to book acts to perform at the university, since SPYDER was also part of the school's concert committee. Some of the people interviewed were Stiv Bators (The Lords Of The New Church and The Dead Boys), The Ramones, 10,000 Maniacs, Violent Femmes, Richard Hell, Lydia Lunch, Dave Vanian (The Damned), David J (Bauhaus), General Public, etc.
The underground alternative dance scene was just blossoming and he was asked to bring his blend of music to the new, largest, alternative nightclub in Rochester, New York called Idols (at the original location). Without knowing a thing about beat-mixing, he still kept the crowd going non-stop all night long. At Idols he got to host and meet many bands who were performing there such as Shriekback, Siouxsie & The Banshees (with Robert Smith of The Cure on guitar), Sonic Youth, Love & Rockets, Tones On Tail, etc.
In 1985, SPYDER took on additional radio shows to express his love for other genres of music. He did an overnight ambient new age show and played chill-out music from bands like Mike Oldfield, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Kitaro, Pink Floyd, Jean-Michel Jarre, Brian Eno, Japan, Van Der Graaf Generator, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Yellow Magic Orchestra, etc. He also took on a morning jazz wake-up show featuring early acid jazz from John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, Lester Bowie and The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Art Blakey, etc.
Back on Long Island in 1986, SPYDER was working mobile DJ jobs for his own company and freelance for many others. He has entertained the likes of former president Richard M. Nixon, Billy Crystal, Al Jarreau, Patti Labelle, Jason Robards, Wendy "The Snapple Lady", Estee Lauder, Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Sidney Biddle Barrows "The Mayflower Madam", Al Lewis "Grandpa Munster", etc.
When not working private affairs, SPYDER was a resident and guest DJ at many bars and nightclubs on Long Island and in New York City. He held a 3 year position at the O.B.I. at Oak Beach on Sunday's, the busiest day at this popular beach club. Here is where you would've been the first to hear popular dance tracks like Johnny Kemp's "Just Got Paid", Rick Astley "Together Forever", Stacey Q "Two Of Hearts", Whitney Houston "How Will I Know" and more. At this time, SPYDER joined Long Island's Direct Hit Record Pool, enabling him to get all the latest promo releases.
During the O.B.I. off-seasons, he took on various DJ jobs. He worked in rock and roll biker bars, 50's and 60's doo-wop bars and various other genres including top 40, salsa and merengue. He also did guest spots at many clubs such as Long Island's largest, Uncle Sams (where Madonna performed one of her first live shows), Summer's Beach Club (in the Hamptons), Avenues, Park Place, Barker's, USA Roller Rink, as well as the legendary new wave clubs Malibu and 007.
In 1987, SPYDER got a sales position for a company called American Music Service. Here he was selling all genres of music to various retail shops in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. A year later he took on a weekday, part-time position in his only record retail job at Music Video Source in Great Neck, Long Island.
When the Hilton Hotel in Islandia (currently the Islandia Marriott) was being built in 1988, SPYDER was hired by the corporate headquarters as the DJ Manager of Stratus, the hotel's nightclub. He was contracted to work or sub-contract out work for all seven nights. The club became an instant success, with people getting turned away at the door due to overcrowding. Once again, SPYDER was known to break the latest club tracks of the time which included Inner City "Big Fun", Kraze "The Party", Todd Terry "Weekend" and "Bango (To The Batmobile)", Ten City feat. Byron Stingily "Devotion", Lil Louis "French Kiss", Jungle Brothers "I'll House You", and more. One set of regular guests on the dancefloor were Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes of the Weather Girls.
More guest spots came at Thunders, Starz Disco, Long Island Exchange and the 56th Fighter Group. By 1989, SPYDER had taken on a full-time job at A.S.K. Distribution as a sales representative and a singles buyer. His knowledge of music strengthened the company's dance music department.
Around 1991, SPYDER was in regular attendance at the original Sound Factory, where one of his mentors, Frankie Knuckles was DJ. Within a year, another one of his inspirations took over - Junior Vasquez. This was a turning point in SPYDER's career. His most memorable moments at this club were first hearing songs like X-Press 2 "Muzik X-Press", Happy Mondays "Stinkin Thinkin", Mariah Carey "Dreamlover" and seeing the moving mirror balls when Interactive "Elevator Up & Down" was played. There were so many more inspiring moments at this club mecca.
On Long Island there was a club that was very underground and was the first to play techno music. This party was Reign and was located at Starz Disco. Along with his best friend, Absolut Mead, the managers of the club hired them to do their own party there each week. Using their influences from the city clubs, they made it a completey gay-friendly camp-fest. They brought in drag queen bartenders from Manhattan. SPYDER played the wildest assortment of fun 70's and 80's music like the Partridge Family, ABBA, Diana Ross, Culture Club, Olivia Newton-John, Toni Basil, Cyndi Lauper, Go-Go's, etc. and then would work into the latest underground club music. Mead would host the evening, greeting people of all types.
The next year, the club had a facelift and became Caffeine, the best underground club in Long Island history. DJ Micro with his group of DJ's like Frankie Bones, Onionz and Adam X created a world-renown home to techno music. SPYDER and Mead were doing their own thing and created the "caffeine alternative", Sanka. With regular bartenders "Big Daddy" Keith and Olympia (international drag performer and star of the movie, To Wong Foo), their party was not to be missed. Long Island never saw anything like it. There were people breathing fire, people walking around with little or no clothing, giant lizard and scorpion tanks, a "magic bus", a barber shop, threesomes going on in either bathroom stalls or the empty coffin in the upstairs. It was like being at Studio 54 or the Limelight, but on Long Island. The club encouraged people to come in costumes or look interesting, so SPYDER lived up to that part.
As their Sanka party grew, once a month they were given an adjacent warehouse to host their Sanka Warehouse Party. They hired big yellow school buses to ship people in from Manhattan. SPYDER and Mead brought in entertainment and guest DJ's. Deee-lite became a frequent guests at their party. Disco diva Carol Douglas, Queerdonna (the late 500 pound drag queen Madonna impersonator), Larry T (author of RuPaul's hit "Supermodel"), Lady Bunny (of Wigstock fame), Cherry Vanilla (Andy Warhol superstar) were just a few of the many performers. Anyone who has been to a Sanka Warehouse party will recall an extremely memorable event.
Gaining notoriety from his Sanka parties, SPYDER landed regular positions working at NY's Limelight. He worked under "Club Kid Killer" Michael Alig and his Disco 2000 party. He hosted parties for Madonna, Marky Mark, Barbara Eden (of I Dream Of Jeannie), Grace Jones, Quentin Crisp, Holly Woodlawn, Angela Bowie and many more. From there came more New York City guest spots at Roxy, Wünderbar, Danceteria, Club USA, Grand and Webster Hall. Even though it was a small private party, he got to DJ in his favorite nightclub, the Sound Factory on 27th Street. Some of these guests spots came about through his friend Johnny Vicious.
At the Caffeine location, there was a different party each night in which SPYDER worked. There was Voodoo, Wett, Starz, and Wonderama. SPYDER did some regular nights and guest spots at Granny's, Kiss and Playground. At Playground, SPYDER managed his own night called G-Spot. Lady Bunny and Jayne County were some of the performers.
In 1993, Jamie Montalvo, Jr., under the name IMT, had a song that Junior Vasquez was playing and invited him to perform it live at the Sound Factory's Gay Pride party. He asked SPYDER to arrange the production for him. In addition to producing the show, SPYDER performed on stage during the IMT performance of "The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress". He shared the stage with up and coming artist, Robin S. This was in front of over 3,000 people.
Having a desire to blend the gay circuit party scene with the techno rave scene, SPYDER and popular Long Island DJ, Bradford Lane, created the Pride Party series of events. These spectacular celebrations were held at secret locations and featured superstar DJ's and the latest recording artists. The light and sound systems brought in were most intense audio-visual stimulation seen anywhere on Long Island.
SPYDER continued working almost every night, with guests spots at St. Mark's Place, The Swamp, Sunset Boulevard, Infinities, Luxe, Zachary's, Bunk House, Cherry's at Cherry Grove on Fire Island and more. He also started doing work overseas and has since traveled to Zurich, Tel Aviv, Geneva, London, Reading, Paris, Tokyo, Torino, and Melbourne, just to name a few. On Long Island he has recently held a 2 year residency at Thunder's and a 4 year residency at Honey's/KISS.
He attended Five Towns College in 1994 to take courses in music business and audio recording. SPYDER was also a regularly featured music columnist for On The Wilde Side magazine in the New York City/Long Island metro area from around 1992-1995. He went back to doing a weekly radio show on WSHR-FM playing a mix of contemporary and traditional jazz and adult contemporary vocal music. He joined For The Record record pool in New York City. This prestigious record promotion organization run by music veteran, Judy Weinstein, is home to the top DJ's in the world including Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Junior Vasquez, Barry Harris, Darrin Friedman, Jeffrey Allen, Ronnie Ventura, Susan Morabito, Danny Krivit, Bobby D'ambrosio, Satoshi Tomiie, Hector "Baby Hec" Romero and more.
Since 1995, SPYDER has worked full-time for a record wholesale distributor and marketing company, Unique Distribution, which is one of the largest vinyl distributors in the world. Currently he is the Sales Manager and has obtained and maintained worldwide contacts in all aspects of the music industry. For awhile, he had started doing his own music productions, remixes and edits that received positive attention. His music has been charted and played by DJ's all over in clubs and on the radio, including the largest dance music station in the U.S., WKTU-FM.
Currently, SPYDER resides in Florida, outside the Orlando area and has since started up his own company, TILTED WIG ENTERTAINMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES. Tilted Wig manages various DJ's and record labels handle various aspects of their business relations, including bookings. He still does guest DJ appearances playing in various trendy cities and locations, such as Fire Island, NY. In 2007, he released his debut recorded single, "Ecstasy, Desire & Dreams" (Hammer Music USA) which went #1 in Europe.
