Dj DIZ
Biography:
If life is about "being in the right place at the right time," then Diz's timing could not have been better. Born and raised in Chicago, the original epicenter of the House Music uni-verse, his adolescence coincided with the beginnings of that city's legendary scene. Nowadays, if you mention Diz's name amongst House aficionados, you are almost cer-tain to hear adoration and respect for his insane DJ skills, stage presence, and warm-hearted personality.
Diz's musical influences started at home, where his mother's love for Jazz led him to pursue the saxophone for many years. His DJ beginnings were about whatever he could get his hands on, like Disco and old Breaks records inherited from family members. When he was 14, his older brother took him to The Music Box, where Diz witnessed the true potential of House Music: to affect people's emotions and bring them together on a collective journey. He's been striving to do just that ever since, and in the process, has become a faithful participant in the music, the culture, and the times.
Throughout high school, he frequented parties featuring DJs such as Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, Farley and many other masters, and finally had a chance to break into the scene at age 19 after meeting contemporaries Mark Farina, Derrick Carter and Spencer Kincey (Gemini). His early gigs were at Alcazar with Gemini, and at one-off parties. At his Wicker Park loft, what started as a means of paying the rent developed into a two-year run as a nightclub, featuring Diz, Farina and Mark Grant on the decks. Soon after-wards, he and his friends took over Shelter, one of the city's "most severe night spots." >From roughly 1993-98, Diz was the Friday resident at Shelter, and the Saturday resi-dent at Red Dog alongside Johnny Fiasco, and since then has held many residencies at other legendary Chicago spots.
In 1995, Diz accepted a job working for his brother's friend, Anthony Pearson (Chez Damier), at PRESCRIPTION (the label founded by Chez and Ron Trent). PRESCRIP-TION conducted distribution business with CAJUAL, and that is how Diz met his future producing partner and close friend, Joshua (whose nickname as fate would have it, was "Iz").
In 1995, Iz n Diz produced their first record together, "Ghosts in Detroit," released on PRESCRIPTION's sub-label, BALANCE. A year later, Joshua/Iz moved back to San Francisco, but he and Diz maintained a close friendship over the years and continue to produce together for labels like CLASSIC, AESOTERIC, GUIDANCE, TWEEKIN', SIL-VER NETWORK, and PANHANDLE.
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