It's doubtful that DJ Danny Daze digs the road above all else, but he sure seems to be on it a lot. Mondays at Tabu in Vegas, Saturdays at either Slide in San Francisco or Privilege in Pittsburgh — the cat is back and forth from the airport more times in a week than most folk are in a year. And that's not even counting the Playboy parties he's played, from Managua to Beverly Hills.
Still, it is to Miami that the man most belongs, and it is in Miami where he most plays. Way back when, it was at full-moon parties and Ultra. In the very recent past, it was The Fifth, Cameo, Gemma, Funkshion, et al. And right now, it's Rokbar and The Forge, on any respective Thursday or Friday.
And, as you might suspect, Daze produces too, everything from ambient to "discotech," which just so happens to be the name of his duo with Joe Maz, and featured on his website, Crooklynclan.net.
But as impressive as is Daze's resumé — and his residencies — it is the young gun's patented mash of just about everything under the moon and the stars that keeps him in demand. It's a mash that mixes old-school classic house with Georgio Moroder and Miami bass, throws in some commercial, and adds a dash of Detroit ghetto tech just to keep it keeled.
What do you expect from a cat who claims 2 Live Crew's "Me So Horny" and Dolly Parton's "Jolene" to be two of his all-time faves, cites everybody from Rammstein to the Isleys on his MySpace page, and is currently cranking his car around to the sound of Anthony Rother's Pop Killer? Add his continuing regard for Two Lone Swordsman and Simian Mobile Disco and his insistence that Erasure's "Give a Little Respect," George Krantz's "Din Daa Daa," and India's "Love and Happiness" work on any floor anywhere, and you have the makings of one well-rounded spinner. Why else would New Times readers make him 2007's best? And why would every one of his peers drop his name when asked which DJ they dig?
Yet when it comes down to the first kick, we all owe a debt to Daze's mother, who was prescient enough to buy the Magic City-born-and-raised slinger the mobile setup that put him in the game at age 13. And she also gave him his name, a name that is sure to echo in infamy, so long as there's a nightclub with two turntables and Serato Scratch Live.
Danny Daze's current top five:
1. "The Chase," Giorgio Moroder
2. "Numbers (Anthony Rother remix)," Kraftwerk
3. "After Love," Guy Gerber and Shlomi Aber
4. "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass," I-F
5. "Down," Aaron Carl
