Onionz
It's been written that the dj is the storyteller, it's been proven that DJ Onionz crowns the bestsellers list. As an East Coast rave pioneer and beat generator, Onionz tears it up on the 1200's with a style he describes as "a mixture of Grandmaster Flash meets Frankie Knuckles and Sven Vath."
It's early 1980 and in Queen's, Onionz stakes an early claim in the intricate life of a musician. Displaying a mature understanding for musical theory, Onionz laid down elaborate Latin bongo lines alongside his father in numerous live performances with the Dave Amaran Quintet. A few years later, as hip-hop began to blow up, Onionz was seemingly drawn to the early b-boy culture of breakbeats, tagging, and windmills on cardboard. Soon after, he was rocking various Queens' sound systems and quickly building up a following. By the end of the eighties and into the early nineties, we find Onionz serving up portions of hip-hop, techno, house, and breakbeats, at NYC clubs such as The Building, Crazy Eddie, and the infamous Limelight.
Naturally, when the free-spirited ideals of England's rave scene spread to the East Coast, Onionz was immediately seduced by the vibe. He helped draw the blueprints of the East Coast scene with his unforgettable displays of mixing talent at such pioneer Long Island events like X-Cubed and the Studio series. Nobody conveyed the vibe like Onionz did. He crossed numerous musical bridges by intertwining his spirituality with his no boundaries view on music. Whether it was Latin percussions or breaks, house or techno, an ethereal vibe was always present. "It takes me to heaven every time I play," Onionz remarked.
Weekend road trips soon saw Onionz help lay the groundwork for scenes in such cities as Boston, Montreal, Washington DC/Baltimore, and at now infamous clubs like Fever, Buzz, Sona, and The Loft. His innovative sound and musical approach left many hungry for more. An in demand dj, Onionz soon established residency at Caffeine, a Long Island club that quickly became part of East Coast rave history. If the scene was a religion, this was the house of worship with rotating dj's like Frankie Bones, Micro, and Dave Trance. Soon Micro, local promoter Tom, and Onionz brought Layaway, another L.I. spot, to life. It was a 2000 square foot warehouse that had opened its doors Saturday afternoon and rocked till Sunday night. It was here that you witnessed, free of charge, the finest in underground dj's. Unfortunately, the shelf life of Layaway was only six months but Onionz was now launched as the Chief Rocka.
Shortly after, Onionz began to build a national following with several highly successful Mid-West and West Coast tours. It was inevitable that production would soon follow and the summer of 1995 saw the birth of Electrik Soul, a label created by himself and lifelong friend Mike Mandel, aka Master D. Their first release "Family" featured the talents of Onionz and San Francisco legends, Dubtribe. DJ and fans alike quickly gobbled the 500 copies. Their second effort featured Onionz with Baltimore's DJ Who. The track "Plup Friction," received international airplay.
The next few years were pivotal for onionz and his dj and production career. Many a person would have been satisfied with the level of national dj but Onionz pushed on. With continued hard work and passion, Onionz quickly took his production to the next level and began to release tracks on majors such as NRK, Shaboom, Siesta, Tango, and Moody. Many were collaborations with such folks as Mark Bell, Halo, Tony, Joeski, Master D, and others. The releases quickly burned up the charts, being caned by all the majors around the world. And, during the same time, his touring began to take him to cities reserved for the elite American DJ's. From Singapore and Greece to Scotland and London, Onionz has rocked the most demanding crowds with his head-nodding hypnotic house beats.
With a 2 month Europe tour on the horizon and plans for the production of his first full length album, 2002 promises to be yet another exciting chapter for Onionz. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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