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How did you get into deejaying and who were some of your early influences?

I got into deejaying because I would always hear long 12″ versions of songs and I wanted to try to do it to songs that didn’t have long versions. This was back when the 12″ first got popular in the late 70′s. Growing up in Orlando I didn’t really have any influences because there really wasn’t any DJ’s for me to listen to or watch. Had to learn everything on my own. Once I got into scratching and having fun with vinyl, Joe Cooley, Mix Master Ice were who I followed. Once I got into tricky stuff, Jazzy Jeff and Cash Money influenced me.

How did you meet Clay D (Miami Bass artist)? It’s been said you were left uncredited on a lot of work. Care to clear that up?

I met Clay D by at a show at the Orlando Fairgrounds back in 1987. He did a show there and had no DJ. Because I was the featured DJ by way of the radio station back then, he asked me would I spin for him. He tripped out on what I added to his show and asked me to be his DJ on the road with him. I ended up in Miami 2 weeks later and recorded “Creep Dog” with him for Cool Rock and Chazzy Chess.

Did you have any dealing with him when he moved here to Orlando a couple of years Ago? We heard we ripped off a lot of people out here.

Nah I had no dealing with Clay D. when he moved to Orlando. I actually was at the peak of my artistic career and I wanted nothing to do with him. He screwed all of us. I was naive and didn’t know any better. I got smart really quick though and got the hell away from him. It was the best thing I could have done. I ran into him years later and he wanted to link up and work on music. Needless to say I was against that.

How do you feel about all the technology today? Production software,serato, etc. Do u feel like it’s hurt or helped the culture?

I love technology but i honestly feel i has hurt the culture. It has made everyone want to be a DJ. The days of digging for records and actually spinning records out in clubs is over. The days of tricking out vinyl and making people wonder how you did certain things live is over. People live and die by cue points and loops in Serato. That part is just not fun. I use Serato like its a record bag. Not for all of the tricks it adds. If you give someone a bag of records and ask them to spin now, chances are they couldn’t handle it. I do love Serato video though and I think thats because everyone isn’t doing it yet. No one wants to edit videos because it takes a really long time. It separates the men from the boys. As for production, I love where technology is. I love learning all of the new programs and figuring out what I want to use them for and finding key things that I like on each one. I came from the days of the 2″ tape so life is way different now. Propellerhead asked me to help in the creation of Reason 3 by adding scratches to the program and I think thats when I really realized technology had taken over. It was weird hearing my scratches in people’s music knowing that they just took it off of the program.

5. Why did you decide to move back to Orlando and continue bass when Miami was the epicenter of the scene?

I actually came back to Orlando right after I left Clay D. All of the albums I recorded on my own was done mainly in Orlando. I recorded none of my music in Miami. I wanted to make it here cause Orlando was and still is my home. I didn’t want to follow everyone in Miami because I was working so hard to make my own path and boost my city. The main DJ at the time in Miami was Mr. Mixx and I refused to sound like him. I had my own style. I respected Mr.Mixx for what he was doing but back then, you never wanted to bite and copy someone’s style. Originality was key.

6. What are some of your most memorable Dj gigs?

Wow, I have had a lot of gigs that i remember and loved. I used to love a club called Club 5. It was in Jacksonville. Closed down years ago. There was a club in Amburg, Germany called 24/7 that I loved. A club in London in the West End called “The End” that was just sick to me and I loved playing there. I used to make multiple trips to Detroit every 3 months or so also. Loved playing in that city cause you never knew what to expect. In Detroit, I have played with Ol Dirty, Eminem, Gza, Dj Rectangle and the list goes on. Now I look forward to my shows at House of Blues every holiday weekend and my residency at Antiqua on Friday night. I get to PLAY music and really relax and enjoy myself and that in turn helps me to do what I do best to make sure everyone has a good time.

7. What would you say is the key to your success?

Mainly just trying to stay humble and never letting this industry change me or my life. I still love music and I still love deejaying. I still practice as much as I can and never take for granted the talent that God has bestowed upon me. God gave me the talent to do what I do and if I don’t use it to its fullest potential, it would be a serious slap in his face and I certainly don’t want to ever do that.

You played a major roll in the Breaks scene in Orlando. Do you see breaks, house music making a comeback to the Orlando scene?

Thats a hard question. I see house crossing over to the hip hop crowd a lot now and days which is a great thing because it means that minds are opening up to other things. Its hard to say about breaks though. I think its gonna take something major to bring that back. When I started my night at Antiqua 8 years ago, every club downtown Orlando was playing the same breaks. Whether it was Blue Room, Icon, Cairo, Tabu etc, they all played breaks and they were all afraid of hip hop. nce I started Antiqua and the owners of the other clubs saw the uccess, they all switched gears and changed their formats to hip hop. Now you can’t find anyone playing breaks downtown Orlando now. I still love some of them though. They just have to come back in a different form. Pitbull and Lil Jon is helping to make house music cool to listen to now. Now we have to find someone to make breaks cool to listen to. I may have to help with that, LOL

What is in your iPod now a days?

My taste is so eclectic. Right now I have been listening to Nordelius and Ressle, A group called AtJazz, A Group called Incognito, Deborah Bond, Sy Smith, Jose Padilla, People Under The Stairs, Sade’ etc. I listen to more relaxing music to keep my mind clear. Gives me a positive feeling and a real nice sense of purpose.

Any new artist that you like?

Thats a hard question. I listen to so much new music. Been listening to a lot of local Orlando artist lately. Mainly P.I.Bang and Wes Fif. Been feeling them cause I appreciate their hustle and their grind. It reminds me of how I used to be back in the day when I was starting out.

Do you have any projects We should look forward to in the future?

I’m actually working on a new CD. I’m taking my time with it and just doing what I want to do on it. Not following any kind of genre or anything. Just doing whatever comes to my mind. Trying to have it done by end of summer. The single should be done within the next month or so. Trying to get the vocals right. The project is seriously different through. Scary but I love it still cause its so much different than anything else out there.

What was the music scene in Orlando like back in the day?

Music back in the day was pretty much like it is today. You got a lot of support from the public and people that liked you but you got no support from the radio stations. Even when I was selling millions of records I barely got any support from the radio here. They didn’t start supporting us until I had sold over 500,000 LPs. After that, the support was awesome but they did nothing to help with the ground work. I think it’s pretty much the same way today, if not worse. Bartell Bartell (R.I.P.) did what he could back in the day to bring attention to to his PD and MD about me. Finally they paid attention but still didn’t want to believe the numbers. They didn’t want to believe we were selling the numbers we were selling without any radio support. DJ’s in the clubs back then dictated what radio played. Once it got huge in the clubs, radio started on it. That part has changed today. People are afraid to play new music. Electric Avenue, Funtastic, Mr.B’s, The Rainbow were the main clubs in the 80s and pretty much dictated what happened on radio. Those were the days.

Antigua must be the longest running party in Orlando right now. How did you land that gig?

Believe it or not, a girl that I was dating back then helped me get that gig. I had been going around to the different club owners downtown back then trying to get them to give me a night in Orlando. Everyone wanted to give me a night but they all wanted me to play breaks and electronic music. I knew doing an electronic night would not make me stand out over everyone because everyone was doing the same thing every night of the week. My ex said that she would talk to the GM at Antiqua and set a meeting up so I could talk to them. I talked to them and told them my idea and they decided to roll with it. At first I just knew they would be against a hip hop night because just like everyone else, they only had electronic music nights. They were supposed to give me a night when they first opened up but decided to give it to Jimmy Joslin instead cause they didn’t want hip hop in their club. I talked to them, came up with a game plan and executed it. We just called it The House Party. Getting ready to have our 8 year anniversary next month. Its still going strong to this day. I love my Fridays.

You contributed to a lot of projects and have said not to get credit for. What advice would you give to someone just getting into the game. What’s the difference between paying dues and getting played?

Getting played is when you pay your dues forever without learning. There has to come a time when you realize something isn’t right and you wise up and get your game intact. A new artist is gonna have to give away something to get out there (publishing, percentage of sales to A&R, etc) My advice is to make a good path for yourself so you don’t have to give your stuff away forever. Most of the stuff I didn’t get credit for was when I was with Clay D. It wasn’t that I gave my credit away, it just wasn’t given to me. I was lied to. I got smart and got away from it. That’s what everyone needs to do.

Do you rememeber your first Dj gig? What was it like?

My first DJ gig was when I was in 8th grade. I DJ’ed an after school dance for my middle school.This was back when I was first starting and everyone knew I was deejaying. I just had never dome it in public yet. I just was making cassette tapes for everyone and the administrator over the dance asked me to do it. I was scared to death but I did it and it went great. That led to me getting a job as DJ at Skate World. I wasn’t Magic Mike then though, My DJ name was Mix Master Mike. I didn’t become Magic Mike until 1983.

What was the first piece of vinyl you bought?

I got my first album when I was 5 years old. It was a Jackson 5 album. I used to save my allowance and buy albums. I still have that same Jackson 5 album with my name written on the cover in crayon. I pull it out and look at it from time to time.

What are some of your favorite all time records to play?

I have quite a few records that I love to play. I love playing Michael Jackson and J5. Been a staple in my sets for years and years. Just cause I equate a lot of my musical history to them. I also like to play a lot of ol skool Miami bass music. Boot The Booty, Poison Ivy, Al Naa-Fiysh (even though they consider that freestyle), Magic Mike Cutz The Record and Drop The Bass.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done or seen while deejaying?

I have seen a lot of crazy things in my travels as a DJ, I think the craziest thing I seen was a DJ falling asleep on the tables right in the middle of his set. I didn’t know what was going on with the guy but the promoter had said that he was known for doing that. Too many drugs. That welcomed me to the world of the Rave. I was laughing my ass off.

With the exception of few, many Dj’s here in Orlando are afraid to break new music. When I walk into certain clubs I feel that I am listening to Power 95.3 or 102 Jamz. Why do you think it’s difficult to get club goers to be open to new music?

Because some DJ’s are afraid mostly and are followers, not leaders. There is quite a few tunes out now though that are big hits that just aren’t played on the radio and frankly I’m happy about that. That means they can be played in the club longer now cause I think radio kills a song quicker than if it was never played on radio. Could you imagine hearing “BECKY” on the radio? That song along with others was started by the DJ’s that aren’t afraid to play new music. For the most part, people that go to clubs wants to hear hits. That’s what makes the club goers happy. If they aren’t happy then they don’t come back. If they don’t come back then that DJ won’t have a gig. DJ’s want their jobs so they do what they have to do. There are so many DJs running around now that if you throw a rock into a crowd you are guaranteed to hit a DJ or 2. There are some that go around and try to steal gigs by spinning for a bar tab or under cutting. I tell promoters, you get what you pay for. Experience goes a long way in the club world. New jacks can’t pull a song out from the 80′s or early 90′s and bang it cause they don’t remember it cause they were too young or probably wasn’t even born yet. Experience doesn’t always make you a good DJ though. There is no better feeling than playing an ol’ skool gem and hearing everyone in the club go Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!! With new music, you can’t just play it one time and then when it doesn’t go over, stop playing it. You can’t do that. if you like a song, stick with it. Keep playing it. I guarantee you the people that listen to you will eventually come around and start liking the tune.

Any last words or shout outs?

I just want to give a shout out to fans of mine. People that have supported me through the years and continue to still stick by me. I thank you for asking me to do this interview for you and giving me the opportunity to speak to those that don’t know Orlando history…

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AmIAm – “Who I Am” (Clean)