Hey DJ! Friday Q&A: Sergio

You have to know that if DJ Sergio is half as energetic behind the decks as he is answering our questions, you're gonna work off an entire pant size at one of his many gigs around town. The community radio-turned-club turntable king loves the disco. He loves the nightlife. He's got to boogie....Action? He's got so much to give.

Sergio infects San Franciscans with incurable cases of Saturday Night Fever, whether folks are catching him through the radio speakers on KALX, as he's reviving the '70s at Deco, or when he offers refuge from Market St. madness at the Triple Crown and Cafe Flore. The guy keeps a vampire's schedule, but we're most excited about his brand newish party, Go Bang!, which caught fire a couple weeks back and returns at the end of the month (April 25--start doing your stretches now). That particular soiree of sweat brings a little ADDA to the dancefloor. What's ADDA? Well, since you asked...

Club night(s): April 25th & every 4th Saturday Monthly @ Deco Lounge (Larkin & Turk) is Go BANG! Atomic Dancefloor Disco Action! This is the FUN party friends and I are throwing that I've really been focusing on! Check us out on Facebook or MySpace.

Disco Doggies happy Hour with Alona, Wednesday weekly @ Triple Crown, 6-10 p.m.

KiNkY BeAtS @ Café Flore Friday weekly, 10 p.m.- 2 a.m.

KALX 90.7FM radio show Saturday weekly, 3-5:30 p.m., and I've posted my setlists & recordings of my shows since 2000 on my newsletter/group.

I am also a proud member of the Sweater Funk family! Sunday weekly @ Li Po Lounge, 9 p.m.- 2 a.m. I don't play at the party very often, but I do go support them, and appreciate this amazing musical night & movement! This is one of my favorite weekly parties.

My favorite monthly party, though, is Go BANG! Next one Saturday April 25!!

Style(s) of music you spin: The styles I spin really depend on the party I play at. When I DJ out, I generally play everything disco (boogie, electro, italo, etc.) & 'classic' house. I first got my feet wet DJing Chicago-inflected funky chunky house and like to mix up my house past with my present disco focus. Plus I'm pretty high-energy, so the more upfront & in-your-face & divalicious the song, the better!

But for KiNkY BeAtS I slow the tempo down and play Fire Island disco classics, cosmic tracks & jazzy/funky tunes alongside pitched-down sleazy disco jams (Skatt Brothers "Walk The Night" anybody?)

And on KALX anything goes, so I'm able to really go all over the place! My last show included Balearic jams, boogie groovers, new dirty disco re-edits, contemporary French pop, early '70s dancefloor jazz, an awesome Latin scorcher re-edited by the Bay's King Most which I "borrowed" from Bay Area tastemaker Hakobo, '80s no wave & a jazz pop crossover song by Manhattan Transfer I 'borrowed' from Sweater Funk's Jon Blunck--a local DJ I really respect & admire!

So what's your story, in 100 words or less? I became a DJ accidentally. I started at KALX in 1997 wanting to only do news. I loved the place and hung out a lot! The operations coordinator at the time, Mo, told me I may as well train to be a radio DJ since I was there so often. Then I was bit by the DJ bug! I started being a Chicago house-style DJ when I stepped out of my bedroom in 1999. After I read Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, I decided to focus my style towards disco!

How have things at KALX changed since you started working there? Well, everyone changes. I was at KALX a lot back when I first started DJing. But then I moved from Alameda to San Francisco, and started gigging at clubs more, and life just changed. I haven't been as much of a part of the station as I've wanted to be for a while. But the funny thing is I started as the new kid and now I'm one of the 'old timers.' It's always so cool to see people I've known since the start, and always great to see new young people coming in!

The turnover of students (it is a community & Cal-related radio station) always keeps things new & fresh, and seeing kids with that same spark in their eyes I had falling in love with the TONS of music there is cool.

Name of a track you can't get out of your head: Sylvester's version of "Fever"! speaks to me on so many levels! I was born & raised in Alameda, and am now a proud San Franciscan for about 8 years! I've always been proud to be from the Bay! Although born in L.A., Sylvester is a San Francisco figure whose musical career pretty much followed the course of the changing musical styles in the Bay Area. I really admire him. I had a chance to play this during my set at the last Go BANG!  and still remember the moment, with the lights flashing & dancers dancing, and the song being placed at the right moment and the crowd feeling it. It was a special moment. I also am a sucker for disco/boogie covers. Check out Odyssey's "So Happy Together" or Aretha Franklin's "What A Fool Believes."

Musical mantra: Atomic Dancefloor Disco Action.

Favorite DJ experience: It always has to do with the right moment where I, as a DJ, connect with the dancer. But I'd say back in 2005, when I was chosen as the New Times "DJ Breakthrough" and was flown to play at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami during the Winter Music Conference! I got a schnazzy title, a free vacation to the funnest place for a DJ to nerd out, and I was there with my girlfriend at the time (who also DJed) who was proud of me, and the crowd got down! Fun!

Worst request: So many to choose from! I'd say the silliest was a recent KiNkY BeAtS party around the time of Gay Pride. I was playing gaygaygay! Gay artists, songs popular in gay discos, Carl Bean's "I Was Born This Way." I mean it was a Gay Pride-themed set. And some young girl comes up and asks me if I can play a poppy house remix of Britney Spears, which I totally said no to. Then her friend asks if I can 'play something gay.' Riiight.

Most treasured vinyl score: "D'licious." A white label 12" with a D'Angelo house remix on one side, and a chunky funky re-work of Meco's "Topsy". My ex & I used to trainspot big-time. I still do! We heard Derrick Carter play this a while back at Sno-Drift and I was searching for at least 3 years, asking Derrick each time I saw him if he had any info on the song. I bought anything that looked like it might be the track, and FINALLY I was able to get this. Very hard to get! Very hard to know to get!

What other music-related projects are you currently working on? I'm still looking for the perfect producing partner! I have a need to re-edit!

What elements would your fantasy club night entail? Beautiful girls! Hot dancers! Schnazzy fashion styles! A booming system! Lasers & strobelights! Disco balls & glitter! A venue where you can be yourself & scandalous yet be safe & comfortable! And a Hot Disco Girlfriend for me to Jack with!

What's the idea behind Go Bang? We have such awesome disco crews, DJs & parties around the Bay Area! I love going to all their parties! (Chilidog! with Stanley, Gemini Disco, Ferrari Party, the HNYSNDSYSTM boys, Sweater Funk, Lawrence Foxxee Petty, Mauricio Aviles, Bus Station John, Alona, Tristes Tropiques, Mikie Lixxx, Beat Electric (especially BT Magnum), Donuts, White Light Productions (who do Remember the Party), The People, Flight, Refresco, Carne Tremula, Eddy Bauer, Renmin & Vinyl Richie's "Behind The Groove," Rebecca Watkins, SmartBeat and Massive Selector are only a FEW!)

Being a person who loves to dance to awesome music, and also a DJ who likes to tell his own story to the dancer, I go to many a party and see many friendly & familiar faces. But it's only natural that every scene will have its own people going to it. Each party has its own style & flavor and audience. They all intermingle, but me & my fellow Go BANG! partners want to create a place where people from different crews, and their fans, come together to play! We want it to be a 'clubhouse' feel for DJs in all the different crews to come and hang out!

Pretty much, this party is meant for disco lovers of every style, race, age & sexual leaning to come together and know that no one will bother them while they are dancing, everyone is there as one big happy family, you can feel free to be as crazy or kooky or clumsy or whatever, and no one judges. We hope to recapture the fantasy of the early disco clubs populated by gay people of color but frequented by artsy city kids, or suburban dwellers, where the regulars have a good time and newcomers are welcomed by an exciting scene and friendly faces!

Plus, we all want to play for our friends, and to an audience that is there to SWEAT, 'cause that's what I do when I go out as a dancer. I appreciate a great DJ moving me as a dancer, and appreciate a balls-out dancer that can get down to a groove they feel!

I've been lucky to team up with very strong DJs from varying scenes, who bring their own takes on disco and bring their different skills to the team! But we definitely play a more upfront, high-energy, disco style when we team up for the night! It's a night meant for people who want to DANCE!!

And the Go BANG! family continues to grow! The current lineup is Nicky B. (Gemini / Ferrari), Stanley (Chilidog!), myself, Eddy Bauer (KALX / Missouri Lounge) & Flight (Gotsoul / Galaxy Group). Our first party was graced by Ken Vulsion of HNYSNDSYSTM! We have Rebecca Watkins guesting in May. And have some other fun stuff & awesome guests in the works!

We're always working to make things interesting with visuals, photographers, cheap booze. We try to record every night since we all know that we try our very best when we know it's being recorded for the ages, and for people all over the world to hear! Plus we love to share the music and want it to reach beyond just the four walls of The Deco Lounge. We're also always looking for enthusiastic people who feel our vibe to contact us if they want to be a bigger part of the party!

Next time we can see you spin:

April 25th & every 4th Saturday Monthly @ Deco Lounge, Larkin & Turk
Go BANG! : Atomic Dancefloor Disco Action!

I want to see all my friends at once.