October 19, 2009 (Issue #2) – Picture yourself approaching Vanilla nite club and upon entering the venue you are bombarded with fog and waveform lasers beaming out beautiful streams of light. Behind the bar is a white screen with intellectual visuals to stimulate your mind, all programed by www.waveformlasers.com.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, Toxic Beats and Infinity Minds held an event at,Vanilla. Thomas Penton(L.A.,Ca.) and Paco Buggin(Madrid,Spain) were the headline D.J.’s, along with warm-up D.J., Whoocares(TOBE).
There were people dancing, lasers flashing, D.J.‘s jamming and I have to salute Toxic Beats and Infinity Minds for doing what they were meant to do, organize event’s for the love of electronic music! I was in awe with the production of this event. The thing that caught my attention were the lasers. There were 5 Waveform laser projectors spread out along the D.J. booth beaming colorful streams of lights, zig- zagging throughout the club. I was also impressed with the sound system. It was Vanilla’s in-house sound system. As you walk around Vanilla, it has a posh look and feeling. After remodeling the club weeks before this event, Vanilla now has a luxurious look.
I had the opportunity to speak with Paco Buggin after his D.J. set and it was an amazing experience, because this guy is a very humble and laid back person. As we were talking, in Spanish, he sat at the top of a bench with his feet resting on the seat. Cuffing his fingers together and looking at me with his Spanish look, he tells me his from Madrid, Spain and that he makes his living in the business of electronic music to pay for his food, his clothing, and his lifestyle. He’s been producing music from an early age and D.J.ing for over 14 years.
As we were talking, I asked him what he thought about the U.S. and he let me on an insight, that the U.S. is nothing compared to Europe as far as the music scene goes. I have to agree with him on that. He’s traveled all over the world, from New York to Mexico and different parts of Europe. I think all his travel’s has made him a well rounded person. This guy has experienced it all. To get more info. on Paco Buggin, visit, www.myspace.com/pacobuggin.
As with Thomas Penton, he’s been around since the early 90’s banging out tunes that has established him as one of the pioneers of electronic music. With his clean shaven head and his down-to-earth personality, this guy was moving the crowd with his mixes.
Here’s an interview that I conducted with Penton. He was very kind in responding to these questions. So, here it goes!
ECB: What genre of music do you spin and produce?
Penton: I produce and play mostly the same styles…I like it to be a mix of progressive, house, & techno. But regardless of style, it has to have groove and energy. I don’t like playing deep.
ECB: How and why did you start spinning?
Penton: I starting D.J.ing 22 years ago playing hip-hop in high school that’s when I bought my first pair of 1200 turntables. In 1991 I was introduced to house/dance music and I loved it. I knew it was time for a change. I loved the energy & positive vibe it gave out.
ECB: Did you study music in school?
Penton: I attended The Art Institute for Audio Engineering.
ECB: How long have you been DJing and producing for?
Penton: It’s been 22 years for both. I was in a recording studio and had my first sampler since I was 15.
ECB: Are you under any record labels?
Penton: I’ve released with over 100 labels. Been featured on over 50 compilations. But I mostly focus on my own label, Electric Candy Recordings.
ECB: Who are your major influences in music?
Penton: So many, Vangelis, J.M.J., Earth Nation, Pete Namlook, then onto Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, U2, Coldplay, etc.
ECB: Where have you performed?
Penton: I’ve been lucky to play all over the world, in over 40 countries. My favorite places are: Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Japan, Taiwan, and many more!
ECB: Do you have any major accomplishments that you would like to share?
Penton: Just being able to make a living for so long out of the crazy jacked up business!
ECB: What are your goals in the future?
Penton: Hopefully to still be doing music. Composing cinematic scoring & sound effects.
ECB: Do you have a website or myspace? What is it?
Penton: www.thomaspenton.com But for the latest news & updates check www.myspace.com/djthomaspenton
Wow! 22 years in the business of music. That’s what I call dedication. Here are two down-to-earth D.J.’s showing themselves through music and us being lucky enough to experience what they have to offer.
This event would not have occurred if it weren’t for Toxic Beats and Infinity Minds putting their heads together to organize such a spectacular event. I was able to conduct another interview with, D.J. Rudy(TOBE) to find out just who is Toxic Beats and what he thought of this event.
ECB: When were you first established?
TOBE: My friends, Javo, Valerie, and Ivan actually were the originator’s of Toxic Beats. It started back in the Juarez days when we would all go to Windows! So, I would say roughly three years ago!
ECB: How and why did you start promoting?
TOBE: ToBe started with events that had locals as headliners, then slowly moved into booking some out-of-town headliners and promoting a few weekly’s. ToBe got into promoting to help improve the local scene, help expose up and coming local D.J.‘s, and to provide local party people with quality EDM event’s and weekly’s.
ECB: Who’s on your team?
TOBE: Well, there’s the originator, Javo, Valarie, and Ivan. Then, there’s Jesus, Sam, Okie, and System. Javo does all of our video production, and, System, is our web developer. =)
ECB: Do you have any D.J.’s w/ your company? Who are they?
TOBE: Yes, we do. WHooCAres, Omar, Paulo, Samuel Pozas, Shino, Mike David, and Myself (Rudy). WHooCAres also does all of our graphic design.
ECB: How many events have you organized already?
TOBE: We have only done about 5 small events, but all of our events have had awesome production. =) We believe in quality over quantity!!
ECB: What are your goals w/ this company?
TOBE: Our goal is to always have a good time and never take ourselves to seriously. We do this for the love of music and once things get to serious it becomes hard to have fun doing it!!
ECB: What made you decide to book Thomas Penton and Paco Buggin?
TOBE: Thomas Penton’s style is amazing!! His recent productions have a very progressive trance vibe to them , and when dropped at a club or at an event, they ALWAYS get the crowd jumping. The mixture of Penton’s upbeat peak hour productions, and Paco Buggin’s deep smooth clean sound made for a well programmed good flowing night!!
ECB: What did you think about the outcome of this event?
TOBE: I was very happy with the outcome of this event. The production was on point, the sound was amazing, and everybody that was there had a great time. What else could I ask for?!
ECB: Did you enjoy the way these DJ’s performed?
TOBE: WHooCAres, Thomas Penton, and Paco Buggin all played amazing and I cant wait to have them back again!!
ECB: Do you have a website or myspace? What is it?
toxic-beats.com or myspace.com/toxicbeatsravers
I have to admit that I had a really great time at this event. Especially, being involved in the music scene and a part of ElectroCityBeatz Magazine. I also enjoyed listening to Paco Buggin and Thomas Penton’s D.J. sets. If it weren’t for the D.J.‘s, there wouldn’t be a party. Always remember that it’s the D.J. that makes the party happen. They are the music!
Don’t miss out on Toxic Beats next events!
Go Back…
