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“Roonie G. is an incredible talent who is breaking the mold in the DJ / Nightclub Industry” - Steven Lockwood (Marketing Director - JET Nightclub/Mirage Hotel Casino /Creator of A/V– Las Vegas) “Roonie’s a world class DJ who’s passion and mixing skills never cease to amaze me.” - Karl Detken (Pioneer USA) “Roonie G. sets a whole new standard for a Bad Ass DJ!” - Mad Mike (Pimp My Ride – MTV2) DJ ROONIE G. – BIOGRAPHY
Two-time Club World Award Winner and 2008 nominee for “America’s Best DJ,” ROONIE G. controls the DJ booth with laserlike precision and an unwavering focus. Where traditional DJs are locked into spinning solely audio, ROONIE delves into another dimension by mixing his own creative blend of audio and visual content – content that encompasses popular music videos, iconic film footage, custom graphics, and comedy shorts – delivering multi-sensory stimulation.
THE TIME IS NOW
The year 2008 is a big one for ROONIE. In high demand, he DJd three of the year’s biggest Super Bowl parties in Arizona, opening for DIDDY, WYCLEF JEAN and KID ROCK. A few weeks later, ROONIE DJd three celebrity-soaked events for the NBA All-Star Games in New Orleans. He’s performed alongside bold-faced names like TOMMY LEE, RON JEREMY, and Playboy centerfolds, CINDY MARGOLIS and TAMARA SKY. Heavyweights like FLOYD MAYWEATHER and DONALD TRUMP have featured ROONIE as the DJ for their private bashes.
In the press, ROONIE has been featured in media outlets including: CNN, MTV2, CNet, Club World Magazine (formerly Club Systems International), DJ Times Magazine, Big Shot Magazine, 944 Phoenix Magazine, Las Vegas Weekly, The Boston Globe, …and many others.
A DJ with 25 years of expertise and over 300 dance and hip-hop remixes under his belt, ROONIE never ceases to amaze. He started remixing for Ultimix in 1989 and produced the first Funkymix Medleys in 1990. Step into Jet at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Mixx at The Borgata in Atlantic City, Saddle Ranch at Universal’s City Walk in Los Angeles – or any of the other urban hotspots where ROONIE holds a residency – and patrons walk into a room where all of the senses are heightened. To behold ROONIE on any given night is to witness him deftly mashing-up audiovisual content hundreds of times during his two-hour set. Cameras and eyes are often fixated on him. For ROONIE, every split-second is spent cutting back-and-forth between tracks, mixing-in new video sources, creating custom-graphics on-the-fly and generally causing dancefloor mayhem. ROONIE’s live video-mixing is always a jaw-dropping spectacle.
THE EARLY YEARS
Born Roongsak Griffeth and of Thai descent, ROONIE exhibited a knack for performance from an early age. ROONIE’s first, professional DJ gig came at the tender age of 14. An Army brat, he grew-up in various countries and attended high school in Hawaii and Japan before his parents settled-down in Columbus, Georgia. He received an electrical engineering education in Macon, GA and DJd his own prom and homecoming celebrations.
As a youth, ROONIE landed a gig DJing at a club in Macon (hometown of LITTLE RICHARD and OTIS REDDING) frequented by older African-American patrons. He’d drive hours with heavy crates of vinyl, bringing his own soundsystem. “I played all these black clubs…and I was playing all these old R&B tunes for an older crowd. It was great, because it educated me a lot on good rhythm and soul,” ROONIE recalls. He later got a gig DJing Columbus’ Chickasaw Club bar, where he held an impressive 10-year residency until 1998. It was during ROONIE’s residency at the Chickasaw that he began doing his own remixes, winning regional – and then national – DJ competitions, including winning First Place in the Nightclub & Bar Awards in 1996. That year, he “did this JIMI HENDRIX thing [with vinyl] where I was mixing [Hendrix’s] ‘Purple Haze,’ and I ducked-down and came back up with a big Afro wig and lit the turntables on fire,” ROONIE chuckles. His brazen showmanship was instantly appreciated, and the crowd ate it up.
Nineteen-ninety-six was indeed a big year. Already having produced major remixes, including NAUGHTY BY NATURE’s “O.P.P.” (Tommy Boy) in 1991, 95 SOUTH’s “Whoot There It Is” (Ichi Ban) in 1993, and SOUTHSIDE BOIZ’s “Get Ready Here It Comes” (LaFace) in 1996, ROONIE’s inventive remixes earned attention from the major labels and he was commissioned to produce a club remix of HANSON’s pop hit, “MMMBop.” The money ROONIE earned was always reinvested into buying better and more expensive DJ equipment. Before long, ROONIE was investing money into his own nightclubs and promoting parties in his hometown. One such party was New Year’s Eve 2000, which was attended by over 3,000 people. By this point, promoting parties had become lucrative, although ROONIE asked himself what he really wanted to do. The answer was simple. “I have to please myself from an artist’s standpoint,” ROONIE decided.
PIONEER PRO DJ
Also in 1996, Pioneer Pro DJ’s KARL DETKEN caught a glimpse of ROONIE DJing at the Nightclub & Bar Show. Sensing a DJ with finely tuned skills, Pioneer approached ROONIE with the manufacturer’s earliest prototype of the CD turntable, the Pioneer CDJ-700. ROONIE demonstrated using three 700s, replaying the beats live using the cues. Witnessing the way ROONIE used the 700’s cues prompted Pioneer to develop the “Hot Cue” function on the CDJ-1000, today’s industry standard.
In 2001, with the official release of the Pioneer CDJ-1000, ROONIE met with DETKEN and a few of Pioneer’s engineers, and the concept of the “world’s first DVD turntable” was born.
Today, ROONIE is endorsed by PIONEER PRO DJ. In the booth, ROONIE uses two Pioneer DVJ-1000 DVD turntables, a Pioneer mixer, and he often incorporates computers and live cameras to enhance his audio/video show.
LAS VEGAS, HERE I COME
For New Year’s Eve 2004, ROONIE utilized a prototype DVJ at The Beach in Las Vegas debuting the first live “video-scratching” performance. Shortly thereafter, a DVJ residency followed at Ra in The Luxor in Las Vegas. What started out as a special guest performance quickly became a monthly, then bi-weekly, then weekly residency, during which time ROONIE reigned Ra for 12 straight months. After Ra closed, Las Vegas club guru, STEVEN LOCKWOOD, brought ROONIE to the Light Group’s venue, Jet, at The Mirage (MGM/Mirage).
It’s at LOCKWOOD’s hugely popular “A/V” parties at Jet where ROONIE gets to shine. The club is tricked-out in numerous closed-circuit flat-screen TVs allowing ROONIE limitless opportunities to express his audiovisual fantasies. ROONIE’s proven performances induced Light Group to sign him to an additional two year exclusive contract for Las Vegas which will include the highly anticipated City Center project (coming in 2009).
FOREVER AN ENTERTAINER
The present day brings ROONIE G. to all major markets throughout North America with international offers constantly pouring-in. With the decimation of the traditional recording industry, artists of all stripes are being forced to find alternate revenue streams, not least of which are live performance. In that regard, ROONIE has always been ahead-of-the-curve, delivering memorable audiovisual shows to audiences young and old. He says, “I’m an artist first-and-foremost, but I’ll still be rockin’ crowds as an entertainer ‘til the day I die.” Biography 2006 Club World Awards - VJ of The Year 2006 Club World Award Nominee - Best Party - Steven Lockwood A/V Club RA 2002 Pioneer/Promo Only 1st Digital DJ Battle - 1st place. American Disc Jockey Awards Club DJ of the Year 2000. DMA Mixmania 2000 DJ Competition Winner. Nightclub and Bar Magazine National DJ Champion in 1996. DDK DJ of the year Southeast U.S. 1991. DDK Southeast Region DJ Competition winner in 1990. Produced Remixes for Ultimix/Funkymix Produced and reconstruct Remixes for X-mix Remix Remix - Naughty by Nature "OPP" - Tommy Boy Jerky Boyz - "Jerky Bass" Advisor and a National performance demonstrator for Pioneer Pro DJ Division. Producer of Tony Allen "Take Me Higher" (Interface & Yes Mate Recordings) "Around The Moon" (Interface Records)
CD's & Videos Produced Futuristic Digital Skratch Tricks For Your Grandma - The DVD (Now Available) Mixxing Link Vol 1 - DJ Skratching CD Tool Mixxing Link Special Edition - Pioneer Around The Moon: Journey to Sektor 5 - The Album(cd) Tony Allen - "Take Me Higher" (Rerelease) Island Summer Mix 95', 96', 97', 98' Power Tools Vol. 1,2, & 3 Sektor 1, 2, 3, & 4 Guam's Party Music 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 Ultimate N-Ergy Cheer Leading Competition Mixxes Mixxing Link - Ultimate Turntable Tools Vol.1 (vinyl) Beyond The Looking Glass - 94' Voice Of a Nu Generation (The Baby Song) -93'
Things To come... Erotic Beats Beats & Trancequility - The Mix CD Sektor 6 Mixxing Link - Skratch Tools Vol. 2
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