The dance music scene in Birmingham is really taking off these days. While one can go to almost any club and hear hip hop, some of us want to get away from your usual top 40 and shake it to something different! Don’t get me wrong, I know that top 40 has its place, and I know lots of people love it! My love, however, is dance music. I like all kinds of dance music – trance, house, electro, IDM, drum and bass…no matter what it is, I always love to come to a party and get down to some dance music!

That is precisely why I am looking forward to The Three Kings on February 27th. This dance party combines the DJ powers of three of the best playing in Birmingham. JerZ 856 is an up-and-comer who knows how to spin some of the sickest new stuff, and he will be joined by Charles III, who has been throwing down around Birmingham for some time now. Charles III can blend some of the best hip-hop and electro out there! Finally, the guys will be joined with DJ Coco, who tours nationally and will be sure to shake things up.

There are many people who don’t know much about the dance scene in Birmingham, so I set up an interview with DJ jerZ 856 himself.

So, without further ado, let me introduce DJ jerZ 856:

How did you get into DJing?

My first true influence to wanting to DJ was after watching ShoutCast streams on Winamp. I would tune in every week or so to check out this one guy who spun drums and bass. From there my cousin educated me with different DJ’s and eventually introduced me to a documentary called SCRATCH. After I watched that movie on the birth of HipHop dj’s and the art of scratching it was a sealed deal.

How long have you been DJing?

Technically…almost four years..but two of those were mainly “studying up” on the ins and outs.

What is your favorite genre to play?

I’ve always been a big fan of underground hip hop. Like I said my cousin pretty much showed me the ropes when it came to “quality” music i guess. MF Doom, Jeru the Damaja, J Dilla…I could go for days. I actually started off mainly as a hip hop DJ and in the beginning I practiced scratching constantly. Unfortunately, teaching myself something of that caliber was like spitting in the wind, I knew the basics but had no one to really learn from. Once my cousin introduced me to Drum & Bass I craved to learn how to play it, but this was back before Scratch and all these other digital mixing softwares were fully developed. So to learn a new genre from scratch = money i didn’t have. From DnB…once I came to UAB Carlos gave me the realization that DnB was no longer and that I needed to study up on Electro.

Do you have a favorite artist? A favorite song?

I have ones for every genre honestly. For Hip Hop: DJ Qbert is hands down my favorite…Hip Hop music: “Fancy Clown” by Madvillain. For DnB: Tech Itch is phenomenal and also holds the title for my favorite track “The Ruckus”. As for electro and every other sub genre that falls into that category (Carlos is going to eat this up) The Bloody Beetroots are my favorite currently and I still can’t get enough of Miscommunication.

What do you think of the dance scene in Birmingham? Where do you think it is going?

The dance scene in Birmingham is “developing” and has potential to be HUGE. When these kids turn out to parties…it’s massive. I just think there needs to be more promotion and more people open to accept it. So many people are caught up in the typical top 40 hey let’s go to the club every week and listen to the same songs. The dance scene has so much more to offer. Not only does “electro” get crowds going, but it can take form of all sorts of other genres so there is almost always something for everyone…It’s like a hybrid!

I know you’re interested now! Even if you’re unfamiliar with dance music, Friday night is sure to be a good time. So, you better get your butt to Matthew’s Bar and Grill on Friday, 2/28. Bring your dancin’ shoes…this one’s gonna be big!

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