Magazine editor names his favorite DJs
Jim Tremayne, editor of DJ Times magazine, has been checking out clubs and DJs in Vegas for decades, going all the way back to when there was only one underground club for a few hundred regulars.
So who are his favorite DJs these days? Here’s what he told me off the top of his head, in no particular order, while we hung out at an electronic music party recently.
Markus Schulz: DJ Times just named Schulz the Best American DJ in its annual readers’ poll. He’s a resident DJ at Marquee nightclub.
“Markus is one of those people (whose music) rides that line between techno and trance. So it’s hard enough for the guys but pretty enough for the girls,” Tremayne says.
“He’s somebody who never lost his skills. He was a DJ first and then he became a producer. He’s not a guy who knows a few piano chords, gets a hit and then goes out and tries to DJ.”
Skrillex: He’s a resident DJ at the Wynn-Encore’s clubs XS, Surrender and Encore Beach Club. He performs Sunday, Dec. 30, at Surrender.
“I’m a big fan. The craziest show I saw last year was Skrillex (in Detroit),” Tremayne says. “It was like seeing Metallica. It was nuts. It bordered on dangerous.”
12th Planet: He never DJs here but was an early roommate of Skrillex in L.A. and taught him a few things.
“He’s a great DJ. I tell people who are older folks like me who don’t like dubstep – see that guy. That guy will turn you out.”
Rusko: He spins Saturday at Surrender.
“I never thought you’d see massive festivals with Rusko and Skrillex,” Tremayne says. “If you had asked me 18 months ago if this would have been possible, I would have said no way. But there it was.”
Ferry Corsten: He spins today at Marquee.
Tremayne saw Corsten in Amsterdam last year, and then put the Dutch DJ on the cover of DJ Times and wrote about that show: Corsten “turned the Docklands venue into a big, sweaty, strobe-filled love fest.”
Deadmau5: He’s a resident DJ at the Wynn-Encore clubs.
“I haven’t seen Deadmau5 in a long time, but he was really fun for a while.”
Manufactured Superstars: The duo perform Nov. 18 at XS.
“Manufactured Superstars are really fun, because they just throw a party,” Tremayne says. “It’s a fun vibe when they play.”
Kaskade: He performs Nov. 17 at Marquee.
“When he plays that melodic vocal thing, look out at the audience and you see the girls mouthing every word. And if the girls like it, the guys like it,” he says.
Paul van Dyk: He doesn’t play Vegas enough, just a few times a year.
“I’m not a big trance guy, but,” Tremayne says, “my wife Emily does.” (His wife, Emily Tan, is a publicist for many DJs and writes for DJ Times.)
“I get dragged to a lot of these trance events. And I’m like, ‘You know, this is like the 20th time I’ve seen Paul van Dyk, but that was really good.’ ”
Danny Tenaglia: He never seems to play Vegas anymore.
“Danny Tenaglia is the greatest,” he says. “He’ll play for an hour and a half – pop, old school, new songs, and people are like, ‘Wow, what did he just do to me?’ ”
Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
