Music
The Birthday Bash | Jason Ojeda, Hex Hector and Hector Romero
About The Birthday Bash | Jason Ojeda, Hex Hector and Hector Romero
It should come as no surprise that Jason Ojeda has emerged as “one to watch” among the next crop of young DJs vying for the coveted status of National Circuit Party DJ. Known today for his hard house beats and smooth soulful grooves, Jason grew up in a household where DJing literally was the family business. He was spinning records for his uncle’s mobile DJ company on Long Island, NY at nine years old.
“I mostly did weddings and sweet sixteen?s back then,” Jason explains. “My mom would drop me off and pick me up at the end of the night.”
Jason landed his first local club gig and residency at 15. “I was running the party before I was even legal to drink,” he laughs. After that, Jason bounced around local house music clubs on Long Island before being offered a residency at CPI’s, a Hampton?s night spot regularly frequented by partying summer weekenders from New York City. The exposure from CPI’s led to gigs at top New York City venues including Sound Factory, Limelight, Life, Roxy, Roseland and the prized residency: opening for Junior Vasquez’s Saturday night “Earth” party at Exit.
“I’m excited about where I am now,” says Jason who defines his sound behind the booth as tribal, funky, vocal and very soulful. “I’ve been wanting to break into the gay scene for a long time and Exit’s been my key. Now I have my sights on the circuit scene. I want to be in the circuit so bad. All the records I have ever made were for the gay community in mind.”
Three of Jason’s remixes have charted on Billboard’s Top Twenty including Abigail’s “You Set Me Free” (Groovilicious Records) which hit #1.
“I actually owe my start in production to Robin S. She heard me spin one night and asked me to remix her new records, “All that I’ve Got” and “24 Hour Love.” I accepted without hesitation, even though I didn’t have a clue about producing or working in a studio! I figured I couldn’t let a golden opportunity pass me by."
Luckily, Jason had some notable and experienced friends willing to help him out.
“DJ Razor hooked me up with DJ Guido who back then was producing country music out of a shack behind a house on Long Island,” Jason laughs. "Together, Guido and I remixed Robin’s songs and turned them into immediate club hits. Our remix of “All that I’ve Got” ended up being featured on the soundtrack for the movie Space Jam."
Soon after, Guido joined Razor to form the superstar DJ/production duo of Razor & Guido. Jason aligned with DJ Motomo 315 to form the production company, MindTrap. Under MindTrap, they produced a plethora of dance party remix staples including Inaya Day and Chino Ro’s “Movin’ Up” (Nervous Records) and Kim English’s “Missing You” (Nervous Records).
After MindTrap’s recent split, Jason Ojeda has found success on his own with dance floor hits “Hope Have I” by Sphinx and “Crying At The Discoteque” by Alcazar – the latter of which appears on the Queer As Folk Soundtrack (RCA Victor).
“The biggest misperception about me is that because I’m a straight DJ, I can’t party with the best of them. When you’re on my dance floor, you can be pretty damn sure that I’ll work your body up to a frenzy and get you tweakin’ in ways you never imagined possible.”
While most legendary dj/producers are known for one specific genre, Hex Hector is that rare talent whose 20 year plus career has encompassed the entire gamut of dance music. He grew up in New York City during its dance music glory days, taking in the sounds of legendary spots like Paradise Garage, The Funhouse and The Loft. In the early part of his career he was the dj at the China Club in NYC on Monday nights, playing mainstream dance tunes to New York’s most celebrated nightcrawlers. From there he gained residencies at famous 90’s clubs like Palladium, Tunnel and Limelight.
In the mid-90’s he shifted into producer mode. Working with stars like Madonna, Toni Braxton and, Deborah Cox, he created a crossover dance sound that dominated pop radio for many years. His efforts culminated in the remix of “Waiting For Tonight” by Jennifer Lopez, earning him a grammy award in 2001 for remixer of the year.
Currently his signature sound has shifted to a more global, soulful house sound. In New York City, which is one of the home bases for this more evolved genre of dance music, Hex has emerged as one of the most respected dj’s in soulful house clubs like Cielo and Santos and is a favorite at the world-renowned Stereo Club in Montreal.
A natural progression within the Def Mix camp gave Hector Romero his most recent business opportunity as a participating partner in Satoshi Tomiie’s upstart imprint SAW.RECORDINGS.
Picture the summer 1983…In the Bronx, NY a block party, also known as a street jam, is in full effect. A 13 year old kid steps in front of the turntables and starts playing a combination of Latin, House and Hip Hop music. The crowd goes wild and quickly the neighborhood nicknames the young kid ‘Baby Hec’ Romero. As his notoriety and age grows, he finds himself playing at the premier Latin Dance Club ‘La Mirage’, and doing nights at the hippest street club the ‘Devils Nest’. The very same club where friend Louie Vega got his start. Soon after that, "Baby Hec" Romero (a name that has taken years to shed) found himself DJ-ing at some of New York City’s legendary clubs and underground spots such as Save the Robots, The Red Zone, famed Palladium, and the Roxy.
In 1994, Judy Weinstein recruited Hector Romero to work at Def Mix Productions and assist in the creation of Definity Records, an imprint Weinstein and partner David Morales was working on launching. Hector found he was not as interested in Remixing or Producing but he loved the balance between the creative DJ and the businessman. A&R, and working on the business end of Music, was a better fit. Weinstein took him under her wing and taught him the technique of good business management. The longtime business arrangement garnered him the position of Label Manager of Definity Records the Def Mix imprint.
Romero has found a balance by playing records at spots such as Filter 14 in NYC, Stereo in Montreal, Locomia in Portugal, and in other clubs around the globe. Mixing different types of music together is his "sound" and it is this mixture that has again increased his celebrity with the Club Culture throughout major European Cities, Canada, and the USA.
A natural progression within the Def Mix camp gave Hector Romero his most recent business opportunity as a participating partner in Satoshi Tomiie’s upstart imprint SAW.RECORDINGS. Weinstein, also an investor and a believer in the duo team, is working closely with Romero to strengthen his profile as a DJ through the Def Mix Tours. With Romero’s business savvy, the success of Tomiie & Romero’s dream company is insured. As one of the creative forces of SAW, Hector brings to the team his experience as label manager, and his A&R and negotiation abilities.
As a DJ, Hector Romero continues to play on weekends and will be joining the others at Def Mix in a Spring through Fall 2002 world tour.
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