radio

Fill·more (f l môr , -m r ) Wax (waks)

I needed a DJ name that was FRESH and ORIGINAL! I gotta thank David Madrid of Block2Block Radio on 91.5 KKUP for telling me that I needed a name that people will remember me by.

I may not be from the Fillmore, but my music roots all start at the Fillmore.

First time I was at the Fillmore (venue and street) was the first time I saw Public Enemy in October 2002. That also featured Blackaliscious and Dilated Peoples.

The first time I went to the Boom Boom Room was in May 2007 to see Vicious Groove. Some of the members of that band I met at JJ’s Blues in San Jose and have played with John Lee Hooker Jr.

I first saw Eric Lindell in July 2007 at the Boom Boom Room (Jake Mackey played with him years before).

The first time I saw BB King was in October 2007 at the Fillmore.

I first saw Eric McFadden in January 2008 at the Boom Boom Room.

I was able to book Jake Mackey & The Muddy Suns in January 2008 at the Boom Boom Room. Jake Mackey played there many times before.

I met blues legend Fillmore Slim in July 2008 at the Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival. For Handy Entertainment, he performed at our show in August 2010 at the Quarter Note in Sunnyvale, CA.

In November 2009, Jake Mackey did a show at the back of Rassela’s that featured:
-Blueshift – a band from Santa Rosa, where Jake Mackey is known.
-Points North – recorded at Foothill College, where I was going to school under the Music Tech Program in January 2010.
-Pamela Parker – I went to go see her in February 2010, which morphed into supporting not only her gigs, but became a fan of PFunk Allstar’s RonKat Spearman’s KATDELIC’s numerous shows in 2010 and 2011.

When New Years Eve 2010 became New Years Day 2011, I went to the Boom Boom Room to see Monophonics. I bought two copies of their single, $2.50 which inspired me to DJ.

My first DJ gig was at 7 Mile in Brisbane, CA on June 26, 2011. Brought memories back to many folks who were there listening.

The George Lacson Project and Scary Larry & the Monsters were at the 2011 Fillmore Jazz Festival on July 3 at the Eddy Stage. Both were apart of Handy Entertainment’s Battle of the Bands. Mestiza was another band at Battle of the Bands and happened to have a gig at Yoshi’s SF, while the festival was outside.

To be baptized by the funk, I went to the Long Beach Funk Fest on August 20, 2011.

I even got to meet George Clinton on August 25, 2011 when RonKat had his Sugar Booty Contest with George and Ron as judges. The next night, I saw George again at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz when Long Beach Funk Fest Promoter, Bobby Easton was there with Big Ol Nasty Getdown.

It took me almost a year to get this DJ’ing thing going since it didn’t work out in 2010.

That inspired the name Fillmore Wax. Wax is another word for vinyl/records, just in case you didn’t know that.

For those who refuse to accept my name, TOO BAD!

In 2012, Fillmore Wax, Inc. has steadily been working hard establishing a name that means quality.

In 2013, I expanded out to doing shows at both sides of the Bay Bridge, becoming apart of the music scene with names I only knew about on Facebook just a few years ago.

On September 2, 2014, my mentor and CEO of Handy Entertainment, Cynthia Handy, passed away. She was instrumental in helping me create my own company and also put on shows with little money. The knowledge she passed on to me cannot be given a price tag. But the value of inheriting her wisdom can produce gold. Gone but not forgotten, your spirit lives on, never missing a beat.

Advertisement