One month and seven days ago...

That was like a ten years in the blogosphere. But in my world, it was just a really long time ago. I'd like to say that I was on vacation, sunning myself in Hawaii or some other tropical locale, but no, that's not the case...

Instead, there was a semi-happy ending to a family emergency, an official radio interview, a launch party at Studio Boum and My Savvy Space, the very fashionable but worth it "Product Runway" fashion show, the "Hard A" luge (of which I did not experience) at the Yelp party, Pole Dancing and debauchery at the Girl Power Hour Red Party (please refer to page 57 in the June issue of DList Magazine), some kick-ass music by Lisa Shaw & Miguel Migs and a full band of disco househeads at Chop Suey, the viewing of Sex and the City twice in less then 15 hours, DJ Tiesto and the Crave Sample Sale all in the same weekend, A Veuve Cliquot Rose launch party at the W where I met the illustrious JJ McKay, Nick Verrios looking suave and so-not-Seattle (but better) at Twist while promoting the unsavory and almost gag-worthy Basil Hayden liquor (for a good cause), a Summer Kick-off Social in the sky that actually included glimpses of that strange and illustrious shining orb-thing that resembles the sun, a special edition of SAM:remix at the OSP, a smaller than last year but much more cosy and exciting Chinese Information Service Center gala, the acceptance and start of a full time job and a very lengthy and exhausting "adjustment period," the beginning of life as I know it with my best friend "Blackberry" - otherwise known as "the manufactured extension of my right hand," and finally....the end of a silly feud at the Times.

Boring, I know. So I won't go into detail, apologize or justify. Just know that I wasn't ignoring you in vain or on purpose....I just needed a break.

Break be had. Event listing and info sharing behold.

Get Disco Equipment And Emulate Your Heroes

If you love clubbing and great music then perhaps it is time that you gave DJing a try. Many of the basic mixing skills can be picked up in a few months and although it takes years to fully master the medium it is something that everyone with a passion for music should try. The most important thing after all if picking tunes that really gets people going. You can then work on how to build a set and work hard on the techniques involved in making the transition between tracks seamless.

Nowadays the range of DJ equipment that is accessible to beginners has never been better. Technology has caught up with the music industry and there are now new and exciting ways on which to share music. DJs can now keep their music in MP3 format and even mix the songs using artificial mixing equipment that emulates the traditional record player setup. It also means that many aspiring DJs can make a name for themselves on the internet by sharing their efforts to friends via the internet. This can result in some DJs forming a massive fan base before they have even played live.

It has as a result never been more popular and with thousands of DJs becoming household names there are a few DJs that are achieving superstardom. Here are my favourites that would fall in this category.

Armin Van Buuren

The Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren has become one of the leading Trance DJs in the world and he regularly gains enormous crowds for his club performances. Like most DJs he started very young and was fanatical about music. He used to spend all of his pocket money on music and would create tapes for his friends and family to listen to which included his favourite tracks of the moment.

His uncle introduced him to a computer program and he was then able to cut, mix and create his own music tunes from songs that he had collated. Alongside following his passion for music he took a degree in law but was able to follow his passion as he gained an enormous fan base and began to earn some money. He now has a weekly slot in one of the most prestigious of clubs in the club island of Ibiza. Here he has residence in Amnesia.

DJ Tiesto

Probably the most notorious of all the DJs in the world Tiesto has turned his passion for music into a multi-million dollar machine. The first DJ to ever sell out a stadium of 25000 people two nights in a row he has achieved a whole host of landmarks for DJs. He has set the benchmark for DJs at unprecedented heights by DJing for enormous events such as the Athens Olympics opening ceremony. He has even managed to break into the US commercial market where his delirium song was the first ever dance tune to hit the American daytime radio stations.

He has continued to change and modify the sounds that he plays and unlike some DJs is continuously trying new things. Perhaps this is why he has achieved such longevity in the industry. He has even been nominated for a Grammy and is highly regarded throughout the world. He regularly appears on the top ten list of DJs for the mixmag magazine.

Tiesto flies in for Planetlove anniversary

World famous dance music star Tiesto is to play at Planetlove's first ever weekend event on the banks of Lough Neagh this September.

To mark the massive dance event's 10th birthday, the organisers of Planetlove decided to extend the party to festival status with a star-studded line-up and camping.

Thousands of dance music fans are expected to descend upon Shane's Castle in Co Antrim for the two-day event on Friday, September 5 and Saturday, September 6.

Dutch DJ Tiesto — a world leader in trance and electronic music — will bring his In Search of Sunrise Tour to Shane's Castle on September 5. The last time he appeareód in Northern Ireland in March 2007 for a King's Hall show, tickets sold out within a fortnight of going on sale. His concert shows have seen him transformed from famous DJ to international superstar.

The line-up for September 6 will be unveiled on Plantlove's official website on June 6 at www.planetlovemusic.com . Radio One will once again broadcast the event.

Planetlove began life 10 years ago when husband and wife team Eddie Wray and Judith Farrell-Rowan decided to throw a huge outdoor party for dance fans. Since then, it has become one of the biggest events in the Irish dance music calender.

Eddie said: "This is the most exciting festival that we have worked on over the last 10 years. It's the first weekend event that we've run, with a star-studded line up, camping and with birthday and production surprises."

A limited number of Early Bird weekend tickets are due to go on sale today from www.planetlove.music.com/shop and usual outlets, priced £85 (plus booking fee, includes Friday and Saturday admission, free camping and car parking.)

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

World-renowned DJ Tiesto showed off his talents as he spun a marathon set for yet another capacity crowd at Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sunday. Actor-turned Celebrity Apprentice star, Stephen Baldwin made an unexpected appearance and enjoyed the party from the privacy of his cabana. Also spotted on property was Jamal Anderson , former Atlanta Falcons running back, who enjoyed the scene at Body English's Sunday School party. ITEM! The legendary Sex Pistols, special guest Louis XIV, play at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Joint, their only U.S. stop during their 2008 summer tour. Formed in London in 1975, Sex Pistols are one of the most definitive rock bands of all time and are widely credited with initiating the punk movement. Sex Pistols had emerged as a response to what was perceived to be the increasingly stale music scene of the mid-1970s. Sex Pistols were controversial but captivating, and although their shows repeatedly faced difficulties from Government authorities, their fans remain loyal. Some of the tracks they are recognized for include, “God Save the Queen” (1977), “C’mon Everybody” (1979) and “Pretty Vacant” (1977), all of which are included on their classic studio album Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols. Opening for Sex Pistols is American post-punk revival band from San Diego, Louis XIV, best known for music that features rough, primal rock and evocative lyrics. Tickets start at $49.50 and are on sale now.

DJs’ ride up peaks in Vegas

Partyers packed Jet and The Bank, intoxicated not only by high-priced drinks and the frenzied nightclub atmosphere but also by loud, pounding music created by DJ Tiesto.

Tiesto, an international superstar from the Netherlands, flew into Las Vegas to perform for the Memorial Day weekend.

He’s one of the new breed of entertainers who have become a dominant force in Las Vegas in the past decade. They may not get the headlines of Cirque du Soliel, Cher or Barry Manilow, but week in and week out, DJs pack dozens of nightclubs with thousands of young revelers who add millions of dollars to the local economy.

Tiesto, named the world’s No. 1 DJ three years in a row by DJ Magazine, was brought in by Light Management Group, which runs six Vegas clubs.

Industry leaders such as Light and Pure Management tap into young people’s interest in dance music that rocks their souls and makes their party memorable.

“The DJ creates the energy and the vibe of the crowd,” says Light spokesman Alex Acuna. “These DJs create an energy the crowds remember.”

As a result many DJs, especially headliners such as Tiesto, gain fame and fortune their predecessors never dreamed possible.

DJ-ing has come a long way since the ’50s, when high schools hired popular radio announcers to come to the gymnasium on a Friday night and spin vinyl records by Little Anthony, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino while teens danced the bop, the stroll and the swing (East Coast and West Coast).

DJs graduated from sock hops to discotheques in the ’70s and kicked it up a notch. Bigger, louder speakers made the lighted floors tremble and energized the young crowds that spent the night dancing beneath the glimmering silver ball. Rock gave way to the disco beat of the Bee Gees, Donna Summer and Barry White.

And DJs became celebrities — although their fame rarely extended beyond the limits of the city where they played.

But today’s top club DJs sign million-dollar contracts, endorse products, produce records and travel around the world to get the party started from Dubai to Dallas.

“Touring club DJs, that’s probably been happening since 2000,” says David Berrie, who spins under the professional name DJ Berrie.

Talking by telephone from Mexico, he sounds a little tired, maybe because he has just flown from a gig in London to perform at a hot spot in Acapulco.

“I’ve been in six different countries in two weeks,” Berrie says. “It’s amazing, experiencing all these cultures.”

From Acapulco, he’s coming to Vegas, where he’s one of the regular DJs at the Tao nightclub in the Venetian. If you don’t find him at Tao, he may be at the Marquee in New York City or playing a party in Chicago or Washington, D.C.

Corporate affairs. Private parties. Nightclubs. DJs today jet around the world and stay at the finest hotels in the most luxurious resorts.

“Basically, the DJ game is totally different now,” says Berrie, 22. “We’re traveling all over.”

He studied piano, violin and drums but was fascinated by DJs. When he was a teen he spent hours practicing his disc-spinning techniques in his basement. At 16 he began doing parties for friends and dances at high schools, working for free until he became a hot item in the New York area.

He enrolled as a business major at Boston University but was working in three nightclubs. He dropped out of school to see how far he could go as a DJ.

Today, work looks for him. He has a management team to handle all the calls.

“If you have the reputation, the venues are calling you,” Berrie says. “A DJ might make $600 a night in New York. But I know DJs who get booked for $20,000 for a job that lasts three hours. And the international scene is even more ridiculous. To play in a huge stadium you might get 60 grand. Million-dollar contracts are being handed out routinely.”

The big bucks are worth it to the venues.

“It’s an investment for the club,” he says. “A well-known DJ can play a club in St. Louis and on opening night bring in so many people because of the name on the flier, it legitimizes the club.”

Not everyone can make the big bucks, or even the little ones.

“So many things go into making a good DJ,” Berrie says. “Music selection. Technical skills. Looks. All those things and more factor into why any particular DJ is popular. And everyone has their own preference in DJs.”

Mostly, it boils down to style.

“Every DJ has their own niche,” Berrie says. “There are millions of DJs out there. All have different ways of spinning. It’s tough, standing there and making the party jump. My style is fast-paced, hip-hop infused with house music.”

Berrie says he reads the crowd and adapts his style.

“Your ability to read the crowd is what it comes down to,” he says.

Charlie Anzalone was reading crowds before Berrie was born.

In the early ’70s, he was “Captain Disco,” a club DJ in his native Buffalo, N.Y.

“Wednesday night was oldies, the hottest night in town,” Anzalone says. “Everybody went there. Beer for a buck, DJs playing ’50s and ’60s music. It had one turntable, no mixer, just put a record on the turntable.”

In the days before “Saturday Night Fever,” club DJs were experimenting and laying the foundation for what followed.

“Everyone had to find their own niche, learn how to motivate the crowd,” Anzalone says, echoing what Berrie says of today’s DJs. “That was when DJs learned how to blend the music so people wouldn’t stop dancing between songs.

“That was when DJs started coming into prominence, taking people to places they hadn’t been yet. That’s when they started making money for the clubs.”

Those clubs weren’t charging a cover but were making money selling booze. The DJs’ goal was to get the crowd dancing and working up a thirst.

DJs played just in the city where they lived, but they became local celebrities.

“We walked into a club and everybody knew who we were,” Anzalone says. “We created a vibe for the nightclubs, just like DJs today. The only difference is now some of the DJs are making astronomical money — and the nightclubs that retain these DJs are taking in astronomical dollars.

“Back in the ’70s you could make $50, $60 a night, but a new car was only $3,500, so we were doing all right. We could make $300, $400 a week cash, plus drinks, and you got to meet a lot of chicks. What else would a 25-year-old guy want to do for a living?”

If he were just starting out DJ-ing now, he says, he would be driving a Bentley instead of a Hyundai.

Anzalone, 55, lives in Las Vegas and works as a ground-service agent at McCarran International Airport. He still takes an occasional DJ gig in New York, hangs out at Vegas nightclubs and knows many of the local DJs. He used to join Eddie McDonald, the resident DJ for Light at the Bellagio and Jet at the Mirage, on Monday nights at the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay.

“They get a kick out of me,” Anzalone says. “I’m like the Godfather.”

Today’s top DJs spin in a different world. They have managers and booking agents. They remix songs and produce their own tracks and hit dance CDs. They are tech-savvy.

“They have a computer program now that they load into their laptop computer and it is interfaced with the mixing board,” Anzalone says. “They carry all of their records on the program in the laptop. It’s a lot easier to bring a laptop than hundreds of records.

“But if they had to do it live, without the computer, it wouldn’t sound so incredible.”

When he has a gig, he prefers vinyl on a turntable.

When Anzalone moved to Vegas in 1996, there wasn’t much of a club scene. Drink, a club at Harmon and Koval avenues, was the hot spot. It was the only place in town that catered to the younger crowds.

“The hotels’ marketing people and entertainment people were like 50, 60 years old. They didn’t understand the young people,” Anzalone says. But they understood that young adults were leaving the casinos for the club. So they hired young people to start nightclubs in the casinos.

The nightclub scene exploded and DJs provided the dynamite.

“Las Vegas became a destination for the young and hip, 21 to 35, with disposable income,” Anzalone says. “And DJs have become the stars of the Strip.”