Breakfast With DJ Paulo
Meet QV Circuit Party spinmaster DJ Paulo.
By Marcus Reynaga

Welcome to DJ Spotlight! This is the place to catch up with both rising and established deejay stars. Our latest qvDJ is Los Angeles-based DJ Paulo, the resident deejay at Rohan and Marco's popular boy hangout Stereo and the bi-monthly after-hours Spin. qvMagazine sat down for breakfast with DJ Paulo at West Hollywood's Cash Cow Café, and here's what we discovered about this talented and guapo young man.

Good Morning, Paulo! Morning!

Tell us, where does DJ Paulo come from? Paulo's my real name. I'm Portuguese. My father's Portuguese and my mother is Dutch. I was born in the capital of Portugal-Lisbon.

How old were you when you came to America? I was 10. We settled in Washington DC, the suburbs--Maryland. We lived there for eight years. Then, I moved back to Europe. I had the opportunity to study in Paris so I studied French there for five years. Then, I went to London and studied for two more years. I have an MBA in International Marketing.

Wow! You're not only cute, but smart, too! (giggles) I studied my ass off, and I always had small jobs on the side.

When did you start deejaying? I started deejaying when I was a teenager. I would go to the clubs, get to know the deejays, and every time they would play a song, I would write down the title and buy the record. I then bought a mixer and two turntables-and that's how I started. I would make tapes at home for my friends. I was like 16 or 17.

So how does one go from having an MBA in international business to deejaying? Well, I was always doing things on the side. In Paris, I met my first mentor-a neighbor of mine, who was a deejay at a club called Le Club. His name was Tony Edwards. And he asked me if I wanted to go to his club and deejay for a couple of hours. So I began to open for him, play for two hours. Then, one night, the owner of the club asked me to sub for Tony when he was gone, so I played the whole night.

What brought you to Los Angeles? I decided I wanted to come back to the States-either Los Angeles or New York City. I decided on LA because I had friends there. I also wanted to live by the beach, so LA was ideal.

How long before you started playing in LA? About three years, I was going to the clubs here. At the time, Eddie X was the only deejay who played the kind of music I liked. When he left Los Angeles, I got frustrated because it meant I would have to go across the country to hear the kind of music that I liked, so I bought all the equipment and started deejaying again. I met DJ DeMarco, and I started playing at the Man-A-Rama parties.

You are now known for playing more circuit-type venues. Who do you think is your main audience now? Who do you appeal to most? I tend to appeal to African-Americans and Latinos. My music is very tribal--it has a lot of drums, a Latin sound-and they are the ones, I've noticed, who really feel it. Specifically, my favorite instrument is the conga. So a lot of the songs I play have a lot of conga-type sounds in the background. And when I deejay, I specifically play for those who can dance to this type of music. I look for the African-American and Latino dancers. They are the ones who motivate me to play, and I play for the people who feel the music the way I feel it. They follow the beat with their bodies.

Lately, I've noticed a lot more interaction between the crowd and the deejay. Yeah, deejays are no longer just an entity that comes into a club. People actually follow deejays much like a rock star. For a lot of people, going out is more than just going dancing- it's about being taken on a journey with that particular deejay.

Tell the qvBoyz where they can catch you in the next couple of months. Well, I'm the resident deejay at Spin at The Palace. And I'll also be the resident deejay at Rohan and Marco's new Friday night club Surge. I'm also doing (Jeffrey Sanker's) White Party in Palm Springs, the Closing Party.

It's inspiring to see Latino talent, such as yourself, striving for and achieving their dreams. Aside from deejaying, are you going to produce and/or remix anytime soon? Well, I did a remix for Barry Harris' "Dive In The Pool." That song was #2 on Billboard's Year-End Dance Chart. My version was, of course, much more tribal. Then Thunderpuss approached me to do a remix of "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag," which is out now. I'm also doing a couple of my own things. I did my own personal, tribal remix of Madonna's "Music." As far as original projects, I'm doing a song with (club personality) Flava called "Coutournicate." My ultimate goal is to produce successful house hits.

It looks like DJ Paulo is well on his way at achieving his goals. He is a true talent who digs into his Latin heritage to bring people together through music. And we all know that music is a vital element of both the QV and Latino cultures.

Coming in the next DJ Spotlight, we'll look into this year's massive White Party with exclusive interviews with DJ Abel, Manny Lehman, and a special surprise guest.