DJ Barney in da House!
Meet one of Los Angeles’ hottest Latino deejays!
Interview by qvStaff Roldán

One of the busiest deejays in the Los Angeles Latino club scene is DJ Barney. This incredibly talented Mexican/Filipino deejay, who was born and raised in the city of Bakersfield, California, spins the best in house and hip-hop four nights a week at four of LA’s hottest nightclubs. qvMagazine spoke with Barney after a crazy Saturday night of spinning at Pasadena’s Club Crave at Copa Nightclub. Here’s what DJ Barney had to say:

How did you get your start in deejaying? Around 1994, there was a little club in Silverlake, California, called Woody’s, and they were looking for a new deejay. I mentioned to them that I had spun before at some nightclubs, even though I was kind of lying. Well, I did have some turntables and a mixer and I had started playing records. So the owner gave me a chance to fill in temporarily until they found someone, but I ended up as the resident deejay. It was all history from there.

What kind of music can someone expect to hear from DJ Barney? House and hip-hop. Mostly house.

Are there any deejays who inspired you? I started listening to Junior Vasquez and Armand Van Helden in 1994. People like Victor Calderone and Ernie Pearl, locally.

Where do you see yourself going as a deejay? Hopefully into remixing and producing my own stuff.

Have you done any of that stuff before? Just in my bedroom! Just a bedroom deejay.

What types of music would you like to produce? Tribal. Maybe some deep house. Even country music! Actually, country music is my favorite. I grew up on country music.

Really? Would you ever deejay at a country bar? Actually, I did. Woody’s had a country night and I would deejay there. I even have country in my CD player in my car!

How about a straight club? I wouldn’t deejay at a straight environment because I think QVs accept the music better. They like a broader range of music. They’re pretty much open to everything.

What would you say to someone who’s interested in becoming a deejay? I’d say go for it. Keep trying…practice, practice, practice. There’s always room for improvement. I still have a lot of room to grow. I learned on my own. I never had anyone teach me the “right” way to do it. I spin vinyl. I like the “hands on” style of vinyl.

What would you say to your fans? Thanks for your support. Thanks for following me from club to club. Hopefully, they haven’t heard the best of me yet.
 
You can catch the sounds of DJ Barney at various clubs across the Los Angeles area. Wednesdays—at Club Ghetto at Tempo. Thursdays—at Club Oasis in Ontario, CA. Fridays—at Flava at Circus. And Saturday nights at Crave at Pasadena’s Copa nightclub. Check out his web page at: www.djbarney976.com