Firewheel - Mellow Moody Vibes - Unemployable NYC 11 - Jan 2008

Biography of Firewheel

I was born with a serious obsession with music. Wu-Tang, The Fugees the Score, early Massive Attack and eventually dance music inspired me to become a DJ/Producer. I went to college at the University of Texas at Austin and and in 1997 started mixing records and started a drum & bass crew called Rollers Redefined. They developed a profile and popularity through a weekly club night at a spot called the Red Room. Then it was on to large scale raves and parties thrown in Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Austin, and even an award won at the SXSW Interactive Festival for their website in 1999.

Under the name Firewheel, I performed at SXSW several years in a row and continued to regularly DJ around Austin. After a few too many overdosing kids shutting down the rave scene, I took my DJ’ing skills and joined a band called Buttahfly. It was an 8-10 piece all female, mostly instrumental collective playing a style of music inspired by the mixed bag of latin, funk, hip hop, and even a bit of reggae. Their live shows featured a continuous flow of grooves and party vibes. They also had the opportunity to record at the infamous Firestation Studios in San Marcos, TX. Eventually, the band broke up, but some members continued to throw several successful parties in conjunction with their website Suckarepellent.com, which showcased local DJ’s and bands, such as DJ Mel, Baby G, and Grupo Fantasma. I also had a weekly gig spinning an eclectic mix of tunes for a year at a bar called Red Fez, which is still a good spot to hit if you in that area of the country.

In the beginning, DJ’ing was my primary creative outlet, but like most DJs/music obessors, I eventually started experimenting with my own beats. While still in Austin, I made tracks for several local hip hop MC’s, but then moved to New York in 2002, where I gravitated to a more R&B, Soul, Dub and Electronic sound. I continued to spin hiphop every week at bars in Manhattan such as the once famous, now defunct Izzy Bar, Remote Cafe, Swim and played a few times at Cielo. I also mixed strangely eclectic sets in a duo called The Gold Diggers and released a mixtape called “Diggin’ 4 a Livin” that was featured in several magazines including URB. To further my production career, I began to seek out other music makers to collaborate with. I was fortunate enough to run into my now, main collaborator, Mike Genato, at Miami’s Winter Music Conference. Shortly thereafter, they formed a project called HandinHand, which blends classic soul and funk with new sounds featuring collaborations with singer/song writers Yadira, Jenell James, and Dee. The track for Peter Hadar’s “First Sight” was written by Mike and I which ended up winning an award for song of the year (Agape Indie Artist Awards). Early this year we launched Unemployable NYC, a podcast for those looking to escape the rat race. The podcast features our unreleased tracks and solo projects as well as the music that inspires us. Unemployable is also a music library that includes songs available for use in TV, online & film. My track “Entourage” was licensed to HBO’s The Wire online promo and HandinHand had a few songs, including “Twilight Zone”, recently licensed to the Discovery Channel’s “Future Car.”

As every serious musician should, I am constantly collecting and studying music. My main influences come from classic artists such as Radiohead, Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Fela Kuti, and other artists like Massive Attack, Everything But the Girl, Aaliyah, Erykah Badu, The Neptunes, and others. This mix of inspirations is integral to taking the sound to the next level.

With the Unemployable podcast gaining a solid audience, the Unemployable monthly party in Brooklyn, misc. gigs and more songwriting/production projects, I am planning to make it even more funky for you in 2008!

http://www.unemployablenyc.com/