How to go
What: 2012 Last DJ Spinning: The Cincinnati DJ Battle
Where: Mount Adams Pavilion, Cincinnati
When: Every Monday, Jan. 9 through February
What: The Second Annual Cincy’s Best DJ Competition
Where: Arnie’s on the Levee, Newport, Ky.
When: Every Sunday, Jan. 8 through March 4
HAMILTON — A local man is throwing his hat in the ring in his effort to be crowned Cincinnati’s best turntable disc jockey.
Austin Green, a lifelong Hamilton resident also known as “DJ Go Green,” will battle disc jockeys from throughout the Tri-State area in two separate competitions beginning in January 2012 for the title of Cincinnati’s best turntable DJ.
It will be the second year for Green — who DJs during the weekend at Cavanaugh’s Irish Pub in West Chester Twp. and the Mason Pub in Mason — participating in the contests. Green entered the initial contest this past January on a whim with a fellow DJ, but didn’t expect much as he had been DJ’ing with turntables for only a year at that point, he said.
“We said ‘What do we have to lose?’” Green said.
Green found himself among the finalists in the rookie DJ class in the first battle, and he is setting his sights higher in testing his mettle against the city’s professional DJ’s in January, he said.
“I really just enjoy playing anywhere, really,” Green said “I want to continue to grow as an artist.”
The DJ battles — The Last DJ Spinning: The Cincinnati DJ Battle and the second annual Cincy’s Best DJ Competition — will take place at Cincinnati’s Mount Adams Pavilion and Arnie’s on the Levee in Newport, Ky., and feature an assortment of DJs putting their own twist on a variety of music from electronic dance, house, R&B and rap.
The competition at Mount Adams Pavilion will take place over a span of seven weeks tournament bracket-style, while the battle at Arnie’s on the Levee will be a round-robin affair. DJ Saab of KISS 107 is serving as a judge for the Pavilion contest, while 2006 Disco Mix Club World DJ team champion MikeB will be a judge at Arnie’s.
The DJ battles are not only an opportunity to beat the best, but also learn from the best, Green said.
“There are so many different types of DJs,” Green said. “You get to learn from all these guys. The best of the best come out. It’s the highlight of our year as far as DJs go.”
The contests are also an opportunity for Green to further hone his skills as a turntable DJ, a declining art form due to the movement from turntables to computers and iPods to produce a mix of music.
Green, who previously used computers to mix his music while DJ’ing, said the difference was enormous when he began using a turntable and mixer.
“When you get to this level of DJ’ing, you look back and realize anybody can do (computers and iPods),” Green said. “You get to express yourself as an artist with two turntables and a mixer, and you can definitely tell the difference (in music).”
Green‘s goal as a turntable DJ is to bring some of the club vibe of Cincinnati to Hamilton, he said.
“I really want to bring that downtown atmosphere up here,” Green said. “People are really starting to catch on to it. It’s really starting to grow.”
Contact this writer at spragoo1977@yahoo.com.
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