The Incredible, Unforgettable JAM
BY DJ TIMES MAGAZINE WRITER JEFF STYLES

Ever since they are little, children throughout the world dream of taking part in the Olympics. Tampa Bay's young JAM was no different, except that his dream actually came true. On July 3&4, 1996, the full-time mobile and club DJ had the privilege of being the final bearer of the 1996 Olympic Games torch relay in his hometown, using the torch to set off a huge fireworks display to a cheering crowd of 340,000+.

Who is this guy-known the world over today as JAM -and how did his achievements all come about?

Well, for one thing Jam is one of the highest-awarded mobile DJs in the country for charity work, a notoriety that has resulted in his name being entered into the congressional record of the U.S. House. Various declarations and proclamations have been made on his behalf by mayors, congressmen, governors and U.S. senators from throughout the country. During what is considered the "Oscars" within the mobile DJ industry, his peers presented JAM the "Humanitarian of the Year" award during the American Disc Jockey Awards show in Las Vegas, Nevada and he was once named "Man of the Year" by the M.A.D.D., American Cancer Society and American Lung association organizations, and has even ridden a bicycle 3,500 miles across America to raise money for charities.

But truth be told, Jam's involvement in a variety of national and local charities is only a small part of this futuristic DJ's story.

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The iJAM Productions Inc. story all started when the young teenager, in exchange for free skating, began assisting a disk jockey at a southern California roller rink in 1973. By 1975 Jam was DJing Friday-night teen dances and for occasional Saturday-evening parties, and in 1977 he was finally invited to DJ outside the roller rink for his first mobile gig-at a skateboard park in Covina, California. "I tossed together a mosh-pit of equipment and the event went off good," he recalls fondly.

While studying communication broadcasting in college, Jam lived out of his car while enjoying his first two DJ residences: Wednesday nights at Shakey's Pizza Parlor, and Thursdays and Fridays at Club Zanadu. "The plan was to save enough money to rent another apartment," he recounts.

Unfortunately, what actually resulted was a fiasco. With no actual mailing address-license tags on a Ford Galaxy 500 do not count-Jam never received the renewal notice for his mobile apartment, and one evening while working the booth inside a club his home outside was being towed away for expired tags.

"Now, I was not only homeless," says Jam, "but I was really homeless!"

To make bad matters worse, by the time enough money had been saved to redeem the car from the impound lot, everything in Jam's car had been stolen. Thankfully, he had made some friends at the college, who allowed him to sleep at the college radio station (where he was the late night jock), and within a few months he was able to afford a new apartment-as Jam today tells it, "with a little help from my friends."

During this time in our nation's history, disco was becoming the sensation in nightclubs, and Jam began DJing at more and more of those clubs-including the famous Studio 54 in NY. "I picked up a lot of corporate events for surfing competitions," he explains, "along with DJing cast parties for groups such as ABC's General Hospital-back when Luke & Laura were a hot topic, of course."

Eventually, all this celebrity DJing led to Jam spinning at the celebrity-studded Battle of the Network Stars, CBS Sports Spectacular events and live mixing on the famous Las Vegas, Freemont street during Dick Clarks televised New Years eve bash. "I eventually was offered a residency in Las Vegas for State Street, the after-hours hangout for celebrities after performances on the strip," he says. "These were great times, especially with the CBS Sports Spectacular events, which for example once featured me sharing the spotlight and stage with the Smothers Brothers comedy team and comedian Sinbad, during a private birthday party for the daughter of a Godfather movie celebrity." Another event had Jam mixing for pre-psychic-days singer Dionne Warwick and an up-and-coming singer named Whitney Houston.

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Building on those early DJ encounters, the man today known as iJAM Productions Inc. has since mixed at clubs across America, South America and the Caribbean he has presented seminars, participated on panels and/or demonstrated at all the major music industry and DJ conventions in America-speaking on such topics as Computer DJing 101; Advanced Computer DJing Applications; The Reality of Mix; Weddings 101; Weddings Ground "0"; and New Technology In The Clubs and his popular 4-Scales of the DJ Client.

Professional endorsements, fairly rare in the DJ realm, have come to iJAM Productions Inc. from Cadence Cases, Visiosonic, PCDJ, where he shared the lime light with legendary music producer and recording artist, Niles Rogers, United Kingdom's Carlsbro World-Class PA & Amplification Systems and more recently as an official certified artist for Denon.

Avoiding the scrutiny and excesses of the DJ spotlight, iJAM Productions Inc. focuses his energies on pioneering the future of computer DJing. With his Space Jam system-an energetic hybrid that incorporates computer technology with advanced mixing hardware-this Florida-based DJ is capable of filling dancefloors throughout the country with booming hip-hop beats, an uptempo house sensibility, and lots of body-pumping bass.

Lurking in the shadows of Tampa Bay, we find this low-key musical visionary appearing throughout Florida's burgeoning dance music community-by day running iJAM Productions Inc. Entertainment, Wholesale Entertainment Printing, Computer DJ Summit Director and when the sun sets giving dancefloors across America his crafty mixing manner and futuristic mixing style.

"I'm basically not a shy person," says Jam. "I simply prefer to express myself through my mixing for a packed dancefloor,"

Paid Product Endorsements - Beta Testing Team - Advisory Team
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Gizmo Labs (Development team)
Denon DJ (Official Certified Denon DJ)
Numark Controller DMC-1
Peavey DAI Controller
Cortex Controller
Cadence Pro Cases
Visiosonic (created name PCDJ was the 1st PCDJ)
Founder CPS DJ Program and Summit

A few locations of interest iJAM Productions Inc. was DJ
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First DJ to mix in Raymond James Stadium Pirate Ship (Home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
One-Buc-Place Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Seen Emceeing and mixing on a Pirate Ship in many area parades
Walt Disney World Resort - Orlando & Calif.
Islands Of Adventure - Orlando
Zoo
Cesar's Palace - Las Vegas
Trump Taj Mahal - Atlantic City
Busch Gardens
Bar Louie's
The Don Cesar
Crown Plaza
The Vinoy
Hyatt
Carnival Cruise Line
Royal Carriben Cruise Line
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Radisson
Daytona Beach Resort
Sandals Beach Resort
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
University
PHCC University
FSU
USF
The Country Club
Yacht Club
City Center Convention Center
Harbor Island Resort
Harborview Center
Pappas Riverside Restaurant
Cuban Club
University Club
Belleview Medo Resort
St. Luke's Hall
The Greek Hall
The Italian Club
Holiday Inn & Resort
The Women's Club
Garden Club
Women's Club
Fireman's Hall
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References Available Upon Request