~~Housejunkies May 26th Greg Vickers~~

anto_obrien

Hey All,

This weekend sees Housejunkies finishing their weekly residency in Traffic. We've had some great nights over the last 8 months, for us highlights being ...Mason, Francois' Ol'Skool night, Paddy’s Night and Jon Pearn! We'd like to give a huge thanks to everyone who has come down to Traffic to support our night and also to all DJ's who have played for us! But this is far from the end for the Housejunkies! We will be back with a bang in the not too distant future....so stay tuned! And check the web-site for updates and mix’s.

Back to this weekend, we have a really special guest playing for us in the form of long term Tribal Sessions resident Greg Vickers. Greg has been running the Tribal Sessions night in Sankey's, Manchester for well over 10 years now and has played along side everyone from Tengalia, to Tiefschwartz. Greg will provide us with a full on house set with touches of tech and tribal sounds! We will be hosting this night upstairs in Traffic bar also kicking off extra early at 9pm! So drop down early to make our last night in Traffic a great one! Support on the night comes from Niall Kirk.

Greg Vickers Bio:

It's no surprise that Tribal ressie Greg Vickers comes from a very musical background considering his proven DJ talents, although you wouldn't expect to see his shaven bonce in a choirboy's outfit these days. Still that's how it began, aged seven, singing his heart out at Westminster Cathedral.

Sankeys Soap might mark a considerable change in venue since then, but for Greg it's his most exciting musical challenge yet, holding down a weekly residency at arguably the best club in the UK, Tribal Sessions. And deservedly so. His regular slots have won the hearts of the famously energetic 'up for it' Tribal crowd, and the music industry too, as Greg became the youngest DJ to do a guest mix for Radio 1's Essential Mix in May 2002, on the back of what seemed like almost monthly entries in muzik's hallowed 'those who rocked it!' column.

As for his style, it's a versatile sexy mix encompassing his 'music without prejudice' blueprint with its focus on making you jack your body! Greg's strength is the diversity of his record collection, tailoring his sound to fit either the style of the club he's playing or what DJ he's setting the mood for while still meeting the demands of his clued-up Tribalist supporters on a weekly basis. He probably says it better himself: "It's all house music, I may take in tribal, techy, proggy or breaky routes, but it's always got the funk". So much for the classical upbringing!

The transition from Stevenage choirboy to underground jock began in '91 when at the age of 11 Greg started to prefer bands like the Shamen and tapes by Rat Pack and Kenny Ken to the indie groups his mates were in to. By the age of 16 and with a little help from fake ID, Greg's education in house music began at Freedom at Bagleys and the Ministry of Sound.

In 98 after enrolling on a Management course at Manchester University that he found he didn't enjoy, Greg, uncertain of a future career went home, invested in a pair of turntables and spent the summer learning to mix. Returning to Manchester in September this time to study Geography, Greg soon found himself spending more time helping to promote a midweek night called Kindergarten with two friends. Perhaps a response to Manchester's ailing nightlife, the night built up a loyal following, and laid the foundations for Greg's future success.

In the summer of 2000 the trio learnt of plans to re-open Sankeys Soap and approached the promoters hoping for a DJ set. In October the Tribal promoters invited the Kindergarten boys to host the upstairs room. By a quirk of fate Terry Francis was held up in traffic, and the trio got to open and close the night; immediately their potential was spotted, the night being hailed as the best since the re-opening. They began a string of monthly 'versus' nights, featuring nu-breed jocks such as Futureshock and Danny Howells. In May 2001 after he showed great flair for opening up the nights, David Vincent decided Greg was the man to take the night forward and promptly installed him as weekly resident.

Fast forward to 2003 and Greg is now strongly established in what must be the most exciting residency in the country given the eclectic mix of the line-ups, personally helping establish a rapport between club and clubbers essential to the way Tribal Sessions has developed. Warming up for the likes of Sasha, Carl Cox, John Digweed, Jeff Mills, Derrick Carter, Steve Lawler, DJ Sneak, Francois Kevorkian, Sven Vath, Green Velvet, David Morales, Dave Clarke, X-Press 2, Layo&Bushwacka!, Nick Warren and Derrick May.

His own productions are on the way, a forthcoming Tribal Sessions mix album is planned for May, adding to adding to his growing reputation on the back of a well received covermount CD for Mixmag, and a busy local radio mix schedule. The future looks increasingly bright with a string of gigs at respected clubs like The End London, Bugged Out! Liverpool, BackIIBasics, Pacha Ibiza and international gigs in exotic locations such as Singapore, Miami, Romania, Poland and Turkey under his belt, Greg looks firmly set to take the global dance community on a bit of an adventure. Not bad for a choirboy!

Have a great weekend!
The Housejunkies
http://www.housejunkies.net/