Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
HI everyone and how are you doing in this heat? It’s weird, we had an OK summer until the start of August and since then it’s become very humid.
What have I been up to this last week? Well, as well as my radio breakfast show I DJ’d at a James Bond theme night and was also a judge at a DJ contest. Let me tell you all about it.
A few months ago I got an email from an Irish lady living in Saudi who asked me to DJ for a Dharan Squash Club special event at the Gulf Hotel. OK, I thought, sounds interesting.
I decided to arrive at the Awali ballroom early because of the renovations going on. I thought that parking could be a problem, but it’s amazing what driving a car with your name plastered down the side can get you. (Thanks Tele-Gulf!) I was ushered to a parking spot right near the ballroom. Brilliant!
When I got inside the place was decorated ‘Bond’ style, with balloons and memorabilia all over the place. I worked with a great band called ‘Room 2 Rock’. If ever you need a great rock band give them a call.
Whilst everyone was eating I played James Bond movie hits to get everyone in the mood. After the meal I brought the band on and they soon had the dance floor heaving. After their set I went back on and later there was a raffle. Then Fiona O’Callaghan held a James Bond competition and got the guys leaping all over the place as secret agents.
All-in-all a great night, and the best bit was at the end when I asked if I could take home a ‘couple’ of balloons for my little Hannah. Thanks so much to the ever helpful Sandra who helped carry them out to my car. The next morning Hannah was delighted. She’s three and thought I must’ve used magic to fit them all in.
The next day I was invited to be a judge at the “B the DJ” contest at the Bandra Fair which was organised by the Young Goans Club and was held at the Palace Hotels’ Falcon Hall.
I walked into an incredibly-charged atmosphere and was shown to my chair on the judging panel. Alongside me were top Bahraini DJ Ricardo, musician Neil and entertainments manager John. The compere was my old mate Paresh from Voice 104.2FM who kindly introduced us. W
hen we were ready to start, the first DJ on came ‘Jo-Jo’ who set a high standard for everyone who followed, with his great overall choice of music which incorporated many styles of music. Above all else for me, was that he obviously enjoyed himself.
A couple more DJs took to the stage and then Hemanth, a young guy from Goa jumped on and really rocked the place; getting the crowd into a frenzy with his mixture of dance and Hindi tunes. Last on came Tony who again gave us a great mix of music.
It was amazing watching the DJs perform. A wave of nostalgia came over me and got me thinking of when I won the “DJ of the Year” contest in the UK. It was in front of 3,000 people at the Empire in London’s’ Leicester Square. I had come through two rounds competing against the best in the land. There had been over 1,000 original contestants and it had come down to the wire with eight guys remaining.
We were treated royally and put up in a flash hotel. On the day of the final we had rehearsals in the afternoon and drew for the order we would go on (I was 5th).
We went back to the hotel to get ready and before we knew it, were backstage again preparing for our 12-minute spots.
The show started and I waited nervously backstage. When the fourth DJ finished I bounded on stage, but, as I got to the decks the record started jumping…Argh, oh NO! I picked up the microphone and said “G G G Good Evening Everybody” and danced around like a robot that was stuck! I thought to myself “that’s it. I’ve got no chance.” My nerves went away and I just enjoyed myself. I wore a clown’s costume to start with then took it off to reveal my favourite Mr Men shorts and t-shirt! (I’ve always had a good fashion sense, ha!)
Later we were all called onto the stage for the presentations and, (I’ll always remember this – as the compere was about to announce the winner the guy next to me said, “Shake hands with me mate - I’m the winner”). So I did. And next thing I heard was… “It’s Krazy Kevin”. I nearly fainted with shock. So there I was; the Number One DJ in the UK!
Anyway back to the present day, and the top three DJs were announced. Third was Hemanth, second came Tony … and the winner was Jo-Jo, who played the most varied set and had a great smile on his face throughout.
A big “well done” to all the DJs for a fantastic effort because I really know what you were going through, guys. And, congratulations to the Young Goans Society for a professional and well-staged competition.
Keep those discs spinning!
Krazy Kevin
