Remembering DJ AM
This was the first time I met DJ AM in 2004.
The DJ world just lost one of its brightest shining stars. As I type this less than 2 days after the fact, I’m still in disbelief. Perhaps last fall’s plane crash made us all recollect on how much we cared about him, but also made us feel that after such a close brush with death he was now here to stay. I wrote a post about it at the time. It’s unbelievably tragic to lose such a talented, kind and generous man just a few months later.
For me personally, AM’s passing is a shock on many levels. First of all we lost a friend, and a true stand-up guy. A mensch, as we call them. Anyone who ever met Adam will tell you the same thing: he was such a likable character. Always full of energy and motivation, bursting with an almost child-like liveliness. You felt like this guy was just happy to be doing what he was doing. I’ve never seen him in a crummy mood. For all the flak that he may have caught over the years, especially with early doubters, I’ve never heard him say a bad word about anyone. He systematically took the high road, he was consistently humble and knew how to make you feel appreciated. I’ve rarely received as many compliments from a fellow DJ as from AM. As I type this I wonder if I ever conveyed to him how much I appreciated him not just as a DJ but as I person. I hope I did. We shared the same birthday, March 30th. We also shared a love for bad puns. One time he said “fo’ sheez” in a sentence, to which I replied “fo’ sheez pizza” (four cheese pizza). It’s lousy, but he loved it. Then he kept saying “fo’ sheez pizza” to me for years, it was our little joke.
We also lost a phenomenal DJ. Whenever a purist naysayer tried to doubt him, I’d reply: “AM’s career is where it is for a reason.” My man worked hard. I remember an old (admittedly low-fi) version of what was probably his first website. It had the AC/DC-inspired logo and when your mouse hovered over a button it played the classic Kool Moe Dee sample: “I go to WORK!” That exemplified 2 sides of AM: 1) he wasn’t a new jack, he loved the old school, and 2) literally, he worked his ass off! For some reason, in the DJ-geek community AM wasn’t necessarily regarded as a turntablist; maybe because he didn’t do the DMC’s, maybe because he played jiggy clubs. But watch any DJ that used to do the DMC’s play in a regular club and watch AM spin, I guarantee you that Adam freaked his records more. Playing those glitzy Hollywood and Las Vegas clubs is not easy, trust me. This guy was DJ’ing in a hostile territory and managed to play the most fast-paced, scratch-happy, genre-hopping sets you could find. He could have easily settled for spinning the hits, but he used to tell me: “I get bored”. So he set the bar higher for himself and never stopped striving. He genuinely loved music and DJing. I remember seeing him play at Studio B in New York back in 2007. The first Kid Sister single had just come out and I went there with her. AM played “Damn Girl” when she and I were on stage and after his set I realized that he neither knew that I produced it nor what Kid Sister looked like. In other words he played the song purely because he liked it, and I took that as the biggest compliment of them all. Often times when I played more commercial clubs I used to hold back on the turntablism and whenever he was there he relentlessly urged me to do a routine. I mean he pushed me until I had to do it! He would grab the mic and tell the crowd “A-Trak didn’t want to do a routine but I’m forcing him, you guys need to see this” and really got them psyched! Then he’d do air scratches during my juggles.
The first time he pulled that trick on me was at Avalon in 2007, check him out behind me:
The following picture was taken back in 2005. AM invited both Mixmaster Mike and myself to his house to have a scratch session and he was ecstatic. He filmed me doing my “Go DJ” routine and talked to me about it for years after.
AM was not only a great DJ but also a trailblazer, hands down one of the most important DJs in America and this is a topic that’s very dear to me as well. I used to DJ just for the sake of it but in recent years by growing older, by starting Fool’s Gold and whatnot, I became more concerned with what has an impact on people culturally, and what drives our scene in North America. AM broke down barriers for other DJs. Just a few years back, playing in the celebrity circles where he originally thrived meant having to play Top 40 records exclusively. But every time AM scratched and every time he played a record from “our scene”, something a bit more underground or left-field, he opened his audience’s ears and eventually opened the doors for the DJs and producers whose tracks he was playing. This had a tremendous impact for us. Remember when Justice beat Kanye at the European VMA’s with “We Are Your Friends”? A couple weeks later I was touring overseas with ‘Ye and AM hit me on BBM. He said something to the essence of: “Yo that song that your boy shitted on is actually killing it at my parties!” I think my first reaction, mentally, was: “no shit! It already won a VMA”. But then I took a step back and realized how significant it was for him to play that record to the mainstream crowds. The floodgates were just starting to crack.
There’s only a handful of DJs that have their own style, and there’s definitely such a thing as an “AM set”. There’s a whole army of DJs who play those sets now, and they’re booked by the agency that he launched. I’ll even go further and say: there’s only a handful of DJs that make kids want to start DJing. AM was without a doubt one of these pioneers in America and his absence leaves a huge gap.
The last time I saw AM was at Hard Fest in LA. He was wearing a Fool’s Gold shirt and I smiled from ear to ear.
Adam, you changed your life around and stayed on a positive path for years. You touched thousands of people and made them dance night after night. You were a king among DJs, a role model and also a wonderful friend. My thoughts are with your family and loved ones. Rest in peace.
Tags: DJ AM
August 30th, 2009 at 9:44 am
man, that’s a great tribute - RIP DJ AM.
August 30th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Dude this is so touching and heart warming as Adam was a brother to Dj Homicide BenBaller and myself.I would walk into any venue Adam was playing and he give me the “ah yeah” and then throw on some Suga Free just to get me going.I love him and it hurts to think my man was in pain.I never met you but I respect your work and any boy of AM’s is a boy of mine.I never cry but homie your blog is real! Stay up!
August 30th, 2009 at 9:49 am
you know what, let me just add that something had to be said about how anal and geek’d up the DJ community gets about it’s own. here we had someone who was moving the crowd and playing music that he happened to like, and a lot of people would continually hate. i used to be a militant poser and thought that DMC DJs and tricks were the shit, but one day i DJ’d a party for my friend and the crowd was literally dead the entire night. i realized that as a DJ, you’re serving the dance floor, not your egotistical need to ‘enlighten the crowds’. DJ AM and others in his wake knew this - and for that, we owe him a lot. when i get up to the afterlife, i’m gonna beg to get into whatever cloud club he’s playing at. fo sheez pizzas!
August 30th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Thank you for sharing this with all of us. You didn’t have to and for that we thank you.
August 30th, 2009 at 9:51 am
linda historia, gracias por compartirla. descansa en paz DJ A.M.
August 30th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Truly a heart warming letter it Remington me to give my loved ones the flowers while they can still smell them. I can tell by the public outcry of all his family and friends that Dj AM was a Great person and will be truly missed. We all must live our life to the fullest and follow your heart
RIP DJ AM
August 30th, 2009 at 10:16 am
RIP AM
August 30th, 2009 at 10:33 am
whoa. i had no idea he’d passed on. i never got to see him live, but from his words and the ways people talked about him, i could feel that he was a stand up dude. sad story. RIP AM.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:35 am
I remember when AM was pushing you to do that “My Love” ending at the BPM party in 2007. That was one of the best nights, he was so happy when you did the routine. I am going to miss him so much, I am glad I showed him respect every single time we met and always shook hands. I would always bug out during his sets, he said “You always know every left field, or old school I play!” That’s what I loved about his sets. He was a great person, that made us all happy, that’s what I will always remember. RIP AM
August 30th, 2009 at 11:10 am
amazing post ! thanks for sharing.
this is extremely unfortunate. urgghh. BETTER DAYZ BETTER DAYZ
August 30th, 2009 at 11:13 am
RIP man..to good people gone this year
August 30th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I still remember that day at Adam’s house when you & Mike were there… it was an honor for me to even be in the same room with you guys. I still have the video of you doing the “Go DJ” routine on his turntables that day. I remember taking that picture of you 3 thinking that it was a big deal at the time but in retrospect that was a HUGE moment.
You guys were showing Mike the serato program for the first time and just doing what you loved to do: play music and talk about it. Thank you for sharing your memories! Adam will be missed but NEVER forgotten. — KEVIN SCOTT
August 30th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I Looked up to AM, Every time i would DJ i’d catch myself thinking about how he handled a crowd from videos on youtube, I never had the pleasure of meeting AM but i always strived to one day open up for him or DJ @ the same Club. Those were my goals! Not to be a fire fighter or a rap star, i wanted to dj the clubs like AM!! I could careless about the money or fame but to rock the same decks would be enough for me. Through A-Traks Site, I Thank You AM For all the inspiration, and just being so dope! you made me want to be more creative and want to strive for more, The Radio game will eat you up with the top 40 music, but you made me want to do it differently. I tribute this weeks mix to you. Thank you A-Trak for the insight on the man he was, The DJ, and the friend. I Appreciate all of you.
R.I.P. DJ AM
August 30th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Really real.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Wonderful insight and a touching tribute. I hope writing it helped to bring you comfort in this dark hour. It surely will bring a smile to all of those who remember and celebrate AM’s immense talent. He was a giant.
August 30th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
That was real talk, I worked with AM at Rain, and he always had nothing but nice things to say, and always in a good mood. A-Trak was right on point about how happy he was behind the decks!
R.I.P. DJ AM
R.O.B.
August 30th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Peep the article on the tribute we did at Rain Nightclub Las Vegas.
They quoted my entire tribute.
DJ R.O.B.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/29/rain-goes-silent-honor-memory-dj-am/
August 30th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Thanks A-Trak for sharing. I don’t think I can see it better than you did!
“Adam, you changed your life around and stayed on a positive path for years. You touched thousands of people and made them dance night after night. You were a king among DJs, a role model and also a wonderful friend”
Rest In Peace ADAM!
August 30th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Great Tribute man….r.i.p DJ AM
August 30th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Great tribute. I only met AM a couple of times but the last time I recieved a private lesson form him through the Music Cares at LAX. He was so nice and really helped me out a lot. He really focused on what he was teaching me and wanted me to get it before I left. AM is the reason I started Djing after I first saw him at PURE. I am still sick about this. RIP Adam and thank you for everything you have done for me and everyone else. It was truely an honor to have met you.
August 30th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
That’s words! Thanx for sharin with us Bro.
R.I.P AM
August 30th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Beautiful written kiddo. I’ve really enjoyed being able to remember him through a select few essays by people who knew him well and the bright, generous, creative & witty guy that he was. As a DJ, he never ceased to amaze me, and as a wiseguy, he always had me in stitches! Adam is the reason I am where I am today - living in Las Vegas holding down the clubs at the Hard Rock Hotel. I barely knew him when he first asked me to step in after he was to leave Hard Rock. He went to great lengths to put in kind words with the right people to assure them that I was their guy, something he did NOT have to do, but did. Since then we had become better acquainted and although I didn’t get to see him but a few times a year, I still consider him a dear friend. I am forever grateful to him for everything that e has done for me and I’m happy to be able to honestly say that he knows that, because I would always tell him how much I enjoy being in Vegas and how thankful I was to him for helping me be a part of this. I will miss him and so many things about him, mostly his “ah yeahs” and his relentelessness as DJ, each set fresher than the last time I saw him, a true inspiration & a heart of (fool’s) gold. =) Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, I hope you are well.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
great obituary.
That’s all I can say.
† AM
August 30th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Really touching to hear those words.Thanks A-trak. Im a dj in Oslo, Norway and my friend showed me some videos of AM a while back , and at first I did`nt get what the big deal was..but it was only cause I was fresh in the game, and one day suddenly it hit me. The extent of his creativity just came pouring at me thrue this mac screen and I was mezzmerrized. I was like “daaaaaaamn!!!` How did he think of that.??????
Then I heard he was booked to come to Oslo, I called up my friend and he couldnt believe it!! AM is coming to this little scandinavian country??? WORD!! We got there and the club was not even half full, i guess cause AM was only known to a few people in Oslo, so that gave us an almost 3hourprivate show of his set, and we were blown away- Thanks AM, for your inspiration. Rest in peace.
Here is the proof, look for two kids just standing in amazment.
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNrDRv1WG4o
August 30th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Alain, really incredibly written. your words touched a great deal of people. Adam meant lots to us all. He constantly had an impact on this world not only musically, but morally. His memory will live on forever!
August 30th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Beautiful my brother. Thanks
August 30th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I only knew DJ AM as a club dj and from an old episode of Punk’d as of this afternoon until I opened today’s paper and saw the sad news. Straight away I was upset to see a young, handsome and extremely successful man had passed. I logged into youtube to learn more and I came across a pic of AM/A-TRAK/MMM (sick pic). MMM is my all time favourite scratch dj aswell as A-TRAK, DJ NELSON (France), GREEM (C2C) & Total Eclipse etc, so i checked out a couple of vids. I couldn’t believe I had never come across DJ AM’s work before but from what I saw was that he was a true professional with a bag full of talent (I look forward to checking out the rest of his work). I then watched a clip of an mtv show (yet to be aired) called “Gone Too Far”, where he is helping recovering drug addicts and this shows me what a genuine person he was. He could have been like every other “Hollywood Millionaire” and gone and done his own thing but he recognised the problems that drugs are causing to others and decided to share his free time to help them. As a recovering addict myself, I know just how much it means to have someone just to spend time with you. After the plane crash last year I find it astounding that he wanted to do anything let alone help fellow recovering addicts, people that others may try to steer clear from. I’m going to wrap this up now, DJ AM seemed to be just like everyone else, he may have made a few mistakes along the way but that should not be held against him as everyone makes mistakes. It’s just a shame that this mistake may have been the cause of death. RIP Mr. Adam Goldstein.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Keeping it real and that was AM, thank you for sharing!
August 30th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Nicely said. RIP AM!
August 30th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Great tribute and words for a greater than life person. RIP Adam Goldstein
August 30th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
My best friend passed away in 15th of August. I really know how you feel right now. You start to think if you really expressed your feelings for this person enough. It helps if you think that they hear us now. I’m sure they hear us now!
August 30th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Really good post bruv…truly moving and inspiring…Rest In Power, AM!
August 30th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Absolutely perfectly said
RIP
August 30th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Très belle hommage. I had (and still do) so much respect for him. I was supposed to see him dj in Montreal last Valentine’s day but didn’t make it and I was hoping he would come back later this year, but I guess this will never happen. I hope he is now in peace. Ill cherish his mixtapes on my iPod. Thank you for sharing your memories with us :).
August 30th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Great tribute, and a beautiful way to let the world know who AM truly was. Thanks for sharing this bro. A very inspirational/touching read.
August 30th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Im freaking out!!!!!!!!!! And i have vid of him saying he remembering the shackettes!!!!!!!!
August 30th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
In passing we remember the great things about a person. Just wanted to make sure you all saw the PALMs tribute to AM when they took out all the but the A and the M off their sign. http://maddecent.com/NicktheV/AM.jpg
August 30th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
well put alain
RIP
August 30th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Great tribute, ATrak.
Maybe in his memory you will always be sure to throw some routines into the end of your sets, just in case he is looking down and watching.
Rest in peace, Adam. You will be missed.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
wow a-trak, that was a very genuine, well written tribute.
rip dj am.
August 31st, 2009 at 1:58 am
Ive seen a lot of pictures that people have taken with DJ AM and in most of them where people call him homie, his facial expression says…who the fuck is this douchebag next to me? Please get him away from me! Groupie DJ’s please stop playing yourself. He knew who his friends were. Thank you A-Trak. R.I.P. DJ AM
August 31st, 2009 at 3:08 am
Ive met AM a few times through some of my friends and straight up that guy was the nicest DJ I ever met. In fact one time I approached him as he was walking to the tables to Dj for 1000 people and before I ever met him gave him a Mixtape I had just produced with a friend. He stopped his whole entourage, asked me a few questions about my Cd, introduced himself, checked out the Cd and said “Thanks, Im going to listen to this.” Whether he did or didn’t listen to it doesnt even matter to me, Adam was a stand up guy, no bullshit Hollywood lying, no fakeness, just a real DJ and as someone else said “a djs dj.” RIP brother man….the world will miss u…
August 31st, 2009 at 5:14 am
A very versitle specialist, This is a great article. We lost a very talented person in this industry which will never be forgotten. RIP AM
August 31st, 2009 at 7:49 am
Got to see am @ bfd in the bay area this summer and you can go back on my twitter “@jdotcolombo” and see that I’m not lying.I will NEVER forget those couple of hours.I’ve done a lot of crazy fun things in my life and this is at the top.there was sooooooo much fucking energy in that tent it was insane.after the set he twittered that that was one of his most amazing shows he’s done.you can go back and look.I ride my motorcycle to sf everyday to work and listen to fix ur face everyday damn near.and its still not played out.I don’t get upset when celebs die but this kinda got me.he played at edc in la this summer and I planned on watching him again but friends convinced me to watch the main stage(mistake) and I was sorta bummed but wasent worried cus I planned on seein him in october in vegas..ur tribute is some real shit and jus wanted you to know I feel for you.and everyone he’s touched.he touched me with the music and I’ll never forget the set I was apart of.rip am you were a BEAST!!!!!!!!!!
August 31st, 2009 at 10:09 am
I was devastated when i heard about the news. I got into AM about a year and a half ago when i just started DJing and his routines showed that it is possible to do what i thought was impossible - scratch, mix genres and still introduce new music to a crowd. i have spent countless hours watching him on youtube and listening to his mixtapes.
Atrak, your words highlighted what everyone who was a fan/friend of AM is thinking and feeling.
He will be greatly missed.
RIP AM
August 31st, 2009 at 10:44 am
Thanks for sharing A-Trak, very good Tribute.
My thoughts on AM’s passing.
RIP AM!
August 31st, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Thank you for sharing your memories and thoughts A-Trak. I saw AM and Jazzy Jeff on 4 turntables at the same time at some club in NYC. One of the best sets that I have ever seen. RIP DJ AM!
August 31st, 2009 at 3:53 pm
A sad loss for the industry that continues to bring people together, with music
we will miss you Dj AM. You will continue to be an motivator. RIP Dj AM!!!!!
August 31st, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Hit the nail on the head my man. Absolutely perfect. He truly was every DJs, DJ. When you don’t have a bad bone in your body, its nearly impossibly not to be loved by everyone here in the forum, every DJ lucky enough to share the same decks as you, and all your fans. RIP.
-Raphael Valentino
August 31st, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Im just some random party goer who’s lived in LA for a while now. Thanks for sharing this w/ us. It’s awesome that a colleague of his had shed some light on DJ AM’s life and accomplishments. I was fortunate enough to see AM play a hip hop set in a small venue just outside of hollywood several months ago. Needless to say he merkd it proper but what was more impressive was the diversity of peeps in attendance, from celeb types to hoodies. It was all “party” and it’s amazing how effortlessly he moved the crowd. Another example that the man had truly mastered his craft. Rest In Peace DJ AM
September 1st, 2009 at 12:34 am
Thank you for the inspiration over the years. God’s speed.
September 1st, 2009 at 10:58 am
mad respect a-trak! rip Adam
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:22 am
what a wonderfull testament..reading this has left me respecting both of you more than ever…Rest in Peace homeboy much love .
September 2nd, 2009 at 6:36 am
Beautiful, moving tribute. Thank you for putting this out there. Much respect and deepest sympathy for your loss.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
God damn you Death… Too many good people have you taken away from us…
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Thanks for sharing A-Trak! RIP Dj AM
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:32 pm
how sad, only just head about this tonight i live far far away from america! great tribute there atrak.
check out this video, first thing i ever seen or heard of DJ AM and thought he was class. its AM mashing up oasis wonderwall and throwing a breakbeat over it. classic? anyone know the beat by chance?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctgptSSGOHM
RIP adam
September 27th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Growing up I watched every single DMC World Competition since I was 12. I had my share of gigs here and there but my love for turntablism was in the scratching and technical aspect and not for the sole purpose of playing music for the party. The art of the mash-up stemming from DJ Spinbad to DJ AM caught my attention and renewed my love for DJing. DJ AM was and will continue to be one of the most influential DJs of the modern era.
I never really understood why when an artist dies, their fans are heart broken. But when I heard the news about AM, I was devastated! I heard reports while I was in New York about 2 hours after his death. Days after his death, I found out the location of his SoHo apartment. I walked past the front door and saw pictures and flowers all dedicated to Adam. I placed one of my first record cartridges in front of his apartment to show how AM influenced me to go from a DJ that just played music to a DJ that PLAYED WITH the music and made everyone’s night special.
Rest In Peace AM
October 30th, 2009 at 1:53 am
[...] Split, but he often sneaked them in at mainstream Top 40 sets, breaking new ground always. As A-Trak put it, the “floodgates were just starting to crack”. Live at Banana Split. (2/18/2007). Live [...]
December 10th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Im just some random party goer who’s lived in LA for a while now