MOTHER EARTH :: Fall 1992 - Spring 1994
Fortuitously, I left Southern California just as commercialism began to diminish the vibrancy of the scene. Relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, I was immediately immersed in a deeply interwoven, spiritual, and sometimes radical community of house and techno music lovers. The Bay Area scene seemed poised to change the world, one joyous, unifying party at a time.
I began to collaborate and DJ with the Mother Earth Sound System (affectionately known as M.E.S.S.). We often held last-minute, barely promoted, free outdoor parties to create Temporary Autonomous Zones of maximum freedom and intimate community (not to mention some wild parties at Berkeley's infamous and now defunct Le Chateau Co-op). Passionate idealism was the order of the day. Hand-written, photocopied zines of poetry, philosophy, and rave culture musings were common and freely distributed. It was all about the love, baby!
As incredible as the Bay Area parties were, the music was a revelation. Inspiration from such luminaries as Wicked's Jeno, Garth, Markie, and Thomas as well as The Gathering's Tony, Spun, Josh, Doran and others all left an indelible mark on my musical consciousness. Tribal, acidic, funky, fluid and mesmerizing; their musical taste and talents opened up new sonic realms in which I immersed myself. Having experienced the subtler aspects of the DJ's craft, I was motivated and inspired to hone my skills and evolve my sound.
