This is the story of DJ GKLoop...it all started back in the mid 1980s.  Rave, Techno, Industrial and House Music music were being played in the clubs in DC.  Posers Mondays nights with Mike Mechem at the original location in Georgetown was a regular stop for me.  Several years later it got moved into The Bank on F Street in DC.  That was where my interest in djing started.  Heading down to a local record store called 12" Dance was a weekly ritual.  Finding a parking space in that area was a bitch.  I think I paid for more parking tickets than I did buying music...well, maybe not.  

My first set of turntables was a set of cheap Geminis with a Gemini mixer with a sampler.  What a POS!  I had those for one week then headed to Venemanns Music in Springfield and dropped the $1100 on the 1200s and a upgraded Numark Mixer.  This setup actually lasted about a year until I landed a gig in college @ Virginia Tech.  I started off Fri and sat nights at Jacobs Lounge (which was the Marriott, back in the day).  Then I was doing CAS parties at the infamous Hawaii Kai in downtown Blacksburg.  During my stint at Marriott, I became a member of OMAP record pool where I was getting the freshest music and I focused on hi energy and house music.  Hip hop back then was not what it is today.  Janet, Madonna, Moby, Crystal Waters, New Order, Erasure kinda dominated Will Smith, Run DMC, Kool Mo Dee.  I was later hired by Pi Kappa Phi to dj their Thurs nite parties at Greeks in Blacksburg.  Along the way, I met DJs Ty T.  He was very influential in my DJ career. 

Upon graduation and joining the real working world, I sold all my equipment and music (except of a couple of crates of classics) plus I had a girlfriend that didn't want me to dj anymore. So...I gave it up...for at least a couple years. Then in 1995, I got a called from a Dj company up here in DC and they were looking for a DJ in some small bars and clubs.  I told them that I was not current with music, however, I did have some cds because I was still into dance music.  Z104 was the dance music station back then, songs by Real McCoy, La Bouche, Everything But The Girl were actually hits on the radio in DC.  The Dj company hired me and I restarted my second DJ career at Scrooples in Sterling.  I also played at Lulu's in DC, Rumors, Skydome, The Library, Winstons, The Dome, Nicks in Alexandria, and a few other bars.  On my journey, i meet some of my best friends, Dj Dominique and Rod Francisco. 

Then my focus was at Clubs and Lounges.  I started at the Shark Club in Centreville, then Merrifield, then Bethesda, then Fredricksburg, yea Fredricksburg, did last too long, folks down there could not handle the club music.  I then went into DC and dj-ed at Ozio, 1223, Elements, Home, VIP, H2O, and Fur, just to name a few.  I finally made my way into Tyson and had a residency Fri and Sat nites at eCities for about 5 years. 

In 2001, I became a Billboard DJ for the DC area.  What that meant was that I was receiving music directly from the record labels and "testing" them in the clubs and then compiling a dance chart to be submitted to Billboard Magazine which is then compiled and published in the weekly publication.  In 2002, EMGW launched a syndicated FM radio show called the "Billboard Hot Dance Countdown" .  I produced, mixed and co-host the show with several local radio personalities, Jenny Chase and KT Harris.  They were replaced a year a half in with Jasmine Way and Shama Patel.  The show aired in several states however, our local DC market would not pick up a dance show.  The Billboard Hot Dance Countdown was a weekly 4 hour mixshow that counted down the top 40 songs off the Billboard Hot Dance/Club play chart.  The show aired for about 4 years and a disputed arose between EMGW and I, so we parted ways.

I've been wanting to put together a website for a long time now but just didn't make it a priority.  With Dave Russell's help, my website has finally been developed and now operational.  Please be patient as I am always trying to improve the site.  Visit often as new mixes do become available frequently.  I hope your enjoy this site and the mixes that will be made available for you to download or stream! 

See you in the clubs!   

Gene aka DJ GKLoop

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