Junior is back home

Junior Vasquez has come full circle. He’s back in the DJ booth at 530 W. 27th St. He?s spinning into Sunday morning.

On April 3, at a party called “Thunder”, Sr. Vasquez signaled his return with signature big-room vocals – Mary J. Blige segued into Madonna – along with the hard house sound that Junior pioneered.

Vasquez has watched clubs rise and fall in the hallowed precincts of the old Sound Factory. Today, he’s delighted to be back in the place where he made his international reputation.

“It does make me miss Sound Factory some, even though I don’t want that schedule anymore”, says Vasquez, 55, referring to his grueling weekly residency at the legendary nightspot in the late ’80s and ’90s. He’s scaled back his schedule to just a couple of appearances a month, with several out-of-town gigs in between.

Unlike other world-famous spinmeisters like Tiesto and Paul Oakenfeld, Vasquez has no appetite for travel. The whole hassle of airlines, hotels, bad food and long lines just exhausts him, he says. And why travel when you have a devoted fan base here in New York? His packed post-Black Party event proved once again that the DJ’s longtime fans run from very straight (early) to Chelsea boys and voguers much later. Vasquez attributes his loyal and large hetero following to his Palladium gig.

Since then, Vasquez has been wandering through the DJ booths of the city’s megaclubs, from Tunnel to Exit to the smaller Discothèque. His name has long been synonymous with marathon sets.

He reportedly logged a mind-boggling 13-hours at the turntables after the Black Party. But it’s his studio work that has made him an international star – hundreds of remixes, including the notorious “If Madonna Calls“, which included Esther’s message on his answering machine (or a reasonable facsimile).
From an article by Tray Butler
Source: www.newyorkblade.com
Thanks to LIZ