One would think that a DJ who boasts a residency every night of the week would have neither the time nor the inclination to add to that roster. But if you were thinking about longtime South Beach fixture J Felix, you'd be wrong. See, this Miami native believes there's no reason to limit the week to a mere seven days or a night to just one hot spot. And he seems duty-bound to prove it.
Indeed, Felix's entry into the spin-crazy rotation at Exit 66 in Fort Lauderdale Beach brings to nine the number of venues that count him as resident. And it brings to Lauderdale one of the region's most dynamic DJs. Thus, he spins there on alternating Friday nights, and, as a very special guest, for this Saturday's launch of a new series of daytime pool parties the joint's calling Detox. But before we get into Independence Day, let's backtrack through the life of J Felix and see just how he came to be.
Felix is from Miami, born and bred, and except for an uneventful stint up in Orlando (duh), he's been in South Florida for most of his action-packed life. As a teen, Felix hung with the heavies at Emilio Estefan's Crescent Moon Studios, where he picked up tips on making music and assembled a network of invaluable friendships. There he also helped twiddle the knobs and program some of the sequences for Nas, the Neptunes, Ashanti, and Ja Rule, not to mention Mrs. Estefan herself. All the while, he semisecretly worked on his spinning.
Then it happened. A few pals were promoting a night at the old Warsaw club in South Beach, and the headliner was Victor Calderone. Felix was invited in to open the show, and that fortuitous Warsaw slot led to stints at Salvation, Shadow Lounge, and, finally, Liquid. By the end of the 1990s, Felix was a house master and had spun in every South Beach club but Bash and Chaos.
At the dawn of the millennium, a flirtation with hip-hop brought Felix a little farther down Washington Avenue to Club Zen and a few other fly-by-nights. That was, of course, in addition to a three-year stand as Nikki Beach's man in Miami and New York. And it was at the Nikki Beach clubs that Felix swung into the high-energy open format that's now become his calling card — and the reason he's booked more than the most accomplished recidivist.
Just count the clubs Felix currently calls home, from Aero Bar and Twist through Automatic Slim's and Exit 66. And if it's not enough for you that he works nine venues into seven days, consider the fact that Felix is among the top ten remixers signed to Crooklyn Clan's Rated H.
But those facts matter only when the cat's got chops to back them up. And if you hit any of the many venues where DJ J Felix reigns, you might just get your block chopped off.
DJ J Felix's Current Top Five:
1. "I'm in Miami Bitch," DJ Chuckie vs. LMFAO
2. "Bora Bora," Juan Magan
3. "I'm the Ish (Remix)," AlterMood
4. "All Night Long (2009 Remix)," J Felix
5. "Dreamer (2009 Remix)," J Felix
