Decibel presents...DIRTY DANCING NYE w/ Alex Smoke, John Tejada & Dave Pezzner - 12/31 @ Neumos December 31, 2008

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MICRO dB : DECEMBER 30TH & 31ST
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To celebrate our most successful year to date Decibel will be closing out the year with two nights of underground dance and electronica from some of our favorite artists, including several highlights from the 2008 festival. Both nights will be taking place at Neumos (main dance venue for the Decibel Festival) which will once again be outfitted with the finest in state of the art sound, video and lighting. In the spirit of the festival, we're billing these events as "Micro dB" and offering a combo ticket price of $30 for both parties (see ticket info below). It's been a remarkable year and we hope you'll come join us as we close it out in style.

:::: New Year's Eve, December 31st at Neumos : Decibel Festival proudly present ::::

"DIRTY DANCING - NYE EDITION"

Pt. II of "Micro dB": a two evening event happening December 30th and 31st at Neumos, featuring some of Decibel's favorite techno / tech house bookings from over the past 5 years, including…

:: ALEX SMOKE : Live ::
http://www.myspace.com/alexsmoke1
Glasgow : Soma / Vakant Records

:: JOHN TEJADA : Live ::
http://www.myspace.com/johntejadasounds
Los Angeles : Poker Flat / Palette Records

:: DAVE PEZZNER : Live ::
http://www.jacoblondon.com
Seattle : Om / Freerange Records

:: MICHAEL MANAHAN vs. NORDIC SOUL : 2 x 4 DJ Set ::
http://www.michaelmanahan.com
http://www.myspace.com/nordicsoul
Seattle : Starborne / Decibel

++ TICKETS / VENUE INFO ++

*December 31st : Dirty Dancing = $20 presale / $25 at the door
Tickets available at Moe Bar, Rudy's Barbershop or online through TicketsWest.com at:
http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3aTWS%3aWNEU08:WNEU1231%3a&linkID=twspok

**$30 joint cover for both December 30th and 31st are available online through TicketsWest.com at:
http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3aTWS%3aWNEU08:WNEU1230C%3a&linkID=twspok

Doors open at 8pm / 21+

Neumos
925 E. Pike St.
Seattle, WA
http://www.neumos.com

Visit http://www.dbfestival.com or http://www.myspace.com/decibelfestival for more info

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ARTIST BIOS
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:: ALEX SMOKE : Glasgow ::

www.vakant.net
www.myspace.com/alexsmoke1
www.myspace.com/humhaw

Alex Smoke is a new breed of electronic music producer. While his music may reside on the dancefloor along with his renowned live sets, it also resonates so much further than this. With a production style drawn from a myriad of influences that blur the boundaries between electronica, techno, classical and hip hop, Alex Smoke's music evolves in new directions with every new project he undertakes, musically consistently fulfilling, regardless of the listener's preferred genre.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Alex's proficiency in multi-faceted electronic-beat-making is founded securely on a lifetime of classical training, nurtured not least by his mother, by profession a music teacher. At a young age, Alex received a coveted scholarship for Durham Cathedral Choir School, where he excelled on the cello, piano and drums. In fact, the very same voice that adorns his techno tracks, was once heard in Durham Cathedral Choir, albeit an octave higher. After a brief glitch, studying marine
biology, Alex soon got back on track, wisely using his student loan to buy his first Apple Mac computer and simple software, giving his imagination the necessary tools to begin producing.

It didn't take long. After his first release in 2002 on local Glasgow label "S.U.D.", Alex was soon snapped up by the legendary dance music label, Soma Records, on which he released his seminal first album, 'Incommunicado' to critical acclaim in 2005. Upcoming Berlin indie label Vakant immediately recognized this young producer's extraordinary talent and provided a platform for a series of EP releases that continued to tantalize enthusiasts not only within the techno-driven German capital. Smoke´s first Vakant release, the classic yet 'Simple Things EP', was released in 2004 and followed by a five EPs, one of them released under the guise of Quixote.

In 2006, back on Soma, Alex Smoke released album no. 2. 'Paradolia' is defined as the human ability to creatively perceive coherent images in randomness, an unusual word by anyone's standard, but then Mr Smoke is an artist very far from the ordinary. A Rorschach test this was not, more a sonic experiment that explores the parameters of Alex Smoke's potent psyche. 2006 also saw Alex join the elite wall of fame of Soma's mix compilation series, 'Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi.'. Following in the footsteps of Ewan Pearson and Luciano, Alex was also given the opportunity to portray influences past, present and future on one release with no prescribed genre-related parameters to his selection.

Throughout his relatively short career Alex has become an in-demand remixer, already with remixes for Steve Reich, Depeche Mode, Mylo, Junior Boys, Funk D’Void, Radio 4, Jay Haze and Envoy under his discography belt, to mention but a few.

This brings us to the here and now. Or should that be the Hum+Haw? For this is the name of Alex's burgeoning label project with former Soma man Jim Hutchison, which will house his forthcoming releases next to Vakant, as well as nurture young Glaswegian talent and international musical electricians. Again you will try in vain to categorize this youthful label on the brink of their first release. Almost out the other end of the pipeline, is an experimental hip-hop collaboration between Alex (providing the electronics) and LA MC, Non, of The Shadow Huntaz fame (delivering the hip and the hop). 2008 will witness Smoke's third studio album and the development of his live set to include more hardware equipment and thereby expand his boundaries and resonance even further. Expect the unexpected.

:: JOHN TEJADA : Los Angeles ::

Normally associated with his peers in techno from Detroit, Europe and elsewhere, John Tejada has embraced electronic music as a personal frontier, expanding on his resume as a techno recording artist as producer, remixer, DJ, and label owner. Known for crafting a brand of subtle, musical techno, his recorded output ranges across tempo and genre lines, from chilled out affairs with spacious arrangements to pulsating, densely layered, deeply energetic tracks that work magnificently in the hands of DJs as well as on the home stereo.

John Tejada was born in Vienna, Austria on April 21, 1974. His parents, both professional classical musicians (his mother an opera singer and father a conductor) began his early piano training at the age of 4. In the summer of 1982, John would move with his mother to her place of birth, Los Angeles. It was that summer at the age of 8 another instrument would catch his eye, the drums. Teaching himself to play along to classic rock music, John quickly learned his way around the drum set (an instrument he still plays to this day in his I’m Not A Gun project). Everything changed however when he got his first taste of early 80’s hip hop music. The impact of those early productions and electronic experimentation was very strong. Soon after, at the age of 12 John was given his first set of turntables and a mixer. He wanted to figure out everything he was hearing DJs do at that time. His first gigs came at the age of 12 for his own school, DJing his school dances.

Soon after his fascination with DJing began his fascination with production began. Just as he was completely determined to learn the tricks of local DJs, he now wanted to know how the music was made. His introduction came around the age of 15, when he acquired his first looping delay. Soon after came his first workstation, an Ensoniq EPS sampler. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities. John spent every part of his day honing his craft.

In 1991, while still in high school, John was already recording his first productions. He was also involved in college radio, even though he was just a junior in high school. John had a spot on “The Fly ID Show” with DJ Rob One. John produced the show’s first record for Rob and also went on to do some hip hop production on Ruthless Records. It was during this time that he met his long time collaborator and best friend Arian Leviste. The two met at a hip hop recording session in ‘91. John, already tired of the hip hop scene and where it was going, spent hours talking to Arian about acid house, techno, ambient house and everything they seemed to have in common. The two agreed they would meet weekly to compose material. It took some time before they would release any music, but in 1994 they pressed up their own single and that started a chain reaction of releases. John and Arian during this time also were accepted into Cal Arts’ (California Institute for the Arts) electronic music program, but both decided not to attend to hone their craft on their own.

Soon after, John enjoyed a series of releases on European labels like A13, Multiplex, and Generations R&S. In the fall of 1996 he started his own label, Palette Recordings as an outlet to release his own productions without having anyone tell him how to do it. The demand for his music continued to grow and labels such as Ferox, Sino, Mosaic, Immigrant, Plug Research, Pokerflat and 7th City all released Tejada 12”s.

John began traveling internationally in ‘97 to showcase his DJ skills around the globe, traveling to more than 20 countries and playing various clubs and festivals around the world. Festivals included Movement (formerly The Detroit Electronic Music Festival), Sonar Festival (in Spain and Tokyo), Dance Valley (Netherlands), Sync Festival (Greece), Mutek Mexico, as well as internationally known spaces such as Fabric (London), Yellow (Tokyo), Rex Club (Paris), The Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles) and many more.

In 1999, John met classical jazz guitarist Takeshi Nishimoto, which was the beginning of another musical frontier. The two had a similar meeting as John and Arian had years before and began talking about making music. The project I’m Not A Gun was born and signed soon after to Berlin-based City Centre Offices. This project would bring back John’s own training as a drummer while also trying his hand at the guitar. The project became a mix of John’s own electronic productions along with Takeshi’s professional guitar playing and John’s drumming. The project has enjoyed great reviews and success the world over and the duo has performed live in LA, Japan and Germany.

In the summer of 2004, John would - in one week - create the two songs that would catapult his techno career. The classic “Sweat On The Walls,” and “Mono On Mono” were released almost at the same time on two different labels. “Sweat” was released on Pokerflat and “Mono On Mono” on Palette. Together the two records sold over 23,000 copies on vinyl. This lead to the equally successful follow up singles “Paranoia,” “Mind Bend” (with more recent collaborator and Palette-signing, Justin Maxwell) “Voyager,” and “The End Of It All.”

Visit http://www.discogs.com/artist/John+Tejada for a complete listing of John's MASSIVE discography

Official Website: http://www.dbfestival.com