Las Vegas Weekly

Catching airwaves

Local DJs gain a worldwide audience via a local radio show

Damien Jay spins for the online masses.

Photo: Deanna Rilling

New York. London. Miami. LA. Paris. People from big cities around the world know Las Vegas clubs are some of the ultimate party spots. Thanks to a new dance-music radio show, they will hopefully become familiar with our DJs, too.

As a supporter of independent music, X Radio (xradio.biz) recently added DJ Damien Jay’s Undisputed Grooves show—featuring funky house and sexy electro—to the Internet. The British import has resided in Vegas for about a year and played various club gigs around town, but Undisputed Grooves could open the door not only for him, but also for numerous local DJs and producers.

Undisputed Grooves isn’t a new concept for Jay, who began the show in his native U.K. in 2002. “We had a pirate radio show,” he laughs. “Then we did Internet radio on a small station. Obviously, Europe was listening really strongly, and Asia and parts of America. So this is the third time this has happened.”

While other Internet and satellite radio stations and podcasts occasionally feature guest mixes from Vegas-based DJs, Undisputed Grooves has a twist: There are no pre-submitted mixes or segments edited via computer programs on this show. Everything happens in real time, from broadcasting on xradio.biz Monday through Friday from 5-7 p.m. to live mixing and on-air chatting from Jay and the guest DJs.

“The idea is, we bring in DJs that are good enough that they can [spin] live,” says Jay, who DJs during the first hour and serves as the show’s announcer. “You can tell it’s live whenever we make a mistake. It’s exactly what you might hear during a night out at a club." Occasional boo-boo and all. "Then we have a bit of a laugh and a joke … The whole thing is off the cuff, and there’s more realism to it. It’s more like a real club vibe.”

Of the guest appearances, Jay says: “It’s going to help them get their sound heard.” DJs can play whatever tracks they like as long as the selections are within the house/electro format of the show (you won’t be hearing speed-garage or hardstyle).

Thus far, it’s been Vegas club DJ regulars mixing live on the show, but producers and so-called “bedroom DJs” are welcome to appear as well … provided they have the skills. Jay’s guests are not limited to DJs; promoters or industry professionals can drop by the studio to discuss the scene and upcoming events to support the growth of the overall electronic-music community in Vegas. Input on the show isn’t restricted solely to locals; listeners from all over are encouraged to contact Undisputed Grooves at DJ@xradio.biz.

Currently, running the show is a labor of love for Jay. “It’s really for the love of the music,” he says. “I know people in the club world can be a bit territorial about their nightclub or their space, but I’m not that way with the show. It’s about the love of the music, and I love sharing it with people. I love bringing in guest DJs who come and play and share their music to our audience, rather than being greedy and saying, ‘No, this [show] is all mine.’”

Word about Undisputed Grooves is spreading via MySpace, Facebook, e-mail and xradio.biz billboards around town. Recent reports show people tuning in from all 50 states, and from multiple other countries. Listeners can check out the show not only on their computers, but also from almost any portable device that can stream audio.

“I didn’t come to America to try and be a famous DJ,” Jay says. “I wanted to bring a European sound here.” And now the Vegas sound is being shared with Europe and beyond. “There’s no other place in the world to get a global audience. The people that are walking through Vegas are from every corner of the world. If we can get the Undisputed Grooves brand in front of the people in Las Vegas, then the whole world’s going to know about us before long.”