Junior Vasquez

From Free net encyclopedia

Current revision

Junior Vasquez is a famous New York club DJ and remixer/producer. Born Donald Mattern in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Junior relocated to New York City as a young adult to pursue a career in music production.

His early work was under the guidance of the legendary Shep Pettibone. Where Shep left off in the 1980s, Vasquez picked up in the 1990s.

Junior gained national prominence -- along with music industry influence -- through his residency at the original Sound Factory in New York on West 27th Street. Because of the heavy influence he had over his crowd, Junior was able to make or break a new club record. Soon, major labels came to Junior to provide remixes for pop-oriented songs. Junior often created his own "private collection" remixes of songs he was hired to remix -- and also for those he wasn't -- that made his sets even more special to his audience.

He became extremely notorious after his public falling out with Madonna in 1996 due to the release of an unauthorized single titled "If Madonna Calls". While the version that Junior plays at clubs contains an actual phone message from Madonna left on Junior's answering machine, the released version has a sound-alike, Kelly Bienvenue, who re-recorded the message. The song lyrics goes as follows:

(voice recording left by Madonna on Junior's answering machine at his home in New York):

"Hello Junior, This is Madonna. Are you there? (short pause) Call me in Miami."

This is follow by the voice of a male that says:

"If Madonna calls, I'm not here"

This is followed by hard tribal rhythms, with the samples of the message still playing in the loop of the track, and the male singer repeating the words shown above. Towards the end of the song, the words change and the male voice then says:

"If Madonna Calls.....actually if she calls just disconnect her"

The song reportedly was produced after Madonna failed to show up for a surprise performance at one of Junior's parties held at legendary New York City club "Tunnel" at the last second. Although never confirmed, Madonna did not approve of Junior's actions, ending their professional relationship on bad terms for some time. Chances for a reconciliation are impossible according to Madonna's longtime rep Liz Rosenberg, who in a June 2003 news story in New York Magazine said “I can assure you that Madonna will never work with Junior again.”

Presently Junior continues to spin at clubs such as Roxy NYC and Cielo in New York City and Anthem in Miami throughout the year, with occasional performances in Los Angeles, Toronto, and other cities throughout Latin America and Europe. During the 1990s, he held several residencies at various New York nightclubs such as Earth, Discotheque, and at the legendary nightspot Twilo.

In addition to his work as a DJ/remixer, he has co-produced albums for John Mellencamp, For Real, Lisa Lisa, and Cyndi Lauper.

External links

• Junior Vasquez Music Site
• New York Magazine article on Madonna vs. Junior feud
• Junior Vasquez Interview