DJ Leon Lamont

Yet again, a last minute call for a guest DJ spot found me in the situation of doing a set on unfamiliar DJ equipment.This time it was the Serato equipped Pioneer DJM-S9 mixer.The Pioneer DJM-S9 is very similar to the Rane 72 mixer (minus the fancy waveform screen found on the Rane).As much as I hate to admit it (because I’m not a fan of Pioneer’s customer service or product warranty-if their product is defective, they don’t replace it), the DJM-S9 was a lot more intuitive and easy to navigate compared to the Rane 72, especially for a person like myself whom had never touched one until it was time to actually use it on a gig.



Most notably on the DJM-S9 are the flip switch special FX that enable you to backspin and vinyl brake when you want to drastically change tempos or genres of music without sounding like a train wreck.Though it must be noted that you have to remember to flip the switch back down after getting your desired effect or you may risk 2 seconds of pause on your dance fl…

Recently, a DJ friend invited me to do a last minute tag team DJ set with him at a bar in St. Louis, MO.The invite was just hours before the gig and I was told to just bring my laptop and external hard drive full of tunes as the DJ making the invitation boasted of having the ultimate mixer for tag team DJ sets.He wasn’t lying.The mixer we used that night was the Rane Seventy-Two which was equipped with built in Serato as well as a video screen for viewing sound waves (just as you would see them on your computer while using Serato DJ), two USB inputs (so that you could effortlessly switch back and forth between two laptop setups with the turn of a knob), and built in hot cue buttons.In addition to the aforementioned features, the mixer had various built in sound FX.



What did I think of the mixer?While spending close to two grand on a mixer is a little out of my price range for mixers at the moment (the Rane Seventy-Two lists for $1,899.00 at the moment), I found this mixer to be amazi…

Leon Lamont plays drums with impromptu experimental music group.

An Evening w/ Vernon Reid
Vernon Reid - Guitar Leon Gruenbaum - Keys/Horns Leon Lamont - Drums
Performed LIVE July 26, 2017 @ BRIC Brooklyn, NY

It is said that the number one regret that people have on their death beds is as follows.  "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."

The second was-"I wish I hadn't worked so hard"

The third was, "I wish I had the courage to express my feelings". 

I won't be saying any of this if I'm lucky enough to go out peacefully on a death bed.  Hopefully, you won't end up saying any of this either. 

Happy New Year!

Later, and don't be a hater.

L