Yes, it’s winter and yes, it’s cold. However, a good number of us live through this year after year—it’s no reason to lock yourself in your house until March.
In the List of Ways to Keep Warm, dancing ranks high—right after you-know-what. As it happens, Corazón has two new recurring dance events, helmed by local DJ and promoter Maynard Del Mar, so put on your jacket and head on over. What were you going to do otherwise? Spend the night with the television and a microwave dinner?
First up, every Wednesday local DJ Yon Hudson brings the house down with Liberace, an event that is described by Del Mar as “a night of shameless glamour.” As if this weren’t enough, Del Mar, along with local DJ collective The Clubhouse, helms Badonkadonk!, a night of electro and indie dance-pop on the first Saturday of every month. I talked to both DJs about what they do, why they do it and what to expect if we brave the cold to check them spin.
Name: Yon Hudson
DJ Handle: Yon
Affiliations: Liberace
Origin: “My family loves to tease me about this: My first words were, ‘Recca! Recca!’ There was always music in my house growing up. Always. So when I realized music could be a job, I was all over it.”
Story: Yon Hudson began his involvement with music working as a radio DJ in Minneapolis. “It was just a great excuse to buy more records,” he tells SFR.
After a few years spent learning the ropes of the radio and music businesses, he moved to Chicago and began a DJ residency at a club called Berlin. Eventually, Hudson made his way to Santa Fe and was hired at A Bar, which later became Bar B at the Paramount. He took a break from the scene for a few years because he felt DJs were playing too much generic house—but now he’s back.
After a few years spent learning the ropes of the radio and music businesses, he moved to Chicago and began a DJ residency at a club called Berlin. Eventually, Hudson made his way to Santa Fe and was hired at A Bar, which later became Bar B at the Paramount. He took a break from the scene for a few years because he felt DJs were playing too much generic house—but now he’s back.
“I’m really more of an eclectic guy…I like to play anything and everything that gets a crowd moving, rather than limiting myself to strictly house or techno or whatever.”
Well-respected in the DJ community for his vast musical knowledge, Yon mixes pop, rock, soul, funk and more with dance beats, which results in songs that are familiar on one level, but move in directions you might not imagine.
Name: Maynard Del MarDJ Handle: Maynard Del Mar
Affiliations: Badonkadonk!, Liberace
Origin: “I became a DJ out of necessity. I began as a promoter, and noticed that people were stuck playing dance music from 20 years ago. Nobody was playing what I thought they should play, so I decided I would.”
Story: DJ Maynard Del Mar has been a fixture in the electronic music community since the mid-aughts. He began his music career in a Florida dive bar armed with nothing more than an iPod but, before long, he graduated to the world of vinyl and turntables.
“That dance party I hosted in Florida wound up lasting for three straight years, and I started to get more serious about DJing,” he says. “I’m a neophile almost to a fault. I’m always looking for that new thing or new sound.”
Del Mar has a vision for his dance parties that he wants to share with Santa Fe.
“The difference between what I want to do and someone who just plays records really loud is my intention. I want people to forget that their job sucks and they hate their spouse. I want them to feel good and forget their troubles.”
