About
The express version:
Benny Blanco® is a new york city based Associate Director of Technology at Digitas/Publicis by day and a serious hobbyist of underground electronic music by night, or whenever time permits. He is dj and a producer.
Benny Blanco® launched the blancodisco net label in January 2009 right after some tracks got remastered and the hope is to use this site as an outlet to continue pushing his flavor of electronic based music.
Benny married his wife, Sheri, in 2006 and enjoys raising his son, Tyler, who’s already showing interest on the 1’s and 2’s. He also likes to cook.
This blog is mostly a platform to share musical & tech interests, but there are sometimes scatterings of personal bits thrown in. The podcast and the already aforementioned creative commons net label are also based out of blancodisco.com. In addition you will find a sizable collection of club/rave/party/event flyers designs from over the years during time spent in Boston and the first few years based in New York City. Finally, a link to the previous version of the flash website which was basically the portfolio, gotta sell ‘me’ site to get work thingy.
The name benny blanco® was trademarked in 2002 and initial use of the name began in 1995.
> DJ BIO.
Times may be changing. Technology is really forcing the
industry upside its head. Record shops closing, the general
public’s interest waning, yet there are more dj’s and music
coming out now than ever. Maybe not in the traditional
channels, but if you know where to look, it will find you. So
yes, the times may be discouraging as of late to some, but
the thrust to keep pursuing the beat never ceases, even if
the trend fades for a while.
Playing music for various audiences for since 1992 and
collecting dance oriented music from the mid the 80’s on, a broad
based catalog challenges one to play a wide variety of sets
at any given time and place via the power of digital
technology. The combination of digital media, a powerful
CPU, a kick ass sound card, a choice of controllers (vinyl or
midi mixer) and the wide range of performance experiences
makes for one versatile and powerful DJ. The ability to go
from the most mellow funky track and transition smoothly to
the most banging’ Peak Hour Dance Floor Record all resides
in the nimble mind of Benny Blanco®.
A graduate from the esteemed Berklee College of Music in
the early 90’s, Benny took to DJ’ing alongside electronic
music production and music synthesis education. The
numerous performances (DJ & Live P.A.’s) throughout
Boston Metro shaped him as an artist. Moving to NYC in
2003 made him really hone in and refine his skill set as
many of the listeners proved to be more demanding. Boston
gave way to creativity and flexibility on the airwaves, bars,
clubs, corporate tour legs and countless underground style
parties, while New York City and the downward trend of
dance music of the last few years cultivates one to really
learn to cope & understand the business tactics & clientele of
the NYC DJ industry. Make the most of what you can. Try to
make good friends and contacts. Get out when you feel
things start to get sketchy and kill it when things go bad in
order to start fresh somewhere else. If you can survive here,
the grass will always be greener anywhere else.
Career Performance Highlights Include:
Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum (Summer Sessions)
OHM Recordings Showcase @ The Palladium NYC, DJ & Live P.A.
Electric Highway Boston tour leg : DJ & Live
Opening Sets for Mr. C, Joey Beltram &
Trevor Rockcliffe @ Axis Boston.
All Redlight Loft Parties.
Captions, scored an original DJ performance to 2001: A
Space Odyssey @ Mass College of Art.
4 Year Radio show, Beyond the QE2 @ WZBC 90.3 FM
Boston Midnight – 6 AM.
Icast weekly net radio show.
All Phoenix Landing Gigs in Cambridge, MA
All the Venue Residencies and finally, the Boston DIY Party
dj’ing own music via Ableton Live
QUICK STATS
LIFELINE:18+ YEARS DJ EXPERIENCE (SINCE 1992)
STYLES: HOUSE, TECHNO, ELECTRO, IDM, BREAKS IN
ALL FORMS, DRUM & BASS, DOWNTEMPO, TRIP HOP,
ACID, 80’S, CLASSIC RAVE & ‘ARDCORE, PROGRESSIVE
HOUSE & TRANCE.
RELEASES: ASTRALWERKS, SIRE, BMG, ELECTRIK
SOUL, RAMPANT, MOONSHINE & OHM RECORDINGS.
SWEET SMELLING SURFACES (NET LABEL)
PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTS: BARS, LOUNGES,
SMALL – MEDIUM SIZE CLUBS, HUGE CLUBS,
CONVENTION CENTERS, CORPORATE SPONSORED
TOURS, RADIO, WEB CASTS, ART EVENTS, BEACH
PARTIES, PRIVATE PARTIES, RAVES, OUTLAWS,
WAREHOUSE, LOFT JAMS, HOUSE PARTIES, OUT IN
THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE GENERATOR PARTIES,
CORPORATE EVENTS & CLOSE FRIENDS WEDDINGS.
DJ OR LIVE P.A.
MEDIUM & MEDIA: PREFER TO PERFORM OFF OF MAC
LAPTOP WITH TRAKTOR (W.VESTAX VCI-100 SE OR VINYL CONTROL)
COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE WITH
ALL VINYL. NON CD DJ.
RESIDENCY EVENTS:
RADIO> BEYOND THE QE2 : WZBC 90.3 FM
BLANCODISCO SHOW ON ICAST.COM
CLUB/BAR> Boston: TRANSPORT, BUTTER, TRAINSPOT,
CROSSOVER & DEFMATCH.
NYC: MOVING, LIPSYNC, BREAKAWAY & DEPTH CHARGE
ALL TIME FAVS: A SMALL PORTION
DEPECHE MODE, NEW ORDER, THE THE, UNDERWORLD
WARP, SOMA, 2MANYDJ’S, ROB VAUGHN, MARK BROOM
MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO, NITZER EBB, FLOOD, CARL
CRAIG, KRUDER & DORFMEISTER PRODUCTIONS,
SIMON BERRY, THE ADVENT, ANALOG BUBBLEBATH,
AON “BE YOURSELF”, WILLIAM ORBIT PRODUCTION OF
ALL SAINTS’ “PURE SHORES”, LUKE VIBERT, CHEMICAL
BROTHERS, PAUL’S BOUTIQUE, RENEGADE
SOUNDWAVE, P.W.E.I., BABY FORD, BAUHAUS, TONES
ON TAIL, BBG “SOME KIND OF HEAVEN”, ORBITAL,
SLAM “POSITIVE EDUCATION”, CAJMERE “FEEL IT”
GEAR: Macs (Quad Core Tower w. 9GB Ram, (3) 500 GB HD),
MacBookPro (4 GB Ram 250 GB HD)
Running latest Ableton Live and Traktor 3 and Pro with Audio8
and Edirol FA-101 audio interfaces. BCR-2000, Axiom 25.
An assort of soft synth plug-ins (love that total recall thing)
Arturia Jupiter8V, AudioRealism ABL, Massive, FM8,
Arturia CS-80, Korg Legacy Collection, Waldorf PPG and Attack….
Hardware: Faderfox DJ1, Vestax VCI-100, Vestax PCM-25,
Electrix MoFx, Technics 1200, Shure M-44 Carts,
(2) TB-303 (signed by orbital from an in-store meeting),
SBX-10, XBase09, ESQ-M, TX-81Z, Korg MS-20, Waldorf MicroWave,
Waldorf PulsePlus, E-mu E6400, Ensoniq DP4, Alesis Wedge,
Boss SE-70, TC Electronics Finalizer Express, Event Tria Monitors,
Some homepade Paia Filter Box kits, and a load of random fx pedals.
Allen & Heath 424 Live Desk (now mixing ‘inside the box’)
BENNY BLANCO®
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Subscribe to the benny blanco® podcast:
MySpace Music/Artist profile
add me.
Monthly Mixes broadcast on AOL RADIO.COM > DJSETS.
You can also find and play those mixes on the cool new aol radio iPhone app.
email me: benny@blancodisco.com
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LONGER Version:
born and raised in san diego, ca
presently residing in new york city (AS OF FEBRUARY 2003)
FORMERLY LIVED IN BOSTON FOR 13 YEARS
occupation BY DAY: convergence designer (that’s flash, photoshop, illustrator, freehand, sound, composition & audio all rolled into one)
BY NIGHT: CLUB/BAR/EVENT DJ AND ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCER performing all over
IN A NUTSHELL, THIS IS ME:
TECHNO LIFESTYLE, FILMS, FOOD, DRINKING, PARTYING, SOCIALIZING, LAUGHING, HOSTING, FRIENDS, CHICKS, CLUBS, BARS, RECORDS, RECORD SHOPPING, TALKING ABOUT RECORDS, BUYING PEOPLES OLD RECORDS, PLAYING RECORDS, DJ, TRAKTOR, RADIO,TECHNOLOGY, MACINTOSH, RAM, HARD DRIVES, MP3, FAST INTERNET, CDR, MINIDISC, WAREZ, NET, CHAT, BLOG, VIDEO GAMES, DVD’S, TVS, DIGICAM, GEAR, SYNTHS, DRUM MACHINES, EFFECTS, SPEAKERS, LOTS OF SPEAKERS, SURROUND, BASS, CABLE, MUSIC, PARTIES. MORE DRINKING, LOFT PARTIES, REDLIGHT, NEED TO TRAVEL MORE, MONTREAL, CONTACT LEGAL, NYC, BOSTON, WEST COAST, EAST COAST, ROAD TRIPS, FINE YOUNG PLAYAHS, BITTER KRU, MEXICAN FOOD, COOKING, THAI FOOD, SUSHI, CHINESE, ITALIAN, BREAKFAST, HOT CHICKS, PORNO IN SMALL DOSES, DRINKS, BEER, ALES, CAPTAIN AND COKE, RUM AND COKE, VODKA, RED BULL, VODKA & CRANGRAPE, COSMOPOLITAN, URLS, STAR WARS, MAGS, TOYS, CHICKS, CARTOONS, COMEDY, MUSIC, DUB, ACID, BREAKS, OLD SCHOOL, NU SCHOOL, ALL SCHOOL, DRUM & BASS, ELECTRO, HOUSE, PROGRESSIVE, CLASSICS, TRANCE, NEW WAVE, GOTH, INDUSTRIAL,IDM, HIP HOP, TRIP HOP ALL NON STOP. A SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE. blancodisco
11.11.1970. IT ALL STARTED WHEN MY PARENTS PICKED ME UP FROM THE HOSPITAL AND MY PAPERWORK HAD ALL GONE THROUGH WITH THE ADOPTION AGENCY. I GREW UP A PRETTY NORMAL KID IN CHULA VISTA, A CITY JUST OUTSIDE OF SAN DIEGO’S CITY LIMITS. I FEEL LIKE I HAD A PRETTY DARN GOOD CHILDHOOD. GOOD OPPORTUNITIES. BEFORE GETTING INTO MUSIC, I WAS QUITE INTO ATHLETICS OF ALL SORTS. I GOT PRETTY GOOD PLAYING SOCCER AND WAS A STRONG SWIMMER. GROWING UP IN SOUTHERN CAL, YOU DO A LOT OF OUTSIDE/OUTDOORSY ACTIVITIES. I BMX’D, PLAYED ARMY, STAR WARS PEOPLE, MATCHBOX CARS, AND GOT INTO TROUBLE LIKE ANY GOOD KID WOULD FROM TIME TO TIME. BY THE TIME I GOT TO SECOND GRADE, MY FATHER WAS TRANSFERRED TO WORK AT THE PENTAGON IN THE NAVY, SO WE PACKED UP AND MOVED TO VIRGINIA FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS. I HATED IT THAT WE HAD TO MOVE THERE. I WAS HAPPY WHERE I WAS. WHEN MY DAD RETIRED FROM THE NAVY AND I HAD FINISHED THE THIRD GRADE, MY PARENTS TELL ME THAT I DIDN’T WANT TO MOVE BACK TO SAN DIEGO. CRAZY HAS STUFF WORKS OUT LIKE THAT.
UPON RETURNING TO SAN DIEGO, GOT BACK INTO THE GROOVE OF THINGS. PLAYED MAD SPORTS AND WAS ACTIVE AS EVER. THE MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS ARRIVED AND IT WAS TIME FOR OUR SMALL FAMILY TO MOVE ONCE AGAIN. INSTEAD OF MOVING ACROSS COUNTRY, WE MOVED CROSS COUNTY. TO POWAY, WHERE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IS REALLY QUITE GOOD THERE. WE ARE ENTITLED TO A FREE EDUCATION HERE IN AMERICA, BUT IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE QUALITY IS EQUAL EVERYWHERE YOU GO.
AS I ENTERED MY TEEN YEARS, I BEGAN TO DEVELOP A GREATER INTEREST IN MUSIC. AS YOUNG YOUNG CHILD, I REMEMBER TAPING SONGS OF THE CLOCK RADIO WITH A SUPER GHETTO BOOM BOX THAT HAD A MICROPHONE AND CASSETTE PLAYER. I WOULD TAPE SONGS LITERALLY, OVER THE AIR. I’VE SURE COME A LONG WAY SINCE THOSE DAYS… ANYWAYS, I WAS ON A FAMILY SKI TRIP AND MY COUSIN BRIAN TURNED ME ON TO SOME COOL MUSIC. I REMEMBER LISTENING TO THE B-52′S SELF TITLED ALBUM ON THE FIRST SONY WALKMAN. THE BEEPS THAT START TRACK 1, PLANET CLAIRE ENTRANCED ME. ELECTRONIC MUSIC! NOT REALLY FULL ON, BUT ENOUGH TO GET MY EXCITED AND LEARN MORE. I WAS ALSO TURNED ONTO TONES ON TAIL, BUT DIDN’T REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THEM, YET.
HIGH SCHOOL YEAR ARRIVED AND I GOT INVOLVED IN THE HIGH SCHOOL BAND. I FINALLY STARTED TO PLAY TWO INSTRUMENTS. TROMBONE IN BAND AND PIANO AT HOME ON A LITTLE ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD. I WAS HOOKED ON NEW WAVE MUSIC AND SYNTHESIZERS. I READ AND READ KEYBOARD MAGAZINE AND ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN TO LEARN AS MUCH AS I COULD ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY. THE MUSIC STARTED TO EVOLVE A BIT MORE. AS THE 80′S PROGRESSED, I FOUND DARKER DANCE SOUNDS, THE SOUNDS OF “INDUSTRIAL”. NEW WAVE WAS COOL. THE REAL BASIS OF MY MUSICAL FOUNDATION. BEING REBELLIOUS AND ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT WAS COOL AS A TEENAGER, SO, INDUSTRIAL MUSIC SEEMED THE RIGHT WAY FOR ME TO GO AT THE TIME. LISTENING TO GANGSTER HIP HOP WAS ALSO FASHIONABLE FOR WHITE SUBURBAN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA KIDS ALL OVER. I NEVER HAD THE MONGO CAR SOUND SYSTEM, BUT, I WOULD LISTEN TO THE NWA’, EASY E’S, ICE T’S AND PUBLIC ENEMY’S OF THE TIME. WELL, THAT WAS THERE TIME.
AT THE TOP OF THE 80′S, IT WAS TIME TO VENTURE BACK EAST TO BOSTON, MA TO ATTEND THE ESTEEMED BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC. I WAS ALL ABOUT LEARNING MORE ABOUT ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION AND ENGINEERING AND SYNTHESIS. I COMPLETED THE DUAL MAJOR IN FOUR YEARS. IF I HATED BOSTON AFTER ONE, I WOULD HAVE RETURNED TO SAN DIEGO AND PROBABLY HAVE GONE INTO BUSINESS SCHOOL OR SOMETHING. I REALLY HAD NO CLUE WHAT MORE TO DO AT THAT AGE THAN TO GO TO COLLEGE AND GET MORE INVOLVED AND EXPLORE. IT WAS BOSTON THAT I SERIOUSLY GOT INTO CLUBS. I COULDN’T FULLY DO EVERYTHING UNTIL I TURNED 21. I BECAME A REGULAR SCENESTER SEVERAL NIGHTS OUT DURING THE WEEK AT PLACES LIKE MANRAY IN CAMBRIDGE AND AXIS & VENUS DE MILO IN BOSTON. I WOULD DO SCHOOL, CLUBS, RAVES AND BUY MUSIC. THAT WAS WHAT I LIVED FOR UNTIL ONE DAY…
I FINALLY SAID SCREW IT, “I’M BUYING TURNTABLES!” WENT OUT TO A COUPLE OF STORES AND BOUGHT SOME NEW AND USED GEAR ON MY CREDIT CARD. NOW, I HAD TO LEARN HOW TO DJ. I HAD BEEN TO ENOUGH CLUBS AND UNDERSTOOD THE CONCEPT OF MIXING BEING A MUSIC MAJOR. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE AND I FINALLY GOT THE KNACK OF MATCHING BEATS BETWEEN TWO RECORDS. IT WAS AMAZING. AN EPIPHANY. I DON’T KNOW WHY, BUT IT’S LIKE SLICED BREAD TO PEOPLE WAY BACK IN THE DAY. NOW THAT I NEW HOW TO BEAT MATCH RECORDS, I HAD TO BUY RECORDS FULL ON NOW. IT WAS ON. SO THE NEXT CHAPTER BEGAN… I BEGAN TO DJ SMALL PARTIES AROUND TOWN. EVENTUALLY, OPENING SLOTS AT THE VARIOUS CLUBS AROUND TOWN. RAVES. BARS AFTER THAT. I WAS PLAYING ANYWHERE SOMEBODY WOULD BOOK ME. IT’S STILL THAT WAY TODAY.
AS THE MID NINETIES MARCHED ON THROUGH, I WAS IN THE THICK OF IT. PLAYING RAVES. DOING CLUB NIGHTS. RESIDENCIES. PLAYING OUT LIVE. AND… I STARTED GETTING INTO GRAPHIC DESIGN. FLYERS. AND LOTS OF THEM.
AFTER A FEW YEARS WORKING IN SOME RECORD STORES, I SCORED A REAL JOB AS A SOUND DESIGNER/COMPOSER AT A PC GAMING COMPANY CALLED GAME FX. AN OLD SCHOOL BUDDY HOOKED ME WITH THE GIG AS HE HAD TURNED INTO A HARDCORE PROGRAMMER FROM BEING A MUSICIAN TECHY GUY LIKE MYSELF. FINALLY GOT TO PUT MY DEGREE TO USE FOR TWO YEARS UNTIL I QUIT ON NEW YEAR’S EVE. BOSS DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE ME A RAISE AFTER TWO YEARS.. SO… F’THEM. FROM THERE, I WAS ON THE FENCE, TO CONTINUE DOING SOUND WORK OR TRY TO MY TALENTS AT GRAPHIC/WEB DESIGN AS IT WAS REALLY STARTING TO COME OF AGE IN 1999. I TOOK THE PLUNGE AND STARTED GOING THROUGH A WAVE OF VARIOUS WEB AGENCY JOBS OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS WHICH BRINGS US PRETTY MUCH TO NOW.
I GOT TIRED OF LIVING IN BOSTON AND DECIDED TO GO FULL THROTTLE FOR NYC. I LOVE BOSTON FOR THE TIME THAT I WAS THERE, BUT, I JUST NEEDED A CHANGE.
NOW IN NYC. AFTER I GOT MARRIED AND HAD MY FIRST BORN, THE DJ’ING AND MUSIC PRODUCTION HAS TAKEN A LITTLE BACK SEAT, BUT I’M STILL ALWAYS TINKERING ABOUT, THE OUTPUT IS JUST LESS FREQUENT.
I’VE MET MANY GREAT PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY AND STILL KEEP IN TOUCH.
THE INTERNET IS GREAT THING.
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