Personal Info:
“I have been working with analog and digital production since the days of the Fostex porta multitrack recorders and Panasonic camcorders, which are the sources of my affection for all things media-related. I am enthusiastic about audio and video production, collaboration, songwriting, and of course, deejaying.”
REGGIE BROWN
Proficient In:
- Studio One + Protools + Logic Pro
- Adobe Premiere + After Effects
- Adobe Photoshop + Illustrator
- Microsoft Excel + Powerpoint
- Serato DJ Pro
Snapshot 1
BRONX TO L.E.S. Uprooting Of The Brown’s
As my siblings and I prepared for school, the radio atop the fridge was our morning soundtrack. Our parents typically tuned into AM where Top 40 was still king and stations featured a playlist of songs from artists and groups like Al Green, Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, The Commodores, Donna Summer, The Carpenters, ABBA, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, The Spinners, and more.
While residing in the borough of the Bronx, NY, the radio waves along with my parents’ collection of 8-track tapes & vinyl helped shape my musical experience.
In 1978, I began hearing about parties where someone would rhyme into a microphone while another person skillfully played records on two turntables. Despite my age preventing me from attending these events, I found the concept interesting. And I lived in walking distance from these jams.
I distinctly recall attempting to replicate what friends described by connecting my parents’ record players to the amplifier and adjusting the knobs from aux 1 to phono.
In March of 1979, a group called the Fatback Band released a rap record titled “Kim Tim III.” Unknowingly, soon after, my family and I would be moving out of the birthplace of Hip-Hop to mid-town Manhattan and then to an area labeled as The Lower East Side (LES).
snapshot 2
LOWER EAST SIDE – NY THE SIXTH BOROUGH
In 1979, my family moved from the Bronx to Mid-Town Manhattan as a homeless family, living in a place called the Martinique Hotel. As a 14-year-old kid I never knew or felt like we were homeless, thanks to Mom & Dad.
We thought we were on the list to move into the newly developed 80/20 high-rise building known as Lands Inn. However, fate had other plans, guiding us 15 minutes away from Lands Inn to a place called Baruch housing. In May of 1980, we settled into our new apartment and soon after got familiar with the surroundings, friends, and school mates of the Lower East Side.
After high school, I reluctantly found several jobs, and I also dove into creative pursuits, channelled my energy into writing, creating, and recording songs with my first official electronic musical instrument, the Casio MT 4000 (circa 84′). A collection of these compositions found a home on the cassette, a personal soundtrack that only I would listen to.
While still in the realm of my secret songwriting endeavors, I went on a neighborhood bus trip to Great Adventure amusement park, armed with my cassette and walkman player. Unfortunately, the cherished tape with 8-10 of my songs on it went missing at our picnic area outside the amusement park. I found out it was missing just as leaving time approached. Devastated, with my head hung low, I couldn’t contain my tears as I returned to my seat on a bus filled with friends and family. The setback didn’t extinguish my innate ability for songwriting, but it did instill a sense of caution. I can’t pinpoint when I resumed my songwriting groove, but I eventually did.
The move from the Bronx momentarily delayed my entry into the world of hip-hop, even with Rappers Delight heating the airwaves. The two pivotal moments that reignited my interest in what would blossom into a billion-dollar industry were a cassette recording of The Cold Crush Brothers performing live, and seeing a DJ play in the Big Park of Baruch houses for the 1st time. I believe that DJ was Sir-Gamble but I’m not sure.
Snapshot 3
HOMING IN ON THE CRAFT Move The Crowd
After hearing and witnessing the elements of hip-hop, I was on a mission to get some equipment. Once I had acquired my DJ and recording gear, I purchased a substantial collection of vinyl records (2x). After learning all about the equipment and creating sets, my focus shifted on getting a group together. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was honing in on my skills as a songwriter with the group I was in.
After a lot of practice and carefully crafting a show, it was finally time to take the stage in what we called ‘The Big Park’ near ‘Lands Inn’.
We transported the gear on dollies, making our way from Baruch housing to a large park in a different neighborhood, as we had more protection in that part of the Lower East Side at the time. And a nearby light pole to provide the juice :).
Operating under the alias DJ Reggie – Reg, my crew initially went by the name the Devastating Brothers and later evolved into The Dyna-Mind Three. Following outdoor sessions that drew crowds, we eventually secured an indoor space. This allowed us to conduct our business at the front door and further elevate our craft.
Click link: Devastating Brothers Scrapbook
DJ Reggie-Reg jam at the Big park, on the Hill, L.E.S-1983.
Snapshot 4
11pm to 7am and then some The Big M
As I honed in my role as a deejay, I continued to work at various occupations over the years, including selling newspapers, packing and delivering groceries, working as a security guard, and in convention – catering services at the NY Marriott Marquis.
I was introduced to the Marriott family in 1986 through my mom, who happened to be the first female in the engineering department at the NY Marriott Marquis property, yeaaa Mom. After being interviewed for employment by the Human resources representative who said “I’ll hire you because of your mother but I see your heart is in pursuing your musical aspirations” – true story. I’m glad she gave me the green light to venture into Marriott culture. It opened the door to seven years as a convention/catering service associate. Looking back, those were truly great times on the overnight shift. I was able to pursue and achieve my musical goals during the day, get some rest, and then work overnight. We used to call it the graveyard shift.
To date, I’ve accumulated 14+ years of service within the Marriott organization. 7 as an employee and 7+ years as an independent contractor.
snapshot 5
Onward and Upward Every Step We Take
While DJing on the Lower East Side and working the night shift at the Marriott Marquis NY, I got a break to start interning in the mornings at an independent record label called DNA International. I wanted to be an A&R rep. for the label but was given the position of a sales rep., which came in handy for future mixtape sales. The internship soon led to my DJing on the radio alongside my friend DJ Hank Love. The DNA & Hank Love radio show aired on WNWK 105.9fm in New York from 2:00 am to 4:00 am every Saturday.
Marriott management graciously granted me steady days off so I could rock the airwaves every Saturday night. No one on the overnight shift had steady days off (Sat. & Wed), so that was big for me.
During the initial stages of my radio gig, I asked my co-workers at the Marriott, for a deejay name to replace DJ Reggie-Reg. Although they had some good suggestions, I was drawn to an unidentifiable character in a comic book, even though I wasn’t into comics.
Milestone: My 1st born child came into this world during this period.
It was on the 6th floor of the NY Marriott Marquis ballroom, while working the overnight shift, that I decided to go with the name DJ Silver Surfer—I remember it as if it were yesterday. The name update to DJ Silva Sir-Fa came into play years later.
Snapshot 6
The Transition From Radio To Mixtapes
Although I enjoyed breaking records and creating mixes for the radio show, other deejays from NY were beginning to reach a wider range of listeners via mixtapes in stores. Even though I was creating mixes/blends on cassette tapes for live shows on radio, I felt I had to make the transition to the selling of mixtapes to stay relevant, and so it begins.
By the time I released Mix Tape 25, Mixtapes were demanding their space in the underground Mixtape Market across the country and the world. While record labels played both sides of the coin by condemning mixtapes and CDs, they also supplied us DJs with vinyl to help promote their artists. As a DJ in the Golden Era of Hip Hop, you had to make the transition to selling mixtapes or become obsolete. Or be on 1 of the 2 power radio stations in your area. Thankfully I had several DJ friends play my promo tracks on the air from time to time.
DJ's Radio Promo
DJ's radio promo
I believe I gravitated towards blends because of my songwriting abilities and my lack of ability, at the time, to identify when a chord change didn’t fall within the circle of fifths’ chord structure. This lack of knowledge of chord structure left the world of blending tracks wide open for me.
Creating blends is like creating remixes, albeit a much quicker process, and then figuring out placement of the blend/remix for the mixtape/album. It requires cohesiveness with ebbs and flows from beginning to end to keep myself and the listener engaged.
Here’s a link to a throwback article from Urban Dictionary. This time period reference to being a DJ still rings true to this day. “Real DJs do real things”. And of course I’m in the article :).
“After years of developing relationships with representatives from the record label’s promotional department, I asked if they could connect me with the video department representative to obtain music videotapes of the artists for a video show I was starting called ‘Picture That’. After receiving numerous VHS tapes in the mail and formatting the content, as well as putting together the show intro, I realized it took up too much time for editing and I wondered where I would store all these bulky VHS tapes, especially since I already had a large collection of vinyl that I was trying to keep organized. That being the case, I decided to scrap the video show idea but continued to stay updated on video editing software.”
Recap & Continue
Vibe out and take a 30+ year video journey.
All in 11 minutes and 45 seconds. Talk about time management.