"I am not a Jukebox DJ."
Nothing could be truer when it comes to Nonsense Records' Resident DJ Rod-1. Born in Ridgemont, California in1983, Dean Rodriguez grew up on the China Lake Naval Station that served as a testing site for bombs. Who knew that later he would be dropping them? As a child who was born into a family where the father was in the Navy, Rodriguez was constantly on the move. It wouldn't be until his later years that he would sew his roots in Jacksonville, Florida and discover his destiny as a dj in the world of hip hop.
DJ Rod-1 grew up in a house filled with music. Rod-1 says his mother lived in the Latin jazz world that could be heard playing every morning when he woke up, where his father schooled him on psychedelic classic rock music like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. His sister could be found listening to The Cure in her room where his brother was bumping De La Soul in his. Within the combination of this weird mix of music Rod-1 found his soul buried in between the grooves of 45's and a passed down Technic Turntable from his uncle Manolo. He was automatically inspired when he learned that it was the same kind of turntable that Grand Master Flash used.
Rod-1 started deejaying around the age of 14. He started out in house parties and wasn't your "run of the mill" dj spinning the latest and greatest tunes. You could find yourself listening to Casey and the Sunshine Band at any given moment. Rod-1 has never been a dj who followed the masses. The masses have no choice but to follow him as he realized his power. He can change the mood with just the drop of a needle.
Rod-1 describes himself as hard, loud and in your face. Influences are the greats, Grand Master Flash, Jam Master Jay and Miles Davis. His styles can be comparable to those of Kid Capri, Terminator X and Jazzy Jeff. He was ranked 4th in the DMC Southeastern Regional Battle in 2004 where he lost to Nonsense Records' DJ SPS. Rod-1 has opened for Edon the Humble Magnificent, Asamov, Simple Complexity, DJ Shotgun, DJ Clever, 7-9, Sol.illaquists of Sound, X:144 & SPS, and Rob Roy.
DJ Rod-1's mission statement is to eliminate the misrepresentation of youth and racial stereotypes with his musical expression. One break beat at a time.
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