John Collins has been a staple in the Detroit Underground/House/Electronic scene for many years as an artist, producer, record label executive, taste maker and gatekeeper. He was exposed to music of all genres including, Motown, Rock, Gospel and Jazz at an early age. Music was always played at his home and many of his relatives are musicians. While attending Wilberforce University, John dee-jayed his first party for his fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, when the hired entertainment cancelled. It was the first time he played with two turntables and was hooked on the concept of "turntablism" from that point forward.
Upon returning to Detroit, John began spinning at parties here and making his rounds throughout the Detroit club scene. He drew much inspiration from the burgeoning Detroit electronic, Chicago house music and New York dance scenes.
In 1986, he was hired to DJ at the hottest and now legendary club in Detroit at that time – CHEEKS. A year later he would be joined at Cheeks with the now renowned Jeff Mills (aka The Wizard). John’s career as a DJ has spanned over twenty years and has covered techno music's infancy to its ascension as a global music genre. His DJ residencies have included a who's who of Detroit's top music clubs such as The Lady, The Lansdowne, Joey’s On Jefferson the Warehouse, Times Square, The Parabox and the Palladium. He has also served as reporter for Billboard's Dance Chart Club.
In 1993, WJLB FM 98 in Detroit hired John as a Mix show DJ and broadcast his now legendary live show from the Warehouse Nightclub. He was subsequently given the name Jammin’ John Collins by the late legendary Detroit radio personality Chris McClendon. He programmed music form all genres but mainly House, Techno and R & B. Artists and producers such as Mike Banks, K. Hand and Kevin Saunderson would bring their new releases for John to program in his set. Five years later, John was given a mix show on WDRQ FM 93.1, where he once again would introduce audiences to the latest in electronic music with a focus on Detroit techno artists.
In 2002, John brought his sound to the Detroit Electronic Music Festival captivating global audiences who assembled at the event as well as played the main stage at Fuse In – Detroit’s Electronic Movement Festival. His musical abilities have been showcased around the country in cities including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. He has also dee-jayed in Tortola, British Virgin Islands; London and throughout England, Paris and Brest France and Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan.
John has always been closely affiliated with the revolutionary musical collective UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE, as both an artist, producer, management and booking coordinator. The group has been dubbed as the baddest collection of sonic electronic warriors in the world - a label that is symbolic of a movement that completely re-imagines the universal power of electronic music and its ability to shatter borders. The label and John's involvement with it confirms the notion the UNDERGROUND is alive and well!
Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Eddie Fowlkes are the fathers who birthed techno - John Collins is the gatekeeper who has contributed to its relevance and global viability as a worldwide music genre that is uniquely DETROIT.
John's mix spans the width and depth of techno and electronica's past while bridging it with its future amid rich sonic tapestries and soul-inspired music hues.
Don't miss THE PROGRESSIVE UNDERGROUND's interview with John during its broadcast (from 8-11 pm EST) which is subsequently followed by John's hour long mix on the SUNDAY SESSIONS (from 11pm - 12midnight - EST) all on 101.9 FM WDET and also live-streamed on www.wdet.org.
Contact John 'Jammin' Collins at: http://www.myspace.com/premierentertainmentdetroit; http://submerge.com/; http://www.undergroundresistance.com/; jcpremier@gmail.com
