Anthony Valadez

LA native Anthony Valadez became a music fan the minute he heard the opening notes of “Theme from Mahogany” by Diana Ross on the radio in the family car.

He was six years old and being denied the right to attend the Lakers Championship parade in DTLA. Despite the disappointment, he made a connection to music that would never be lost.

"The minute I heard that song and those strings I knew music was something I wanted to pursue. I wanted to share it, create it, document it and forever be a fan of it.”

He also worked at a local pool, saving money to buy turntables and, at night, would scan the FM dial for new music. It was then he discovered Michael Mixx’in Moor’s radio show on KCRW and became an instant fan of the station.

“There was nothing like it. It was a collage of sounds, speeches, soul and it was masterfully produced. I knew at the age of 14 I wanted to one day play records and create something different and new for LA on KCRW.” 

In high school, he would skip 6th period and head over to local community college and do Guest DJ sets.

Then, while studying Theatre Arts at Cal State Northridge, he convinced KCSN (a classical station at the time) to allow an electronic/hip hop/world soul radio show on Monday nights which he hosted for several years.  He later created and hosted Soundwaves on 90.7 KPFK during Saturday afternoons.  A few years later, he finally landed a coveted spot at KCRW.

In addition to his Monday night (midnight to 3am) radio show, he is currently the resident DJ at First Fridays at The Natural History Museum. In addition, he can be found every week playing at Cana Rum Bar (DTLA), The Line Hotel (K Town), Zanzibar (Santa Monica), The Sayers Club (Hollywood) and Insert Coins (Las Vegas).

He has hosted events at the Hollywood Bowl, SXSW and CMJ, as well as at Grand Performances and UCLA Jazz Reggae Fest.

He has remixed songs by David Bowie, Ozomatli and Local Natives and released four studio albums of original material.

In 2011, Valadez was the official DJ for the Alma Awards, which celebrate the excellence and contributions of Latinos in the Entertainment Industry and is a segment host on NUVOtv’s The Collective powered by VEVO. The show is executive produced by Jennifer Lopez.

Lopez and her company, Nuyorican Productions, were so impressed with his DJ skills, they brought him out to open for her homecoming show at Orchard Park, Bronx NY in front of 16,000 attendees in May 2014.

He is a talented photographer and chronicles his travels, musical adventures and favorite new bands on his website: http://anthonyvaladez.org/