[Dynagroove] THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT! (from Billboard Magazine)

[aaron at tohzt.com]

Hey Everyone-

I just read this article on the Martinez Brothers in this week's
Billboard.  Check it out!

love,

_A

BEATBOX: THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
August 25, 2007

Teenage DJs Become Unlikely Stars On Global House Scene
KERRI MASON

You'd think DJ Danny Krivit was Jay-Z, the way young Chris Martinez gazed
at him. The 15-year-old and his 18-year-old brother, Steve Jr., didn't
move from their spots smack in front of the makeshift DJ booth aboard an
Aug. 5 Circle Line party cruise around Manhattan.

For three hours, the 50-year-old, more bald-than-bling Krivit dug into the
deep well of classic vocal house, while his DJ'ing partner for the
evening, Joe Clausell, accentuated its percussive elements. Both sweated
over the mixer, twisting the EQ knobs in classic New York style,
alternately dropping the bass and bringing out the highs. The Martinez
brothers reacted to every tweak and mix, Chris clutching his heart for the
confessional R&B vocals, Steve Jr. gripping the cross around his neck
during "Stand on the Word," a Joubert Singers gospel track.

"House music definitely speaks to our spiritual side, of course," Steve
Jr. said the following week. "That's why they call it 'soulful house,'
because it speaks to your soul."

The Martinez brothers—actually, the Martinez Brothers—aren't just young
house music fans, which alone would be special. They're also the hottest
properties on the international DJ-touring circuit, an accelerating,
unprecedented phenomenon in what has been, up to now, an older man's game.

This year alone, they've played every major venue in New York, as well as
France, Portugal and Canada, and "turned down more offers than we can
count," Steve Jr. says.

"That's what's blowing everybody's mind," says accomplished DJ/producer
Dennis Ferrer, who releases the boys' original music on his Objektivity
label and serves as their industry mentor. "They're the generation of
hip-hop. To see dance music being embraced by these kids, it's a great
thing for us older folks. These kids might be able to turn the tide."

With hip-hop mired in materialism and angst, and house music graying more
every year, the soft-faced, Bronx-born brothers are a panacea for both.
They look street but talk church, and play everything from minimal techno
to crooning soul with the freight-train energy of Funkmaster Flex. They
blend young style with old values, and are close to their DJ father, Steve
Sr., who insists, along with Ferrer (who they say is "like an uncle") that
all touring stops when school starts in September. (Chris will be a high
school sophomore, Steve Jr. a junior at Hunter College.)

"My main thing is that they grow up to be fine young gentlemen. In our
business, that's rare," Ferrer says. "I want them to be professionals.
School is the most important thing. If their grades fall, their gigs get
cut."

Benny Soto, promoter of the Krivit boat party, says, "Nothing as important
as them has come out of New York in a long time. They make tremendous
excitement. They create energy. We really want them to succeed." The "we"
he refers to is the greater house community of New York, a historically
insular crew that's loathe to rally around anyone, especially two kids who
weren't even born when nightclub temple Paradise Garage was open.

"I just think it's everybody opening up, saying, 'Listen, these kids are a
shot at taking this to a bigger market and demographic,' and almost living
vicariously through them also," Ferrer says. "It's a manifestation of all
these different feelings for us."



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