Junior Vasquez
| Junior Vasquez | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Donald Gregory Mattern |
| Born |
August 24, 1949 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | House |
| Occupation(s) | DJ and producer |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Labels |
Tommy Boy Records Virgin/EMI Records Nervous Records |
Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern, August 24, 1949 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania), is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.
Mattern moved to New York City as a young adult in 1971 with ambitions of becoming a fashion designer, briefly attending Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and working as a hairdresser for a while. However, Mattern soon became fascinated with NYC nightlife especially the work of DJ Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage. After adopting the pseudonym "Junior Vasquez", he commenced his career in music production in the 1980s. Vasquez began to work with DJ and pop remixer/producer Shep Pettibone, and together they co-produced and edited numerous singles from such artists as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, MC Hammer, Prince, Pet Shop Boys and others. It wasn't long before Vasquez landed a brief residency at Club Bassline, where he began to make a name for himself as a live DJ.
Many of Junior Vasquez's earliest underground hits were released under the name "Ellis D", including the seminal gay house track, "Work This Pussy." Vasquez also released the tracks "Just Like a Queen", "My Lolleata", "It's Scratched," and "Took My Love Away". The style of the tracks released under the pseudonym "Ellis D" are largely credited today with having influenced the sound of house music generally, and particularly the sound of most all subsequent "gay" house singles.
From 1989 to 1995, Vasquez gained national prominence, along with music industry influence - through his residency at the original Sound Factory, a club he co-founded with Richard Grant, which was located at 530 W. 27th St in Manhattan's Chelsea district. Vasquez quickly built a following of loyal fans who became known as "Juniorites". Devoted to Vasquez's musical style, personality, and the spectacle of his weekly Sunday morning after-hours parties, his fans made Vasquez one of New York City's most popular DJs. Soon afterward, major record labels began soliciting Vasquez to produce club-friendly remixes for their top singers utilizing his personal beat-driven house style. Due to a rise in demand from these labels, many singer and musicians such as C+C Music Factory, David Morales, Björk, Marilyn Manson, and Madonna were known to frequent his Sunday morning events. Working with many popular artists allowed Vasquez to create his own repertoire of exclusive "Private Collection" of authorized remixes (along with several unofficial remixes) which were not released to the market and thus made his live sets even more distinctive to his following due to the fact that they could only be heard at Vasquez's Sound Factory events.
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