From an early age Jeremy Ferguson, (known as JF// Discord,) has been involved in music. During elementary and middle school, Ferguson played in the school band as the first chair clarinet player. Somewhere between Nellie Kaufman Middle School and Cathedral City High School, Ferguson began developing a taste for heavy metal music. Giving up the clarinet for a microphone, Ferguson wound up as the lead vocalist for a metal band called “Discordance,” (hence the DJ name, JF//Discord, which is a fusion of his initials and his band name). “We had a great time playing shows all over the valley,” recalls Ferguson.
Taking his metal roots to college in 2000, Ferguson had a radio show while attending Southern Utah University in Cedar City, UT. With a show appropriately named “A Little Bit Louder,” Ferguson showcased metal and other styles of heavy music on Power 91. I’m still not sure how Ferguson made the peculiar leap from metal music to EDM (electronic dance music,) but he has managed to marry the two when spinning his DJ programs.
After picking up a pair of turn tables, Ferguson began to explore the various styles of EDM from House to Tech-House, Electro, Techno, Breaks, Hard Dance and Glitch-Hop. There is a definite change in the mood when Ferguson steps up to the decks and start Djing. “I tend to play EDM that has a rock/metal edge to it with lots of guitar elements,” remarks Ferguson. “It’s pretty energetic, however, with that said, I also really like the melodic aspects of House music. It’s kind of a duality with me,” he concludes.
When Ferguson is not playing music on his turntables he doesn’t stray too far from his Metal roots. Some of his favorite artists include the new Testament album called Dark Roots of Earth and the new Katatonia album Dead End Kings. Whatever you do, don’t mention top 40 around Ferguson— the whole format just makes him cringe. Ferguson emphasizes, “To be honest, I can’t stand Top 40, its complete agony for me to play music I don’t like.”
While you might catch Ferguson doing an occasional wedding, he will be the first one to admit he doesn’t really care where he plays as long as the crowd is open to hearing good House music. Some of his favorite gigs are playing for local promoter BB Ingle. With the rise in popularity of EDM, both Jeremy and his brother Jeff, (both Palm Springs natives) are two of the top DJs for BB’s parties. When Ferguson approached BB about adding EDM music to his parties in 2005 he got a luke-warm response. “At first he wasn’t too keen on the idea but now he loves it!” Jeremy exclaims with pride. Playing to large crowds at some of BB’s parties is a blast admits Ferguson but he is feeling the pressure to top last years’ Halloween Bash at the Palm Springs Convention Center (which had 5000 people in attendance.) This year is the 28th Annual Halloween Bash put on by BB and it is scheduled for Saturday October 27. You can get your tickets at: www.partywithbb.com
If would like to contact Jeremy Ferguson you can e-mail him at: jfdiscord@hotmail.com
Written By: Craig Michaels
Musical Affair Entertainment
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