When it came time to settle on a name, local DJs Smoovgroovs, Shea Butter and Dstrukt made the odd choice of naming themselves after the beverage store chain, BevMo. While for some, the resulting “BVMO” (with the “E” dropped for style) seemed a strange name for a funk/soul/hip-hop DJ crew, it made perfect sense to them.

“We actually got flak from some people, who said ‘no one is going to take you serious if you use that as your crew name,’” Shea Butter says. “If you look at the tradition of crew names, there’s a certain humor that kind of underlines a lot of Bay Area DJs.

“Most of them could be comedians if they weren’t DJs,” he says, citing examples such as Invisibl Skratch Piklz and even Fingerbangerz—the name the Bangerz used up until a couple years ago.

BVMO isn’t just a funny name. There’s an actual story behind it that the crew feels is telling: When they started working together back in 2010, they noticed that every time they got in the same room, each one of them brought along a different beverage. The observation made them laugh, but it also felt poignant.

“It was kind of like our musical style, like we all come from different backgrounds and have different tastes. It’s like the variety that’s in that store,” Smoovgroovs says.

Everyone in the crew has the same objective of spinning interesting and obscure soul, funk, hip-hop and even some electronic dance music, and doing so in an artistic way that still achieves the main goal of getting people to dance. But they all do it in different ways, with different strengths and weaknesses.

Dstrukt started out backing rappers at underground hip-hop shows, and brings a lot of blending techniques and scratching skills to BVMO. He toured the U.S. and Europe recently as L.A. rapper Dumbfoundead’s DJ. In general, though, he left that scene behind.

“I started to realize that underground hip-hop doesn’t make girls dance,” Dstrukt says.

Smoovgroovs studied the piano before he ever touched a turntable and brings a lot of composition knowledge to BVMO, which helps when producing original music and creating remixes. “I was always backed by classical piano, reading notes, knowing the theory of music,” Smoovgroovs says.

Shea Butter started out as an avid record collector and later became an on-air DJ at KSJS, which ultimately led to him picking up a turntable and spinning at clubs.

“I started collecting vinyl because I love remixes,” he says. “I remember picking up a record thinking, ‘I’ve never even heard this track, I wonder what’s on here?’ I bought the record before I even had a turntable.”

One thing they all agree on is the importance of finding good danceable music other DJs aren’t spinning that will help them create diverse sets that still have cohesion to them.

“It’s almost like a friendly competition,” Shea Butter says. “It’s an individual sport as much as it is a team sport. I love digging for music and discovering new things and thinking that I’m actually going to break a song to people who’ve never heard it before to expose them to what I think is so great and get them to move at the same time.”

The crew holds residency at 55 South in San Jose every first and third Thursday, as well as at the Cardiff Lounge in Campbell every first and third Sunday, alongside Bangerz DJ Cutso. They also spin every other Thursday at Nightlife at the Academy of Science in San Francisco.

The crew spends the rest of its time playing one-off gigs, sometimes as BVMO, but often just as individual DJs. They also sometimes play more mainstream clubs, where they are expected to play Top 40—something not usually prominent on their playlist, but also not an issue to add to the mix.

“We can throw in the familiar songs, but we use it more as a tool to lure them in,” Smoovgroovs says. “After we get that connection, we like to play stuff that we like to play that maybe they haven’t heard of. If they like it then we achieved the goal.”

The BVMO crew are working on an EP of original sub-genre-based dance music, as well as a mixtape/hot dog package with CaliDog, as in you’ll get a CaliDog hot dog and a BVMO mixtape for one price, which should be interesting.

Far from the pop, hip-hop and mainstream house endlessly emanating from downtown clubs, the Cardiff Lounge in Campbell has kept the South Bay underground house scene alive with Get Down.

Held every Tuesday, the weekly party celebrates its six-year anniversary on April 30, with legendary DJ Mark Farina and local artist WäDL, who will do live painting while Farina spins some of his signature house mixes.

Farina, who has been DJing since the late ’80s, is best known for his deep house tracks, where the standard house dance thump is embroidered with jazz and soul flourishes. He’s also known for his trademark style, “mushroom jazz,” a more downtempo, ambient sound.

As with any subculture, those considered “legendary” by its devotees often elicit little more than a “huh?” from outsiders. While San Francisco has long been considered the house-music haven in the Bay Area, San Jose has had trouble keeping the scene alive.

According to Gabriel Black—resident DJ and co-founder, along with Arturo Garces, of Get Down—house nights will flare up every now and then in downtown San Jose but gutter out just as quickly.

When asked why he thinks Get Down has had such a long lifespan compared to other house nights, he laughs and says, “Low expectations.” With house being such a niche genre in the 408, the club owners don’t expect a huge take at the bar, especially considering it’s on a Tuesday.

Breakdancers that frequent the parties are never much for buying drinks, but the spectacle they provide well makes up for it. “It’s not unusual to see someone spinning on their head or sliding across the floor,” Black says.

The night has developed a regular community, the kind where a friend can come and play bongos for a couple hours with the DJ and then split with no one missing a beat. For Black, the night is really an opportunity to provide a venue and a crowd for DJs, dancers and artists that might not otherwise have the opportunity.

Tuesday, April 30; 8pm on
Cardiff Lounge, Campbell

In a recent interview with Tiesto, the superstar DJ spoke on how inspiring it’s been playing for American crowds in the wake of the recent electronic dance music boom. He noted that stateside, crowds aren’t pigeon-holed in one style and are incredibly enthusiastic about the emerging sound. That enthusiasm was on full display last night at his sold-out show inside the San Jose State Events Center, the latest stop on his College Invasion tour.

As has become custom, neon colors and lots of skin was the dress code—all the better to dance with. There was even a tribal headdress or two bouncing along to the four-to-the-floor bass.
Opener Alvaro elicited a decent crowd reaction from the half-full house, ending his set with a few tracks that showcased the growing trap sound (see: Harlem Shake). The crowd hit at heavy simmer at about 8pm, with Quintino dropping crowd favorites and excitement built with electro DJ Tommy Trash taking the stage to a nearly full arena before Tiesto arrived.

PHOTOS: View the Metroactive Photo Gallery the Tiesto Show

When Tiesto took the stage at 9:30pm, it was clear that this was his party to rock. While his opening acts kept the pulse with minimal tech, Tiesto’s two-hour set was enhanced with a HD video intro that made previous motion banners seem amateur in contrast and EDM favorites like smoke cannons, lasers, flashing lights and a timed mass release of thousands of white balloons.

When the balloons finally dropped near the end of his set, the vibe was transcendent, with a sea of waving hands and deep, carnal bass. Surveying the scene midway through the set, Tiesto seemed to even have the rafters engaged. His crowd came to party and he was giving them exactly what they wanted.

At 10:30, a sea of moving bodies seemed in sync with Tiesto’s musical heartbeat and that fever pitch only intensified as he neared the end of his set. Dipping back into his catalogue, 2003 classic “Adagio For Strings” made an appearance, as did a portion of Zombie Nation’s seminal arena anthem “Kernkraft 400.”

Though the sweating, minimally clothed crowd was greeted outside by a damp, windy night, the spell of bad weather did little to stave off the post-show euphoria.

View more photos from the show.

Johnny V’s celebrates 10 years of business with five straight nights of packed programming. Come Saturday, one of the most beloved parties at the club returns for a 10-year anniversary of its own. Clandestine, the still-revered former drum ‘n’ bass and hip-hop party, will bring back many of its regulars for a stacked reunion.

San Jose’s drum ‘n’ bass scene began in the late ’90s when Thad Jones and Noah Ruiz, more commonly known as DJs Hak and Siphon, created a Sunday-night party called Ghetto Junglism at the now-defunct 301 Stockton. A Wednesday-night party at Cactus Club by the Killa Subz crew followed in the early 2000s but fell when the venue closed its doors in 2002.

Around this time, Ben Daniels, known as DJ / emcee Ax!om, started the San Jose Drum ‘n’ Bass Collective, which later became Clandestine. The night began at Kleidon’s (now Myth Taverna) until its closing forced them to relocate. Luckily, someone in the collective linked Daniels with Johnny V’s owner Johnny Van Wyk, and in early 2003, Clandestine had a new home. The party soon brought international acts through the South Bay, among them New Zealand duo Concord Dawn, British producer dBridge and London-based Breakage.

Though the free night offered something unique downtown, Daniels believes Clandestine’s success really came down to its patrons. “Were weren’t the best DJs in the world,” Daniels says. “I just think it was fun. People wanted to come. … The hot bartenders didn’t hurt. … The fact that it was free didn’t hurt.”

The party hit its stride in the summer of 2004, when it started playing hip-hop upstairs. Local heroes the Bangerz were frequent collaborators. Bridging the gap, Daniels notes that Clandestine was the only local drum ‘n’ bass crew to embrace emcees, a trait that stemmed from their collective musical upbringing.

Though there are no plans to resurrect the night, Daniels does says, “This will be the litmus test to judge whether or not the people I’ve never seen will continue to support the music.” The lineup for the 10-year anniversary shows:

Feb. 20: DJ Troma, Chief Blesn, Saint Tellah and Jeff Turner; no cover before 10:30pm.
Feb. 21: Slap! featuring Jeno, Justin Hale and DJ Jaz; no cover before 10:30pm.
Feb. 22: South Bay Dub Massive featuring Rastatronics, Mercedes Jaya, Audio Dru and AZ Redsmoke; no cover before 9pm.
Feb. 23: Clandestine Reunion: Killa Subz, Method One and Treatment. Also, Yeshua and the Hightones, the Rivals and DJ Cutso at Paddy’s Pub Side; no cover, 9pm.
Feb. 24: Matinee Show with Whiskey Sunday, Talky Tina, Utter Failure and The Bucking Buckaroos, no cover, 5pm. More info.