HISTORY
GMS was exposed to music at a very young age: “From as far back as I can remember, my Mom, used to always play music. She mostly played all of the r&b records that were out at the time back in the ‘70’s, but she would also play a lot of party [club/disco] music. However, my uncles used to listen to rock, while my Grandparents listened to country and some classical, so I was lucky to be exposed to a wide variety of music.”
However, in 1981 GMS was introduced to a new form of music: hip-hop. “My brother, Stevie, moved in with us and he had a bunch of tapes of The Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, The Treacherous Three, and tons of other music I had never heard before. It was so different and I loved it – I couldn’t get enough. Of course, I stayed up on all of the other music that was coming out, but it was r&b and hip-hop that I was drawn to.
“I think the reason for the attraction was because in Spokane where I grew up there wasn’t a big music scene, nor was there much musical diversity. So when I heard these tapes from New York & L.A., I was hooked!”
GMS’s exposure to Hip-Hop naturally segued into breakdancing[.] ... It was during this time that GMS, Tony [cousin], Stevie, and his Mom started taking weekend trips to Seattle, where GMS heard, for the first time[,] Hip-Hop and mixing on the radio. “I remember arriving in Seattle on Friday night and Tacoma’s K-TOY would mix all the latest Hip-Hop records for hours. The mixing would continue on Saturdays and Sundays at any given time – so you always had to have a tape ready to record. But everyone kept talking about Seattle’s K-FOX on Sundays, so we tuned-in and heard Nasty-Nes and Sir Mix-A-Lot[]! It was ... incredible to hear not only Hip-Hop on the radio, but to also hear so much incredible mixing. I couldn’t believe it because Spokane had nothing like that at the time. I then essentially became a mix-tape junkie. I would try to obtain mix-tapes from everywhere: If someone was going to Seattle, L.A., Miami, or anywhere DJ’s mixed on the radio, I would beg them to record mixes.”
GMS [] began collecting Hip-Hop records and he and Tony started making their own “pause” mixes. But they didn’t do this with the idea of becoming DJ’s; they did it to keep a competitive edge as breakdancers: “By continually having new mixes to break to – mixes no one else had – added that additional excitement to our performances.”
“However, pause mixing was too limited for the ideas GMS had, so he began experimenting with new ways to mix. GMS started rigging up various pieces of stereo equipment – turntables, echo chamber boxes, cassette decks, line switches and volume controls – and he taught himself how to scratch and blend two records together. This was quite an accomplishment considering the fact that GMS had never seen a DJ mix – other than brief clips of what he saw on TV – as there was only one DJ in Spokane at the time – “Skeet” – who was known for being an actual mixer. But GMS didn’t see Skeet mix until much later, so he had to teach himself all of the nuances to scratching by simply listening to records and tapes that had scratching on them. ....
“Part of the problem I had was the turntables: I was using a set of cheap, mismatched turntables with no pitch control, so in order to blend records I had to control the speed of the records by putting slight pressure on either the top or side of the record or platter, or I would use my fingers to speed up the record. It was difficult but I think in the long run it taught me to be more accurate with the mix.”
GMS also says that using unconventional equipment allowed him to perform an early version of the transform scratch. “Instead of using a cross-fader I used to use a line switch, and I remember practicing one night in 1984 and as I was waiting to mix in the next record I started tapping the line switch quickly with the beat. As I was doing that, my hand on the other record started moving slowly back and forth. I then heard this unusual scratching sound that I’d never heard before. I got really excited and started experimenting. I knew I was on to something, but when I showed other people they thought it was too ‘fast and frantic’ sounding, as they described it. Of course, at that time everyone thought Mix Master Ice’s scratching was super fast – and this was way faster than that. But I kept at it, and when I eventually heard Jazzy Jeff transform, I knew exactly what he was doing because I had been doing it since 1984.”
However, GMS didn’t decide to become a DJ until 1986. “At that point I came to the realization that breakdancing had faded out – at least in Spokane, that is – but I was still into the whole B-Boy/Hip-Hop thing. Well, one day when I was in my room thinking about this and wondering what to do next, I was looking around at all of the records and mixing equipment I had acquired, and I realized I could become a DJ because I already had the basic tools and I knew how to mix. Plus, aside from my love of music, I had a good ear for what people like to hear – which I think are critical traits for any DJ – and I had already DJ’d once before when I was 11-years-old. So I decided to become a DJ.
GMS began making and selling mix-tapes and DJ’ing at house parties. Charles Knight [another Spokane DJ] also let GMS spin at some of the clubs he spun at.
Then one day, a childhood friend named Tammy called GMS and told him to tune into POWER 104 FM. This was a significant event: POWER 104 had just started a new show called “The Power Switch” where they “switched” their format to play Hip-Hop, R&B and Club Music. The show’s host was TJ Collins who had an excellent and diverse taste in music. As GMS listened to the show he realized this could be a great opportunity. “One thing I couldn’t stand about the radio in Spokane back then was it was so boring. They would never take a chance and play a good record that wasn’t high on the charts – just because a record isn’t high on the charts doesn’t mean it isn’t a good record, it simply may not have been discovered yet and may just need airplay to get exposure. I knew that, and anyone who likes good music knows that. But the stations in Spokane absolutely would not try and break new records – they only wanted proven hits. And they most certainly would never play rap or a mix of songs back then. But when I heard TJ’s show I realized that this could really be a chance to change the radio in Spokane.
“So I called TJ Collins, told him I was a DJ and asked if he was interested in playing any of the records I had or any of my mixes. TJ said he would love to hear my mixes and asked what records I had. I told him, and he asked if he could borrow some of my records to record for the show and he said he wanted to listen to any mixes I had. Of course I agreed. I then delivered the music to him, and on the next week’s show I heard the records I let him borrow, including ‘The Square Dance Rap’ by Sir Mix-A-Lot – which became a big hit in Spokane – and then around the end of the show I heard one of my mixes! I couldn’t believe it. It was so cool hearing my own mix on the radio – it reminded me of when we used to go to Seattle and heard mixes on the airwaves there. After that, I knew for sure that DJ’ing was what I wanted to do.”
This marked [a place for GMS] in History: GMS was the first DJ ever to mix for commercial radio in Spokane. ... And what makes this accomplishment even more impressive is the fact that GMS had just turned 14-years-old.
[In 1987], ... GMS started DJ’ing the “All-City Dances” at the Big Brother’s & Sister’s Association. These dances were extremely popular at the time. “The All-City Dances were a big thing back then because people from all over the City and beyond would show up and have fun! The place was packed with [but the] only issue ... was the music. I remember the previous summer we always had to beg them to play some good music – they mostly played rock & top 40, which was often hard to dance to. Nor would they mix at all – it was all just fade segues. Yet, they had an incredible sound and light system.
“So the next summer in ’87 when I went and saw that it was the same thing, I had an idea: I introduced myself as the mixer from POWER 104 and challenged them to a battle. I was friendly about it though, and I convinced them it would add excitement, which they agreed, but I could tell they were a little apprehensive. That was understandable but when I got to know them they were all really great guys. Anyway, we scheduled the battle for the next week and we really hyped it up. We even talked about it on the air. So the next week came and [the] place was packed! Everyone was talking about the POWER 104 DJ coming to battle “Journey Sound” [the DJ crew] – you could really feel the excitement in the place that night. The battle didn’t start right away – we built it up – but when I finally took the stage and went to work, the crowd went crazy! I just keep mixing and scratching and the crowd kept screaming and dancing! The funny thing was we didn’t actually have a battle – the other guys just conceded and welcomed me as a DJ, which was really cool. From that point on I was an honorary member of Journey Sound – those guys were absolutely the best. Very nice, professional, funny, laid back – some of the best people you could know. After I was done spinning, we announced that I would be back next week and of course we advertised that they could check me out on POWER 104.
“And when the next week came, the place was packed beyond capacity – there was a line around the block! Those days were so fun: people from all over coming together to listen to good music and have fun. It’s too bad those dances ended that summer.”
Another significant event for GMS that year was attending “The Spring Rap Fest” in Seattle featuring Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Kool Moe Dee, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Grand Master Flash (a no-show), and The 2 Live Crew. “When I saw Jazzy Jeff perform, I couldn’t believe it. He was absolutely incredible on the turntables. I realized then that I had to go home and practice. After that, I changed my whole scratching technique and performance style which really helped my performances, especially at the All-City Dances.”
GMS kept selling tapes, DJ’ing at house parties, clubs and on the radio. But then in 1988 POWER 104 changed management. The new management did not like The Power Switch because they didn’t like the music, but it was POWER 104’s highest rated show. So they moved the time slot from 6-8pm on Sunday’s to11pm-midnight, Monday through Friday... [And eventually], they cancelled the show, fired TJ, and, unsurprisingly, they went out of business not too long afterwards.”
Between 1988 and 1990, GMS continued to have his mixes played on different radio stations throughout the Pacific Northwest, including KWRS (Spokane), KDNA (Yakima area), and KSVR (Mount Vernon). Then, in 1990, GMS made a guest appearance on KAGU, which had just started a Hip-Hop show. This eventually led to having his mixes played every week on KAGU for Spokane’s then-only all-Rap-and-Hip-Hop-show [with Tobin Costen who would later go on to manage Master P].
In 1990, GMS hooked up with Spokane DJ legend, Skeet, for a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. Skeet and GMS had actually started collaborating in 1988 producing various instrumental tracks. “When I got the chance to work with Skeet it was an honor. Skeet was incredibly talented, not just as a DJ, but as a musician. He could play drums, saxophone, guitar, keyboards and a lot of other instruments, as well – he was amazing. He had that classic funk vibe that not many people had and he made it look so easy. We had been collaborating on all kinds of music tracks, just having lots of fun, but one day he called and said ‘We’re going to the studio.’ He picked me up, we went to The Production Group, and he had Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech on wax. He had the general idea in his head of what he wanted, so we started kicking around ideas and going through instrumentals. We found that the speech went at a perfect pace with the ‘Human’ instrumental by Human League. So we constructed the intro with the keyboard, started the instrumental, and threw in the speech. While that was going, Skeet was by one of the keyboards; I looked at him and it was like he read my mind: he started playing a beautiful keyboard piece right at the perfect spot. It was spontaneous and live – no overdubbing! The project turned out beautiful. Well, a few months later I realized Martin Luther King Day was coming up so I decided to contact KZZU. I knew a DJ there named Chuck Matheson who agreed to give it a listen. Chuck really liked it and he passed it on to his boss who liked it as well. The next thing I knew, KZZU played it on MLK day – but they didn’t just play it once; they kept it in regular rotation all day! And they did that for several years. I thought that was very cool.”
Sadly, in 1999 while Skeet was boating with his 7-year-old son, 9-year-old daughter, and father, tragedy struck. Skeet’s daughter had problems in the water, so Skeet, in his efforts to help keep her safe, drowned. On July 29, 1999, Spokane’s original Mix-Tape King and musician extraordinaire, Paul “Skeeter” Bradley, Jr., died. L He was only 38.
1990 also marked another historic event in Spokane: its first major rap concert held at the old Spokane Coliseum. The event featured Sir Mix-A-Lot, Kid Sensation, High Performance, and Duracell (Criminal Nation was on the bill but due to other conflicts they were unable to perform). The MC for the event was Dennis Mitchell, who was the host/producer for the then-popular TV talk show “Choices.”
What many people don’t know about this Historic event is that GMS helped to promote this show and make it happen. “It was a great event for Spokane. ....
....
[W]hile GMS was on KAGU he received radio play at other stations. KZZU started playing remixes produced by GMS, and Maximus Clean in Vancouver, Canada and Nasty Nes in Seattle gave GMS airplay, as well.
Along side radio, GMS stayed quite busy: He DJ’d at many concerts, including the Lighter Shade of Brown concerts (Sunnyside, Washington), Sir Mix-A-Lot (Spokane/Sunnyside), E-Dawg (at Club Cherry Bomb in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho & Yakima), Funk Daddy & Jay Skee (Spokane/Yakima), Too Short (Yakima), Rodney O & Joe Cooley (Yakima), and the 1995 Summer Jam Concert in Central Washington. GMS also DJ’d at the Hamilton Recreation Center (Spokane), Club Oz (Spokane), Club Cherry Bomb (Idaho), Mario’s (Spokane), Hollywood Nights (Idaho), The Upper Glen (Spokane), Outback Jack’s (Spokane), The BBC (Tri-Cities), and Colours (Yakima). GMS became the Spokane Regional Representative for PROP$ Magazine, as well as a Street Rep for RAP Sheet Newspaper. He also produced music for the short film Scratch Merchants, featuring Nasty Nes and Cynthia Geary from the TV show "Northern Exposure."
But in 1994, GMS landed a gig that had a special meaning to him: becoming a mixer for the legendary DJ Nasty Nes. “DJ B-Mello had just [left the] show [The KCMU Rap Attack] ... and I happened to call Nes at the right time. Nes and I had known each other for quite some time due to being in the radio business, and I always respected, admired, and looked-up to Nes. I mean, Nes was the guy who really inspired me to become a DJ and in the way I mixed – Nes was incredible at mixing and was way ahead of his time when he came out in the early 80’s. So to be asked by Nes to be one of his mixers was an absolute honor. I jumped at the chance.”
Nasty Nes described bringing GMS to the show as “a breath of fresh air.” “Nes told me that and I really appreciated it – especially coming from him. I admit I was a little nervous because my style and B-Mello’s style was totally different. B-Mello had that East Coast, double-copy, back-&-forth live mixing style, whereas I’ve always wanted to give people something more exciting to listen to, so I put a lot more into my mixes. ... [So] I was very happy when Nes and all of the listeners in Seattle and beyond enjoyed my mixes and appreciated all of the little tricks, blends, scratches, and edits I put into the mix. And I want to thank all of the people around the World who have showed support and enjoyed the music. You are truly appreciated.
“And I hope all of us in the industry can put aside any personal issues, forget the ego’s, and remember that we should be creating and playing music that the World can enjoy. Because by doing so, we may be able to make the World a better place – which is something we should all strive for.”
--Hi Cash (former reporter for PROP$ Magazine)
Sources: PROP$ Magazine; Rap Sheet; interview with GMS (October 1995).
GrandMixer GMS
Grandmixer GMS is one of the World’s most skilled and talented DJs. His hard work and love for music elevated the Inland Northwest’s hip-hop and electronic music scene in a way that is unparalleled to anyone before his time.
