EROK | V3.1

Street Food and Noodle Stands

erok — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:31:55 +0000

As many of you know, China is notorious for having difficult internet connections. So, after a series of lethargic VPN hindered connections, I finally had a chance to upload a mix from Shanghai. This mix should keep you out late, and encourage a late night craving for Shanghai’s well-known street food and noodles. Enjoy!

Far East Fun

erok — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:51:14 +0000

Asia, it has been another full throttle adventure. It all began just under six weeks ago in Kuala Lumpur. The 2012 F1 season was just underway down in Australia, and it was time for round two at the Sepang International Circuit. This also meant it was time for the second round of parties! After a few days in KL, I met the Christys’ Crown Series crew in Hong Kong. We linked up with DJ Bravo…big thanks. He showed us how to take on the city properly…definitely find him if when you make it to town. We then made our way up to Shanghai. As always, the city doesn’t give you a minute to rest. Long nights at M1NT, DJ Spenny‘s birthday for the books, and the Chinese Grand Prix weekend to close out the visit! Over the last few years, I have been to China five times, and I had yet to make my way to Beijing…in particular the Great Wall. This visit, done…check it off the list! Truly amazing!

Until this point, everything had been going soooo smoothly. Flights, trains, transfers…all stress free. Then it allllll came to a screeching halt as I was stuck in Beijing overnight when trying to make it to Bali. An electric hail storm was the culprit, but I was eventually re-routed through Jakarta. Looking back, it could have been a lot worse. I arrived a day late, but well worth it. Bali is so vibrant and unique! Bintang cooled beaches and sunsets slow the clock down. A welcomed contrast to the endless smog filled sprawling skylines of Shanghai and Beijing. Bali is a place where you are reminded that worrying too much about the future can prevent you from enjoying the present. Swanky Tunes, also in town for the weekend, said it best, “Let’s have fun tonight, tomorrow is tomorrow!”. I met some great new friends during my visit, and I definitely will be heading back. Special thanks to Adam Cooper…a great DJ and producer now residing in Bali. You can check him out here and subscribe to his podcast here. Be sure to find out when and where he is performing when you are in Bali!

After the slow and relaxed days in Bali, it was time to wrap up the Asian tour in one of my favorite cities, Singapore. A city where things work, people are pushing forward, and parties are full of energy. The city has a certain buzz and optimism that is found only in a handful of cities. Singapore has a well-balanced mix of the East and West. Pangaea was a blast as always. Special thanks to Patrick Oliver, and the whole crew…until next time! It was the perfect city to close out the stint.

In a recent interview, the word “lucky” came up when I was asked how I felt about being able to DJ for a living. As I think that over, I am definitely more thankful than lucky. Thankful that I get to travel, play music, and help people celebrate or escape the work weeks. Thankful that I have had some “luck” along the way.

Now back off to Europe for the rest of the Spring. Next stops…Frankfurt, Berlin, Barcelona, and Monaco! As always, the journey continues. Safe travels.

EROK
Changi International Airport (SIN)
Singapore

Happy New Year

erok — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:29:09 +0000

First of all, Happy New Year! What a year 2011 ended up being. It is not easy to track and follow the time line. I know I am not the only one who notices how much faster the years have passed recently. Maybe it is that we are caught up so much within our schedules, careers, and friendships. Maybe it is that we are constantly looking forward instead of enjoying our moments. Or, it could be something as simple as we stare into our BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, Mac, and/or social network so much that we fail to realize that there are better things going on right in front of us, and we do not need to try to touch and connect to everything through these screens. I definitely will try to shift my attention towards what is in front of me physically, and absorb much more in the coming years.

Thankfully, the same technologies that can distract us, also keep the world within a click or tap as well. I have never kept a written journal besides blog posts, but I have always kept a loose photo journal and travel log. Thanks to this, I, like many, have been able to reflect on the years that have come and gone. You can view some of these photos here.

As for travel…people joke with me that I spend more time on a plane than on the ground. Thankfully, I love traveling, and getting to play music while doing it is a blessing. As no surprise, I am drafting this post on my first flight of the year…bright and early New Year’s Day on route to Vail! As for the numbers, check out the travels stats below…

2011 consisted of 194,029 miles, 502 hours flying, 325 days away from Miami, 87 flights, 41 airports, and stepping foot in 19 countries!

I have been a loyal American Airlines AAdvantage member since 1992, and they along with their Oneworld partners have connected me through the following airports as I also passed one million miles this year…

MCO (Orlando), JFK (New York City), MAD (Madrid), MUC (Muenchen), BRU (Brussels), LHR (London), LGA (New York City), MIA (Miami), LAS (Las Vegas), LAX (Los Angeles), PUJ (Punta Cana), HKG (Hong Kong), KUL (Kuala Lumpur), NRT (Tokyo), PVG (Shanghai), ORD (Chicago), BCN (Barcelona), NCE (Nice), YUL (Montreal), NAS (Nassau), DFW (Dallas), ZRH (Zuerich), DUS (Dusseldorf), SCL (Santiago de Chile), CCP (Concepción), SNA (Santa Anna), TXL (Berlin) FAO (Faro), LGW (London), MXP (Milano), SIN (Singapore), LIS (Lisobon), FRA (Frankfurt), FLL (Ft. Lauderdale), BOS (Boston), PRG (Prague), AUH (Abu Dhabi), GRU (São Paulo), and IAH (Houston).

After all this, one of the most common questions I get is…”When are you going to stop traveling so much?”. That question is quite simple to answer…when I wake up one day, and I am sick of it, but I cannot say that will be so simple. Some people like to travel some do not. Some people like their careers, some do not. Some are scared to reach further, etc. I encourage people to see as much of the world as possible, whether it is a trip 50 miles away, or 5k miles away.

On that thought, I just want to thank all the friends I have made along the way. See you my next time around, or if we cross paths on the way. My home is in my head, and I want to leave this world exhausted. Happy New Year, and have a great 2012!

LHR to SIN [A380 Skycam]

erok — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:40:34 +0000

Another case of jet-lag and late night boredom, so I passed some time uploading this video. It is very exciting to be back in Singapore! I am here for Pangaea Singapore’s grand opening, and of course staying through GP week! Follow me as always to stay updated!

Gone Till October

erok — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:37:20 +0000

~~Summer~~ Winter in Santiago
As my two month Summer hiatus from Miami continues, the numbers are 30k miles, 25 days, 15 parties, 10 flights, 5 countries, 1 motive, and countless memories! Clearly, things have remained quite busy since my return from Santiago de Chile. Thankfully, I got to spend a few nights at Valle Nevado before the madness that Red Bull never fails to generate began. With my board freshly waxed and bindings strapped, I got in a lot of great runs! On Friday, we headed to Suka Monticello for their two year anniversary. WOW! What a night! DJ Enferno joined me, and it was definitely a night to remember. Without hesitation, Enferno headed to Brasil to finish off his South American tour, and I headed south to rock out in Concepción. There was no time for rest, as it was now time to head directly to Shanghai for a short, but potent summer residency at M1NT Shanghai.

Muifa and Friends
After thirty six hours of traveling and a brief stop in Los Angeles…I finally arrived back in Shanghai. No matter how tired, worn, or jet-lagged you may be, Shanghai’s intensity guarantees to keep you on the go! Some love it, some hate, and some have yet to decide. Just when I thought I was prepared for the city’s sultry, steamy, high octane Summer months…she approached me from a entirely different direction. Super Typhoon Muifa decided to join the party, and it was projected to impact us on a prime night, Saturday! Being from Miami, I was familiar with this type of situation, but being halfway around the world in a completely different culture definitely made this storm particularly interesting. Thankfully the cyclone ended up weakening and tracking to our east, but it was definitely an attention grabber.

Back to Berlin
After departing Shanghai, I was fortunate enough to have time to make another stop in Los Angeles. This time it was a few days before my father’s birthday, so it was a great addition to the schedule. Yesterday, as I began writing this post, I found myself sitting in Heathrow’s Terminal 5 once again en route to Berlin. The weekend kicked off last night at the “I Love You, but I Have Chosen Disco” party at Puro Sky Lounge…loads of fun! Now it is time for the “Engel & Völkers Berlin Maifeld Cup 2011″. To get a taste of this weekend’s fun you can download the mix below and check out more details here. Photos and updates to come, and then I am off to Icon and Indochine in Zuerich next weekend. Follow me!!!

Planes, Trains, and Diskos

erok — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:02:39 +0000

Ok, so I started with this mix back in April while I was in Kuala Lumpur, and the ideas kept carrying on throughout Shanghai, and eventually it was completed when I made it over to Europe in May. However, I never got quality time to finish all three mixes together, and get everything uploaded. Well, today I finally exported, compressed, and uploaded…now I am sharing it with everyone! This three part mix that is a compilation of new, old, edits, and a few random things that seemed to get a decent amount of play on my iPod when I am traveling. Oh yea, and the third and final mix is basically just a fun party mix that has tracks that have rocked a few parties, and hotel after parties along the way! Download and enjoy…

Exit Rows and Ugrades

Trains and Transfers

Flight Changes and Late Checkouts

Summer Daze

erok — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 22:59:09 +0000

Ok, so the first thing I must say is, sooooorry. It has been way too long since my last post, and it has been waaaay too long since I last posted a mix to download. Well, I am knocking both things out today. I was last off to Barcelona and Monaco for some Formula One action with the double world champion Red Bull Racing team. Since then, we also took over Montreal and Zuerich with some great stops in between. It has been a great Summer so far, and the weather has been amazing so far, except in dreary Silverstone. I am still not quite sure if Summer is over there already, or if it even started!

As always, instead of rambling on…I will just include a photo journal below to highlight the last two months. Then, i will post some mixes in an additional post. Enjoy, and I will definitely post updates from the upcoming trip to Santiago de Chile, and the return to Shanghai in a more timely manner…i promise!

Quick Update

erok — Thu, 12 May 2011 00:15:05 +0000

I finally returned to Miami this evening after seven weeks away. London, NYC, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Shanghai were all a blast to say the least! Great clubs, fun people, lots of love, loads of movie watching, street food heaven, and definitely improved chopstick skills! I will post some photos soon. I will be bouncing around a bit this weekend in Miami, highlighted by my return to Pangaea Hard Rock!

This will be a quick, but fun visit back to Wade County (Go HEAT!). Be sure to catch up with me this weekend, because if not, I will not be back until the 9th of June at Wall. Tuesday morning, the journey continues as it is time to head back to Barcelona and Monaco! Stay tuned…

MIA, LHR, JFK…HKG, KUL, PVG

erok — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 04:07:32 +0000

Let’s see…my last post was on my birthday, and not too much has changed since…still on the move, just from the other side of the world in Kuala Lumpur. I finally got to spend some time in Miami the first three weeks of March. It was quite nice as March is one of the best months in Miami. The city is raided by spring breakers, music lovers with both WMC and MMC/Ultra, and it’s a month with great weather. Consequently, fishing, partying, and relaxing were all on the schedule.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the much anticipated Ultra Music Festival, but i made up for it by taking a quick visit to London before making a short trip to NYC. Surprisingly, Tony Merenda (Christys’ Hats) and I squeezed one last day on the mountain boarding as an April Fool’s Day storm freshened up the slushy slopes.

Next, it was off to Asia for the first part of Spring. After a sixteen hour, six movie, three meal, sleepless flight from JFK to HKG I found myself once again lost in translation, lagging, and in full airport-hobo zombie mode. Eventually I made it to steamy Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to catch up with 2011 Formula One season. I will be here for the weekend, and teaming up with another Miami DJ, Patrick Oliver. Patrick is one of the few guys from the days that put Miami on the map, now holding a very successful residency at Euphoria by Ministry of Sound. We will be jamming together this Saturday, before I will be heading to Shanghai.

Stay connected as things will certainly heat up in the coming months…new mixes, posts, photos, etc. are all on the way. Don’t forget to join my Facebook Fan Page, and keep up with me via Twitter.

Today Is A Good Day

erok — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:15:30 +0000

Another year has passed, and it had been another great one! Thank you to everyone one who has helped on the way, and have made it so much fun. Thankfully I can sit here on the beach in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic and take it all in. We are here for the 2nd Annual Cap Cana Beach Polo World Cup…it is sure to be a blast. Afterwards I will be heading back to Miami. You can come rok with me at The W’s Whiskey Blue on March 4th and Rokbar on the March 5th.

—

Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes!