Life: Steve Smooth

Temple and Life SF Present: LIFE with Steve Smooth! Born and raised on Chicago's Southside, Steve Smooth first immersed himself in the dance music scene working at a local record store and then a Chicago based independent record label. As a DJ, Steve worked to perfect his style of mixing by hitting the Chicago club circuit. This, along with Guest appearances on several college radio stations, helped him to gain recognition which eventually lead to a frequent guest spot on weekly Sunday mix show, "The Street Flava," which aired on Chicago's largest radio station B96 (96.3 FM). Steve Smooth then began working in the studio producing and remixing tracks for some of the hottest dance labels. Mixes like "Everyday My Life" and the remix of the vocal anthem, "Time" by legendary House Diva Dajae, helped Steve quickly make his mark in the house and dance music community as well as receiving much deserved attention from Billboard Magazine. His first original production "Beat Freaker" created a frenzy on dance-floors worldwide. This Solidified him as a production force to be reckoned with. Steve's skills in the studio earned him a part on Bad Boy Bill's production team working on dance-floor hits such as: "Everybody;" "Costa Del Sol" and "Happy" as well as Bill’s mix compilation series "Bangin' The Box" & "Behind The Decks." In 2002 Steve seized the opportunity to tour with the world renowned DJ and Chicago native Bad Boy Bill. Steve took his skills as a DJ to countless shows around the world, including the UK, Germany, Spain, Hong Kong, and North & South Americas. He traveled and played alongside Bad Boy Bill for over 3 years. By working with Bad Boy Bill, Steve ended up hooking up with his then production partner, JJ Flores. Together, they found a signature sound that filled dance floors across the Globe. Peak hour tracks like "Release", "Get Naked" & "Time for Love" became bonafide hits and led to the release on such labels as: Ministry of Sound (UK), Sound Division (Italy), Vendetta (Spain), Fine Tune (France) & Ménage Music (US). Steve and JJ have remixed for many mainstream artists such as Nelly Furtado, Santana, & Chad Kroeger from Nickelback. They also produced remixes for house music artists such as Antoine Clamaran, Hatiras, DJ Dan, and Eric Prydz. Their remix of "Dancin" by Aaron Smith was a Top 10 hit in the UK Pop Charts in 2006. With the success of the Steve and JJ's production, Ménage Music released their first full length album entitled "The Collection". This album was just that; a collection of the most popular tracks produced and remixed by the duo to date. Soon enough the two found themselves back on tour. This time with the Bad Ass B*tches (a female dance group) for The Debauchery Tour. This tour took them to over 20 major cities in the U.S. and Canada. With extraordinary feedback from media and club-goers, Steve and JJ obtained a monthly residency at Spybar Chicago in their hometown, which was later moved to another Chicago venue, Crobar. In 2007 Steve found himself growing musically more than ever before. He produced two rock EPs for the Electronic Rock Band, The Shock Stars. Within the 1st year the band has found themselves opening for other mainstream bands including AFI, but more impressively beating out over 2000 bands to win the MP3's "Last Band Standing" contest to perform on the main stage of the infamous music festival "Lollapalooza." Early in 2008, Steve signed his exclusive deal to release his & JJ’s sophomore album on Ultra Records / Ménage Music. On October 7th, 2008 the full length album “Amp’d” was released. The album featured the single “Let It Go,” with vocals by B. Lee, which topped the charts and was in rotation on all of the major dance music radio shows in the U.S. Another single titled “Stay,” featuring Colette, was remixed by John Dahlback & Nick Terranova and became a #1 download on Beatport.com as well as was in BPM Radio’s Top 20 of 2009. Other popular tracks from the album included “Being in Love,” “Deep Inside These Walls,” and “Sex Fiend.” All of these were floor killers in nightclubs worldwide. Steve released his 3rd full length album & first solo project at the end of 2012. The first single “So High” created a huge buzz in the club scene as well as YouTube with a Music Video being a mash-up of the club scene from Spy Bar (Chicago) and a beach party in the Bahamas while aboard The Groove Cruise. His next 2 singles “You Take Me Here” & “Stalker” featuring the vocalist Tamra Keenan from Kaskade’s “Angel On My Shoulder” become huge crossover dance hits. Steve has been voted one of “America’s Favorite DJs” according to BPM Magazine. Over the last 5 years Steve has continued to maintain an impressive DJ schedule by touring solo and headlining in 30 different countries as well as playing over 100 shows just in the past year alone. He is a resident DJ on Whet Travel’s yearly cruise, “The Groove Cruise” which packs a crowd of 2000 plus house music fans as well as many talented DJs from all over the world. This year Steve has been releasing music on Tiesto’s Black Hole Recordings and has been doing remixes for Fedde La Grand’s Flamingo Recordings. Steve's newest singles “Mmm Drop" & "Free" with Bad Boy Bill both are still climbing the charts and have reached the Beatport Top 20!