The HAWT crew in San Francisco, CA
DJ Mes / HAWT SF
Mes began his journey through the dance music industry when he was first exposed to house in 1993. While growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, his musical passion was fueled by soul, funk, and disco of the seventies, as well as eighties electro, hip-hop, and jazz. Drawing on the influences of friends Tony (Tango Records) and DJ Dan (Funky Techno Tribe) and Rob Drake (THC), Mes found a way to meld all of his early musical influences into a deep, yet driving and funky sound that allowed him to gain quick recognition in the house music scene. Early recognition of his talent and unique sound gave him the opportunity to play at the legendary Area 51 parties, as well as other now infamous events like The Gathering, Freedom, and The Burning Man Festival.
In 1996, he took his involvement in the music industry to the next level when he co-founded Daddy's Records with partners, Rob Doten (Wicked, Greyhound Records) and Buna (Wicked, E.T.I., Oboro Records). Based in Berkley, California, Daddy's Records became an influential label and record store. After DJing, overseeing label releases, the next logical step was to produce his own music. After the release of his first single on Kick Drum his focus, and passion for production coupled with his DJ career, continued to grow steadily. It is the passion for creating the music he fell in love with that has allowed him to have multiple releases out on labels like: BlackCherry, AJ, Safe in Sound, DAE, Big Popsicle, MVM, Public Access, Sunny Day, and GoodFamily.
Mes's production talents have not only earned him local and international respect, his skills as a DJ have made him a highly sought after commodity. He began his first out of state residency at Spin Cycle in Reno, Nevada where he continued to pack the floor for the next four years. His residency at Spin Cycle was just the beginning of what has now become a whirl-wind of gigs that have taken him far and near, spanning cities such as: Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Miami, Orlando, Cincinnati, San Diego, L.A., Brazil, Belgium, France, Spain, Scotland Barcelona, and the U.K. Currently, Mes lends his DJ skills to clubs and parties in the Bay area like: Stylus, Aural Confection, Simma' Down Now, and Underground's, while continuing to bring his deep and driving rhythms to venues around the world.
Along with Mes's well known skills as a dj and producer, he also handles the day to day responsibilities for his own record label "Guesthouse Music". One of the top labels in the burgeoning new school of underground - part of the forward-thinking house music movement in the United States. Started by Mes in early 2005, the label already has seven releases under its nine-month old belt, and is showing no signs of losing momentum. Inspired by the close-knit vibe of the underground house community in the US and beyond, (and from plenty of couch-surfing and sleeping at friends' places while DJing away from home) the name Guesthouse was born; and so was the home of what Sutton hopes will be the future classics of house music.Whether Mes is producing or DJing it is his never ending energy and drive to put his signature on the dance music community that makes him a talent not to be missed.
Roque Santos / HAWT SF
Some of Roque Santos' earliest musical memories are of record shopping with his Uncle Ron, a popular hip-hop radio DJ in the eighties. Even though he could barely see over the tops of the record bins, an undying love of music formed and stayed with him into his adult life. Now, as a successful Bay Area DJ, Roque spreads his love of house music to a closely-knit community of club goers and fellow music lovers.
He first began promoting parties in San Jose in 1998 and, always a family man, gained inspiration from his cousins, who founded Funky Techno Tribe. It wasn't long before Roque's love and respect for the house music scene turned into a desire to DJ, so he began doing so in 1999. In 2001, Soul Control was born, an event production company and DJ act specializing in underground house that Roque started along with his best friends, Sly and DJ Dizolve. In 2007 Roque joined the LA powerhouse HAWT Music, and that is when the San Francisco chapter, HAWT SF, gained its auspicious start. Since then, Soul Control and HAWT SF have been throwing events all over the Bay Area, including their successful weekly at Blowfish in San Jose, and bringing out guests such as DJ Sneak, Jason Hodges, Eddie Amador, Collette, Rick Preston and Ken ECB just to name a few.
Since the events brought such success, Roque and company decided to push Soul Control to become a music label, which became official in 2008. 2009 will bring EPs lined up from Jason Hodges and Evan Rhodes. Now, Roque currently spends his time working on his own music production career and furthering the success of HAWT SF and Soul Control. Clearly, his love of music has only gained greater momentum since his childhood days of record shopping and music education.
Don Kainoa / HAWT SF
Don Kainoa (born Don Kainoa Savella, in Hawaii, 1978), is a DJ that exemplifies eclectic. Although he got his start with house, his DJ sets have expanded to include downtempo, hip-hop, future soul, jazzy breaks, and brokenbeat. Although Don started his DJ career relatively late in comparison to his contemporaries, he has been able to play music for people since 2003.
Don began his electronic music journey in the late '90s in Santa Barbara; his first experiences with Mark Farina, Wally Callerio, Doc Martin, and DJ Sneak definitively shaped his taste for funky, jazzy, and deep house music. Although he always felt an appreciation for house beats, it wasn't until his move to San Francisco a few years later that he decided to move from dancer, to music selector. He teamed up with his friend J-double, playing house parties and starting a weekly happy hour focusing on deep, funky, underground house.
In 2006, Don received the unique opportunity to become one of the residents of the weekly infamous OM Records Happy Hour. Here he was able to expand his DJ repetoire into the slower beats of hip-hop, downtempo, and soul, learning from OM Records' own Still Rob G. Having the freedom to play different styles of music allowed Don to connect all manner of beat-driven tunes, all the while keeping those heads nodding. Don and Rob are still doing it, bringing in the big-time guests as well as local flavor, to get that weekend started off right.
In 2008, HAWT's Roque Santos and Mikey Velazquez approached Don to join part of their team in an effort to expand HAWT's musical influence. Along with DJ Mes, Roque and Don have been bringing HAWT's vibe to San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area with monthly get-downs, underground events, and bigger, one-time parties. Currently, Don Kainoa is honing his craft and connecting house, downtempo, and nu-sound into his sets. He prides himself on staying humble and continuing to develop connections with the people who enjoy his music.
