Speaking of Sarah Meier in yesterday’s post, her and I first met in 2003 while attending a Nets-Celtics playoff game at the Meadowlands with a pair of mutual friends (‘Sup Sam + Sher!). While on our drive home on 95 South, my buddies played a pair of DJ Neil Armstrong mixes, Original and 2Original.
I was floored. I wanted to quit DJing altogether. It was so good I could barely take hearing it. Needless to say, it changed my perspective on so many things, and also gave me much-needed motivation to get better at my craft.
Fast-forward eight years or so, and Neil has become a mentor to me in so many ways. We had the chance to share a bill together for the first time in the Philippines in 2008 (for Sarah’s birthday, no less), and even traveled to Angola, Africa with one another in 2010, gaining the distinction of being the first American DJ’s to EVER play Luanda. Oh, and Neil also found time to become the tour DJ for this guy who goes by the name of Jay-Z.
So, with all that being said, the 10 year anniversary of the first in the “Original” series means a lot to me. It serves as a gauge of sorts of where I’ve gone professionally in the last decade, and also reminds me that I can never, ever stop trying to get better at what I do.
Tomorrow night Neil (along with Adidas, whom the DJ is now a global ambassador for) will be celebrating the first decade of Originals, joined by guests ?uestlove, Spinna, Total Eclipse, G-Bo the Pro, Daddy Dog, and many other special guests at Greenhouse NYC. I would STRONGLY encourage you to go if you are in the NYC-area. And I would strongly encourage you to go even if you aren’t…
Oh, and word on the street is Neil is working on a new mix as we speak…