DJ Rick Preston Says Funk It

Rick Preston, a preeminent local house music DJ, is bringing his unique brand of uptempo dance music to the in Menlo Park tomorrow night.

The San Jose resident has been steadily building his reputation as a party rocker since the inception of his career more than two decades ago, when he began spinning funk and disco records.

Over the years, his style has developed and changed along with the popular musical trends. This ability to adapt over the course of his career has partly kept Preston relevant to his fans evolving appetites for phat beats.

His productions have been released on record labels such as Woship, Eight-Tracks, Big Big Trax, Freeze Records, BCE and many more, as it customary for those in the house music industry to distribute their recordings through a wide variety of venues.

And though he is an accomplished recording artist, it is Preston's live performances that have driven his ascension as an artist. He began his career performing a weekly gig in Santa Cruz, and since then has gone on to travel across the country doing shows. He said he likes to consider his shows as journeys that he takes with his crowd, while he transitions from house to a variety of other similar musical genres.

"That could include some acid house, tribal or latin stuff, an alternative track or some disco," said Preston, of the travels through musical styles he likes to guide.

Preston, a native of South Carolina, moved out to the west coast when he was 19. Around that same time, he took his first venture into the realm of DJing, by making mix tapes for friends and families.

That started the ball rolling toward what Preston would eventually begin pursue as a career.

"It peaked my interest in picking songs that would be appropriate for that individual," said Preston, of his humble beginnings. From there, he began spinning records at wedding receptions and small local clubs in Santa Cruz, then eventually onto more ambitious venues.

And though his tastes and styles have changed and developed over the years, mostly in different varieties of house music, Preston said his passion for music is also generated by factors outside of the musical realm where he dwells.

"I draw music production inspiration from everyday happenings in my life and the others around me," said Preston.

To illustrate his wide variety of influences beyond solely house music, Preston cites Kraftwerk and The Clash as bands that have made an impression on the way he DJs. Kraftwerk broke ground in the 1970s as one of the originators of electronic dance music. The band from Germany is credited with influencing the progression of many musical genres such as hip hop, house, and drum & bass.

British punk band The Clash are known as masters of blending a variety of musical styles into their hardcore recordings, as they have interpolated elements of rock, rap, reggae and many other genres into their songs. The consistent theme of what Preston is able to blend into his own style of music is diversity. He deftly mixes tracks, diminishing a listener's likelihood of detecting the end of one song or the beginning of the next.

House music is a brand of production that lends itself to integrating many genres into one recording. The foundation of Preston's favorite flavor of dance music is rich bass heavy mostly set in 4/4 time.

He said fans can expect to hear mostly house music during his performances, but that he also likes to keep it funky.

He said he has performed at the BBC once before many years ago, and that he is looking forward to returning tomorrow night.

So what should people be expecting, if they are interested in seeing Preston funking it up in Menlo Park?

"A dude that loves playing and sharing music," he said.

Rick Preston will perform, as well as Nick Garcia and Audio Snob, at the British Bankers Club from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. Friday night in Menlo Park. Admission is free, but only those 21 year old and over are allowed into the bar.