About DJ Cavon – 4

Continued interview of DJ Cavon by Gina Mcafee (Column Writer/Reporter)

So I finally got around to asking him why “The Grandmaster” why not some other kind of nickname like most other DJs? He went on to say, “Well anyone who knows me in person would know that my nickname was “peg leg” from back in the day, but I tell you how “The Grandmaster” came about.

Just to give you a little bit of history about myself back in the late 70’s, the first thing I owned coming up as a kid was a turntable in fact it was a “Show & Tell” and back then the turntables we’re not that great then.

“We had to turntables back then that literally looked like furniture then we had the turntable that have three speeds on 33 rpm, 45rpm and 78 rpm. (I may be losing the kids out there now) a lot of kids won’t know anything about this”.

“I use to like that cereal box that had the free record on the back of it. I think it was Post and Kellogg that was doing that I’m not sure…lol OK I have really lost those wannabe DJ now!!”

Image result for cereal box with record on the backImage result for cereal box with record on the back

You had to be real careful cutting that bad boy out though or you would ruin the record. They used to give us a 78 rpm record on the back of the box that you could cut out and play on your turntable, like I said most kids won’t know about that either…lol.  That’s right Michael Jackson releases came out on the back of cereal boxes. I bet you a lot of these bubble gum DJs out there don’t know anything about that!  Do you know that there are DJ’s in Bermuda and all over the USA that I have met that have not seen a record and have no idea of what it looks like !!!” 

“Anyway I am getting off the subject…….turntables got very fancy over time were we could slow or speed up the record (or vinyl ) speed manually. It was called a pitch control which a lot of the turntables didn’t have back in the day, so most DJs use to have to mix with out pitch control, imagine that !!  It was tricky but we figured out a way to do it.”

The number one and most favorite turntable with the Techniques 1200 that still to this day DJs are using this turntable and they actually cost more than any other turntable in the world. They are also very hard to find. These turn tables were adorable could take a pounding and they will still keep going. They were and still are the best turntables in the world. Wait a minute I’m speeding a little bit, let me back just a little.

You can read more about this bad boy on an article that I posted called Guide To Technics 1200 Turntables

Lets go back a little, then came the error of the 8 track prior to the Techniques turntable. Back in the day I used to own what was called an eight track player and here is a picture of the original eight track player from back in the day that I owned.

This was the thing to have back then and the only one that actually carried a good brand or radio with an eight track player was RadioShack. A lot of DJs or cats (guys) don’t know but there was a RadioShack in Bermuda one time on Reid Street then it moved to Front Street. You can still go to one in the USA in some cities. That was like the Best Buy of electronics back then, so you went to them for all the gadgets and accessories for jacks, wiring etc..

I actually used to repair 8 track cartridges. Those suckers use to get stuck around the head of the player, and it was hard to get to that head, so you ended up sometimes, ripping your 8 track when you ejected it and sometimes it would get caught and break. The key was to find a Q-Tip and dab it in alcohol then wipe the head off to eliminate that from happening. They used to sell eight track cartridge repair kits here is a picture of one. (I am teaching some of those young bucks now !! lol. Back then the blue box (ghetto blaster) was the box to have that had the best sound that you could have on a portable deck. It was made by RadioShack, Here is a picture of the blue 8- track box that everyone used to love back in the day.

Then technology took another turn the blue box went red and it included a FM & AM radio with the eight track player that was the step up to higher standards so if you had to have one of these red RadioShack 8 track boxes (portable ghetto blaster) you where the man!!

But you know us being who we are and always looking for better sound technology evolved we ended up putting realistic horn tweeters on top of the box in fact we went as far as putting the lights on the box so that they would blink with the music when you played your music. The tweeters was so that you can get a nice clear quality type of sound and more highs. We wanted people to hear us carrying these boxes (ghetto blasters) to local football games in county games or just hanging at the beach in Bermuda. Those were the good old eight track days.

But then technology took another turn and then the cassette that came out, it was a single cassette deck back then they never used to record then they had the dual cassette deck that came with a recorder. I owned one of those as well. Finally we could record ourselves playing music at parties and sets.

They also had a repair kit for the cassette that I used to repair cassettes as well, with a cassette repair kit. They use to jam sometimes when you played your deck for awhile they would stick to the head of the cassette deck which would get hot if you play music for a long time (crazy huh). But those were a little easier to get to and repair then the 8 track players.

They had different kinds of cassettes tapes, they had normal ones, the metal cassettes which had better quality sound they had the medium type quality cassette and then the low-budget cassette. I have an article posted called A Guide To Buying Cassette Recorder Tapes

But back then cassettes weren’t long enough so I ended up buying a reel to reel player which is another form of an eight track but on a bigger Wheel so to speak so you could get longer play. Some of these bad boys played up to 16 hours or music. That was huge back in the day. It would include an auto reverse and play on the other side for 8 more hours. And yes they had a repair kit for that as well. You could actually use the eight track repair kit for the reel to reel. I know I lost a lot of young readers now, but only a true DJ would know all about this stuff!

I owned and operated a reel to reel as well and play at parties with them as well. Back then Sansui had the best stereo and sound system for speakers etc. I had a set of Sansui 15 inch woofers and to this day they don’t make a speaker that sounds as close to what that speaker sounded like back in the day yet.Image result for sansui 15 inch speakers

And then came along the CD player the single CD player which led to a double CD player then to 5 CD carousel player you name it I’ve had them all.

And then came the computer and the rest was history so you could say I was grandfathered in to all the stereo of yesteryear correct?  You see I had to go through all that so justify why I was called the “Grandmaster” That’s why my name was none other then DJ Cavon “The Grandmaster”

“I earned that name it wasn’t given to me. Frankly let me just say that I personally think that any DJ today that never played on vinyl or a turntable coming up as a DJ is not a true DJ. I bet that if I give two turntables and some records to a young DJ he would be lost, that why I always say to these young cats (man) to stay in their lane and show respect for the way that has been paved for them. Some of these young Dj’s walk around and approach me with the chest sticking out like they know everything. But I would like to give them a set of turntables and have them go up against me.”

For the Facebook DJs I place an article about those types of DJs called Is It Right To Ban Laptops From DJ Booths?

You take away a computer and give them a turntable they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. Take a look at this video here on one of my articles.

But I’ve move on to the DDJ SX3 now it is a very nice controller, just trying to stay current and not get left behind”. 

 

“Just a little advise for those rookie DJ’s that asume they know everything then you need to learn something. Take DJ Cavon “The Grandmaster’s” advice and look at the original Grandmaster Flash Video here and you will learn about how the DJ industry really started. (You Better Ask Somebody)

 

His music will literally put you into a “zone” when you listen to these compilations one after the other continually on this site.  Enjoy them and support DJ Cavon, he truly appreciates your business and rest assure this is money well spent.

...for the ridiculously low price for so much talent of only, Order one of his Quiet Storm or Master mixes Music Volumes right here.

“You simply won’t find a better deal anywhere else on the ‘Net!

If you want to find out where DJ Cavon is playing just go to Live Appearances to find out where he will be playing next! Be sure to tell him that Gina said “HELLO”

Written by a Bermudian that Loves talent and cares! Gina Mcafee (Column Writer/Reporter)

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