Born in the Philippines and raised in San Francisco, DJ Apollo began his career in the early 80's. Apollo's musical talent is heard by international audiences and consistently with the hometown crowds. One of the founders and original members of the Invisbl Skratch Piklz (ISP), Apollo and his band mates introduced a revolutionary art form to the music world.
The turntable band, and arform in which turntables are the instruments, and various sounds, including drum and percussion taps, word phrases, guitar basslines, and horns were pressed onto vinyl and served as the notes. The DJs manipulated the sound by scratching the records and together they created turntable routines, in which every DJ had his part. With the original Invisibl Skratch Piklz squad comprised of Apollo, Mix Master Mike and Qbert (also known as Rock Steady DJs), each artist possessed the skills to play various musical roles, including the role of the drummer, bass player, and lead scratch or turntablist. The combined talent of his team earned the group the titles of Disco Mixing Club (DMC) United States and World Champions (1992). These awards are of the highest honors a DJ group can earn, and the original ISP grasped the top titles on both the national and international levels.
With the success in the DJ battle circuit, Apollo's talent caught the attention of musical geniuses in the jazz and hip hop arenas. Apollo became the official DJ for Buckshot Lefonque, a band led by jazz legend Branford Marsalis and co-produced by DJ Premier of Gangstarr. Apollo also landed the DJ spot for the hip hop collective, Souls of Mischief. His musical work is featured on the group album No Mans Land, which they toured in the U.S. and overseas. Another accomplishment in Apollo's career is his experience with hip hop jazz trumpet player, Russell Gunn. Along with being Russell Gunn's official DJ, Apollo recorded tracks for Gunn's albums Music Ethnocology volumes 1 and 2.
Apollo's achievements extend beyond performing as a DJ. He founded the first Rock Steady Crew chapter on the West Coast. He co-produced the first battle record with DJ Qbert entitled Battle Breaks. This was the first major tool for DJs and turntablist, in that DJs now had records in which all sounds and phrases were found on one vinyl piece alone. With the introduction of the battle record, DJs did not have to search for various sound elements required to compose scratch routines. Many sounds and word phrases were pressed onto the record, providing convenience and allowing DJs more time to structure routines.
Apollo is one of the few DJs in the world that appeared on the three major late night talk shows, including David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. He is also featured in the Scratch motion picture (Miramax Pictures). Both national and international publications continue to highlight Apollo throughout his career, including Vibe, Rolling Stone, URB, DJ Times, and the Source. His awards include the Technics DMC DJ Hall of Fame Award, specifically for inventing the art of the turntable band (1999), the International Turntablist Federation (ITF) Grand Wizard Theodore Award (2000), and the Hip Hop Slam Hall of Fame Award (2002, presented by Billy Jam).
In 2006, Apollo continues to showcase his DJ talent throughout the world, playing in countries such as the Philippines, Thailand and China. His musical knowledge in a multitude of musical genres including hip hop, R&B, soul, funk, breaks, 80's, disco and rap allow him to play at a range of events and attracting versatile markets. Apollo, Shortkut (Beat Junkies) and Vinroc (5th Platoon) came together in 1999 and formed Triple Threat DJs. This group is recognized as a weapon in the three areas of the DJ realm rocking clubs, turntable band performances and music production. In San Francisco, the Triple Threat DJs host a club night coined Flava of the Month, which features a different musical theme each month, showcasing their musical diversity and selection. The San Francisco club night recently celebrated it's 3 year anniversary, and this successful formula will be hitting various cities worldwide.
