Name: Cratebug (aka dj david macias)
 DOB: 02/18/70 Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Status: Married
Location: Chicago, IL. (Logan Square) 

 

Dj Cratebug heard mixes for the first time on a local Chicago radio station called 102.7fm WBMX circa 1981-1982. The djs he heard were members of The Hot Mix 5 (Scott, Mickey, Ralphi, Kenny and Farley) on the radio but his biggest influences were regular brothers right from his Logan Square/Humboldt Park neighborhood (Big ups to Dj Darius Flores, Dj Bruce Tankson, Dj Mark Catala, Dj Cukes, Dj Henry Rivera, Dj George Aquino to name a few...these guys are unknown to most but to dj Cratebug, they helped lay the foundation for his style and approach). But even before he ever heard any mixes, he was always into music. His parents were for lack of a better term, party animals. Disco, 50s, 60s, Rock, Funk, and R&B were played at at home especially on the weekends. After listening to how radio djs blended one song into another, he started manipulating whatever tapeplayers and stereo turntables he had at the house to make his own mixes. The concept of synchronizing beats came 2nd nature to him, he always knew that you had to match your beats. The first time he saw a pair of Technics 1200s was at an 8th grade dance in 1983 at St. Sylvester's School in Logan Square. He wouldn’t get a pair of his own until 1987. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He started off with a pair of Technics SL 100’s SL-B100 FG Servo Belt-Drive Manual Turntables that he picked up from a friend for $100. His mother couldn't afford it but she was able to scrape up the cash for those tables. With a borrowed Realistic 32-1200B Mixer from a friend, he was on his way.....to what? Who the hell knows but he was having fun. Cratebug was not known as Cratebug back then. He was known to his friends and in some dj circles as Devestatin' Dave. For what he was doing back in '84 and '85 it WAS pretty impressive, the scratching, the beat-juggling, the body tricks and song selection. In retrospect you can say he was ahead of many (at least in his neighborhood) when it came to on-deck technical skills. Of course today his skills seem somewhat tame and outdated in comparison to what djs are doing today...it's a whole other level now. If there was one fault that Cratebug can be accused of back then, it would have to have been his almost total disregard or lack of drive to be a "club" dj or get his name attached to as many flyers or events as possible like many of his peers were doing. Back then he was more into the more intimate "house" parties that sprung up every weekend in the Logan Square/Humboldt Park areas. That was enough to keep him happy.

 

MORE TO COME. TO BE CONTINUED....