As a DJ, Tony Marinos lives and works by the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's simple creed: “Music is something for the sake of which it is worthwhile to live on earth.”

And, for Tony, his life reflects his musical passion. “I'm always open to everything. Every musical piece has a place in the puzzle. A DJ cannot be disrespectful to anything musical.”

At the age of 30, Tony has never experienced a moment in his life without music. Growing up in Salt Lake City , he played trumpet in his school jazz band and orchestra. He taught himself piano, guitar, and drums. Even before he became a DJ, he schooled himself, at the age of 16, in the art of MIDI studio production and compositions. It is no surprise that he also is making his name as an up-and-coming producer.

The art of DJing is serious stuff for Tony. All DJs can play the same music and records but Tony knows that what he does with the equipment – his musical instruments, so to speak – is what really matters. He is familiar with virtually every mixing console in today's club market. He is comfortable with any form of vinyl or CD mixing technology.

His steadily increasing output as a producer includes some of the best names from the industry. Tony's most recent remixes include La Bouche's “In Your Life,” Pepper Mashay's “Send Me An Angel” and Lisa Frazier's “Give Him A Woman.”

However, give Tony a couple of turntables and a selected box of vinyls from his personal collection and he focuses on giving the crowd a first-hand glimpse of true DJ artistry. After all, with more than 35,000 records that read like a complete history of pop, dance, and electronic music of the last 40 years, Tony can create a sonic landscape on the dance floor to suit virtually anyone's musical tastes.

Even his earliest musical influences reflect why artistry takes first place over technology. They include Barry White, Al Green, Erasure, and Yaz as well as remix artists such as Giorgio Moroder and Cameron Paul.

Versatility always has been Tony's hallmark. A KISS and Disco fan as a boy, he debuted as a dance floor DJ with Information Society's “What's On Your Mind.” The first two songs he ever mixed as a DJ are classic warhorses of the dance floor: Eurythmics' “Sweet Dreams” morphed into Dead or Alive's “You Spin Me Round.”

As a Billboard Club reporter, he has virtual access to every song and remix. And as a resident DJ at Dayton's Club Masque, one of the fastest growing dance clubs in the Midwest , he can spin expertly in vocal, progressive, and tribal house as well as Top 40 and Hip Hop.

Before heading east to Dayton , Tony established a solid career in Salt Lake City . Two nights a week, he was the resident DJ at Club Vortex, the city's largest and most popular dance club for the masses, and resided every Saturday night at Club Naked, Salt Lake City 's top-notch gay & lesbian night club for more than 3 years.

And, with the simply miraculous technology of an Apple G5 computer, a broadband connection, and an online server public folder, Tony still leaves his imprint on the Salt Lake City musical scene. For nearly five years now, he has hosted radio mix shows on 97.1 KZHT-FM, a Clear Channel station which is consistently the highest rated FM station in the Salt Lake market. Tony is heard Monday through Friday during the half-hour "Five O' Clock Traffic Jam" show and on a late Saturday night three-hour offering titled "Planet "Z.”

Tony's passion for music is matched by his desire to give back value to the community, especially to those who have supported him throughout his emerging career as a DJ artist and producer. For example, during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City , Marinos was recruited by Samsung Electronics to perform for various Olympic parties ranging in crowds of up to 5,000.

And, for the fans who've packed the dance floor whenever he is working, Tony always steps up for fund raisers that help sustain a decent quality of life in the gay and lesbian community. The list includes important benefit events for the Utah AIDS Foundation, City of Hope , and Salt Lake City 's annual Gay Pride celebrations which bring more than 35,000 people together each June, a remarkable statistic for an extremely conservative state.

For Tony, the crowd is always the most important thing. Staying fresh in a genre that sprouts new branches each week, he never takes shortcuts in his music. Club goers won't see DJ Tony Marinos working the booth with a laptop but with the classic turntables and vinyl that are the heart of dance floor artistry.

• How old were you the first time that you realized that you wanted to create reactions from people by playing music for them?
• I would have to say right around 14 years old.
• What was the first recording you ever purchased? Why did you buy it?
• Kiss- “Destroyer” How could I resist the cover of that record. Not to mention, Kiss rocks!
• What was the first song you played for a dance floor as a DJ (whether you were paid or not)?
• Information Society- “What’s On Your Mind”
• What were the first two songs you ever mixed together for a dance floor as a DJ (paid or not)?
• Eurythmics- “Sweet Dreams” into Dead Or Alive- “You Spin Me Round”
• Did you first learn how to mix on vinyl, cd, or computer?
• Vinyl. And I continue to do so...
• Did someone teach you how to mix or are you self-taught?
• I am self taught.
• What is your media of choice preference when it comes to mixing: vinyl, CD, or .mp3?
• Vinyl 98% of the time.
• What floor level of Masque do you play for?
• Floor Two.
• What would you call the primary music format that you play in your DJ Booth?
• Vocal, Progressive, & Tribal House.
• Is the format you play in your answer above your personal music format of choice when it comes to mixing for a dance floor?
• Absolutely!
• In what other formats do you consider yourself an “expert” when it comes to keeping a dance floor packed?
• Top 40/Hip-Hop.
• What is it about the Level [1,2] dance floor and its music format and programming that you believe keeps people coming back for more and more every week?
• It’s purely the energy and the party that goes with the music that keeps them coming.
• How do you rate the DJ booth that you work in at Masque in comparison to other DJ booths you have spun in the past and why?
• It’s by far, the best DJ booth that I’ve ever worked in.
• How do you rate the quality of the sound system at Masque in comparison to other clubs you have worked in and why?
• I would have to put it at the top. Although, that’s not saying that I haven’t played on some incredible sound systems before.
• How do you rate the quality of the lighting at Masque in comparison to other clubs you have worked in and why?
• It’s by far superior to any other light system that I’ve seen. The reason being is that it’s of the highest quality brand and the attention to its overall maintenance. Maintaining the lights and keeping them at 100% capacity is what makes the light system superior.
• Were you ever inspired by another DJ? If so, who was he/she and why?
• I was truly inspired by Danny Tenaglia & David Morales because they were of the first DJ mix CD’s that I bought and they were both just amazing.
• Many people don’t realize that in many ways a DJ is hired for his programming skills more than his skills at seamlessly blending the beats of two consecutive songs together to keep the dance floor beat going. How much time out of the DJ booth do you find yourself spending per week researching and programming in preparation for your work each week at Masque?
• I am always researching and contemplating my next move. It never ends. This is partly due to the fact that I do a radio mix show for 97.1 KZHT in Salt Lake City 6 days a week. Simply put, “I’ve got my mind on my music & my music on my mind” always!
• Do you consider yourself a DJ who reacts to your crowd or do you make the crowd react to you?
• I definitely react to them. They are the ones who feed me the energy that I need to create the party vibes.
• Many top clubs around the world do not accept music requests during the evening. What is the club policy regarding requests from Club Guests while a DJ is busy working at Masque? Do you accept requests? If “no,” why not?
• This is an awkward question. I don’t like to be disturbed when I am in a so-called “Trance” you might say. I mean, when I get into what I’m doing at work, you could set me on fire and I probably wouldn’t realize it. As far as requests go, I’ll take most of them if they are legitimate and handled tactfully. I mean, if someone is tapping me on the shoulder when I’m mixing and screaming “Do You Have Any Snoop Dogg” knowing that we are playing house music, I will not accept this kind of request.
• The Masque website has a place where viewers may submit their music requests. How much attention do the Masque DJ’s give to these requests?
• I give these requests my full attention as much as possible.
• We understand that your career includes more than just working as a DJ. Even before you moved to Dayton from Salt Lake City you were involved in other projects in addition to your club DJ work. For example, we know that you still create segments for a local Salt Lake City radio station mix show. How can you create a show like that for a Salt Lake City station when you live in Dayton, Ohio?
• Quite simply. It’s the miracle of technology. Simply put, a G5, a broadband connection, and Mac.Com public folder.
• Now that your production studio is with you here in Dayton, what other projects can we expect from you?
• Aside from the projects already due for release in the near future, the projects will be never ending as I take every opportunity to remix tracks as much as possible and I’m always creating my own music as well.
• What other projects have been released that we may have come across that came from Tony Marinos?
• Remixes such as La Bouche- “In Your Life” 2003, Pepper Mashay- “Send Me An Angel” 2004, and Lisa Frazier- “Give Him A Woman” 2003, to name a few.
• One of the things that we have quickly noticed is that there’s always new music being played by you that is fresh and new and ultra hot. How do you come up with this content?
• Being a Billboard Club Reporter definitely helps, but I’m always shopping for music as well. I’m always looking for that new sound.
• If you debut a new limited release song at Masque, how long before we would hear it at other Ohio Clubs?
• That could vary as Ohio is home to two other Billboard reporters. If we were speaking of it as Dayton specifically, it could be as long as 3 three months.
• How long before we would hear it on the radio (if it ever reaches radio play)?
• If I had a local broadcast it could be out of the box, but seeing as the show is in Salt Lake, It could hit the Dayton market in anywhere from one to three months.
• How long before we would be able to purchase it ourselves in a music store or on-line?
• Usually it would depend on the artist and labels. Typically it would be about 4 to 6 weeks.
• What is your opinion of the Dayton club scene?
• I think that despite what I’ve heard the locals say, the Dayton club scene is great with an opportunity for growth and development. With Masque paving the way for this, I think the club scene has a great future ahead of it.
• How do you think your contribution, as the prestigious Level 2 DJ on Wednesday through Saturday nights at Masque, will affect the local Dayton club and music scene?
• I think it will have a tremendous effect on the Dayton scene. I’m offering Dayton, in particular the Gay scene, something that has been long overdue. I’m giving the scene exposure to what I feel is some of the best music and experiences they are likely to have anywhere in the area.
• Your work at Masque has recently evolved into consulting for the club with respect towards booking talent at Masque. The talent list so far has included more than just other DJ’s such as DJ Kio Kio and DJ Eddie X. For example, the famous dance diva Kristine W will appear as our premier guest during Masque’s Grand Opening month in March and the famous 80’s singer Tiffany will arrive in April. How is it that you have these incredible connections?
• Being in the music business for as long as I have has opened many doors to such events and I’ve met many people that trust my opinions and are willing to help me acquire such great acts.
• And, finally Tony, what non-music and club industry things do you enjoy doing when you can actually find “spare time” outside of your busy career schedule?
• One of my favorite things to do is take my Jeep Wrangler Rubicon out and get it as muddy as possible. Being a native of Utah, anything that’s outdoor related is something I love and going four wheeling is by far the best. I also love my Playstation 2. I can’t get enough of Tiger Woods PGA Golf Tour 2005. Finally, I absolutely love Star Wars. I am an avid collector of all things “Star Wars”. I know, I’m a major geek, but aren’t we all in one way or another?