So for the past few months, Austin’s best DJs have been gathering at Suite 101 to battle each other and eventually one was to become crowned Austin’s Iron DJ 2010. Organized by none other than Jeff Davis and hosted by the Austin’s own D-Train, The Iron DJ competition featured some of the best acts in town. The format was simple.

  • Warm up with DJ Abe The Assassin to get the crowd in the groove
  • Some kinda coin toss via an phone application (ah technology is good. A real coin sounds too archaic) and it’s on!
  • 3 rounds of 5 minutes each

Of course, who could judge DJs better than other DJs? To name a few, DJ Protege, DJ Kurupt, DJ Rich, DJ Mighty Mike, DJ Mike Swing and more local talents took their pen and gradebook and rated each competing DJ. I believe criteria included (if not, at least, that’s what I was going by):

  • DJ Skills: throw in scratches, all vinyl sets, blending, live remixing and more
  • Track Selection: what songs are being playing
  • Crowd Reaction: this is probably the most important and is, when you think of it, the essence of being a DJ. Can this DJ rock a party?

Exactly a week ago, the title for Iron DJ was going to be attributed 1 of the 2 finalists, DJ Fndomntl or DJ Mike Blendz. The crowd turnout was actually pretty good and it seemed like people were going to get into it.

On this corner, DJ Fndomntl reppin NOLA (aka New Orleans for you noobs). Fndo has been known for talking shit thru the wax throughout the competition. Mixing drops and cutting up speeches to basically call the other DJ a bitch. Going old school with Pete Rock samples or even dropped Cee-Lo’s Fuck You.
On this corner, DJ Mike Blendz, who really gave his last opponent the final blow by switching to all vinyl set in the semi-finals. Mike B. dropped some crowd favorites including UNLV’s Drag ‘Em To The River. Kinda joints that make the crowd go Oooohh.

After a short break, during which DJ Abe took over the party, it was time to crown The Iron DJ. Both finalists rocked the party, played some good stuff, got people excited, but, in the words of Highlander, there can be only one. Then Abe dropped Black Sabbath’s Iron man one last time as D-Train was to announce the winner. Drum roll……………..“And The Iron DJ for summer 2010 is…………………………………DJ Fndomntl! And there you have it folks. In any kinda battle, getting into your opponent’s face whether dancing, rapping or DJing pays off. Congrats to DJ Fndomntl (and Happy 1 Week Anniversary too, I guess).

It was great to follow the competition along. Hearing some good tracks laid down by good DJs. Seeing the crowd react to the vibes. DJs complementing each other. I’d be curious to find out how the judges picked the winners in each round. Maybe, have them give their opinion on the mic. Not necessarily, America Got Talent style where they go on and on but just a few words to justify their choice. Also, I think the DJs were supposed to pick a genre of music for their sets but most of time I guess they did whatever they want. Maybe they didn’t but that was not clear. I don’t know. But I did enjoy the competition. It was something to look forward to on an off-night, a wednesday.

Be assured that The Iron Series is far from over. Stay tuned for The Iron ______ (fill in the blank). And next time, use a real coin. Just sayin’.