Friday night I logged on to Facebook and was stunned when my friend’s status read, “Omg dj am passed away.” I headed to TMZ to see if it was true. Sadly it was. DJ AM’s passing came as a shock to everyone. Just last year he and Blink-182’s Travis Barker survived a tragic plane crash, and he had seemed to be on the mend.
As we mourn DJ AM (real name Adam Goldstein), we should celebrate his musical savvy. Not everyone can be a DJ. It really takes a true musical genius to mix tracks just right to keep the crowd guessing and the party going. DJs of AM’s caliber are modern-day composers.
Adam got his start in the group Crazy Town best known for their 2000 hit single Butterfly. After leaving the group he kept making a name for himself in the DJ world. Just a few years ago he became one of the first DJs to garner a major contract on the Vegas Strip at Pure nightclub in Caesars Palace. Eventually he moved on to Rain Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort. This paved the way for other DJs to get Vegas residencies. Recently AM teamed up with Barker to form TRV$DJAM. The duo released Fix Your Face and Fix Your Face Vol. 2 – Coachella ’09.
Forever the music fan, AM’s last tweet was lyrics from Grandmaster Flash’s New York New York:
“New york, new york. Big city of dreams, but everything in new york aint always what it seems.”
— Adam Goldstein (@DJ_AM) August 25, 2009
Never again will we see a DJ like AM. I’m sure he’s keeping the party jumping in heaven right now. Rest in peace.
(photo 1 from thisislavie.com; photos 2-4 from djam.com)
