You know where Anthony “A.J.” Araiza, aka DJ Aimlo, will be every third Saturday (including Saturday, May 18): Along with Pawn, he’ll be DJ’ing at Bar, 340 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. DJ Aimlo, 28, works as a mail carrier, and now lives in La Quinta; he’s been a CV resident all his life, and grew up in Indio. Things kick off at Bar at 10 p.m., and there’s no cover. To learn more about DJ Aimlo, visit dj-aimlo.com, where you can find links to his Soundcloud, Facebook and other WWW pages; for more on Bar, visit www.facebook.com/Barwastaken.
What was the first concert you attended?
It was in 1991 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. MC Hammer was the headliner, and Boyz 2 Men and TLC were the openers. I was 6.
What was the first album you owned?
Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. Looking back, I was probably a little too young to own that album at the time.
What bands are you listening to right now?
Right now, I’m really into Toro Y Moi, Disclosure, Tame Impala, Rhye, Danny Brown, and a lot of bass-driven electronic dance music.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?
I really don’t get what all the kids are raving about today—e.g. Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Avicii, Steve Aoki. I love electronic dance music, but some of the more popular stuff, I just can’t get into.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
It would have to be Portishead. I saw them once before at Coachella and was so blown away that I would love to see them again.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?
Female British pop. I really love AlunaGeorge, Amy Winehouse, and Lily Allen. There’s a quirkiness to their writing that I don’t hear much of here in the States that I love.
What’s your favorite music venue?
Locally, I would say the Date Shed. They have an awesome sound system. Otherwise, I (liked the now-defunct) Knitting Factory in Los Angeles. I don’t go to many shows, to be honest.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
The first thing that comes to mind is “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” by Kylie Minogue. But seriously, I always have the theme song from The Andy Griffith Show in my head. Not exactly lyrics, but I can’t stop whistling at work.
What band or artist changed your life? How?
DJ Shadow. Prior to hearing Endtroducing, I really didn’t put any thought into how the music I was listening to at the time was made. When I found out that album was made entirely with samples of old records, it blew my mind. It completely changed the way I listened to music. At the time, I was really into hip hop, downtempo, acid-jazz, drum-and-bass, and house, which was all sample-based music. I didn’t really think about how the music was made. After hearing and learning how Endtroducing was made, I had to have a sampler and turntables.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?
Michael Jackson: “Michael, did you, or did you not …?”
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Santo and Johnny, “Sleep Walk.” It gives me chills every time I hear it.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Avalanches, Since I Left You. It was made using more than 3,000 samples and is absolutely genius, in my opinion.
What song should everyone listen to right now?
Jai Paul, “Jasmine.” (Scroll down to hear it.)