Where Are Your Favorite 90s DJs Now?

Old DJs don't die—they study nuclear medicine. At least, that's the case with one 90s superstar jock who traded life on the road for a more stable existence. Fortunately, fewer frequent flyer miles doesn't diminish one's love for music, as I discovered when I tried to track down ten of our favorite 90s DJs to see what they're up to in 2014.

TERRY MULLAN

A favorite in the mid-90s Midwest rave scene, Chicago DJ Terry Mullan was as notorious for missing gigs as he was for playing the best acid and house records around. But his rise to DJ stardom was plagued with personal struggles. "I buried my 18-year-old brother, who was addicted to heroin and OD'd on morphine in '96," he says gravely. "I went to a dark place, and got messed up with partying and all that shit, and I didn't realize what I was doing—nor did I care." After spending a decade in San Diego, Mullan moved to Arizona, where he mixes his time behind the decks with time spent behind a desk studying radiology.

Unfortunately, he started to scale back his infamous record collection when he had a kid in 2006, but he still maintains a carefully-curated set of tunes, which you can peep on his Soundcloud page. One thing you won't hear is the latest EDM hits, for which he can hardly hold back his distaste. "I've always bucked the notion that house and techno music is vacuous, but EDM most certainly is," he declares.

HEATHER HEART

Alongside Adam X and Frankie Bones, Heather Heart ran New York's infamous techno store/label/collective Sonic Groove. Now, she's raising a daughter in Southern California and DJs a few times a year. Unfortunately, I only know this from Facebook-stalking her. Even though she accepted my friend request after some prodding from mutual friends, she failed to reply to any of my messages.

NIGEL RICHARDS

Nigel Richards put the Philadephia rave scene on the map. He worked at the record store 611 and launched both a t-shirt line and a record label. Sadly, like most DJ-driven shops, 611 shut its doors in 2007. "I was up to my ears in tax debt from the shop and just a little discouraged about the whole thing." Fortunately, the serial entrepreneur didn't stay down for long; He converted the 611 brand into a line of menswear sold in stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic, as well as online. He still picks up a few DJ gigs a month, and also finds time to work in real estate.

DAVE RALPH

In the late 90s, Ralph toured the world with trance megastar Paul Oakenfold. Then the British DJ decided to immigrate to the US (first Miami, now Boston), got married, and procreated. Now in his 50s, Ralph has retired from DJing, but he's involved behind the scene with Beantown superclub Royale, where he'll be the one guy wearing a UK soccer jersey.

KIMBALL COLLINS

Another 90s trance star, Collins was a hero of the vibrant Orlando rave scene that first brought stars like Sasha and Digweed to America. Collins eventually became an international name in his own right, and played clubs like London's legendary Ministry of Sound. He now resides in Bangkok, Thailand, where he holds down a twice-weekly residency at QBar.

GEMINI

This one is undoubtedly the saddest story told here. Spencer Kincy (aka Gemini) was one of the most prolific producers in Chicago's second wave of house pioneers, a class that includes Casual Records boss Cajmere, Derrick Carter, and DJ Sneak. Unfortunately, reports have surfaced that Kincy has been down-and-out in the Chicago streets.

KOOKY SCIENTIST

By the time Fred Giannelli joined Richie Hawtin's +8 posse, the Salem native was already a veteran musician. Before he made techno, Giannelli played with pioneering goth-industrial odditites Psychic TV, but these days, he's officially retired from music—unless, he says, "somebody pays me."

BARRY WEAVER

Where is Barry Weaver? Even in the close-knit dance music community, no one we know seemed to be in touch with the perennial West Coast favorite, despite dozens of mutual friends. What we do know is that he maintained a reasonably active website and a few Soundcloud mixes up until 2012—then, nothing. B-Dub, holler at us!

SANDRA COLLINS

Having a kid doesn't necessarily spell death for a career in DJing, but plenty of the jocks on this list altered their trajectory once they reproduced. After exchanging emails, Sandra decided to decline an interview, but we understand—she had important stuff to do. First, she had to finish a podcast, and then she wanted to spend time with her 6-year-old. Those are pretty reasonable priorities coming from a DJ who was once known as a wild child.

DJ SOULSLINGER

If you were a raver in the 90s, you probably owned at least one piece of clothing from Brazilian-born, NYC-based DJ Carlos Soulslinger's iconic Liquid Sky brand. Carlos' pre-Millennial activity has been popping up quite a bit lately, thanks to his appearance in the recently-unearthed 90s NYC documentary, Last Call, as well as in THUMP's own recent profile. In the meanwhile, he's still pimping that alien logo on tees and hoodies via Zazzle.

For more trips in the time machine, check out No School Like the Old Skool, with:
Cajmere
Tiga
AK1200