Zebo celebrates five years at Evil Olive

Zebo celebrates five years at Evil Olive The concept of being a DJ's DJ is about as tired a cliché as someone pantomiming record scratching when referencing the art form. Traversing multiple managerial and lineup changes that until recently included Marco Morales, a partner in Zebo's Hot Dog Records, Gust has surefire an invaluable musical ally for the club. "Being that it's a four o'clock spot, the only options were Nick's, where you could hang out with the jukebox, or go to Ohm and pay a ridiculous cover and possibly not get in. " Gust's night offered a more eclectic late-night party. That reputation remains. "He's a hometown hero with the best head of hair. " It's a difficult thing for a DJ to have his fingers in that many pies without confusing club owners and promoters, but Zebo's rise has been a steady one. Since migrating from underground loft parties in '04, where he focused on the rave side of drum 'n' bass and house, Zebo's taken part in reggae nights, fashion-forward disco revues and opening sets for marquee names in hip-hop, dubstep and house. It's this broad outlook that makes Gust the best fit for Columbia's DJ courses, a curriculum that he experienced as a student there in '99. "My teacher got me into thinking outside of the box," he says. That was really what got Evil Olive going as an entire," he says. "I love pushing quality music in Chicago and I feel that it's important that we have DJs of substance in our city," he says. Looking such as the new millennium twist on a '50s greaser with a dirty-blond pompadour, handlebar mustache and a jigsaw puzzle of tattoos—including "true love" inked across his fingers—a humble Gust points to the Booty Up as the origin of Evil Olive's hold on Wicker Park nightlife. "We really don't cater to a Top 40 vibe. "I was noticing, all these jungle tracks with these reggae samples that I love, those came from somewhere; these house tracks with these loops, those were disco samples that came from somewhere. " Now he works to instill this same drive and thirst for new sounds into his students. Pr3-Frosh, the Booty Up has been Gust's main party outlet in the city. What DJ can't admire that level of versatility? Voted best local DJ by the Chicago Reader the past two years—and hoping for a hat trick in 2012—Johnathon "Zebo" Gust's skill and music expertise have scored him a position at Columbia College, where he teaches Club DJ classes to a brand new generation of dance-music lovers. They've also landed him at Wicker Park late-night mecca Evil Olive, where his Friday-night residency the Booty Up marks five years of steamy dance mayhem on Friday 9. It would range from classic hip-hop to new dance, electro and banger house. "I wish to see Chicago have a good reputation. Zebo celebrates five years at Evil Olive Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 08/03/2012