Tunnel Vision

DJ and Producer Ryan M. Reuting A.K.A. Vegas was born in 1988 in Tucson, Arizona. Having been raised predominanty in Las Vegas, he would move back and forth between Colorado and Nevada during his formative years. When he first started DJing around age 18, his teenage nickname became the obvious choice for his iconic stage name.

Vegas (or “V,” as he is affectionately called by friends and fans) grew up listening to gangsta rap and classic hip-hop artists such as Dr. Dre, Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony, Slick Rick, Atmosphere and Big L. While attending high school in Colorado, he was first exposed to electronic music and DJing; his first dance music influences include Uberzone, James Zabiela, Craig Richards and Phil K. Soon thereafter, he bought his first set of turntables and got to work.

His early electronic influences helped him develop a finely-tuned ear for production quality. Vegas was performing at house parties through out Boulder and Denver while immersing himself in Colorado’s thriving electronic music community, gradually incorporating turntableism, complex break beats, and original digital music production into his live performances. Around the same time, a mutual friend introduced him to DJ and Producer John Earl (J.E.Z.) After teaming up with Earl, he learned how to compose, record and produce his own tracks. Earl continues to play a role in Vegas’ technical skills, style and overall respect for dance music.

While his performances are centered around break beats, Vegas’ style of DJing is versatile and brings the crowd to life with banging, heart-pumping dance tracks with a strong tendency towards turntableism and DJ tricks- which never make him lose sight of the groove of the track. He is known to incorporate breaks with dubstep, electro and glitch- among countless other subgenres. Vegas explains, “The main goal is always trying to stay current with new music while paying homage to dance classics.” The young DJ also makes a habit of collecting cutting-edge equipment to enhance his live performances as well as his studio sessions. He is at home whether in front of a run-of-the-mill set of decks or a plethora of digital and analogue gear made to destroy the dance floor and leave the crowd with something they’ve never heard before.

Over the past few years, Vegas has played throughout the Denver Metro Area at clubs like The Gothic Theater, Sutra Nightclub, The Church, Diamond After Dark and The Aztlan- and has opened up for hip-hop group Swollen Members at the Aggie Theatre. He’s also played with Producer Ben Samples and Beta Nightclub resident DJ Cognition in addition to performing at his weekly show, Get The F@#K Down Fridays, with fellow Kontact Krew musicians such as Fat Sweaty, Chris King, Defense and Technique, Whodafux and J.E.Z.

In early 2010, Vegas and long-time friend Jonathan Fox co-founded Kontact Productions L.L.C. with a mission to throw electronic music events in order to find a larger audience for our artists and eventually help expose Colorado’s urban art culture to the world. He has been involved in producing and remixing projects for Kontact Productions and is currently in the pre-production stage of his debut album.