djmikewinston THATFIREESCAPEISOUTOFORDER

To simply say Michael Winston is an influential DJ is like saying Keith Harring was an influential painter.  Michael is one of the most influential DJs to have ever lived.  As co-owner of the Powerplant and opening DJ for Frankie Knuckles from 1982-1988, Michael bridged the gap between the end of the Disco era and the beginning of the House Music era.  He was one of the only 10-20 DJs on the planet who were privy to the first House Music recordings and he was one of the first to introduce this newly forged genre of music to the world. 

His DJ career started in 1977 and since then, in addition to the Powerplant, he has played at scores of clubs in his hometown of Chicago, including, but not limited to, Realto’s Tap, COD’s, AKA’s, Medusa’s, The Gallery, Sauers’, Igloos, the Powerhouse, and Lucky’s. Various other locations Nationally and Global.

Michael has also been producing music since the early 90’s and he has collaborated with Darren Brandon from Blak Beatniks as well as the late Riley Evans on the classic House song “Let the Music Use You”.

Further, Michael was a member of IRS (Imports Record Service), a record pool organized through the famous “DJ Only” record store, Imports Etc. in Chicago and also, Michael was one of the founding members of The Black Record Pool.  As such, Michael was partially responsible for coordinating the distribution of  promo copies and “DJ Only” extended mixes of records to pool member DJs.  Thus, in addition to being one of the first DJs to introduce important songs to audiences, he was also responsible for being a tastemaker for Chicago’s other most relevant DJs as the one distributing cutting edge dance music to them.  It is worth noting that admission to most record pools is restricted to the most relevant DJ’s and the Black Record Pool was Chicago’s most coveted pool.

Further, Michael was a panel member for the Modern Dance Music Research and Archiving Foundation’s panel discussion for CIMMFEST’s CIMMCON (the panel series) on Grammy winner Frankie Knuckles’ impact on the music industry, presented as a tribute to him in response to his untimely passing.  Also, Michael performed as the headlining DJ at a tribute to the late Frankie Knuckles presented by the City of Chicago in June of 2014 in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Recently, Michael performed in Atlanta at the Backyard Party hosted by Mikos Jones and Michael also played for RFK’s Pier 31 event. Michael is also a recurring guest on the WNUR’s Arise Radio Show as well their Vintage House Series Show.