Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

DJ Roonie G is nominated for top DJ award

Roonie Griffeth has been a local celebrity for more than two decades.

As a club DJ, Roonie first made his mark at the old Chickasaw Club. Since the Chickasaw closed 11 years ago, he’s been working around the country. He works at Jet in the Mirage in Las Vegas, Mixx at the Borgata in Atlanta City, Opera in Atlanta, as well as clubs in Detroit and Chicago.

He’s highly sought-after. In 2008, he worked three of the biggest Super Bowl parties in Arizona, opening for Diddy, Wyclef Jean and Kid Rock. The also did three events for the NBA All-Star game in New Orleans. He’s performed for folks like Tommy Lee, Ron Jeremy and Playboy centerfolds Cindy Margolis and Tamara Sky.

Roonie’s also done private parties for the likes of Donald Trump and boxer Floyd Mayweather.

Also in 2008, he was named the No. 10 disc jockey in America by the public in DJ Times.

Once again, he’s been nominated as one of the Top 100 in the country by the industry magazine.

I met Roonie at the Chickasaw many, many years ago. My hair was down to my waist and so was Roonie’s.

Later, I did an interview with him when he was doing club remixes in his home studio. Later still, I did a story about his first CD release. One of the tracks featured his oldest daughter, Ariel, when she was a toddler.

She’s now a Columbus State University student and he has two more children.

What separates Roonie from other DJs is that he doesn’t just spin tunes. He uses multi-media in his two-hour sets. He cuts back and forth between songs, mixes new video sources, and even creates custom graphics during his show.

Unlike “Dancing With the Stars” and “American Idol,” you can only vote once per e-mail address.

I voted for him last year. This year’s he’s even offering a bribe!

If you vote for him, go to www.djroonieg.com and you can download his new CD, “One Night in Vegas” free. The code is voted4roonie.

Movies at the beach

I know it’s hot out there.

And if you’re at Callaway Gardens on a Monday, stay for a movie on Robin Beach.

The next movie is “Monsters vs. Aliens” on Monday; “Night at the Museum,” July 13; “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” July 20, “elf,” July 27 and “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” Aug. 3.

Another movie, “Those Magnificent Men on Their Flying Machines” will be shown on Sept. 5 as part of the Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival.

All movies are on Robin Lake Beach, starting around 9 p.m.

Movies-only admission begins at 6 p.m. and are $5; $2.50 for children 6-12.

Call 706-663-2281.