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DJ Alex Kayne
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York DJ Alex Kayne started out as a teenaged mobile DJ spinning dance music in the mid 70's. His club DJ career began when he beat a multitude of other DJs, winning a turntablist "Battle of the DJs" mixing contest at the Night Gallery Discothèque in Brooklyn. Word on the street about the winner of this battle spread quickly and Kayne began getting a lot of work, DJ-ing in several local clubs.
Over the years, he has worked at various venues large and small in and around the New York City area. He is widely considered to be New York City's first ever heavy metal club/venue DJ.
Alex Kayne first came to the as then unknown but future world famous Heavy Metal Venue L'Amour in 1979. His DJ residency there started in 1980 and ran continuously until 1985. Subsequently he worked at L'Amour on and off until the Brooklyn venue closed in 2004 and was the only DJ at L'Amour's Staten Island spinoff club from 2006 to 2009. During his early tenure as L'Amour's original metal and most popular, influential DJ, his raspy, booming voice and more importantly his unique brand of hard rock and heavy metal spinning style gave the venue its unrivaled personality, directly contributing to the venue's worldwide fame while elevating the club’s prestige among the burgeoning metal sector.
He is widely credited as the first club DJ in New York to spin Metallica, Accept, Biohazard, Y&T, The Rods, TNT, Queensryche, Anthrax, Raven, Anvil, Megadeth, Manowar, White Lion, Helix, Talas, Motorhead, Girlschool, Metal Church, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Slayer among many others, breaking and expanding their notoriety on the east coast. Kayne is considered an influence by many younger local rock/metal DJs, and is an early New York VJ influence, one of the first to meld horror films with heavy metal music on the big video screen at L'Amour. With a career spanning more than 35 years, including live performances stretching across 99 venues, spinning on the same bill supporting shows with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Rob Halford, Anvil, Raven, Twisted Sister, Biohazard, Type O Negative, Lacuna Coil, Kiss, Ace Frehley, Exodus, Kix, Queensryche, Warrant, Bullet Boys, Overkill, Ratt, Warrior Soul, King's X, Winery Dogs, Winger, Stryper, Life of Agony, Manowar, White Lion, Motorhead, and hundreds more, DJ Alex Kayne continues working the U.S. Eastern Seaboard club and concert venue scene, where he is highly regarded and respected among rock and heavy metal DJs. Kayne continues to keep the metal fires burning, spinning metal to the masses, breaking new bands as well as honoring rock and metal's old guard.
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