Dance Music Pick of the Week: Jason Blakemore at the Light Gallery

Erin Wade

​In a club scene the constantly recycles DJ newbies, groupies and transplants in search for easy stardom, Jason Blakemore is a rare Southern Californian whose been spinning at the region's biggest events since the dawn of the '90s. The Laguna Beach native got his start at iconic Los Angeles raves in 1992 as DJ Trance, and soon was ubiquitous at the region's most iconic events, including those thrown by Insomniac (which recently laid claim to the largest electronic music event in North America--Electric Daisy Carnival).

While many spinners have come and gone since then, Blakemore honed his sound, dropped the Trance name, and built a reputation for DJing and producing quality West Coast house music. Through his labels Bassex and Life Music, Blakemore's dubby bass-lines and breezy compositions have helped to give the left coast its signature dance music flavor. And while the club and rave scenes have, in the last 10 years, gone overboard with the cheesy sound of trance, Blakemore's presence at an event still guarantees that there would be a balance of progressive soul and hefty beats in the house.

Blakemore probably made more of a name for himself in L.A. than in his native Orange County, but he's back home each Wednesday with a new night called Movement in Costa Mesa. He recently booked fellow O.C. star Charles Feelgood, and this week (September 9) he brings back a hallowed name in after-hours DJ culture, Barry Weaver.

Jason Blakemore spins Wednesday with Barry Weaver, Fester and Bret Wallace at the Light Gallery, 440 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa. Doors at 8 p.m. Info. Check out Blakemore's latest mix, "Spin It Back," here.