DJ John LePage

Embrace diversity. That's the MO of DJ John LePage, a DJ who has taken turns flying above and below the radar for years. For those in the know, it's a familiar name attached to a sound that's as familiar as it is varied. For the uninitiated, well, let's just say they're about to learn the meaning of true talent.

LePage, a San Franciscan with the sensibility of his native Canada, is one of those rare DJ's who has managed to not only avoid the pinch of the recession, but rather extract that inner sense of carpe diem to take his refined sound and cross-over appeal to the next level.

"Sure, things are tough. I mean, my day job is in real estate, so I get it. But, no community knows better how to weather a storm like the gay community. What's more, we tend to buck trends, and what I'm finding is that guys are going out now more than they have in a long time," said LePage. "One thing's for sure – while drink prices and cover charges have come down, the demand for good music hasn't, so the audiences are just as demanding as ever."

What do they demand from LePage? Nothing but what he's know for, eclectic House... House that is uniquely flavored by the diverse crowds that LePage attracts... and is attracted to. From the candy ravers scattered between New York City and Frisco to the bear scene that migrates to parties from Mexico to Canada, LePage has anchored himself as a favorite.

Pointing to his mentor, Billy Carroll, LePage explains that House was the first thing he knew when he hit the clubs of Montreal while in college in the early '90s, and the fascination has stuck. With a strong emphasis on reaching just the right amount of vocals for the crowd at hand, LePage's sets can best be described as that proverbial journey – with some forks in the road. Nights always get started with high energy, progressive grooves with a healthy dose of diva, and as the clock ticks away, crowds realize that LePage is a jock worth his mettle.

"You really need to start out observing the crowd, playing to early entries, and anticipating what are needs of the late night. It's all about knowing when to flip that switch," says LePage whose flip is a seguay into the stuff he REALLY loves: the harder, darker, more progressive side of House, even flirting with tribal and other genres, making for an intoxicating aural brew.

"But the vocals continue to get interspersed - these days, they seem to work for everyone, and you need to be a DJ of the people."

Born in Toronto and educated in Montreal, LePage cut his teeth on the scene in such iconic clubs as Kox and Sky. It was in Montreal where he met Carroll, and one night in particular, at a Wet and Wild party, stands out in his memory.

"I remember it was just an enormous club, and there was an entire sea of people and every record that Billy played received a charged reaction. He had complete control over the mood, the room, the people. What he was doing was making everyone ecstatic, making everyone fall in love with the music," says LePage of the style that he eventually adopted. "It was completely mesmerizing, and I thought to myself, this is what I want to do."

After a few stints in Montreal, LePage moved to New York City where he began to develop his resume. It was the heyday of clubs and bars in New York City, and LePage made an instant impression " he immediately became a resident DJ at one of the gay grails, Splash, and began to hit the road to play some of the newly minted circuit parties: Black and Blue in Montreal and Miami's White and Winter Parties. Points in-between also became destinations for his followers as he kept people on the dance floors in Denver, Dallas, Boston and Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, he had the forethought to take a turn at producing. After remixing and producing some tracks for Nervous Records, he released two compilations that may ring a bell, "New York Groove One" and "Two" on his own label, Groove Records.

As though LePage hadn't already carved out a niche for himself in clubland, proving that he could spin with grit, it wasn't until he met promoter Harry Lit that he truly found his calling. Through Harry, LePage was invited to play Lazy Bear, a circuit party for the grizzly set – John soon became their ring leader.

In 2004, LePage moved to San Francisco where he sealed his reputation as the jock for the bear scene, playing parties like Sweat, Northern Exposure in Seattle, Beef Dip in Puerto Vallarta, and The Onyx Ball in Toronto New Year's Eve.

"I love it, and I don't mind having the bear DJ reputation because it's really my scene," LePage enthuses. "The best past is that the music is no different in the bear scene than it is in the regular circuit scene – these guys are into the same music as the circuit boys. The crowd is very versatile, and pretty sophisticated... you don't have to play YMCA!"

Today, LePage doesn't discriminate based on girth or hair growth. It's a good thing, because he's in demand. That's probably due to the fact that he's NOT demanding.

"I do it because I love it, not because I have to," says LePage. "We all have to be versatile these days, and I'm just thrilled to continue to draw the enormous crowds that always turn out when they hear I'm in town."