George Lopez (born October 23, 1966), known by his stage name DJ Keoki or Keoki Franconi, is a Salvadoran-American

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

ian and DJ. Born in

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

and raised in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, Keoki began advertising himself as "superstar" shortly after moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Biography

Keoki Franconi was born in

. He moved to Kihei,

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, when he was 8. After graduating from Kailua High School, he moved to the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demogr ...

to study at an airline school in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Franconi worked at several

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

s in

, among them the now defunct

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

. He also was a

busboy In North America, a busser, sometimes known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the waiting staff ...

Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from May 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous l ...

club during this time. That was where he began to start DJing. He recalls,

Club Kids and Michael Alig

While in New York City, he met and began a romance with Michael Alig. Alig rose to international notability as the head of the

Club Kids The Club Kids were a New York City-based artistic and fashion-conscious youth movement composed of nightlife personalities active from the late 1980s to 1996. Coined by a 1988 ''New York'' cover story, the Club Kids crossed over into the public ...

, a group of diverse people who would dress in

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

s each night and form parties in New York and across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Dance music writer Jennifer Warner remembers, While DJing at "Disco 2000", Alig's party night at

the Limelight The Limelight was a chain of nightclubs owned and operated by Peter Gatien. It had locations in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Hallandale, Florida. History Florida and Atlanta locations Peter Gatien opened the first Limelight n ...

, Franconi was alleged to have passed out on the turntables while performing a set. He has completely denied the allegation, stating that it indeed never happened. Franconi had a successful career during the late 1990s and early 2000s as DJ Keoki; he released a number of CDs over that decade and was hired to play for thousands of people at massive

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

s. In 2006 and 2007, he toured in the United States and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

on the Club Party Monster Tour, a tribute to the film '' Party Monster'' (2003) as well as a nod to the Club Kid scene that shot him into stardom. During the tour, he was known for dressing extravagantly, wearing

makeup Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created sy ...

, and sporting a number of

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

s. Keoki toured and performed at

The Viper Room The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established under that name on August 14, 1993, co-owned by actors and ''21 Jump Street'' co-stars Johnny Depp ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Shag in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Club Tantra in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, VIA Afterhours in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Amazura Concert Hall in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. He also makes annual appearances in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

at the Gaudi Fest during

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

, and has played at the

Love Parade The Love Parade () was an electronic dance music festival and technoparade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held annually in Berlin from 1989 to 2003 and in 2006, then from 2007 to 2010 in the Ruhr region. Events scheduled ...

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

. In January 2017, he was arrested in New York City after a man in his apartment died of a

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.

, when the officers entering his apartment found it contained illegal

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

s. Following the incident, he entered a rehabilitation program and announced the cancellation of all of his upcoming events.

Discography

1991 – ''DJ Keoki Presents Disco 2000'' – Volume One (12")
1991 – ''DJ Keoki Presents Disco 2000'' – Volume Two (12")
1993 – ''We Are One''
1994 – ''Journeys By DJ'' 1995 – ''All Mixed Up''
1996 – ''Disco Death Race 2000''
1996 – ''The Transatlantic Move''
1997 – '' Ego Trip''
1998 – '' Inevitable Alien Nation''
1998 – ''Altered Ego Trip'' (The Remix Album)
2000 – ''djmixed.com/keoki''
2001 – ''Jealousy'' (also released in a Limited Edition 2XCD version with bonus CD w/ exclusive remixes)
2002 – ''Keokiclash''
2002 – ''Misdirected Jealousy: The Remix Album''
2003 – ''Kill The DJ''
2004 – ''The Great Soundclash Swindle''
2010 – ''Talking to Yourself''
2019 – ''Born to Attack''

In popular media

* His song "Caterpillar" was featured in " Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'The Curse of the Flying Hellfish', a 1996 episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

''. * Keoki was interviewed for the 1999 film ''

Better Living Through Circuitry ''Better Living Through Circuitry'' is a 1999 documentary directed by Jon Reiss about the electronic dance music cultural scene of the 1990s. This is considered to be the first full-length documentary film that goes behind the electronic dance ...

'', a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

discussing

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

culture. * James St. James depicts Keoki in the 1999 memoir '' Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland''. *

Wilmer Valderrama Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama ( ; born January 30, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Fez in the sitcom '' That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), his current role as Special Agent Nick Torres in '' NCIS'' (2016–present), and Agu ...

portrays Keoki in the 2003 film ''Party Monster'', a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

about James St. James and Michael Alig.

References

External links