User:Djrandybettis
RANDY BETTIS From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Randy Bettis (born Raymond Randall Bettis, on March 10, 1959 at Passavant Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, IL to father Robert E. Bettis and Iris J. Gregory) is an American DJ and remixer/producer.
Career Bettis moved to New York in 1985 (after 3 year working as a dancer and assitant to the choregrapher at the famed Opryland USA show park in Nashville, TN which closed it's doors in 1997) to pursue a career as a dancer/singer/acrobat and in one of his first auditions landed the position of a swing performer for the Hamburg, German production of CATS for the roles of Skimbleshanks, Tumblebrutus, Plato/Macavity, Alonzo, Rumpus Cat & Coricopat. Two years later Randy returned to America to join the 4th National Bus & Truck Company of CATS as Tumblebrutus and eventually joined the Broadway company. Randy was in the Broadway production from 1989-91, 1995-97 during which he was part of the cast when they celebrated both their ninth anniversary and when they broke the record for the longest running Broadway show on June 19, 1997.
Prior to coming to New York Randy attended Southern Illinois University where he became a member of the Saluki Gymnastics Team as a walk-on in 1977 and then from 1978-81 was awarded partial scholarship to the men’s gymnastics team, coached by multiple time Olympic coach Bill Meade, where Randy broke numerous records winning the state championship in both floor exercise and vaulting and qualified for the NCAA National Gymnastics Championships in his sophomore, junior and senior year, with a top finish of 6th place on floor exercise in 1981.
In 1997 Bettis decided to leave the theater and pursue a career as a nightclub DJ and a music producer/remixer. From mega-events of thousands to intimate house parties, DJ/Producer Randy Bettis is among the most sought-after mixmasters in the dance-music industry. Bettis broke through the clutter in 2005 with back- to-back acclaimed performances at 3 of the largest dance parties in the world: Saint-at-Large New Years Day Event, The Black Party and the Heritage of Pride Pier Dance in New York City. In October 2005, Randy’s artistic prominence was validated when he was named by Billboard to the nationwide panel of club DJs who create Billboard’s weekly Hot Dance Club Play chart. In 2006, Bettis took it to the next level, embarking on his first-ever national tour and unleashing the power of digital-age partnerships. Randy’s GayDays® Tour 2006 brought the spirit of the legendary celebration to 26 cities nationwide and was voted Best Circuit Tour of 2006 (and again in 2007 & 2008) by the members of JustCircuit.com. He launched new portals for fans with a weekly mixshow on G.I.R.L. (GayInternetRadioLive.com) and with satellite broadcasts on SIRIUS Radio’s OutQ “Saturday Night Out.”
Since then Randy has celebrated the release of his Party Groove: GayDays® Volumes 4-7 with volume 8 (Centaur Music) due out this June with the annual nationwide GayDays® Tour soon to follow. In the fall of 2009, Randy was chosen to mix the official CD for the 25th Anniversary Miami White Party (Party Groove: White Party 10), the legendary fundraising event - additionally Randy also became a member of The Recording Academy (the organization responsible for the Grammy Awards). Most recently Randy was chosen as one of America’s most influential DJs to open for Kylie Minogue’s Aphrodite Tour in NYC, then play the opening event for Cherry 2011 and take the helm at one of the world’s largest events, Rip Tide @ Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon at this years GayDays® weekend in Orlando, FL at which this year broke the record for the number of attendees (7,000+) and has already been picked to play the 2012 event.
In production Bettis works with music partner David J. Boyd (AKA BetBoyz) on original and remix productions, specializing in dance music but additionally they collaborate on musical theater and pop productions. They have worked with and created remixes for some of the industry’s biggest artists; Taylor Dayne, Alicia Keys, Levi Kreis, Inaya Day, Jenn Cuneta, Ari Gold, Marty Thomas, Jason Dottley, Matt Zarley, Brian Kent, Jason Antone, Andrea McCardle, Marty Thomas, Matt Zarley, Felicia Finley, Amber Dirks, Karen Jacobsen, Jason Walker, Natalie Toro and Reichen Lehmkuhl. Randy and David devote as much of their time and skills as possible on charitable events such as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Dancers Responding the AIDS, AVP: The Anti-Violence Project and Marriage Equality. In 2009 they co-wrote/produced Free To Love (The Equality Project) with Robbyne Kaamil, created the original mix and secured additional mixes from remixers DJ JST, Amy Alderman/Bryan Reyes, Tony Ruiz, Almond Brown and DJ Nawttyboy and donated 100% of the proceeds to Broadway Impact, a marriage equality branch of BCEFA. 2010 BetBoyz wrote and produced the music for the hit Off-Broadway musical “My Big Gay Italian Wedding” (co-produced by Housewife of New Jersey’s Dina Manzo, Sonia Blangiardo, AnnDee Productions, Eileen Caruso, Teresa A. Cicala, Donna DiCrescento, Frank Levinson and Dolores Naso) as well as co-wrote/produced the single Up To The Sky for Reichen Lehmkule and appeared on the season one of The A-List on Logo with Reichen as the producers of the song.
Personal Life
Bettis resides in New York, NY with his partner, married April 8, 2011, Patrick Sean Dwyer
Discography
Albums
2004: “Party Groove: Gay Days Vol. 1” 2005: “Party Groove: Gay Days Vol. 2” 2006: “Party Groove: Gay Days Vol. 3” 2007: “Party Groove: Gay Days Vol. 4” 2008: “Party Groove: Gay Days Vol. 5” / “In An Absolut World” 2009: “Party Groove: Gay Days Vol. 6” / “Party Groove: White Party 10” 2010: “Party Groove: Gay Days Vol. 7” 2011: “Party Groove: Gay Days Vol. 8” / “Party Groove: Cherry 4”
Remixes
“Higher Place” – Inaya Day & BetBoyz “Love Conquers All” – Marty Thomas “We Belong” – Matt Zarley “Pop It!” – Jason Dottley “Up To The Sky” – Reichen Lehmkuhl “Pride Is The Word” - Boyd “Gonna Be Alright” – Levis Kreis “Ooh Ooh Ooh” – Jason Antoine “Where The Music Takes You” – Ari Gold “I Want That Man” – Jenn Cuneta “Free To Love” (The Equality Project) – BetBoyz ft. Robbyne Kaamil “Standing Up” – DJ JST & Amber Dirks “I’m Not Crazy” – Brain Kent “Whatcha Doin’ To Me” – Brian Kent “Rejoice” – DJ JST & Amber Dirks “You Need A Bitch Slap” – BetBoyz ft. Robbyne Kaamil “Your Body Over Mine” – BetBoyz ft. Karen Jacobsen "#1 Enemy - Matthew Duffy “How Many” – Taylor Dayne