DJ AM brings beats to Scottsdale for club show

By KELLY WILSON
Get Out

Getting DJ AM — otherwise known as the soon-to-be Mr. Nicole Richie — to talk about his famous fiancee is like pulling teeth.

“That I don't really talk about,'' he says, referring to the “Simple Life” star. “That's personal stuff. It has nothing to do with music.''

Ask AM if Richie will accompany him to Scottsdale dance club Axis/Radius, where he will perform this week, and he clams up. However, a Margo Media publicist who handles the club says she's likely to appear.
Ask AM about his career as a famous mixmaster, and he'll happily dish.
After discovering a set of turntables in his friend's room in Philadelphia, AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, became intrigued with the art of spinning.

“When I first saw his (turntables), I was like, ‘Wow,' '' AM recalls. “I knew that it was something I wanted to do. And then I moved to L.A. when I was 15 and I got my own turntables.''

A few years later, an after-hours gig opened the door to bigger things.
“A bunch of promoters would always come there late night, and a few of them heard me and offered me a regular job at this club called Dragon Fly,'' he says. “That was my first real nightclub job.''

Before he knew it, AM — who mixes hip-hop with rock and '80s music — was holding court at chic L.A. nightspots Avalon, Concorde and Joseph's, where he attracted celebrities such as Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Simpson, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher.

AM recently opened LAX, his first club, in Los Angeles, where he serves as resident DJ.

“I've always worked in (clubs), so I just wanted to own my own,'' he says. “I'm thinking of doing JFK in New York and MIA in Miami. I'm going to roll with the airport-themed clubs.''

The DJ recently teamed up with Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker at Las Vegas nightclub Pure.

“Travis plays drums and I DJ, and we have like a 45-minute set,'' he says. “It's kind of interactive. He plays the beat of the song instead of just playing the normal version. We've kind of come up with some cool things that we can bounce off each other. ... I try to be very active and never let anything get boring. I'm always trying to add something to (a song) or do something more exciting to it.''

DJ AM
When: 9 p.m. Thursday
Where: Axis/Radius,  7340 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale
How much: $10
Info: