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 Oren Nizri is no stranger to the south Florida club music scene. When not traveling, the follically challenged spin master can almost be described as omnipresence, amplifying his beats all over Miami Beach. He’s recently gigged at hotspots like Mansion, SCORE, Lucky Strike, O Grill & Lounge, Social Miami at the Sagamore Hotel, Halo Lounge, Hotel Victor, just to mention a few.
Local club hoppers aren’t the only ones lucky enough to have their ear drums thumped by his art. Nizri has performed his musical magic at innumerable circuit parties, special events and music conferences, including Aqua Girl Week, Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Winter Music Conference, Gay Days 2007 and White Party.
If you’ve been living in a cave the last couple of years and haven’t had the opportunity to shake your money maker to this talented DJ’s work, Score of Miami Beach is hosting an opportunity for you to do just that! The club’s One World Saturdays invites you to celebrate DJ Oren Nizri’s birthday with him and a few hundred of his closest friends. The bash, hosted by south Florida Diva Ebonee Excell, will also serve as a cd release party for “FUNK THIS”, Chaka Khan’s first new album in 10 years! The event takes place Saturday, October 6th, at Score (727 Lincoln Road & Meridian).
GaySOFLA wanted to know a little more about one of south Florida’s most popular citizens, but we really didn’t want to regurgitate the same tired questions he’s already answered in dozens of other interviews. So, if you’d like to know who has had the most influence on his career or you’re interested in seeing a more comprehensive list of DJ Oren’s performance resume, be sure to check out his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/djorennizri . But if you’d like to get Up Close & Personal with the man and his music, read on!
GaySOFLA: You grew up in Israel and you have a huge gay following. What were your thoughts when you heard that the Israeli hating Iranian President proclaimed that his country was gay free?
DJ Oren: I think it’s funny and sad at the same time. How stupid can someone be to express such an idea. It is just a game of denial and hate towards everything. I feel sorry for him, I really do.
GaySOFLA: Share with our readers what it was like growing up in Israel.
 DJ Oren: I grew up in a small town in the southern part of Israel called Dimona. It’s a place where everyone knows each other. I was extremely close to my family. I grew up in a very protective environment, surrounded by my family and close friends. We lived under constant threat of terror attacks. It can get scary when you’re growing up and you see all the carnage on TV, in your local newspaper, or even in your own town. Life can be pretty stifling, living under those conditions and your exposure to all the opportunities life has to offer can be very limiting. But all in all, I look back fondly on those years. I have no complaints.
GaySOFLA: Tell us about your family.
DJ Oren: My parents, my older brother and my two beautiful sisters still live in Israel. My family is very special to me. I am very close to my two sisters, both younger than me. The last time I was in Israel was three years ago but my mother and my sisters came to visit me exactly a year ago. We had a wonderful time hanging out I had the chance to show them around. For them, Miami was a completely different world.
GaySOFLA: I guess we should talk about music. In the current issue of OUT Magazine, there’s an article that states that circuit parties are dying out. If these bacchanalian revelries go the way of the dinosaurs and VHS machines, what’s next for DJ Oren?
DJ Oren: It is a fact that the number of circuit parties around the country has decreased considerably. Even though I’ve spun in major circuit events, I don’t consider myself as a circuit DJ. I am a DJ who spins for different crowds and in different venues. I spin for successful venues that appreciate the soul and elevating vibes of house music, as well as the clubs and the circuit events.
GaySOFLA: Anything big on the horizon, career-wise?
DJ Oren: My business partner George Maiko Coronado and Arnold Matteson of Give Me A Beat Productions and I are working hard at exposing my music outside Florida. Thank God that we are doing well in this area but we want to take our business and my music to the national and international stage. I’m a producer as well and that’s also an important side of my career right now. We’re ready for the next level and I’ll just say things are lining up nicely. We have some great things coming our way that I don’t want to disclose yet.
GaySOFLA: Word on the street is that you’re actually producing one of our ‘local girls’. Are you willing to divulge the details?
DJ Oren: I am the music producer for south Florida Diva Ebonee Excell. She’ll be performing one of her hits, “RythmGasm” that I along with Pawel Bartoszek, produced, at the event on Saturday. The song will be released as a single by Miami Based label Sister 8025 Records in January, 2008.
GaySOFLA: This Saturday is your birthday bash. Any thoughts on growing older in a culture so obsessed with being young?
DJ Oren: I think getting older is really just getting wiser. There’s nothing better than to grow up as an individual and to feel like its time to pursue your goals and to work hard achieving them. You always have to keep reinventing yourself, no matter how old you are.
GaySOFLA: How old are you?
DJ Oren: I’m as old as I look.
GaySOFLA: Hmmmm…so you are about 25 years old, right?
DJ Oren: I’m 30.
GaySOFLA: Okay, now we’re gonna play RAPID RESPONSE. I’ll ask some short questions and you answer them as quickly as you can. Don’t think about the answers, just say the first thing that comes to mind. Here we go: Boxers or briefs?
DJ Oren: Briefs
GaySOFLA: On a first date do you prefer dinner & a movie or coffee at starbucks?
DJ Oren: Dinner & a movie
GaySOFLA: Playing the field or ready to settle down
DJ Oren: Still thinking about it.
GaySOFLA: Meat & potatoes or sushi?
DJ Oren: Sushi
GaySOFLA: Barbara Streisand or Enya?
DJ Oren: Enya
GaySOFLA: Name the last book you read?
DJ Oren: “Secrets of the Kingdom” by Gerald Posner
GaySOFLA: Preferred philosopher?
DJ Oren: Confucius
GaySOFLA: Name one person you’d love to spend an hour with.
DJ Oren: Kathy Griffin
GaySOFLA: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us DJ Oren and a very happy birthday!
DJ Oren: See you on Saturday, October 6th, at SCORE.
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