What do you think of the parties going on now as compared to then?

I guess the parties now are more tame, I'd have to say. Psychotropic drugs back then were more in fashion. Plus Chicago as a whole had fewer restrictions with the parties back then. Clubs could close at 7am, as long as they didn't serve alcohol.

So how would you describe your musical style on the tables?

It's a combination of everything. I guess back in the day there wasn't just one brand of music. The DJs played a wide variety of music then: high energy, pop, R&B.

So this is the question that a lot of people have asked. When and why did you suddenly disappear?

Around 1999, I kind of went on sabbatical. I had been spinning from 1977 through 1999, and I'd probably been out of work DJing for only three, maybe four months total. I just needed a change, I felt like I kinda got burned out. There were certain times when I would be spinning almost seven nights a week.

So tell us about your big comeback. I know your first gig since you disappeared was at the Sense party Thanksgiving Eve at Four.

Well I had been without a phone for quite a while. Bernard Badie had told me that Tone of Sense Productions was interested in working with me. He had heard me at a party in the early '90s, at this party with Bad Boy Bill.

So you literally had no phone, no way for people to contact you?

Yes. Because my mother, she had Alzheimer's. So when I stopped spinning, I stayed at home to take care of her.

Were you still listening or spinning House music during your hiatus?

No. I watched a lot of television. [laughs] I wanted to take a break from it because at certain times I'd go to sleep in total silence, but then there'd always be some sort of melody running through my head.

How does it feel like to be back?

It was like I never left. A few of my friends came. Bernard Badie came and I broke in his new track with Dajae.

So listening to today's House music with a fresh ear, what are your thoughts on it?

The way it's going now ... It's kind of like "one beat fits all". One melody fits all. There's no range. It's the same kind of tempo, same kind of mood.

What are your plans now? You have more gigs lined up and some remix projects?

Tone from Sense Productions is working on it. It's been a real joy working with him because he's kinda crazy, kinda out there type of manager. But he gets the job done! My hat really goes off to him, because he opened up the doors for me.

So was this all by chance, or were you ready to go when he first contacted you to come back and spin?

I had gotten to the point where my decision to play records again would come naturally. Everything just worked out. I still have the same feeling I had when I first started.