I started the Chosen Few, and the reason we existed at all is because we really did get along. Jesse, Alan, Tony and I were great friends, and Andre was easy to add to the mix since he was Tony's brother. Don't get me wrong - there were a lot of other people I could have chosen to play at that time, and a lot of DJs asked me to join the Chosen Few back then, too. But I picked the DJs not just on how good they were musically, but on their character too. I think that's a big part of it. We don't share all of the same characteristics but we do all still have one thing in common that unifies us, and that's the love of music.

Selecting Terry to join us - that was a big part of it. He had to be someone that could fit in with all of us and be really close too. Terry was a really good pick up like that.

Just through word of mouth and passing the hat, you guys were probably able to draw more people than all of SummerDance and the other summer festivals last year. Why do you think that is?

We're all pretty laid back. Even as DJs, we're like DJs of the people. The Southside is really our home - we're constantly DJing in clubs and lounges on the Southside, at house parties. People know we're not like these untouchable characters - DJs that you can't come up and say hi to. We're all very friendly and interested in what people on our dancefloor are into and want to hear, but we also still have the ability to lead them somewhere and take them someplace with new music. We have a bond with our fans, a bond with the people we play for. That bond is something that isn't taken for granted. When we come together, it becomes a big event, a big lovefest.

I've picked up the "Wayne Williams Story" in bits and pieces from people we've interviewed in the past year - Jesse, Alan, Jere McAllister and Chip E. - but never the whole thing. When did you start DJing?

I started playing House Music before anybody. What I mean by that is that I was the first straight DJ to play House Music and bring it back to the Southside. Of course, back then there was disco, but disco was only heard in gay clubs. I wasn't homophobic - I would go to gay clubs, hear the music, find the music, and bring it back to the Southside by playing it.

Because I was the only one playing that music, I became popular. I was doing so many parties and, being greedy, I wanted to do more. So I said I'd teach Jesse how to DJ and he can help me do some of these parties. The problem was that Jesse back then was homophobic and would never go to these gay clubs with me, so he wound up playing out of my crate. It kind of defeated the purpose! But I got more parties and needed another DJ and Tony came on board. But it was the same thing - he was homophobic too, so now he was playing out of my crate too. I'd leave my crate over at his house so he could learn how to play, and Andre would put on the records and that's how he learned.

That's how it started - I was the first one to play this kind of music for straight people on the Southside of Chicago.

Don't get me wrong - the first time I played it, people walked off the dancefloor. You better believe that! But I kept on because I loved that music and I knew they'd eventually get into it.

Before seeing The UnUsual Suspects, I had no idea how far back you went. You're featured in almost the first segment in the movie - I think it's called "Before the Warehouse."

I started DJing in 1974. I was playing way before the Warehouse came about. The first time I went to the Warehouse, Robert Williams was DJing. Frankie [Knuckles] wasn't even in Chicago yet. There weren't a lot of people there, the music wasn't that good and I wasn't really impressed.

But prior to that, I went to this club called Den One. That's the first time I experienced House Music. The DJ was Ron Hardy. That was the first time I was around people who were gay - I didn't even know what it was all about. And I didn't care either because when I heard that music I lost my mind! And to hear it mixed together... You see, back then, straight DJs were just spinning one record after another.

I lived on the South Shore at the time, and there was this place called the Jeffrey Pub. I asked the DJ if he could teach me how to DJ and play that way. His name was Michael Ezebukwu. It was Michael and Gene Wyatt. Michael was really cool, really laid back, and said sure. So I'd go up there when he was spinning. He's the one who taught me how to DJ.

So I started throwing parties on the Southside - Tree of Life, the Loft, places like that. The Loft I think was really popular before the Warehouse even got started. The parties were unbelievable - crazy, amazing parties.