djshortchange

Reviews from http://www.yelp.com/biz/change-dem-productions-portland

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Got to give up some praise for Short Change and his Change Dem Productions!
I've been to several weddings and other parties DJ'd by Short Change and had him MC a couple parties and concerts I put together.  He always gets the right read on the crowd and changes up the flow to get everybody on the floor.  Not only do the party people love his dance selections, he always manages to bring in the whole family - from Grandma to the kids, everybody gets some kind of tunes they want to hear.  At Ringler's Pub on Monday nights and on KPSU Sunday nights, Mr. Change spins a whole education in reggae, but for a party he's down with whatever the people want, from trailer trash butt rock to barn party country style, not to mention all the classic disco and funk the people expect from a DJ.  More than the tunes, Short Change knows how to bring the crowd together, lift them up and hit that elusive feel-good altitude you want every party to get to.  Personally, I think he ought to charge more, but don't tell him I said so.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Big up to DJ Shortchange and his work he did for us at a private party.  DJ Shortchange owns and operates Change Dem Productions, which is a DJ service that spins what you want.  His specialty is Reggae music and he is awesome at that!  We hired Shortchange to provide the music for a special party we had at our place September 22nd.  The party was outdoors and ran well into the wee hours of the morning.  A few weeks before the party we contacted Shortchange with a list of music we wanted included.  We didn't give him an exhaustive list but gave him some key songs and then asked him to fill in the rest with some good roots Reggae.  He came about an hour early and set up and soon we were listening to great vibes as we went about getting the rest of the party stuff.  The party went from 6:30PM to about 2AM and we had a steady stream of great music at perfect levels.  Requests from people were encouraged. There was even an open mic that some people took advantage of.  If you ever need to put out some good custom music I highly recommend Change Dem Productions.  Check him out at his web site.  Oh by the way - the temperature got down to the high 40's by the time we were done.  And, not a word of complaint from the guy running the music!  Big up!

Oregonian A&E - Friday, August 25, 2006

Sharing reggae's heartbeat, MELANIE CONNER - 

Zach Hollenbeak, aka DJ Xacto, and Geoff Haffner, aka Short Change (behind, in green shirt) DJ Just Cool Mon night at Ringlers Pub Little Nova Hollenbeak is one lucky daughter. The 9-month-old is growing up in a household filled with reggae.  It's the actual structure of a heartbeat, you know, says Zach Hollenbeak (aka Portland reggae DJ Xacto and Nova's proud poppa).  Boom-boom-boom, with that all that great bass hitting on the one-drop, that third beat. Reggae is the rhythm of the heart.  Hollenbeak is explaining reggae's roots, subgenres and unifying beats on a recent Monday night at Ringlers Pub.  He and his DJing partner Short Change (Geoff Haffner) launched "Just Cool Mon"; Ringler's new weekly reggae night, about a month ago.  Hollenbeak's wife is here, along with folks filtering in from Burnside and downtown, magnetized by the steady, heartlike pulses from artists ranging from Bob Marley to Sean Paul.  The DJ pair, who are teaming tonight as XactChange HiFi, have been spinning for four years, sharing their finds with the rest of the city at gigs around town, like their popular, two-year run, "Reggae on Broadway" at the 715 Inn in Northeast Portland.  Their aim is to be inclusive, offering all the beats that have tumbled out of Jamaica and entranced the world, roots to dancehall, to pop-flavored subgenres.  For six years, DJ Short Change has been the host of KPSU radio's Reggae Revelation.  And while Xacto favors spinning lover's rock from tracks culled from CD collections, Haffner's sound is roots reggae and comes via 7-inch singles.  Unlike the American music industry, Haffner notes, reggae beats were shared and traded between artists a bit more freely, allowing hundreds of new 7-inch vinyl releases each year. That makes collecting the singles part of the art.  "For every rhythm" Haffner says, "I think I've got about 10 to 15 songs."  Monday nights, their house of rhythms becomes yours.  "Just Cool Mon" begins at 9 p.m. Mondays at Ringlers Pub, 1332 W. Burnside St.,
503-225-0627. 21 and older, no cover.  (Free pool.) -- Lee Williams Special to The Oregonian

Willamette Week Article -

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2004 • MUSIC • COLUMN - Night Avenger, KELLY CLARKE

The dancer at the 715 Inn's "Reggae on Broadway" had reached nirvana. A leathery, bowlegged man in his 40s wearing a tank top emblazoned with the legend "Jamaica Connection" he bent his knees in time with Jimmy Cliff's dub-backed melody and slowly turned in circles, his mullet-braid fanning out behind him.  It would have seemed bizarre if the blink-and-you'll-miss-it dive, which squats on a busy stretch of Northeast Broadway weren't so difficult to categorize already.  That Wednesday night, DJ Xacto and DJ Short Change traded off at a tiny DJ table near the door. Young white Rastas with their pale brown dreads squeezed past them on their way to the restroom. Prim ladies in their mid-30s sucked down bottles of Bud Light and attempted to signal "I'm having fun" to one another above the earth-quaking bass.  Two days later, on a daytime visit, the 715 Inn is transformed into a hushed and dark place. The DJ booth has morphed into makeshift computer station. The color TV next to a black-and-white security monitor spouts golf scores, while a line of men in various states of disintegration count out crumpled bills to exchange for cans of Busch.  "We get the retirees in at noon, the working crowd in the afternoon and then younger locals at night" explains bartender/booking agent Jonathan "J-Dub" Daniel. "We don't get many newcomers."  And reggae night?  "Those are a more classy version of people than we're used to in here" he says. A white-haired gent sporting an USMC ball cap sitting at the bar gives a nod to the affirmative.  Daniel shrugs when asked if the energetic reggae party (a Portland rarity itself) is a makeover strategy for this slow-paced little beer hole. Who cares? The 715 was born long before the branding and marketing of today. Daniel uses craigslist.org to hook up with the local pop, rock and acoustic bands that cram into a small corner of the saloon for live shows every weekend. When a DJ asked to host a reggae night at the club two years ago, the 715 adjusted to dancing hippies, too.  "It's still just a neighborhood bar" chimes in the man with the white hair, who is now sipping a pint glass filled with 7-Up. His name is Norm Clark. Turns out he's been a regular at the 715 Inn for 48 years. The former insurance adjuster has outlasted seven of the 715 Inn's owners, a fire and a remodel. He's seen this Northeast neighborhood's houses razed to make way for Lloyd Center and fast-food joints.  The 70-year-old doesn't care what fads flicker across the bar's walls as long as it has cold beer. But today is too hot to drink alcohol, so he signals Daniel for another soda and says with a smile, "You know, sometimes, the old men around here dance, too."

Reggae on Broadway at the 715 Inn, 715 NE Broadway, 282-4437. 9 pm. Wednesdays. 21+.

XactChange HiFi @ Lola's Room