George Lopez (born October 23, 1966), known by his stage name DJ Keoki or Keoki Franconi, is a Salvadoran-American

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

ian, among other genres, DJ. Born in El Salvador and raised in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, Keoki began advertising himself as "superstar" shortly after moving to New York City.

Biography

Keoki Franconi was born in El Salvador but moved to

Kihei Kihei ( haw, Kīhei, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 21,423 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography Kihei is located at (20.759122, −156.45722 ...

, Maui, when he was 8. After graduating from

Kailua High School Kailua High School is a four-year public high school located in the Kailua CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States on the island of O‘ahu. The school serves students grades 9 through 12. As of the 2000 U.S. Census the U.S. C ...

he moved to the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

to study at an airline school in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Franconi then enjoyed a brief career with several airline operations in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, among them the now defunct Trans World Airlines, while also being a

busboy In North America, a busser, more commonly known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the ...

at the city's trendy

Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from 1979 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous locat ...

club. It was at Danceteria that he got his start:

Club Kids and Michael Alig

While in New York, he met and began a romance with

Michael Alig Michael Alig (April 29, 1966 – December 24, 2020) was an American club promoter and convicted felon. He was one of the ringleaders of the Club Kids, a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s a ...

. Alig rose to international notability as the head of the

Club Kids The Club Kids were a group of young New York City dance club personalities popularized by Michael Alig, James St. James, Julie Jewels, Astro Erle, Michael Tronn, DJ Keoki, and Ernie Glam in the late 1980s, and throughout the 1990s would grow to i ...

, a group of diverse partygoers who would dress in costumes each night and form parties in New York and all over the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Dance music writer Jennifer Warner remembers, While DJing at "Disco 2000", Alig's party night at

the Limelight The Limelight was the name of a chain of nightclubs owned and operated by Peter Gatien. It had locations in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Hallandale. Context During the 1980s, club culture had died down because of the AIDS e ...

, Franconi was alleged to have passed out on the turntables while performing a set. He has completely denied the allegation, supposedly having stated: "I guarantee you that never fucking happened".

Superstar

Franconi had a successful career during the late 1990s and early 2000s as Superstar DJ Keoki; he released a number of CDs over that decade and was hired to play for thousands of people at massive raves. In 2006 and 2007, he toured – dressed extravagantly, wearing makeup, and sporting a number of

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

s – in the United States and Europe on the Club Party Monster Tour, a tribute to the film '' Party Monster'' (2003) as well as a nod to the Club Kid scene that shot him into stardom. Keoki still tours and performs at venues such as

The Viper Room The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established as The Viper Room in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp. The other part owner was Sal J ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Shag in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Tantra in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

lub Tantra is permanently closed - updated 9-14-2020 VIA Afterhours in Houston, Texas, Amazura Concert Hall in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Level II his venue does not existin

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

. He also makes annual appearances in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

at the Gaudi Fest during Halloween, and he has played at the

Love Parade The Love Parade (german: Loveparade) was a popular electronic dance music festival and technoparade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held annually in Berlin from 1989 to 2003 and in 2006, then from 2007 to 2010 in the Ruh ...

in Berlin, Germany. Presently he is signed to Moist Music and electronica mega-producer Edgar L. Montiels' (aka Decoding Jesus) indie electronica label, Let's Beat Milo Records, based out of Los Angeles. In January 2017, he was arrested in New York City after a man in his apartment died of a drug overdose, when the officers entering his apartment found it contained illegal narcotics. Following the incident, he entered a rehabilitation program and announced the cancellation of all of his upcoming events.

Discography

1991 – ''DJ Keoki Presents Disco 2000'' – Volume One (12")
1991 – ''DJ Keoki Presents Disco 2000'' – Volume Two (12")
1993 – ''We Are One''
1994 – ''Journeys By DJ'' 1995 – ''All Mixed Up''
1996 – ''Disco Death Race 2000''
1996 – ''The Transatlantic Move''
1997 – '' Ego Trip''
1998 – '' Inevitable Alien Nation''
1998 – ''Altered Ego Trip'' (The Remix Album)
2000 – ''djmixed.com/keoki''
2001 – ''Jealousy'' (also released in a Limited Edition 2XCD version with bonus CD w/ exclusive remixes)
2002 – ''Keokiclash''
2002 – ''Misdirected Jealousy: The Remix Album''
2003 – ''Kill The DJ''
2004 – ''The Great Soundclash Swindle''
2010 – ''Talking to Yourself''
2019 – ''Born to Attack''

Depictions in popular media

*He is written about in James St. James' book, ''

Disco Bloodbath ''Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland'' is a 1999 memoir written by James St. James about his life as a Manhattan celebutante and club kid. The book specifically chronicles his friend Michael Alig's rise to fame, and ...

'': *He is portrayed by

Wilmer Valderrama Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama ( , ; born January 30, 1980) is an American actor, producer, and television personality. He is known for his role as Fez in the sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), Agustín Madrigal in '' Encanto'', and as Carlo ...

in '' Party Monster'' (2003), a biopic about James St. James and Michael Alig *He was interviewed in ''

Better Living Through Circuitry ''Better Living Through Circuitry'' is a 1999 documentary directed by Jon Reiss about the electronic dance music cultural scene of the 1990s. This is considered to be the first full-length documentary film that goes behind the electronic danc ...

'' (1999), a documentary about electronic dance music culture *His song "Caterpillar" was featured in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' episode "

Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'The Curse of the Flying Hellfish' "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'The Curse of the Flying Hellfish is the twenty-second episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the Unite ...

References

External links

Superstar DJ Keoki on Myspace
*
AllMusic - Biographypatreon.com/keoki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keoki 1966 births Salvadoran emigrants to the United States Club DJs Club Kids LGBT DJs LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people American dance musicians LGBT people from El Salvador American gay musicians Living people Musicians from Hawaii Hypnotic Records artists 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people