Mickey Garcia (born October 21, 1961) is an American record executive, songwriter, music producer, and DJ. He is known for founding the record label MicMac Records and for his work as a Mastermix DJ on 98.7 Kiss FM. He has written and produced over 100 songs since 1985 and is considered one of the founders of the

freestyle dance Dance improvisation is the process of spontaneously creating movement. Development of movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including body mapping through levels, shape and dynamics schema. Improvisation is a f ...

genre, having produced, remixed, and written songs for artists such as

Judy Torres Judy Torres (born June 13, 1968 in The Bronx, New York City) is an American freestyle music artist and dance-pop singer. Early life and career Growing up in the Bronx, Torres was the oldest of five siblings. She attended St. Thomas Aquinas, an ...

Cynthia Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

, Johnny O, Tiana,

Colonel Abrams Colonel Abrams (May 25, 1949 – November 24, 2016) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. Early life Colonel Abrams (his real name) was born in Detroit, Michigan. His family later moved to East 13 Street, in Manhattan's ...

and Menudo. He has been registered with the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

since 1987 and has over 300 works in his catalog.

Early life

Garcia was born October 21, 1961, at St. Vincent's Hospital on 12th Street and 7th Avenue, lower Manhattan, to Josephina Montalvo and Michael Garcia. He grew up on Grand Street in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

, New York with 5 brothers and 1 sister. In 1975, Garcia and his older brother Tony began DJing together at block parties and house parties. Later, the brothers went on to DJ at various

discotheques A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

around the city.

Career

In 1976, George Vascones of the Latin Symbolics dance company auditioned Garcia to DJ for a talent show. After Garcia gave Vascones a cassette tape of his mix, Vascones offered him the job to DJ for the talent show at the Stardust Ball Room in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. After the show, Vascones told Garcia about a disco in Manhattan that needed a permanent DJ because the resident DJ

Jellybean Benitez John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters. H ...

was leaving to work at another disco. The Garcia DJ brothers auditioned for the owner of the discotheque "La Mariposa" in Washington Heights and got the job. In 1982, Mickey became a solo DJ and began working at The Clam Bar Lounge on

Flatbush Avenue Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to the Ro ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Not long after, Tony Humphries, a Mixmaster DJ for 98.7 Kiss FM, invited Garcia to mix for the station. He prepared a one-hour mix show on a

reel-to-reel tape Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...

for Humphries, who liked the mix and aired the Mixshow in July 1983. Garcia went on to do several mix shows for the station. In 1985, Garcia attended

Kingsborough Community College Kingsborough Community College (KBCC) is a public community college in Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the only community college in Brooklyn.Next Plateau Records Next Plateau Entertainment (formerly Next Plateau Records) is an American record label that currently operates in association with Republic Records. Background 1980s New York City-based independent label Next Plateau Records began in the early 1 ...

. He was interested in signing Garcia and Molina as the next producers for the popular group C-Bank and wanted ''I Won’t Stop Loving You'' to be the next C-Bank song. The two signed the track to Next Plateau Records and it became the next C-Bank release performed by C-Bank and featuring Diamond Eyes. The song peaked at #45 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Dance Charts. In 1986, Vascones introduced Garcia to Judy Torres. Torres auditioned for Garcia and blew him away with her powerful voice. Garcia offered her a production contract with himself and Molina, then his producing partner, and they began working on several tracks to present to Torres. Garcia reached out to Rodriguez again to write lyrics to various instrumentals on a

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

and the song ''No Reason To Cry'' was created. The song peaked at #30 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Charts. In 1987, Garcia attended the

New Music Seminar The New Music Seminar (NMS) is a Music Conference and Festival held annually each June in New York City. The New Music Seminar originally ran from 1980 to 1995 and was relaunched in 2009. NMS features over 150 CEOs and other executives, presiden ...

at the Marriot Marquis hotel in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

where he met with

Prelude Records Prelude Records was a New York-based independent record label that was active from 1976 to 1986. At one time, François Kevorkian held an A&R position at Prelude. The label's owner was Marvin Schlachter. History Prelude was first launched in 19 ...

owner Marvin Schlachter. They had known each other for some time as Garcia had played many songs from Prelude Records when he was a DJ for 98.7 Kiss FM. Schlachter asked Garcia if he would be interested in producing songs for MarTru Records, a new record label he was starting. Garcia had wanted to start his own record company but didn't know how to run a label or have the capitol to invest. They decided to create a label together, with Garcia making the hits and Schlachter handling the business side of things. They got an attorney to draw up the shareholders agreement and formed the record label Micmac Records, Inc. Garcia and MicMac Records have been featured in ''Billboard'' magazine, ''Spin'' magazine, ''DJ Times'', ''The Face'' magazine, and ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

''.

Personal life

In 1996, Garcia met Norah Alberto at the WPN 9 television station's ''

The Richard Bey Show ''The Richard Bey Show'' is a syndicated American talk show hosted by Richard Bey which aired from September 28, 1992 to December 27, 1996. The program was originally produced from and aired on WWOR-TV in Secaucus, New Jersey, from 1992 to late ...

'' where she worked as a producer. In 2008, they had a daughter named Isabella Mikaella Alberto Garcia who is an American actress, artist, and musician. Garcia was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in 2017.

Discography

Albums produced

Source:

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

* ''Johnny O'' ( MicMac Records, with Johnny O, 1989) * ''Love Story'' (

Profile Records Profile Records was one of the earliest hip hop labels. As well as hip-hop they released disco, dance, and electro records. History In 1980, Cory Robbins, who was 23 at the time and had worked briefly for MCA, wanted to start a record label. ...

, with

, 1989) * ''

'' (MicMac Records, with

, 1990) * ''Tiana'' (MicMac Records, with Tiana, 1991) * '' Like a Stranger'' (MicMac Records, with Johnny O, 1990) * ''

Cynthia II ''Cynthia II'' is the second studio album by freestyle musician Cynthia, released 1 July 1991 by the label Micmac Records. The singles from this album were "Dreamboy / Dreamgirl," a collaboration with singer Johnny O, which reached position # 53 o ...

'' (MicMac Records, with Cynthia, 1991) * ''Johnny O (The Remixes)'' (MicMac Records, with Johnny O, 1993) * ''Cynthia (The Remixes)'' (MicMac Records, with Cynthia, 1995)

Charted singles produced

Selected productions and remixes

Selected compilations

*''C-Bank Orchestra - Christmas Is In The House'' (

Next Plateau Records Next Plateau Entertainment (formerly Next Plateau Records) is an American record label that currently operates in association with Republic Records. Background 1980s New York City-based independent label Next Plateau Records began in the early 1 ...

) (1987) *''The MicMac Concert - Hot 97'' ( MicMac Records) (1990) *''The MicMac Concert - Hot 97.7'' (MicMac Records) (1990) *''The MicMac Concert – KTFM'' (MicMac Records) (1990) *''The MicMac Concert – Power 96'' (MicMac Records) (1990) *''The MicMac Concert – Power 102'' (MicMac Records) (1990) *''The MicMac Concert – Power 106'' (MicMac Records) (1990) *''MicMac Dance Party Vol 1'' (MicMac Records) (1991) *''Turnstyle Records Best Of Freestyle'' (Turnstyle Records) (1992) *''MicMac Dance Party Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (1992) *''Turnstyle Records Freestyle Greatest Hits'' (Turnstyle Records) (1992) *''MicMac House Dance Party Vol 1'' (MicMac Records) (1993) *''MicMac Dance Party Vol 3'' (MicMac Records) (1993) *''SPG Freestyle's Greatest Hits Vol 1'' (

SPG Records SPG Records was an independent Toronto dance record label of the 1990s up to 2010. The label mainly produced Canadian house and dance compilations. Records ''Sound of the Underground'' compilation 1994Billboard - 26 march 1994 - Page 40 "The Toron ...

) (1993) *''MicMac Dance Party Vol 4'' (MicMac Records) (1993) *''SPG Freestyle's Greatest Hits Vol 2'' (

) (1994) *''MicMac Greatest Freestyle Hits Vol 1'' (MicMac Records) (1994) *''MicMac Dance Party Vol 5'' (MicMac Records) (1994) *''Tommy Boy Freestyle Greatest Beats Vol 1'' (

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital U ...

) (1994) *''MicMac Greatest Freestyle Hits Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (1994) *''Tommy Boy Freestyle Greatest Beats Vol 2'' (Tommy Boy Records) (1994) *''MicMac Dance Party Vol 6'' (MicMac Records) (1994) *''Tommy Boy Freestyle Greatest Beats Vol 4'' (Tommy Boy Records) (1994) *''MicMac Greatest Freestyle Hits Vol 3'' (MicMac Records) (1994) *''Tommy Boy Freestyle Greatest Beats Vol 5'' (Tommy Boy Records) (1994) *''MicMac Dance Party Vol 7'' (MicMac Records) (1995) *''Freestyle Greatest Groups Vol 1'' (MicMac Records) (1995) *''Freestyle Greatest Groups Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (1995) *''Freestyle Forever'' (MicMac Records) (1995) *''Cold Front - Freestyle Latin Dance Hits - Volume Two'' (Cold Front Records) (1995) *''MicMac House Dance Party 4'' (MicMac Records) (1995) *''Freestyle's Greatest Divas Vol 1'' (MicMac Records) (1995) *''ZYX Freestyle'' (

ZYX Records ZYX Music GmbH & Co. KG is a German record label that was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. It is one of the most successful German record labels of the 1980s and 1990s. Until 1992, the label's name was Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The labe ...

) (1996) *''MicMac Greatest Freestyle Hits Vol 4'' (MicMac Records) (1996) *''Thump'n Freestyle Quick Mixx'' (

Thump Records Thump Records is a record label specialized in various genres of music. Founded by Bill Walker and Al Lopez for $10,000. In 1997 Bill Walker became its sole C.E.O. and President. History Thump's success was ignited by the popularity of its Old S ...

) (1996) *''ZYX Freestyle Vol 2'' (

) (1996) *''MicMac House Dance Party Vol 3'' (MicMac Records) (1996) *''Freestyle's Greatest Divas Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (1996) *''This Is Freestyle'' (

Quality Music Quality Records was a Canadian entertainment company which released music albums in Canada on behalf of American record labels. They also released recordings by Canadian artists. The company operated between 1950 and 1985 with offices in Toron ...

) (1996) *''Tim Spinnin' Schommer Freestyle Boom Vol 1'' (Tim Schommer) (1997) *''Cold Front - Freestyle Latin Dance Hits - Volume Three'' (Cold Front Records) (1997) *''Freestyle's Greatest Divas Vol 3'' (MicMac Records) (1997) *''ZYX Greatest Freestyle Hits'' (

) (1997) *''Tommy Boy Freestyle Greatest Beats Vol 8'' (

) (1997) *''SPG Music Freestyle Greatest Collection'' (

) (1997) *''ZYX Freestyle Vol 5'' (

) (1997) *''The Ballads Of Freestyle'' (MicMac Records) (1997) *''ZYX Freestyle Vol 4'' (ZYX Records) (1997) *''Tommy Boy Freestyle Greatest Beats Vol 9'' (

) (1997) *''Thump Freestyle Explosion Vol 5'' (

) (1998) *''ZYX Freestyle HitMix'' (ZYX Records) (1998) *''MicMac House Dance Party Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (1998) *''ZYX Freestyle Vol 7'' (ZYX Records) (1998) *''21st Century Adrenaline Rush'' (21st Century Records) (1998) *''Popular Freestyle Frenzy Volume 4 ∙ Anthem After Anthem'' (

Warlock Records Warlock Records is a record label based in New York City that was founded in 1985 by Adam Levy (born 1962), whose father was record producer Morris Levy. Artists that recorded for Warlock Records include Jungle Brothers, Royal House, Skinny Boys ...

) (1999) *''ZYX Freestyle Highlights Nonstop-Megamix'' (

) (1999) *''Thump Freestyle Explosion Vol 3'' (

) (2000) *''ZYX Freestyle Vol 12'' (ZYX Records) (2000) *''Fever - Freestyle Fever's Divas'' (

Fever Records Fever Records was a New York City record label of the 1980s, founded by promoter Sal Abbatiello. The label was marketed and distributed by Sutra Records until the latter went under, which precipitated a distribution deal with Russell Simmons's RA ...

) (2001) *''What If Productions The Best of Freestyle Megamix'' (What If Productions) (2001) *''Divas On The Dance Floor – House Music’s Greatest Divas'' (21st Century Records) (2002) *''PolySound Freestyle Classic Hits'' (Poly Sound Records) (2002) *''ZYX Freestyle Vol 18'' (

) (2002) *''Micmac 360 Tour'' (MicMac Records) (2003) *''Thump Freestyle Party'' (

) (2003) *''UBL Divas Of Freestyle'' (UBL Records) (2003) *''ZYX Freestyle Vol. 22'' (

) (2004) *''Bangin' Beats - Then & Now Vol 1'' (MicMac Records) (2004) *''ZYX Freestyle Gold'' (ZYX Records) (2004) *''All The Hits and More! Cynthia'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''All The Hits and More! Johnny O'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''DJ Giuseppe D. – Evolution'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''Bangin' Beats - Then & Now Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''12 Inches of MicMac Vol 1'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''Freestyle Hits Party Pack'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''12 Inches of MicMac Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''Tim Spinnin' Schommer – Bringin' The Freestyle II'' (Tim Schommer) (2005) *''Bangin' Beats - Then & Now Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''Benz Street Various – Freestyle'' (Benz Street Records) (2005) *''Dance Through The Holidays'' (MicMac Records) (2005) *''Coalition - A Common Cause'' (MicMac Records) (2006) *''Warlock Freestyle Mega Hits Vol 2'' (

) (2006) *''Bangin' Beats - Then & Now Vol 3'' (MicMac Records) (2006) *''Razor & Tie Forever Freestyle 2'' (Razor & Tie Records) (2006) *''12 Inches of MicMac Vol 3'' (MicMac Records) (2006) *''UBL Fierce Freestyle Classics (The Collection)'' (UBL Records) (2006) *''MicMac NOW! The Dance Remixes'' (MicMac Records) (2007) *''12 Inches of MicMac Vol 4'' (MicMac Records) (2007) *''Battle Of The Freestyle DJs'' (MicMac Records) (2007) *''Razor & Tie Forever Freestyle 1'' (

Razor & Tie Records Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

) (2007) *''MicMac Latin House Party'' (MicMac Records) (2008) *''Freestyle Hits Party Pack Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (2008) *''Freestyle Hits Remixed – Giuseppe D.'' (MicMac Records) (2008) *''Bangin' Beats - Then & Now Vol 4'' (MicMac Records) (2009) *''ZYX Freestyle Vol 37'' (

) (2009) *''Edits Gone Wild by Joey "Danger" Altura'' (MicMac Records) (2009) *''Ultimix 151 - Mic & Pep'' ( Ultimix Records) (2009) *''Warlock Jersey Shore Anthems'' (

) (2010) *''MicMac Original 12 Inch Club Versions Vol 1'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''MicMac Original 12 Inch Club Versions Vol 2'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''MicMac Original 12 Inch Club Versions Vol 3'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''MicMac Original 12 Inch Club Versions Vol 4'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''MicMac Original 12 Inch Club Versions Vol 5'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''MicMac Original 12 Inch Club Versions Vol 6'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''MicMac Original 12 Inch Club Versions Vol 7'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''MicMac Original 12 Inch Club Versions Vol 8'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''Ultimate Freestyle Dance Remixes by DJ/Producer Giuseppe D.'' (MicMac Records) (2011) *''Edits Gone Wild II by Freddy “The Edit” Rivera'' (MicMac Records) (2012) *''ZYX Various – Freestyle The Ultimate Collection'' (

) (2013) *''Club Hits – Mixed by DJ Giuseppe D.'' (MicMac Records) (2015) *''Freestyle's Greatest Divas 2 Exciting CDs!'' (MicMac Records) (2016)

References

External links

*
Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Mickey 1961 births Living people American male songwriters American DJs DJs from New York City American radio personalities American record producers People from Manhattan American people of Puerto Rican descent American people of Italian descent