Dieselboy

Damian Higgins (born 1972) better known by his stage name Dieselboy, is an American drum and bass DJ and music producer.

He is the eldest son of singer/songwriter Bertie Higgins whose ballad Key Largo reached #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 1982.

Higgins attended the University of Pittsburgh from 1990 to 1995 where he gained additional DJing experience,[2] and completed a degree in information science.

"[4] In 1994, Higgins created a mixtape entitled "The Future Sound of Hardcore," and sold about 100 copies through online LISTSERVs.

In 1996, at the request of Dan Donnelly of British Drum and bass label Suburban Base, Dieselboy did a mix called "DrumAndBass Selection USA".

In 1997, Suburban Base had him follow up with 97 Octane, this time allowing him to submit track suggestions, resulting in a more varied selection.

[5] Platinum residents included Dieselboy, Kaos, Method One, Sine, Icon, Karl K, Mason, and MC's Dub2, Messinian, Armanni Reign, Sharpness, and Illy Emcee.

It opened with his first original “intro” and marked his CD debut as a producer with Atlantic State, a track co-produced with Technical Itch.

The 6ixth Session was a double CD release on Palm Pictures, featuring a cyborg-themed mix described by the Washington Post as “hard-edged hyperdriven dance music".

[citation needed] In a 2000 interview with JIVE Magazine, Dieselboy discussed his roots and the rising popularity of drum and bass music, "Well, when I started playing there wasn't drum and bass per say[sic], but I was playing stuff that was prototype drum and bass, stuff that led up to it, like early break beat and it was called dark side which is like fast dark breakbeat.

[10][12] During the pandemic, he transitioned to launch Destroyer, offering design, creative direction, and branding services.

The agency's portfolio includes work for various restaurants and bars, with clients like Bonnie’s, Win Son, Rolo’s, Cozy Royale, The Meat Hook, Mischa, Empellon Al Pastor, Empellon Taqueria, Nura, Variety Coffee (NYC), The Far Out Lounge (AUSTIN), Point Easy, Hop Alley (DENVER), Kinn (LOS ANGELES), Adroit Theory (VA), and more.

[10][11] In July 2018, Dieselboy co-founded a streetwear company called Death Saves, specializing in metal and fantasy-themed apparel, in collaboration with actor Joe Manganiello.

[14] Dieselboy has been involved in various clothing collaborations, including work with NEO4IC (formerly Damascus Apparel) in San Diego.

It includes a new collaboration with drum and bass producer Gridlok called "MDMX," and three tracks by Faces of Def, a new collaborative project between Dieselboy and Mark the Beast ["Blvck Celebration" with Counterstrike (SubHuman); "Carcosa" with Mayhem and Downlink (SubHuman); remix of "Tuh Tuh Duh" by Sinister Souls (PRSPCT)].

These tours have included various support artists, such as Apashe, Craze, Justin Hawkes, KJ Sawka, Ajapai, and more.

[26] On May 23, 2013, Dieselboy's mix "Beyond the Black Bassline" was released by Skrillex's then new NEST HQ website.

In May 2008, Dieselboy released his ninth major mix-CD Substance D (Human Imprint),[27] which reached the Billboard Dance/Electronic album chart.

[28] In conjunction with this release, Dieselboy initiated the "Monsters of Jungle" tour with rotating Human Imprint label artists including Evol Intent, Ewun, Demo, Mayhem, SPKTRM, Infiltrata and MC Messinian.

In summer 2010, Human relaunched with Steve Gordon of Steez Promo and Circle Management as new co-owner with Dieselboy, and they created the SubHuman for dubstep and electro releases.

[30] On New Year's Eve 2009 headlining a 3D Productions event at Club 24 in Washington, D.C., Dieselboy played a three-hour multi-subgenre set including drum and bass, dubstep and electro.

[citation needed] In 2014, Dieselboy's passion for food advanced beyond writing about it for the James Beard Award-winning FirstWeFeast.com blog, into professional kitchens.

[31] He cooked a sold-out collaboration dinner with respected chefs Matt McCallister and Alex Stupak at FT33 restaurant in Dallas on June 9, 2014.

[32][33] Dieselboy competed in a nacho battle against chef Alex Stupak at Empellón Cocina in New York in February 2013, which he lost.

[35] Dieselboy assisted chefs Dave Beran (Chicago), Daniel Patterson (San Francisco), and Christina Tosi (New York City) at an Art Basel dinner hosted by Questlove in Miami on December 6, 2014.

In January 2015, another pop-up hamburger event took place at P60 cafe in Amstelveen, Netherlands as a prelude to his DJ gig at the P60 club.

[38] On August 9, 2015 as part of the Moonrise Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, Dieselboy and The Glitch Mob hosted a Taco Party for contest winners.

Dieselboy placed #23 in the 2014 America's Best DJ Poll, up 19 from the previous year's #42, between Moby and BT.

On February 12, 2012 in accepting his Grammy for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, Skrillex (Sonny Moore) ended his comments quoting Dieselboy as saying "All the boats rise with the water.

"Soul on Fire (Concord Dawn Remix)" – Kaos + Karl K + Jae Kennedy 05.