Needle Exchange: A DJ Questionnaire With DJ Hold My Hand

Years DJing: Five-plus. My first official gig was a back-to-back set with Little Bear at Mississippi Studios.

Genres: Deep house, house, disco, gay, vogue house, club.

Where you can catch me regularly: Bridge Club, held every first Sunday at White Owl Social Club.

Craziest gig: I DJ'd a show in Vancouver, B.C., for their Pride event, which had me playing for the artist Brent Ray Fraser. If you are unfamiliar, Brent paints pictures with his penis. He only provided a single track, so I had to improvise a set while he painted Portland drag superstar Gula Delgatto. For this occasion, Gula wore a white wedding dress, while Brent used his tool to paint a rainbow of colors on her. It was very swanky.

My go-to records: "Groove Is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite; "Percolatin'" by Brooklyn Is Burning; "Hold On" by Romanthony; "Hallelujah Anyway (Larse Vocal)" by Candi Staton, especially if local drag star Shitney Houston walks into the function.

Don't ever ask me to play…: "Cupid Shuffle."

NEXT GIG: DJ Hold My Hand spins at Jump Jack Sound Machine at Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Chanti Darling DJs, on Saturday, July 9. 10 pm. $5. 21+.

Willamette Week

Matthew Singer

A native Southern Californian, former Arts & Culture Editor Matthew Singer ruined Portland by coming here in 2008. He is an advocate for the canonization of the Fishbone and Oingo Boingo discographies, believes pro-wrestling is a serious art form and roots for the Lakers. Fortunately, he left Portland for Tucson, Arizona, in 2021.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office.

Help us dig deeper.