Frankie Rodriguez aka DJ Frankie J has been moving crowds for the better part of 10 years. From the first time he set eyes on a pair of “1200 Technique” turntables, he was hooked for life. At the age of 13, Frankie started spinning House Music records in his bedroom for hours at a time. “It drove my family crazy”, Frankie recalls. By the age of 18, Frankie played his first House Set at the legendary Warehouse on Randolph Street in Chicago thanks in part to a current friend and a fake ID! “I loved the fact of having people jam to my music. It’s was exhilarating”.

Frankie continued to play in the underground scene and started playing at various local bars including TKO’s, Ritchie’s and Studio 63. Other DJ’s and nightlife individuals took notice of his mixing abilities. As his influence grew, he expanded his business to the private sector (Mobile DJ gigs). This is when his love of Latin Music took hold. “I started doing Latin weddings and private events and it really opened my eyes to my passion for tropical music”, he recalls. His business started to grow as his referral base grew larger and larger with every event he played.

Once the year 2000 arrived, Frankie set his sights on his ultimate goal of holding a residence at major night spots in Chicago. He turned to his “niche” and love of Salsa music. “The history of Salsa music is unavoidable. It takes you back to another time where very rarely did commercialism play a role”. He did a couple of guest spots for a few promoters and landed a weekly residence at Chromium Night Club (Salsation Saturdays). From there, Frankie went on to hold residences at the biggest tropical venues Chicago had to offer including Excalibur & Vision (Tropical Thursdays), Transit (Bongos Fridays), Club Babalu (Salsa Saturdays) Crobar (Salsa Wednesdays) Whitestar (Salsa Thursdays) Club WET (Salsa Wednesdays), Biology Bar and Circus (Tropical Saturdays), Sangia (Salsa Saturdays), Cuatro (Salsa Wednesdays) and various concert events.

He played 4 to 5 times a week until he admits, “I just got burned out. It started to feel like a JOB and I was not inspired enough to continue doing what I did best – PLAY MUSIC!” Frankie retired in 2006 from the club scene to focus on other business ventures. He thought that his club DJ days were behind him until he was approached by Andres Meneses of Latin Street Dancing. He liked the history behind Andres’s company and his commitment to GOOD Latin entertainment. In 2008, Frankie and Andres began their working relationship at Dragon Fly on Randolph.

Although this project was short lived, it grew into an ongoing business relationship that currently includes both club and private events. Most notably, Andres approached Frankie in 2008 to play the world famous Cubby Bear (Live Salsa Sundays) on Clark and Addison in the heart of Wrigleyville. This has become the place to be for tropical music on a Sunday night and one of the biggest Latin nights in Chicago. Frankie best sums it up by proclaiming “I found my love of playing music again and am going to ride this “second wind” that I currently enjoy to the finish line”. You can currently find Frankie J playing the biggest clubs in Chicago both as a resident and guest spots. Stay tuned as this reenergized tropical DJ adds other nights to his schedule.