August 31 will be proclaimed DJ 2DQ Day in Austin to honor local dj

AUSTIN — Tury Quinonez, also known as DJ 2DQ, a renowned DJ who resides in Kyle, will soon be presented with a proclamation by the city of Austin declaring Aug. 31 as “DJ 2DQ Day.”

Quinonez began his DJ career after listening to late night radio mix shows while on the night shift at Walmart in El Paso.

“I worked at Walmart, and I would listen to the DJs because I worked overnights, and they would have mix shows on the radio. I remember I told myself, ‘Someday I want to be that dude,’” said Quinonez.

Quinonez discovered his DJ name through the pronunciation of his government name. Tury sounds like “too-dee,” and many would spell his name as Toody, Tory, Tootie etc. In the effort to "keep everyone sane," he decided to just use the phonetic sounds as his name — creating DJ 2DQ, the “Q” standing for his last name.

Nights were spent deejaying in his bedroom and at small house parties until the young artist made the move to San Diego, where he took the opportunity to reinvent himself and take his passion more seriously. Here, he mastered the art of deejaying.

“[Deejaying is] the scratching and mixing of two songs together: the blending of two sounds," said Quinonez. "When you have one song on the left turntable and one on the right, you mix it in with the one on the left side or vice versa, but it’s kind of like taking people to a level and higher and higher. Eventually, you bring them back down and then you bring them back up. It’s like a rollercoaster.

While progressing his skills, Quinonez often took inspiration from his favorite Chicagoan DJ Bad Boy Bill. The biggest takeaway he was able to gain by listening to Bad Boy Bill was the speed and intensity he used to mix songs.

“He would make songs and he’d mix them really fast … Back in the day, when songs came out, they were four, five minutes long, and they’re so short now, but I got my first radio gig in 2000 and they offered me 20 minutes," said Quinonez.  "I was like, ‘Okay, I can either mix five songs in 20 minutes or I can mix 10 songs in 20 minutes,’ so I would go through them real fast and people at the time would get upset because I went through the songs real fast … But, now it’s normal and [people are] like, ‘Okay, what’s next?’”

By the time Quinonez moved to Austin in the mid-'90s, he already had the talent, so he just needed to prove himself to the community. He spent his early days in the city opening for local DJs for free to get his name out and eventually graduated to booking his own shows at clubs and restaurants.

Now, 23 years into his professional DJ career, Quinonez plays three venues throughout the week in different cities to keep himself from being burnt out: The Railhouse Bar, in Kyle, Fridays and Sundays; Casa Moreno's, in Austin, on Thursdays; and Besos Cocina & Cantina, in Round Rock, on Saturdays.

“I want to be able to keep playing Kyle, Austin, Round Rock and all around this area because I get to play for different people … I like being able to play for different crowds because then I get to see different people. It keeps me from getting burnt out,” Quinonez explained.

Quinonez also revels in silence when he’s not deejaying. The days without music keep him excited for his performances. Though, he does listen to ‘70s soft and classic rock when he gives into the crave of music.

The artist explained that in years past, the city of Austin, where he has spent the majority of his career building an audience, has approached him with the idea of a day in celebration of him, but he felt like there was still more for him to achieve. This time, after numerous radio shows, bars played and hundreds of hours spent deejaying, Quinonez believed his work warranted the honor.

“Now, in Austin, for the most part, you could say ‘2DQ’ or ‘DJ 2DQ’ and it’s kind of a household name,” said Quinonez.

Aug. 31 will be proclaimed the inaugural DJ 2DQ Day at noon at Austin City Hall. The proclamation is free to attend and will be followed by two separate DJ events. The first will be at Casa Moreno’s in Austin for happy hour and 2DQ’s show and the second will be at Come and Take It Live, where a multitude of DJs that 2DQ has worked with over his career will be performing.

“A bunch of DJs are going to play from 8 [p.m.] to 2 [a.m.]. Every hour is going to be a different DJ … [They will] be coming from Houston, Dallas, Killeen, we’ve got some here in Austin; some old school ones like me,” he said.

Quinonez has two key pieces of advice for aspiring DJs: play the hits and keep your day job and DJ on the side until you are stable enough to take on the role full-time.

“Play the hits. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been able to be successful, by just playing the right songs. People want to hear what they know … [Aspiring DJs should] just keep a job and DJ … Eventually, when you get good enough, then you can take on working part-time and DJing part-time. Because it’s not easy, man,” stressed Quinonez.

Though Quinonez’s career has continued over a decade, he has no plans to slow down anytime soon. He hopes to open up his own bar in the future and, maybe, have a bench in Kyle dedicated to him.

DJ 2DQ plays weekly at The Railhouse in Kyle, hosts a radio show on FM 95.9 and has an app titled “DJ2DQ,” where listeners can find a constant stream of his music 24 hours a day.

For more information on DJ 2DQ Day and to follow the artist on his journey, visit www.dj2dq.com or www.facebook.com/austinsfavoritedj.