DJ Garth stands out as the central force driving the ascent of San Francisco’s club and rave culture across the 1990s. His studio work generated multiple defining anthems for the local scene, while his role steering the Wicked Sound System and curating landmark underground events helped cement Frisco’s status as an electronic-music destination. Born in England, he settled in San Francisco in the late ’80s and immersed himself in the city’s emerging dance community. He played a key part in mounting the Full Moon events that first stirred grassroots interest in rave culture, and in 1991 he joined DJs Jenö, Markie, and Thomas to launch the Wicked Sound System.
After four years the quartet had amassed enough resources to purchase a 1947 Greyhound bus and professional equipment, allowing them to take the sound system on the road. Buoyed by strong audience response, they moved into original production, establishing both a studio and the Wicked Records label. The imprint’s inaugural and most successful release was the 1996 collaboration between DJ Garth and E.T.I., “20 Minutes of Disco Glory,” an underground favorite later included on the soundtrack to Greg Harrison’s Frisco rave film Groove.
In 1998, the only member of the collective regularly issuing solo material, Garth created his own imprint, Grayhound Recordings, named after the tour bus. The label became home to Crosstown Traffic, his partnership with Rob Doten, and issued the debut recording by Rocket, his project with Eric James of E.T.I. That same year he delivered the mix CD U.S. Underground, Vol. 1. Concentrating increasingly on Rocket as his main outlet, Garth saw demand for his remixing skills rise sharply by 2000, with assignments from A Tribe Called Quest and Perry Farrell. Also in 2000 he released the mix CD The Cisco System, spotlighting Grayhound’s roster. In 2001 he followed with San Francisco Sessions, Vol. 3, while sustaining his monthly residency at Come-Unity, thereby presiding over the country’s longest-running house night.
