DJ Keoki


George Lopez, known by his stage name DJ Keoki or Keoki Franconi, is a Salvadoran-American electronic musician and DJ. Born in El Salvador and raised in Hawaii, Keoki began advertising himself as "superstar" shortly after moving to New York City.

Biography

Keoki Franconi was born in El Salvador. He moved to Kihei, Maui, when he was 8. After graduating from Kailua High School, he moved to the mainland to study at an airline school in California. Franconi worked at several airlines in New York City, among them the now defunct Trans World Airlines. He also was a busboy at Danceteria club during this time. That was where he began to start DJing. He recalls,

Club Kids and Michael Alig

While in New York City, he met and began a romance with Michael Alig. Alig rose to international notability as the head of the Club Kids, a group of diverse people who would dress in costumes each night and form parties in New York and across the United States.
Dance music writer Jennifer Warner remembers,
While DJing at "Disco 2000", Alig's party night at the Limelight, Franconi was alleged to have passed out on the turntables while performing a set. He has completely denied the allegation, stating that it indeed never happened.
Franconi had a successful career during the late 1990s and early 2000s as DJ Keoki; he released a number of CDs over that decade and was hired to play for thousands of people at massive raves. In 2006 and 2007, he toured in the United States and Europe on the Club Party Monster Tour, a tribute to the film Party Monster as well as a nod to the Club Kid scene that shot him into stardom. During the tour, he was known for dressing extravagantly, wearing makeup, and sporting a number of tattoos.
Keoki toured and performed at The Viper Room in Los Angeles, California, Shag in Denver, Colorado, Club Tantra in Tampa, Florida, VIA Afterhours in Houston, Texas, Amazura Concert Hall in Queens, New York, Hard Rock Cafe in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He also makes annual appearances in Moscow at the Gaudi Fest during Halloween, and has played at the Love Parade in Berlin, Germany. In January 2017, he was arrested in New York City after a man in his apartment died of a drug overdose, when the officers entering his apartment found it contained illegal narcotics. Following the incident, he entered a rehabilitation program and announced the cancellation of all of his upcoming events.

Discography

1991 – DJ Keoki Presents Disco 2000 – Volume One

1991 – DJ Keoki Presents Disco 2000 – Volume Two

1993 – We Are One

1994 – Journeys By DJ
1995 – All Mixed Up

1996 – Disco Death Race 2000

1996 – The Transatlantic Move

1997 – Ego Trip

1998 – Inevitable Alien Nation

1998 – Altered Ego Trip

2000 – djmixed.com/keoki

2001 – Jealousy

2002 – Keokiclash

2002 – Misdirected Jealousy: The Remix Album

2003 – Kill The DJ

2004 – The Great Soundclash Swindle

2010 – Talking to Yourself

2019 – ''Born to Attack''

In popular media

  • His song "Caterpillar" was featured in "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'The Curse of the Flying Hellfish', a 1996 episode of The Simpsons.
  • Keoki was interviewed for the 1999 film Better Living Through Circuitry, a documentary discussing electronic dance music culture.
  • James St. James depicts Keoki in the 1999 memoir Disco Bloodbath:
A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland.