Ronnie Bruno
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Ronnie Bruno, born February 14, 1968 in Wichita Falls, Texas. Bruno is a well known Dallas, Texas club DJ.
Bruno moved to Dallas as a young adult in order to pursue a career as a club DJ. His early work, in the late 1980s, was under the guidance of notable DJ and nightclub manager Ric Herrington.
Growing up in north Texas, hundreds of miles from the nearest "big" city, Bruno could only dream of massive Discos like Studio 54, Paradise Garage, The Saint and The Probe. The picture from the gatefold double "A Night At Studio 54" LP provided the backdrop for the ongoing party that often took place in his imagination. The disco sound was calling. On almost any weekend night from 1976 to 1980 you could find Ronnie at Skate Whirl. A roller skating rink that was demolished by a tornado in 1979 and upon remodeling decided it would be a great idea to paint the word DISCO across one interior wall. Ronnie agreed. He skated to the latest Disco hits and then rushed out to buy the songs he'd heard the night before. It wasn't until Patrick Hernandez's "Born To Be Alive" that he discovered the 12" vinyl format and gladly abandoned the 45 rpm (7").
In the spring of 1985 at the age of seventeen Bruno officially began his DJ career at THE ROSE, a downtown gay club in his hometown, Wichita Falls, Texas. During the fall of 1986 Ronnie, and fellow DJ friends, Mary XTC and Robert Taylor, formed a DJ team called Illustration XII. The three played high school dances and a few other parties until in 1987 Ronnie moved to Dallas. The driving force behind the move was an employee of Oak Lawn Records, Craig Bell. Craig was sure Ronnie belonged in Dallas and suggested Ronnie work at the record store part time. It was during the six years Ronnie was employed by Oak Lawn Records that he met Cade Adams, a local music enthusiast who along with Ronnie formed the label, Essential Records. The label was short lived, having only one release by the popular UK dance act Psychotropic (Hipnosis) entitled Goodtime/Hardtime. The recording was licensed for US release by Essential Records and remixed by the Dallas based remix team Global (Rob Vaughan and Josh Kay). Several record pools on the west coast charted Goodtime/Hardtime in the top 5 and it hit the top of many DJ's playlists in San Francisco in early 1992. The 12" was sent out to US record pools packaged with a condom promoting safe sex and the title of the song.
Craig Bell also introduced Ronnie to Ric Herrington, the manager and main DJ at a new bar on Cedar Springs called Big Daddies. Ronnie was hired to fill the vacated spot left behind by the now legendary circuit DJ BUC who had taken a job around the corner at Throckmorton Mining Co. This was the first of a string of gay nightclubs Ronnie played around the Oak Lawn/Cedar Springs area. However, avoiding boundaries he also played straight and mixed clubs most being in a newly budding section of Dallas at the time, Deep Ellum.
1994 marked promoter Brooke H and her NYC Club Kid invasion of Dallas. (of Partymonster fame) She produced many Club Kid outlaw/warehouse parties around the city including the "King & Queen of the Dallas Scene." These wild parties brought some of the most well known NYC downtown superstars such as Michael Alig, Lady Kier, Richie Rich, Lahoma Van Zandt, James St James, Lady Bunny, Aphrodita, Keoki, Junkie Jonathon, Christopher Comp, Desire, Jessie, Walt Paper, Desi Monster, Joey Arias, Jennytalia, Sushi, Tobell, Larry T and many others. Ronnie played Brooke H events alongside longtime friend and Dallas DJ Robert Taylor. These events were highly successful until Brooke H's inevitable move to the big apple. In 1996, in the aftermath of the club kid invasion, Ronnie attended numerous US circuit events and became discouraged with Dallas' dwindling party scene. A couple of friends and his partner, Kristopher Earnest, decided to try and recreate the circuit party atmosphere at home. REFUGE accomplished this goal on Sunday, Memorial Day, 1996 at 2826. The crowd was excited and the sound was great. Also in 1996 Ronnie was approached about doing a Sunday night at a new club that was being opened by the same owner of such nightspots as ONE, MARTINI RANCH, and 2826. In 1998, that new club, SEVEN, finally opened. Sundays at SEVEN started out a T-Dance but ended up an all night party. The Dallas Morning News says, "The MET called SEVEN ...the most popular club in Dallas. THE place to be seen." Sundays have definitely proven to be Ronnie's most successful AND longest running night. (July 1998 - July 2002) In 1999, due to the success of Seven, Ronnie began a weekly Friday at ONE. It enjoyed a successful 3 and a half year run and shortly thereafter closed their doors. Ronnie played the final night to a packed house and at 6.45 am closed the night with "Everybody's Free" by Rozalla, a favorite at ONE since opening in 1990. However after an unexpected twist of events (which seem to happen quite often around Bruno) Ronnie remained at ONE. It was sold privately to a former manager, redone completely and reopened. Therefore ONE continues as one of Dallas' top venues for showcasing DJ's and dance artists. Residing in Dallas with guest spots around the US, Ronnie is considered one of Texas' favorite DJs. His combination of consistent top quality sounds and 'come as you are, BE who you are' vibe creates an awesome atmosphere.
