Join Tommy and Universal Grammar at SJZ Break Room on August 21, 2024, at The Changing Same, featuring live performances by Madison McFerrin and Milan Ring, backed up by Universal Grammar Djs Chalé Brown and Zuri Alexa. All ages. Doors at 7p. Showtime at 8p.
Tommy Aguilar founded Universal Grammar as a collective of like-minded individuals interested in producing events that could shape culture through music, art, and community curating. Tommy prefers the title of ‘producer’ rather than ‘music promoter’ to describe his work. He treats event production as an art form. He shares, “Everything that Universal Grammar has done since day one has been very intentional. It was born out of what I saw in San Jose and not seeing a space for myself.” Since its founding in 2001, Universal Grammar has brought acts such as Kaytranada (Live At The Pagoda), The Internet (Jazz Beyond), Aloe Blacc (The Changing Same), Hiatus Kaiyote (Live At The Pagoda), Flying Lotus (The Changing Same), Thundercat (Jazz Beyond), Little Dragon (Live At The Pagoda), Questlove of The Roots (Universal Grammar presents), and Jazzy Jeff (Universal Grammar presents) all in support of its mission to present quality artistry and emerging contemporary voices to the South Bay.
In this conversation, Tommy Aguilar discusses the very early days of his interest in music and event production, the nuanced arena of producing music events in the South Bay, what events he has coming up, and the future of Universal Grammar.
The sound of Chuy Gomez on the radio is synonymous with the Bay Area. Some Chuy fans might also know him from his hour of music on CMC, a cable TV show from 4 to 5pm on local channels. His ability to connect with his listeners and the community have made him a popular local celebrity, and when he was unceremoniously let go from his 20-year stint as a DJ with KMEL, his already faithful fans rallied around him even more. Now he’s back in his groove at HOT 105.7, doing what he does best.
Tell me about your background. I was born in Mexico and came here before kindergarten. I was raised in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. I grew up with the radio always on at the house. I would call into KBRG every day to request songs for my mom: Los Bukis, Los Caminantes, whatever was hip at the time. The DJ began to recognize me. He invited me, this little boy who called every day, to come down and check out the station.
When did you first try radio out? I was interested in it because of being around music. In high school, I started deejaying house parties. I never really wanted to do radio. I’d pretend to be Lee Perkins. People would tell me, “You sound like him.”
I’d MC events, and this led me to my reintroduction to radio. I had a buddy whose sister was having a quinceañera. I didn’t know he was a friend of Marcos Gutierrez from KSOL. He came to the quinceañera. He said, “Nobody does this but me here.” He was the bilingual guy on CBS. So then I became his intern. Before you know it, I’m hanging out for his show, and the show after. So then I start driving the vans, and that led to a weekend position eventually. It’s crazy because I was just a kid hanging out with Marcos Gutierrez. Then I became a DJ.
At what moment did you realize that you liked doing radio? I knew that I loved music coming out of my radio. Just being there, it morphed into something. I didn’t know I wanted to be on the radio. Dr. Demento, Wolfman Jack—I had my local celebrities, I liked. And then being able to be in a space where I saw these people was something else. I wasn’t starstruck, but I was this young guy hanging out with these vets. I learned a lot of game from Barry Pope. He and I spent a lot of time in the station vans doing community work.
Radio is not just about performing, it’s also about connecting… People have grown up with me in the past 20 years. I’m almost like the neighbor that you know. I’ve been to your schools, I’ve been to your dances. You’ve seen me in different situations. Now you see me walking through the fair. Some of these people don’t know I’m on the radio because people have been locked into three specific stations in the market. Unless you’re scanning through the radio, you don’t know it’s there.
Now it’s all about grassroots again. Shaking hands, kissing babies.
When did you feel like you could make a name for yourself? When did you say, “I’m going to be more public?” I was always the radio guy that was there playing music. Then they hired Mancow to do mornings, and I think by that time we had switched over to be WILD 107. He heard me and said, “You have a lot of energy, want to be part of the morning show?” I’d do the morning show Monday through Friday. I’d be the street team guy, the morning show ambassador. I’d do call-ins to the station. It got me out in front of the people. Chuy became almost a personality himself. That allowed me to grow.
My girlfriend at the time got pregnant; my son was born in 1992. I ended up asking for benefits. I couldn’t get a raise to get my own benefits. At the same time, someone called me from KMEL. They said “We’re thinking of doing something, want to meet?” So we had a conversation. I told them my girlfriend just got pregnant and I needed to start making money. They said, “Well let me put something on paper for you…”
How’d you feel in that moment? I’ve always taken life day by day. Then, I asked if I could get benefits. Oh, benefits come with the job. Okay, cool! So now I’m excited. But I didn’t want to leave WILD because I liked it there.
WILD couldn’t match KMEL’s offer, so I took the offer. They teamed me up with Rosary. We had the Chuy and Rosary show. It was growth. It was a godsend. I started doing nights for about 2 ½ years. Then it was a weird situation. They put us on the morning show. For whatever situation, that didn’t work out. So then I got the night show back. Then I went from nights to doing afternoons. Then Michael Martin, who was originally my music director at WILD, said he wanted to take what I was doing in the afternoons and do it in the mornings. I ended up doing mornings for over 10 years.
How did you find doing mornings in terms of the style? For me, it was awesome because I didn’t have to do the whole bells and whistles… I’ve never been a fan of prank calls. While you’re stuck in traffic, you have music. I threw in some entertainment reports. We did great for the amount of time that we had. Up until August of 2013, when they walked in and, after 20 years, said, “We decided to go in a new direction.”
There was no warning? I went on vacation. I came back and worked Monday through Thursday. I went into a meeting Thursday after I got off the air. “We decided to go into a different direction.” Oh, so no funky Friday tomorrow? That day was my last day.
In that moment, how was that news? In radio, you never know when your last day is. You’re only as good as your last show. I never expected it. I thought I’d graduate to KISS FM, to an older demographics station. It didn’t sink in. I cried more when I left WILD than when I left KMEL that day. It was a little surreal. I had Disney on Ice tickets that night with my daughters. I didn’t pay attention to my Instagram that day. People were going crazy, asking “What happened to Chuy?” That was empowering and reassuring and it felt good.
When did you get the call for HOT 105.7? They called and said they wanted to do afternoons. Awesome! I get to sleep in. They kicked off the station by playing Nelly’s “It’s Getting Hot in Here” nonstop for a few days. It felt like when you fall off your bike and you get back on, and you’re back in stride. You feel good.
Who are your big influencers? I’ve always been an Ice Cube fan. He and Scarface are my all-time favorites. I interviewed Ice Cube in ‘94 or ‘95. That’s probably been the only time I’ve been in groupie mode. You watch him and you see his videos and you see what kind of figure he is, and then, oh my God, I’m standing next to him.
I’ve talked to everyone from him to Snoop Dog to Rappin’ Forte. It was an incredible time in hip hop. The golden era. The ’90s were the best.
When discussing his career, Paulo “Cutso” Bello says “we” almost as often as “I”—a nod to the collaborative spirit he brings to DJ’ing.
Cutso’s uncle let him loose on a turntable as early as age eight. “He was teaching me with Kraftwerk and Pet Shop Boys records,” he recalls. “I grew up around it.” By the time he was a teenager, he had entrenched himself in the San Jose DJ scene. “We learned how to set up speakers, DJ weddings…we learned how to scratch, do battle tricks, and it all shows in what is considered a Bay Area DJ style. Very involved and very skill-heavy.”
That “we” is the Bangerz, a six-person production group comprising Cutso and fellow DJs Goldenchyld, Replay, Nick Ngo, Squareweezy, and G-Wrex. The group originally formed in 1998, when they were in high school. They began by doing battles together, and they’ve remained connected ever since.
“There are so many creative people, it’s only a matter of time before they start crossing paths and making something.”
Their first break came working with the JabbaWockeeZ, winners of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew in 2008. That win earned the dancers a show in Las Vegas, for which the Bangerz produced the music. Cutso tried a stint in Vegas, too, but soon returned to his roots, where he felt he had more creative freedom. “Over there…they only want to hear certain things at the club,” he explains.
In 2010, a DJ collaboration at the SubZero Festival with San Jose Taiko became the stuff of legend. The unlikely combination worked, says Cutso, because “we both share the same raw energy.”
Today, Cutso is connected to as many projects as ever. In addition to regular nightclub gigs, he formed the San Jose chapter of Motown on Mondays, spinning classic R&B and future soul tunes at The Continental every week; he co-hosts a Saturday night show on Wild 94.9 called Rebel Pop Radio, featuring cuts by nationally touring DJs; and he continues to record with other musicians, from underground rapper Lyrics Born to local star Anya.
Cutso is hoping his work helps push the envelope in the South Bay. “We’re driving a scene in San Jose where it’s progressive music, progressive technology, progressive art. We’re doing everything we can to set the climate for that.”
“Everyone here is open,” he continues. “Everyone here is hungry, everyone here is looking to create something new. The culture is rich. There are so many creative people, it’s only a matter of time before they start crossing paths and making something.”
When they do, DJ Cutso will be there with the perfect soundtrack.
