Michael Constantine
is the music man

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Michael Constantine knows all about hard work and setting a good example.
As an All-Catholic catcher for North Catholic High School’s baseball team, Constantine thrived as a skilled team player and a mentor for underclassmen.
Oddly, his alma mater had a hand in taking the Somerton resident from knocking hits across the baseball diamond to blasting beats in local clubs.
"As a freshman, I saw that there were other students DJing at a dance," said Constantine, 19. "So me and my friend Marc (Uscher) started doing it at North Catholic."
Now known as "DJ Mikey Mike," Constantine continues to climb the ladder to celebrity in the "underground," or undiscovered, Philly music scene. He DJs at rock and hip-hop shows and promotes, books and manages homegrown talent in venues as far away as West Chester.
Constantine also holds a job at a hip-hop clothing store at the Franklin Mills mall, where he often meets other like-minded entrepreneurs, and DJs parties and special events on the side.
"I’ll do anything, weddings, christenings," he said. "I haven’t done a bar mitzvah yet, though."
Club DJs build their sets by choosing tracks to control the energy level of the crowd. They employ beat-mixing techniques to set up transitions between tracks. Constantine’s influences include hip-hop DJ Khaled and American hip-hop record producer/rapper Swizz Beats, who has worked with Madonna and Whitney Houston.
"Once you get it, you just start to feel it," Constantine said of DJing. "It’s like a rush."
Where DJing once required heavy equipment, the advent of Apple Computer’s iPod recently produced a new method by which DJs can use a computer and a mixer to play music.
"It helps a lot," Constantine said. "You don’t have to carry around a big box."
Constantine ventured into other aspects of the music industry with a tight-knit group of friends he grew up with. Through his company, MJC Promotions, Constantine gets people to sell a set amount of tickets for a particular show. There’s risk involved with the endeavor because if tickets aren’t sold, Constantine has to pay the venue owners out of his pocket.
"A couple of shows I did, no one showed up," he said. "So I started making (ticket sellers) sign contracts."
Constantine sticks to venues that allow 18-to-20-year-olds to dance, but not drink. Still, the fact that he’s as young as the audience he’s performing for draws questions from club owners about his ability.
"People say, ‘He’s a young kid,’" he said.
But Constantine always proves himself by acting professionally and brainstorming ways to improve himself.
"I’ll get to the end of a show and think, ‘What can I do that’s better?’" he said.
Constantine, who has two younger twin brothers and lists his mom, dad and grandfather as his main supporters, possesses other talents as well. He designs his own T-shirts and creates compilations of CDs with tracks he’s remixed and songs his tight-knit group of musical friends have performed.
His most well-honed skill, however, may be his ability to network. "People are always running up and giving me CDs," Constantine said.
He wants to start his own production label for both musical acts and dancers, and hopes to open a music store selling CDs and clothing in Mayfair. He’d also host small shows there on the weekends to give the under-21 crowd a place to go.
Constantine said if he didn’t do music, he’d pursue a career counseling troubled youth, an interest developed at North Catholic.
"In school, I had freshmen coming in and looking up to me," he said.
As he works toward making a name in the music industry, he continues to keep the relationships in his life positive.
"I just surround myself with people I know I can count on," he said. ••
To get in touch with Constantine, visit his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/djmikey2
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com