TAB’S AFTER (GALA) PARTY FEATURES CELEBRITY DJ

24 Feb TAB’S AFTER (GALA) PARTY FEATURES CELEBRITY DJ

(Ed. note: The location of the Gala has been changed to Telluride’s Sheridan Opera House. The time remains the same: a 10:30 p.m. start)

If you think the Telluride AIDS Benefit‘s gala Saturday night (it’s March 3 this year) fashion show is as good as it gets, stay tuned. And if you have always thought of the After Party as, well, an afterthought, think again. This year for the first time in the 19-year history of TAB, the After Party is a no-miss event. And the reason comes down to one man: celebrity DJ Cato, a.k.a. Congri.

Cato was convinced by Blair Brown, Horny Toad, a huge TAB booster, to come to town between regular gigs in New York and guest appearances around the globe for the event at the Llama. The fun starts at 10:30 p.m.

Originally from Friedberg, Germany, Cato’s family relocated to the States when he was age six, settling in Gainesville, Florida. Obsessed with music, even as an adolescent, Cato felt compelled to spin around town at local soirees. After honing his skills in Atlanta, GA. shoulder-to-shoulder with DJs T-Rock and F.Y.I. – ultimately the Headknod Squad – Cato made the move to the Big Apple.

The deal with New York was the same in the mid-1990s as it is today: If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. For seven years, faced with stiff  – what’s new? – competition, Cato had to straddled the fence between the corporate world (he worked for the Diesel chain) and the underground club scene. But when he finally broke through, there was no turning back.

In New York, Cato holds a resident dj spot at Double Seven on Thursday. Fridays he can be found at the recently opened hot spot, Pulqueria, a hidden gem in Chinatown he describes as “super funky.” And he is a fixture at the Rose Bar at the uber hip Gramercy Park Hotel. In summers, DJ Cato can be found playing rooftop pool parties during the day at Jimmy Soho in The James Hotel.

“I play both Saturdays & Sundays from 3-9 p.m. If you’re ever in town, you have to see the sunset from this rooftop lounge! Simply awesome!”

DJ Cato also travels to Paris once in a while, Italy too, and Manila in the Philippines to ply his trade. He’s played in Mexico in Playa del Carmen for the Turntables On The Hudson party and in Puerto Rico for the Candela Music & Arts Festival.

Get it? Telluride and TAB are super lucky Cato found time in his head-spinning schedule to help everyone party hardy for the cause.

The message is clear: if you want to shake a shoe and your booty too, the Llama is the place to be late night Saturday March 3.

To learn more about D.J. Cato, click the “play” button and listen to our chat: