FROM RINSE MAGAZINE:
"A man whose name never falls off from the drum and bass circuit, either in front or behind the scenes, Mr. Mendez revealed to Rinse Magazine what he has been up to and what is to come
Frank Mendez, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico began his DJ career in the newly arrived industrial scene in San Diego, CA during the early 1980s. Industrial-gothic bands like The Cure, The Smiths and Skinny Puppy captivated him. Shortly after he found breakbeats from following the sounds of Meat Beat Manifesto. Having amassed a sizeable record collection of grooves that electrified dancing party goers, Mendez found himself a record collector turned DJ one night in 1990 when a DJ at an industrial-goth night hosted by Mendez abandoned him after an argument. The DJ was using Mendez's records, so Mendez picked up the task and thus began controlling nightclubs and parties from there on
Upon completing his audio engineering degree in Phoenix, AZ at the now defunct Southwest Institute of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1992, Mendez moved to Orlando, FL and eventually ventured farther south to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. He had been a resident DJ at The Edge nightclub locations in both cities. His interests progressed with industrial, goth, acid jazz and trip-hop and he eventually took on drum and bass after being amazed by a ragga-filled DJ Hype mixtape.
Mr. Mendez has gone on to organize top-notch one-offs, weeklies, festivals and WMC events such as Zen Fest, Drumwerks and the always anticipated ViRAM, and has performed at many more events including the Hallucination Tour stops in Puerto Rico. As a performer he was noted as one of URB Magazines twelve DJs to look for in 2000. Also, his label EvilBase Recordings has spawned some chartworthy tunes such as Eminathem and Papercut, which was eventually licensed to AK1200s Moonshine mix, Lock and Roll.
As 2005 forges ahead, Mendez stands at the helm of many significant developments for the rest of the year and into the next. He recently completed mixing the U.S. version of the Bad Company UK Presents Bad Taste double CD, complete with an alternate track listing from the U.K. version, which includes all the tracks from the original Bad Taste LP and some older BC tunes like Blind and Forgotten. The CD is to be released in North America by the newly merged EvilBase and Hallucination Recordings with distribution through System. Mendez is also building the roster of upcoming artists and releases for the label in the new year with talent like Orion & Jadis of Good Looking and Subtitles fame
Mr. Mendez continues producing and performing in South Florida and abroad and is also developing his electro-hybrid project IOWATEST with production partner Moniker. Their tune Timelapse has already received remix treatment from John B, Monk, Terravita, Orion and Genr8 from Alliance. Timelapse (John B remix) was released in early 2007 on John B's "Electrostep" CD and Vinyl, available through Beta Recordings UK. Mendez teamed up with Vegas(Bad Company UK) to produce "Spy Hunter" for Bad Taste Recordings forthcoming in winter 07-08. The tune was revamped and reworked by Boston's own Terravita, adding vocals by MC Incite insane edits and ofcourse their own signature production. It's getting renamed and re-edited, but hold tight for the Terravita/Mendez/VegasBCuk smasher!
