Senior Craig Bare is all about the nightlife.
For six years, the computer science major has been mapping asteroids and planets at NASA, and he is now working on a project involving Mars. At his other job, Bare sets the night in motion with some of the funkiest beats on the Baltimore dance scene.
The fact that Bare – also known as DJ Leko – has a regular gig behind the decks of Sonar, one of Baltimore’s best-known dance scenes, is no small feat. The club attracts some of the best-known DJs in the country, and Baltimore has a proud history of pioneering the East Coast electronica scene.
Besides playing alongside Paul Van Dyk, one of the country’s biggest names in electronica, Sonar Marketing Director Evan Weinstein has said Bare has become the go-to man for warming up the party.
“He’s pretty much my utility DJ,” Weinstein said.
For many devotees of electronica, Bare’s gig at Sonar is a dream job. He’s not only dropping beats and getting the crowd to graduate from head nods to dance moves, he’s also producing tracks in his basement that have made it onto XM and WorldSpace Satellite Radio.
He even books his own shows in cities across the country, from Las Vegas to Denver to New York and many in between.
But Bare said he would trade in his Leko moniker for a shot at NASA any day.
“My life goal is to be on the first manned mission to Mars,” Bare said. He’s even learning Russian to help further his goal.
For now, however, he’s concentrating on the DJing.
“It’s impossible to know how big your following is with a medium like satellite radio,” Bare said, but he’s drawn crowds at his shows on the road. He’s especially popular in Miami, where he used to have a radio show.
Some of Bare’s appeal comes from his openness to playing so many styles of music. He’s been known to spin hip-hop and rap music in clubs, but like many DJs, he tires of the mainstream songs that make it into the regular radio rotation.
“I like hip-hop but I get really tired of hearing the same songs over and over again,” Bare said. “It almost makes me spite the music.”
For that reason, Bare likes to stick with electronica, a move his colleagues say suits him well.
Lainie Copicotto, manager for well-known DJ Robbie Rivera, said Bare has gained a reputation for mixing future hits.
“To listen to him, it’s like this is going to be big,” Copicotto said. “So you better listen up.”
For now, Bare is preparing for his next big show, which is Oct. 12 at Sonar. He said he can only hope his DJ career will be true to his name.
“Leko is an old-school electrical light that burns really hot and doesn’t burn out very often,” said Bare.
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