Mark StefanosLA is stacked with DJs of all kinds, from bedroom streamers to international touring heavyweights. But there are few DJs that are so indelible, talented, tuned-in, and committed to uplifting the local population, that their names echo across dancefloors throughout the Southland.
This year, Thee Mike B and Giselle Peppers were everywhere, and for good reason. They’re both wizards on the decks with the charisma behind them to fill a room with energy. Both host their own party series while being versatile enough to bring the heat to any function (and on at least one blessed occasion this year, the same one). And neither of them is new to the game by any measure — Giselle Peppers has been at it for eight years, and Thee Mike B for over thirty.
If you’re looking to have fun in LA, you’d better be following these two around.
Giselle Peppers
Giselle Peppers (Photo: Spazzz)
We first started seeing Giselle Peppers command the dancefloor at Capicúa, a party that continues to be a favorite. This year, we saw her at every type of function, from her own party series Nota Alta, boogies under the sun, to twilight warehouse sweat-fests — “Definitely more than I can count with ten sets of hands,” was her tally.
Giselle Peppers (Photo: Spazzz)
Hailing from Paterson, NJ, the full-time DJ and full-time mom is rewriting the rules of rhythm, resilience, and raw technique. She was the DJ for the Jorjiana North America Tour 2025, opened for Feid and Tokischa, is routinely enlisted to keep big-time corporate events fresh, and brings her sonic mix of deep soul house, Caribbean rhythms, rap, jungle, and more to a bunch of your favorite local dancefloors. She’s a part of Rémy Martin’s DJ collective and has graced stages like Amazon Music Latino, Coachella, Hard Fest, EDC, Hermès and FENTY.
Nota Alta debuted in May of 2023, and she’s carried it nearly every month since then, sometimes twice a month, with the hopes of taking it internationally. Independent, spicy, and always evolving, ladies and gentlemen, hit the floor and get on the wavelength of the unstoppable force that is Giselle Peppers:
LA Weekly: You DJ everywhere, but still find time to seemingly be all over LA’s indie party scene — why is DJing those events important for you?
Giselle Peppers: I feel blessed to play [those mega events] but staying connected to Capicúa and my own series, Nota Alta, is what keeps me grounded. Those spaces remind me who I am. They’re rooted in Dominican and Caribbean culture — these are some of the main spaces where I get to create from the heart and stay in touch with the culture that shaped me.
What is Nota Alta all about?
Nota Alta is all about bringing the community together through sound. In Dominican terms, “nota alta” means we’re lit, we’re feeling good, the vibes are high. Think of those cookouts back in the day with your family, drinking Presidentes y romo, high school parties during the time old school reggaeton dropped, what a time to be alive — it’s really a mix of all that energy. But this event is essentially for people who see dancing as release, as a form of healing. The sound, the intention, the support, and the special selection of DJs all play a huge part in making Nota Alta what it is. You can expect to hear sounds from all over the world, from reggaeton to deep house to dembow to amapiano, and so much more.
(Courtesy of Giselle Peppers)
What’s the key to DJing and throwing a great party?
The key to DJing, for me, is putting in the hours — practicing, studying, and really committing to being the best mixer, turntablist, and sound selector you can possibly be. You have to set your own standards and hold yourself to them. There’s always something new to learn, and that keeps me inspired every day. Uno nunca termina de practicar. I used to pray to DJ full-time, and here I am, about three and a half years in, still learning and growing.
As for throwing a great party, I believe it’s about putting something real together for the people. When the energy is genuine and the intention is there, la gente que tiene que llegar… llega.
What draws you to DJing and keeps you going after all these years?
When I was in my early twenties, I curated these monthly poetry and art shows in NYC called A Time + Place. I invited my friends to read their poetry, share their art, and build something creative together. That’s really where I fell in love with the art of mixing and DJing. Honestly, from self to self, Nota Alta is almost a continuation of A Time + Place and I plan to expand the platform more in the future.
My step-pops was a DJ, and I spent summers in the BX with that side of my family. I’m the youngest of four, and my siblings taught me everything I know when it comes to music. I wouldn’t change that for the world. I feel lucky.
What keeps me going now is, honestly, the love of music itself. That feeling has never left. I love when I get booked for an event and the venue’s sound system is A1, to this day, that’s one of the best feelings.
(Courtesy of Giselle Peppers)
How do you balance DJing while being a mom?
I have a four-year-old named Sol, and he motivates me every single day and is the sweetest human I know. Sometimes he comes with me to daytime vinyl sets and he genuinely loves being around the music. I enjoy watching his musical taste evolve as he gets older. We have a playlist we both work on that consists of all the songs he already loves — everything from Prince to Oro Sólido, Vybz Kartel, Donna Summers, and more.
Being a mom adds a whole new layer to why I do what I do. I’ve never felt anything like this before — parenthood is beautiful in a way you can’t understand until you experience it. Motherhood grounds me, inspires me, and gives so much more purpose to everything I create.
What’s next for Giselle Peppers?
What’s next for me is more peace and more spaces that let people feel something real. I want to keep building rooms where music becomes memory, where the energy heals you a little on the way out. For some of us DJs and curators, this is our life’s work, so creating with purpose is key.
Follow Giselle Peppers on Instagram @GisellePeppers.
Thee Mike B
Thee Mike B (Photo: Kaitlin Culucundis-Parry @shootpeople_)
From the dusty crates of late 90s LA underground raves, the neon-soaked glory days of Banana Split Sundays, to making several of your favorite parties pop in a single night today, few names carry as much weight in West Coast club history as Thee Mike B. We’re not sure if he was ever just “Mike B,” but he’s certainly earned that Thee — shit, he might need a few more Es at this point.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mike Brillstein cut his teeth spinning everything from Baltimore club bangers to UK garage imports. A chance 1998 link with Stretch Armstrong had him earning his DJ stripes in NY, but it was his return home that changed LA for good: in 2006 he co-founded the legendary Banana Split Sundays with DJ AM and Steve Aoki — a free, no-VIP-list party that rebooted LA nightlife, broke artists like Lady Gaga, Kesha, and AC Slater before anyone else cared, and turned Hollywood’s LAX nightclub into ground zero for the electro explosion. He helped set the framework for the party ethos that we’re celebrating in these pages today.
A “multi-genre purist,” Mike has played Coachella, Portola, Hard, and for clients like Disney, Netflix and HBO, but he seems most at home at pretty much every party everywhere in LA. He was also one of the figures behind the Silver Lake cocktail bar/dance institution The Friend, which we sadly said goodbye to this year.
In 2025, he’s still very much in his prime — whether it’s a B2B with DJ Sneak at his monthly party I Feel Love at Club Tee Gee or dropping wildly addictive La Boix edits that rack up beaucoup streams, he keeps dancers sweaty with multi-genre chaos. (We’ll also add that he’s a pretty great dancer himself.) He has spent 25+ years making Los Angeles dance harder, weirder, and realer. For that, we owe a debt of gratitude to the “part time iller, permanent chiller,” undisputed champion of the LA after-hours, thee one and only Thee Mike B:
LA Weekly: How have you seen the LA party scene evolve in the past thirty years?
Thee Mike B: Up down, side to side and all around. But also, how do we define it. LA has it all. My first nights out in the mid-90s came from scanning LA Weekly or URB for indie, punk and rap shows. Then eventually picking up flyers on Melrose for raves and undergrounds in 1996-97. Dialing up info lines to get to map points and buy directions to end up in San Bernardino or sometimes much further.
Not even sure if that’s evolution, because to this day it seems everything is always happening in LA, you just gotta know when and where and ideally be invited. Whenever someone says “There’s nothing going on tonight,” or “What happened to the parties?” my reply is, “Right now in LA, all of your favorite bands and DJs are probably playing somewhere, we just didn’t find out.” Good promoters who have something special usually try to keep it that way.
Thee Mike B behind the decks at The Friend (Photo: Michael Melwani)
What have been your favorite party moments of the past year? The past 30?
In LA? This year? The 6 Year anniversary of my monthly I Feel Love at Club Tee Gee comes to mind. I went back-to-back all night with DJ Sneak, one of my favorite DJs, and in my opinion one of the best.
So many moments at that monthly, honestly. You never know what’s gonna happen. I did my first two F2F’s [face-to-face] this year as well. One with Lady Miaou and one with LA legend Thee-O. Both very special sets with incredible vibes.
This summer I started a new party with Salva, my production partner in La Boix, called LA Partie. We teamed up with Junior Sanchez and our Brobot label. We did two so far and both were epic!
Definitely will never forget Glenjamn’s LOW-RES HI-DEF book release party and gallery show at HVW8. One of the best nights ever. Franki Chan and I played all the Blog/Electro classics and I smashed my old laptop like Pete Townsend’s guitar as we ended the night with the full 10-minute encore/finale from Daft Punk’s Alive 2007 tour. P.S. Check out that book! All the best Glenjamn pics from 2007-2011 (lots of Banana Split, Dance Right, Hard and Cinespace).
More recently, last week’s Do-Over 20th Anniversary was truly a magical day. A tremendous percentage of my favorite moments happened at The Do-Over. Probably the best party from LA or anywhere. So much love for that crew. Too much to express.
(Courtesy of Thee Mike B)
From Banana Split to DJing basically everywhere, what is the key to creating a great party?
Creating something unique. A vibe, a sound, or group of people that only happens at that party. Much like The Do-Over, A Club Called Rhonda, Certified Groovers, Midnight Lovers and Electric Feels, to name a few. All those guys know what they are doing!
Banana Split only existed because of a combination that will never be replicated. Dim Mak, BPM Mag, Cobrasnake and myself all brought different flavors and energy, but were united in the vision. However, having DJ AM, arguably the greatest DJ ever, as a resident was everything. I still remember conceptualizing the musical direction with him. He was on the road so much and was such a huge celebrity at that point. It was so special to just rock a party together every Sunday.
Also, it was free and we gave away free beer from doors til the keg was empty. We would put that keg on the dance floor to get the people moving, which unfortunately, in LA, can often be hard to do. I mostly played the opening set so that was ideal. We often get remembered as a heavy electro and bloghouse night, but we truly played everything.
We had insane guests! A-Trak, all the Ed Banger crew, Crookers, Kid Capri, Santigold, Zombie Nation, Chromeo, Jazzy Jeff, MSTRKRFT, Scottie B, AC Slater, Wiz Khalifa, Brodinski. That’s just scratching the surface! Gang Starr performed in there! DJ Premier used to just drop by to hear new sounds. Almost seems unreal.
How does LA’s party scene stack up against other big cities, and why are we the best?
There’s no other place exactly like it. It’s so big, I’ve lived here most of my life and am still learning about venues and parties that have existed for decades! We’re the best because of the weather and the people (also sushi and cheeseburgers).
I’ve seen you DJ every kind of music — do you have a favorite? Does being a multi-genre have a multiplier effect?
First of all, thanks for that. It means a lot to me when people listen to my sets, for real.
I’d say house and hip-hop are my true loves. Most of the great, or at least seasoned DJs, of either genre can usually play anything (Moodymann, Funkmaster Flex, Tony Touch, Eli Escobar) and know how to be sneaky. I’m very lucky to have so many purists and OGs that I admire and respect that showed me love, play my tunes and let me into circles where most have committed their lives to one sound. From Doc Martin playing my Brillstein House releases, Boy George played my Blondie Remix, Total Contrast playing a Camo UFOs Jungle remix! I even released my quirky Late Nite Acid EP on Tiga’s Turbo label.
Artists like Fatboy Slim, Jon Spencer, Switch, Green Velvet, Stretch Armstrong and Daft Punk gave me these ideas. Different identities, different vibes, but everything is quality and done with class.
With friends at The Friend (Photo: Michael Melwani)
How were you involved with The Friend in Silverlake?
For years, I’ve worked with Jared Meisler, one of the best guys I know and a very important part of LA’s Bar scene. He’s got Bar Lubitsch, The Roger Room, The Brig, Gin Rummy and Bar Benjamin to name a few. I was very lucky to get a call from him in 2016 asking if I wanted to be a part of a new bar he was opening in Silver Lake, The Friend, with legendary French artist, hotelier and restaurateur André Saraiva AKA Mr.A (Le Bain, Le Baron, Hotel Amour). Other partners included LA royalty like Ben and Bobby Hundreds (my brothers), Arnoud Verhaeghe and Mickey Madden. Sounded like fun. I had no idea how amazing the experience would be. Very grateful for that. It changed everything for me. Thanks Jared.
How did you guys make The Friend such a sick dance floor and staple of LA’s nightlife?
When we opened, it was just meant to be a cocktail bar. The DJ booth was an afterthought, hence its location in the middle of the room. Something about the environment made people dance even when it was just the iPad. Soon, every DJ wanted to play a set there, even though our sound system was garbage and we had next to no budget. Musically, we were playing anything and everything, from reggae to rock to techno.
We had no rules, no security and no door policy. That surely helped. Within the first year, we had surprise sets from Diplo, Mark Ronson, Breakbot, Boys Noize, Fisher, Oliver Dollar, Arcade Fire … it was magical. Charli XCX did her birthday there almost every year. The Haim sisters as well, all three, separately! It was fantastic there, as if a cool Paris cafe and Max Fish were having an affair at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I miss it. I loved it. Great songs were born out of there, my friend met her husband there, Shawn Wayans resurrected his DJ moniker SW1 there … I hosted and booked every NYE since we opened and it always set the years off right.
I chose to believe whatever is next will be even better and I look forward to it.
The Friend NYE 2018 (Photo: Kaitlin Culucundis-Parry)
What are all your involvements right now?
Very focused on Salva and my La Boix project. House bangers, crowd pleasers without being cheesy or ironic. We’ve put out a bunch of stuff in the last year and there’s so much more on the way. It’s exciting and we’re having the best time. We recently dropped a remix for Oliver Dollar on Rekids and we co-produced a track for Sacha Roboti’s upcoming full-length LP on Dirtybird. We’re also about to drop follow-ups to our releases on Brobot and Juliet.
When do you ever sleep?
I microdose the sleep… Pretty much anytime no one is speaking directly to me.
Follow Thee Mike B on Instagram @TheeMikeBDJ and at theemikeb.com