20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MARCH 5-11, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Eclectic DJs are shaping a musical movement in Monterey County for the next generation. By Sloan Campi Modern Spin In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the music industry was rocked by the invention of peer-to-peer music file sharing platforms such as Napster, Kazaa and Limewire. Almost overnight, record labels lost their means of making money off of the artists that produced albums, leaving consumers with a paradox of how to ethically support the artists that they loved. Technology continues to grow in the music scene—now exacerbated with artificial intelligence through streaming services that have embraced it—but purist forms of discovering music endure, including in the form of DJs, who dissent against AI-generated elements in music. Even for the growing number of local DJs who rely on digital (not vinyl) for their collections, they are responding to the presence of technology in music with something different than an algorithm: their own taste. For Dan Terndrup, a transplant from Los Angeles to Monterey County, an old way of discovering what was happening in his new town came in the form of a print copy of the Monterey County Weekly on a spring day in 2025. A pop-up roller rink event at the Monterey County Fairgrounds piqued his and his wife’s interest, and gave him an idea too: to convince the organizer to let him DJ for an event that honors the history of roller boogie. Terndrup—who goes by the name Daniel T. when he performs—had been DJing professionally since 2006 until the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. Shortly after moving to Monterey County, he walked into the Pacific Grove record store and bar Pop & Hiss to browse the collection, where he met local musician and fellow DJ Alex Ramirez working at the front. Ramirez noticed a pin representing the kraut rock band CAN affixed to Terndrup’s jacket. “A number of people come in every After getting into the 1950s and ’60s rock and roll DJ scene in New York City, Kim Sollecito linked up with Bay Area DJs spinning similar music. People often come up to ask DJs (including DJ Daniel T, above) about the music they’re playing during the Fadeaway sessions at Bud’s at La Playa Hotel in Carmel. Photos by Daniel Dreifuss
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