www.montereycountynow.com MARCH 5-11, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 21 day and ask for gigs. I just spotted something on him that triggered a conversation that went adrift from talking about DJ gigs,” Ramirez says. Terndrup regularly wears pins on his jacket, but it serves as a signal to other audiophiles; this one was intended to help him look for a gig. “I relate it to skateboarding,” Ramirez says. “When you see a skateboarder and his shoes are scuffed, it’s a sign that this guy’s with it.” The pin worked. Having linked up, the two spoke with the organizers of Monterey Skates, who agreed to let them kickstart a groove-machine event, now known as Night Glide, during the roller rink pop-up. Ramirez and Terndrup spin 45s—records meant to play at 45 revolutions per minute— but live-curate the playlist of music to fit the vibe, shaped with physical media. Night Glide became a monthly occurrence (the next is March 8), and there is an opportunity to create more events now that the roller rink plans to move to a space at the Del Monte Center in Monterey. With over 700 million users, Spotify remains a giant in terms of music sharing, even among DJs. But in September 2025, NPR reported that several artists—such as Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Hotline TNT to name a few—pulled their music from the streaming service because of Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek’s financial ties to AI technologies used for advanced weaponry and fighter aircraft like the HX-2 AI Strike Drone. Meanwhile, AI-generated music is also gaining a foothold. Despite concerns, services like Spotify remain one of the most seamless platforms for exchanging songs. “If you know of a better way to share music, please let me know,” says Gwynneth Alldis with a laugh. Alldis, who goes by the mononym GWYNNETH when she performs, DJs with digital music files known as FLACs, which she says have better sound quality than MP3 files. But even the digital realm can give DJs a way to capture the highly curated vibe that vinyl DJs prefer, and local DJs are establishing their own niche in various genres. Still, the human element of music and DJing is not lost for Alldis. “We’ve got to experience space together,” she says. “People notice bad music almost immediately.” Alldis began DJing in 2009 while studying oil painting in Florence, Italy. After nights out, she and her art school friends would frequent an exclusive after-hours club run by her housemate, where she first learned to use the Pioneer CDJ: a device similar to a turntable that plays, mixes and even imitates scratching sounds while playing CDs. Though there was a language barrier between her and her Sardinian housemate, the two bridged the gap through the music. Alldis says when she first started learning how to DJ with him, he’d give her either a thumbs up or thumbs down based on what she played. Bringing her experience home, Alldis now curates playlists for restaurants in Carmel, but occasionally performs a signature Italo-Discoteque event, featuring tracks from Italian artists like Donatella Rettore, Mina, Raffaella Carrà and Pino DiAngiò. She’ll usually start her sessions with classic Italian cinematic scores and then blend disco music later into the evening. She reads the room to see what guests are enjoying. “People love familiar music too,” she says. “I now fuse American disco with Italian disco, and may even pivot to ’90s house.” The initial idea was inspired by her painting. “I look at it as an extension of my art practice,” she says. Alldis’ first iteration of the Italo-Discoteque was pitched to Katie Blandin, the owner of Pearl Hour in Monterey, to pair with an amaro tasting at the bar in 2021 when social distancing was still mandatory. The two held the event as an innovative way to connect Alldis’ music to the bars to help Blandin at a time when bars were forced to be creative. “It’s almost like a somatic release,” Alldis says. “We’re vibing and having a good time; it’s joyful. That’s what I’m trying to create.” She noticed that people would stand up and dance in place when they liked the song during the socially-distanced amaro tasting event. Alldis says that being intentional about the music she selects digitally contributes to her connection with her audience, and by extension her community. “When I first start my night, it’s an announcement of who I am,” she says, explaining that she structures her sets like acts in a play. The “crescendo” happens when people get into the music and dance. “It’s not about being cool,” Alldis says. “It’s about, ‘let’s get into it and have a good time.’” Sharing and recognizing interesting music is the keystone of a DJ’s mission. As is well documented, this is what led to movements like house music—a genre identifiable through a consistent 4/4 beat—but also bears “house rules” DJ Kim Sollecito, aka Kim the Beat, spins her collection of garage rock and roll, northern soul and doo-wop 45s at a weekly event at Pop & Hiss. DJs Alex Ramirez and Dan Terndrup spin 45s—which have only one to two songs each— from their collection during their set.
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