(Back cover photo of Cutting Remixes, Vol. 1, released on Cutting Records in 1987)



Front row, second from left: Aldo Marin (ran Cutting Records, did edits for Fantasy Three’s “It’s Your Rock,” allowed the Latin Rascals’ edit-block to be photographed with my grandma’s headless plastic orange mummy for the vocoder book)

Front row, fifth from left, in lavender Pippo: Omar “Oh Oh” Santana (believed to be near legally blind, required box of Oreo cookies and milk for late-night edit sessions)

In front of Omar: Tony Moran of the Latin Rascals (see dub of Bryan Ferry’s “Kiss & Tell”)

Left of Omar: Albert Cabrera of the Latin Rascals (opened up Fresh Fest III in Charlotte with Mozart; once told me he would get so buried in the edit, he’d almost get mummified in 2-inch recording tape and would have to cut his way out)

Next to Albert: Herb Powers, Jr (etched family of Pac Men on runoff groove of “Pack Jam”)

In front of Herb: Lil Louis Vega (half of Masters at Work with Kenny Dope)

Above Aldo: Hashim (traded Madonna a promo of his 12 “We’re Rocking the Planet” for one of her leather wristbands)

Right of Hashim: Sa-Fire (freestyle!)

Right of Sa-Fire, and in recent memoriam: Manny Skretching, Jr, aka Nitro Deluxe (did electro-house classic “Let’s Get Brutal”)