A sampling of cutting edge events and media stories that Off Centre has been a part of.  Browse to find out more about our creative pursuits and our involvement in the Toronto community.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked, "How do I learn to DJ?" over the years. Since 2004, one suggestion I've offered is the lessons given by turntablists Erik Laar a.k.a. Stepone and Cheldon Paterson a.k.a. Prof Fingers, both of iNSiDEaMiND. They launched their Off Centre DJ school seven years ago and have seen it grow steadily over time. This week Laar further expanded the curriculum and opened a new facility at Gerrard and Jones in the east end of Toronto. Read More....

The turntablist duo Insideamind consistently pushes the boundaries of turntable creation and performance.  Founder of Off Centre DJ School Erik Laar (a.k.a. Steptone) and Cheldon Paterson (a.k.a. Professor Fingers), performed their turntable based soundtrack for a silent Buster Keaton film at Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox on February 21st 2011.  Read More...

Off Centre DJ School is a downtown option for DJ lessons, offering a variety of programs and camps to learn to mix, blend, and scratch. Off Centre instructors include Erik "Steptone" Laar, one half of Toronto turntable band iNSiDEaMiND, and Cheldon "Pro-Ef" Paterson, who is also well known on the Toronto turntable scene. If you're keen on some intensive instruction, you can opt for Off Centre's Weekend DJ Workshop, which offers six hours of instruction over a weekend, or enroll in a six-week program, offered at a variety of skill levels. 

24 hours caught up with Off Centre to talk about our 2009 March Break camp.  This five day program which is designed to engage the imagination of students from all musical backgrounds brings together a series important tools: discipline, focus, and of course laughter.  The main focus = developing hand skills, basic music theory, and experimenting with different ways of playing with sound on the turntables. 

For those who don’t play instruments, or are dissatisfied with traditional music education, DJing can be the right fit. 
And now, more than ever, this art is easy and accessible to most people. “Back in the day, if you didn’t spend your $700 per turntable then you were dealing with really bad equipment. Now you can access decent equipment for much cheaper,” and cheaper means more accessible, and more accessible means everything goes faster and farther. Read More...

For the 2010 SoundPlay Fesival, Off Centre hooked up with Mike Hansen and NAISA for a unique event on Saturday Oct. 30th 8pm @ The Wychwood Barns.  An evening of "Visual Sound Performances", with the turntable falling right in the centre of it all. Students from Off Centre performed an 8 person piece using Califone turntables appropriately titled "Itch"

For one of several stop in the summer, Off Centre takes the DJ classroom on the road with our public workshop series! Celebrating their 7th year of cutting edge local and international icons OC joins the Break, Beats, and Culture Festival for workshops on Saturday July 10th and 11th at 4pm and 2:30pm...and it's all FREE!

Off Centre is proud to be providing the soundtrack for the 2010 AdoptWalk in Toronto. Taking place Sunday September 26th 11 - 3pm at Riverdale Park West, AdoptWalk will continue on the path to raise awareness and funds related to adoption. AdoptWalk participants, including parent groups; adoptive and foster families and their extended families, friends and co-workers; adoption professionals; and the general public walk to show their support for waiting children who dream of finding loving, permanent families.