'There is something about good house music that is uplifting and positive that crosses language, cultural, and international boundaries," says DJ Jon Sautter, a New York native now residing in San Diego. He can be found playing all over town -- Moondoggies, Aubergine, Excelsior, On Broadway, Montage, and private parties.

Trickiest problem with live shows?

"When you are playing live, so many things can go wrong. My most common problem is bad monitors. If I can't hear myself I can't perform. But I have had everything go wrong -- CD players shutting off while the song was playing, speakers blowing out, and the very avoidable problem of me taking the needle off the record playing instead of the one that finished playing. But it is all in the fun of playing in front of people."

Equipment used?

"My preferred setup is two Technics 1200s, two Pioneer CDJ 1000s or 800s, any Allen & Heath mixer, or the Pioneer 600 and a Kaoss Pad effect processor. With the increased speed of digital music [being recorded] over the past year, I am becoming ever more reliant on the CDJs [a mobile CD player that can emulate a turntable]. Some DJs are averse to playing CDs because of a vinyl purist attitude. I believe that there is nothing lost by using a smaller-size piece of plastic into a slightly different machine to deliver the newest and best -- plus the CDJ feels like vinyl and has way more creative capacity with looping and being able to move to cue points on the fly."

Weirdest gig?

"My sister Melyss is a DJ in San Francisco -- one gig was at a little club called Butter. What made it strange was that they served Bud in tall-boy cans and Tater Tots -- you know, those high school cafeteria potato things -- all night. You gotta love the eclectic nature of that city and being able to eat fried, greasy food while spinning."

Top five end-of-the-world CDs?

U2, Achtung Baby: "It has many different sounds and really pushed their sound forward."

Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction: "Best debut album of all time."

Danny Tenaglia, Back to Basics: "No one can move between all genres of dance music better than Danny. This CD changed the way I play house music."

The Beatles, Abbey Road: "They have influenced so many musicians."

Fatboy Slim, You've Come a Long Way, Baby: "This brought such great visibility to house music."

Top five flicks?

Fight Club: "Twisted, tough, awesome."

The Game: "The one with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. Great plot twists and suspense."

The Boondock Saints: "See Fight Club explanation."

Groundhog Day: "It is always on TBS, but I still get sucked in by Bill Murray's dry humor."

Swingers: "No explanation needed."