If you’re a follower of the ShaqFu Radio blog (and we know you are..) and know the flow of Shaq-seasons, you know that when he’s not doing the basketball commentary thing, he’s busy with either his business empire or his other passion, music. Summer is here. The NBA is done for now. Suit-and-tie Shaquille O’Neal becomes club music man DJ Diesel.
Just this past weekend (as of this posting date), Shaq was in one of our favorite towns – Cleveland – to do a show after the Cleveland Guardians baseball game at Progressive Field downtown. As is usually the case, the show was “interesting.”
For the game, the Guardians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3. Afterwards, a stage was set up where the grass meets the dirt behind second base. By the time the music started, most of the Guardians team was back out on the field to experience the big man’s DJ skills.
Seems one of the Guardians – pitcher Triston McKenzie was totally caught up in the moment. He hopped up on stage at one point, and Shaq / DJ Diesel handed him the mic. What a moment – getting to perform and sing with O’Neal in front of the big crowd!
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
And then things got a little weird. In a split second, O’Neal switched up the music, and started a new song for McKenzie to sing. But rather than any rap or club tune, Shaq pulled a fast one, putting on Kelly Clarkson’s hit, “Since U Been Gone.” Shaq / DJ Diesel waved to McKenzie to go with it, and he did the best he could… After all, when Shaq asks you to do something, you don’t question it. You just do it.
With his teammates all around him, McKenzie screamed whatever lyrics he knew into the microphone before O’Neal put his arm around him and jumped with him to the beat of the mashup. A new singing star is born? Maybe not. But it must have been fun, regardless.
Now, that’s not the only Shaq-related bit of music news to report today. Just down the highway in Columbus, Ohio, it’s been announced that DJ Diesel will be the headline DJ for an annual music festival around Halloween season. The show is called “Haunted Fest,” and it’s happening October 25th at 6 PM at the indoor-outdoor music venue known as Kemba Live, located right in the middle of downtown.
In the past, the show has played at the Ohio Expo Center, another big event center. Previous headliners have included deadmau5, Alesso, Kaskade and Marshmello and others. The show is organized by Prime Social Group, the company also behind Breakaway Music Festival at the Historic Crew (soccer) Stadium. General admission tickets are on sale now starting at $54.99, while VIP packages for $89.99 are also available.
Columbus is pretty high on O’Neal list of favorite towns this year. Along with the Halloween show, businessman O’Neal is working to open several of his very own “Big Chicken” fast-food concept restaurants in the area. The first Ohio Big Chicken has been open for two years, and is located in Dayton. Plans call for growing Big Chicken to 36 eateries around the state in the next few years.
So, if you’re in the Columbus area, you might want to put the date and location on your calendar. Better yet, get those tickets now! See you at the show…