Hello, HIVER COMMUNITY, I am Carlos Salmerón a.k.a. "Katäcøkill".
I was born on September 7, 1970, in the city of Cumaná, the capital of the State of Sucre, in eastern Venezuela. All my life, or most of it, has been dedicated to music, which is not unusual considering that I grew up in a musical family: my parents treasured a vast collection of vinyl records and cassettes since he was an inveterate music lover, and she, frankly, an excellent singer.

The first instruments I got to play were percussion instruments: drums, furruco, and charrasca; that is if we do not count the pans and other utensils that my mother kept in her kitchen. This preamble led me to be part of the aguinaldo group of the "Iglesia San Vicente de Paúl," a crucial element of my family legacy.
Considering my aptitudes, I was able to take lessons with the renowned professor Otilio Rosales, a musician from Cumana who instructed a great variety of local artists during the 70s. Thanks to these beginnings, another well-known local teacher, José Gregorio "Goyito" Morales, selected me to join the student band of my elementary school, the "Escuela Anexa a la Normal - Pedro Arnal," where I played the mandolin and later the guitar.

As a teenager, I began what would become my path as a music researcher, dedicating myself at the same time to collecting my records and then becoming an amateur DJ and selector at the age of 18. Such has been my passion for this profession that I continue doing today, as it allows me to delight different types of audiences with my sessions. Rather than containing a playlist of popular songs, reflect the love I feel for music and all that it instills and comes to express. However, I can't talk about my career as a professional DJ without talking about my radio career, which I started in the 90's with the musical production of the program "Radio Madrugada," hosted by Marcos "Catire" Lopez and Robert Lopez, in the radio station "89X FM".

An anecdote I always remember from that project was the arrival of "Catire" and Robert at my house, inviting me to participate, despite my lack of experience at the moment. After this, I was in charge of the production of the prestigious program "Radio Metras" for "Musical 100.3 FM", which later moved to the station "La Cumanesa 105.3 FM"; I then became the producer of the program "Video 7 Top Hits", broadcasted by the local television station TELESOL.

Now more confident, I can continue talking about my DJ career, which I started in "El Bodegón de Chappy." During the '90s, I also played in places like "Látigo's," "Gusano's," "Los Castillitos" and "La Casona." However, the journey did not stop there: with the beginning of the new millennium also came a new name, "Katäcøkill," and presentations in different places like "Rock'n'Roll Café," "Radiz Club," "Amoha Tiky Bar," "Brisas Café," "Marrakech Club," "Le Music Café," "Radical Club," "The Pub" and, more recently, "Street Bar," "El Punto Cervecero" and "Frutería Don Jesús."

It is impossible to say that my preferences are limited to a single musical genre, but those who know me will say that punk is my thing. Maybe that's why my big projects have been focused on this style. In 1990 I founded the pioneer punk band in my city with three friends: "Relleno Sanitario," which I would love to talk about at length on a future occasion.

In 2006 I started what eventually would become a long series of articles with which I collaborated for the "Weekend Magazine," as a chronicler of the Pop, Rock, and Dance genres. In correspondence with the success of this publication, Ricardo Pebé (Editor of "Weekend") and the announcer Carlos Carrillo Castellanos ("Onda Retro") took the initiative to air the program "Weekend Radio," where I am its producer. Then, in 2010 I created the synthpunk band "Zaparapanda," with the frontman of the band "Ohmio," Jonathan Cabrera, and the singer Siomara Salmerón.

Recently I started to share my collection of records, vinyl, and cassettes through the account "Punk Venezolano Colección," destined to give visibility to groups and artists of the genre that develop their careers inside and outside Venezuela.
However, not everything is music through the years, I have found different passions and hobbies. Between 1976 and 1986, I practiced swimming with the Club Polideportivo de Cumaná, which left me with important lessons such as discipline, safety, and passion for the sea. This same love has been projected through activities such as sport fishing, another family legacy that I enjoy to this day.

I discovered the HIVE community after being invited to the "HIVE Music Festival," an event I, unfortunately, could not attend due to work commitments. However, its success remained present in my mind and today, I finally joined this great global initiative. It only rests for me to thank Edward @Edwardstobia for his invitation and you, who are on the other side of the screen, for trusting me to share these fragments of my life as Carlos Salmerón and "DJ Katäcøkill."