DJ Merritt is one of those premier DJ’s that was not only  comfortable on stage in front of thousands, but also spinning to over 250,000 people every week on his famous Saturday night mixshow EdgeClub. After moving to Dallas in 1986 and experiencing the nightlife at the Starck Club, it was inevitable his path would manifest and intertwine with other locals finding their way from the dust of one greatest places on Earth.  “In the late-80’s we were out dancing a lot, then something clicked and it was more than an inspiration, it was a true discovery of what I wanted to do.  The way Mike (GoGo Mike DuPriest) would use music to work with other music… He wasn’t just playing songs. This was different. it became clear that’s what I wanted to do.” Merritt carried that realization when he went back to college in Shreveport, La. and on his startup college radio show on Centenary’s KSCL.  “…I had a show called the Friday Night Rave.  Nobody had ever even heard the term rave before, but the weird thing was people were starting to take notice.  This was a tiny station with not much footprint and yea… people were listening.”  After forging a relationship with the local club Capri, Merritt knew he had some learning to do.  “Before Capri, and more importantly their DJ, Chuck Davis, I thought all you had to do was just play stuff and they’ll dance.  I couldn’t have been further from reality.”  Merritt sites Chuck as the guy that took Merritt under his wing.  “Not only did Chuck show me how to mix, but more importantly, he showed me how to program.”

Around the same time, Dallas had a serious movement going on.  Rob Vaughan was holding court each week at Aqua Lounge and former GoGo Mike aficionado Jeff K took over as host and DJ for Edgeclub 94.  “It was an amazing time.  I first met Rob when my car broke down at Oak Lawn Records.  I was stuck there for hours and we just hit it off.  He invited me to Aqua Lounge and I got that same feeling I had just a few years earlier at Starck.” Merritt continues, “Not only were we hearing amazing stuff in the clubs, but all Saturday night on the radio with Jeff, too.”   Merritt was still living and attending school in Shreveport and was having friends smuggle tapes back so they could hear the newest sounds.  “Hearing Jeff K do Edgeclub was validating what I was doing on the college station.  I knew I had to get back to Dallas.”  The scene was moving fast.  The time was fresh, “…and we knew we were on to something special” Merritt recounts. “The scene was growing, but the number of players were still small.” Merritt, still shy of his degree in college,  “..knew I needed to be closer to the action and found a school an hour away that would take all of my credits from Centenary.  I would work all weekend and sometimes during the week driving back and forth to my apartment at East Texas State University in Commerce, TX.”  

The schedule was rigorous, “I remember getting off work at 4am on Sundays at the Lizard Lounge, getting back to my apartment around 6am and then be in class at 8:20am for a full day.”  The hard work paid off when he received a call from his mentor Jeff K.  “I remember the call vividly.  It was the first week in October [1994] and I was outside after one of my classes.  I get a call from Jeff asking to help him out each Saturday on Edgeclub.” That next week, Merritt was setting up turntables and typing the playlists.  “I could have just been cleaning the toilets up there and it wouldn’t have mattered, being a part of something like this was the break I was looking for.”  

In 1996 Jeff K took up an opportunity to move to LA and help start the county’s first electronic music station, GrooveRadio. Merritt continues, “Even though I was still spinning in clubs, doing raves, and had been on the air with Jeff for a couple of years, it was scary. I mean… those were pretty big shoes to fill!”  After the nerves settled, Merritt took Edgeclub to new heights.  “It was crazy.  Everybody and their mothers were listening.  Here we are playing unfamiliar music and we’re the number 2 show in all of Dallas/Ft. Worth.”  By 1999, the show was enjoying it’s highest ratings ever.  Edgeclub’s market share was showing 1 out of 4 people listening to the radio on Saturday nights were locked in to DJ Merritt & Edgeclub.

With over a quarter million listeners it was inevitable that DJ Merritt would start producing music.  “I had started to accumulate some gear here and there.  A sampler, synthesizer, and a computer to tie it all together.”  The summer of 1999 saw the first release from Merritt, “Slappin’ Skinz” on the Torchbearers Compilation.  “From that point on it was a new bug… producing.”  DJ Merritt has worked in the studio and released numerous tracks with Dave Aude, Left/Right, DatGuy, LehtMoJoe, Darren DuVall, Funk W, Kelly Reverb, Blake Potter and many more.  2001, saw the major label release of American DJ, Volume 2: Dallas with DJ Merritt at the helm.  “At the time I wanted to have a fair representation of what we were doing in Dallas.  We started [sic] housey, and then pushed tech to trance.” The cd sold over 65,000 copies putting Merritt on a global map.  

Over the years, Merritt has provided the opening sets alongside greats like: The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, Todd Terry, Fabio & Grooverider, Groove Armada, Frankie Bones, DJ Dan, Derrick Carter, Fatboy Slim, Moby, Sven Vath, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, John Digweed, Ferry Corsten, & Green Velvet, Mark Farina, Carl Cox, & Dub Pistols to just name a handful.   

From LA to New York to Amsterdam, DJ Merritt kept dance floors ignited for years, but keeps Dallas home.  

Edgeclub ended in November 2010.  It was the longest running and highest rated mixshow in the US.  Merritt has won the “Best DJ in Dallas” award a staggering 6 times from the Dallas Observer and in January 2015 was listed in the SunTimes as one of the top 100 DJ’s in America.

Merritt can still be heard weekly on 102.1 KDGE “The Edge” in Dallas/Ft Worth and spinning at various clubs and parties.  

He resides in Dallas with his wife, Kimberly and their daughter, Luca Claire.