Before creating his stage name, deadmau5 was born Joel Thomas Zimmerman in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, in 1981. He was obsessed with computers as a child and at age 15 he started composing chip tunes. At 18, Los Angeles nu metal musicians began to notice Zimmerman. Around the same time he became the "technical whizz kid" at the dance music radio show in Niagara Falls, The Party Revolution.
\r\rdeadmau5 became a newly rising electro, progressive, house producer. His stage name, deadmau5, pronounced as "dead mouse," was inspired after he found a dead mouse in his computer while he was replacing a video card. This musician based out of Toronto, Canada, despises being called a DJ because he puts together his own tracks and plays his own material. "There are no CDs involved," he explains. "It's a technological orgy up there and I try and keep it more my music than anyone else's. If people come out to see deadmau5 I want them to hear deadmau5 music."
\r\rHis music has been greatly influenced by the chip tune movement. Chip tune music is synthesized electronic music with sound chips from vintage computers and video game consoles such as Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, and Commodore 64. Part of his act includes the iconic head mask that he wears on stage, the mau5head.
\r\rIn 2005 deadmau5 released his first album Get Scraped under the label ZOOLOOK. This album includes musical influences from IDM, ambient/down tempo, noise, pop, and trip hop. Get Scraped first came out as a CD version with 16 tracks. In 2006 he released the download version with 15 tracks. Shortly after deadmau5 released his second album titled Vexillology. During performances for this progressive house album deadmau5 does not wear his mau5head mask. Over the past few years deadmau5 has created five studio albums, three EPs, and four compilation albums.
| Date | Location | Venue | Price | Get tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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29.11.2024 10:00 |
Los Angeles USA |
Academy Nightclub 29.11.2024 10:00 |
$99.00-$200.00 |
Buy tickets |
|
18.12.2024 08:00 |
El Paso USA |
11:11 18.12.2024 08:00 |
$109.00-$332.00 |
Buy tickets |
|
19.12.2024 08:00 |
El Paso USA |
11:11 19.12.2024 08:00 |
$0.00-$0.00 |
Buy tickets |
|
20.12.2024 10:00 |
Houston USA |
Stereo Live 20.12.2024 10:00 |
$139.00-$144.00 |
Buy tickets |
|
21.12.2024 09:00 |
Dallas USA |
SILO 21.12.2024 09:00 |
$129.00-$232.00 |
Buy tickets |
|
31.12.2024 10:00 |
San Diego USA |
Nova SD 31.12.2024 10:00 |
$115.00-$260.40 |
Buy tickets |
|
24.01.2025 10:00 |
Aspen USA |
Belly Up 24.01.2025 10:00 |
$0.00-$0.00 |
Buy tickets |
Born on January 5, 1981, in Toronto, Canada, Joel Zimmerman, under the moniker Deadmau5, became one of the leading figures in electronic dance music during the first decade of the 2000s. His hits have included "Faxing Berlin" and "The Veldt," and he's released albums like 4x4=12 and >album title goes here<. Known for his mischievous mouse mask, Deadmau5 is Grammy Award-nominated and has won multiple Juno Awards.
Joel Thomas Zimmerman was born on January 5, 1981, in Toronto, Canada. He had a knack for electronics and dissecting hardware during his childhood, and eventually started working in animation and web design. He entered the music world as a DJ, making his way to Europe and South America for gigs with limited resources.
Zimmerman's musical moniker, Deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse"), was inspired by the carcass of a frozen rodent that he found in a computer he'd constructed. He adopted a helmet/mask to support the name, with the famed accessory having a variety of looks and incarnations.
Deadmau5 garnered buzz for his brand of electronic music on the indie dance retail site Beatport with the instrumentals "Faxing Berlin" and "Not Exactly," and earned inclusion on compilation albums and DJ playlists. He released an album of his work, Get Scraped, in 2005, and made his Ultra Records debut three years later with Random Album Title, which included a collaboration with fellow electronic artist Kaskade, "I Remember."
In the fall of 2008, Deadmau5 helmed At Play, Vol. 1, a release of DJ-friendly versions of his earlier songs, with more installments in the series to come over the next couple of years. He came out with another original full-length release, For Lack of a Better Name, in 2009, followed the next year by 4x4=12.
Deadmau5 has also charted several songs on Billboard's Dance/Club Play chart, including "The Veldt" (featuring Chris James) and the aforementioned "Berlin," with his 2012 offering, >album title goes here<, reaching the main albums chart's Top 10 list.
Rather than only playing at clubs, Deadmau5 morphed into a ticket-selling act able to fill major venues, utilizing dazzling light shows and a style of performance that involves live crafting of sound. The artist also maintains a highly active Facebook and Twitter presence.
Deadmau5 has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, and performed on the 2012 award telecast with the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl's post-Nirvana rock band. Deadmau5 also won Canada's Juno Award for dance recording of the year for four consecutive years, from 2008 to 2011 (his 2008 win was in collaboration with Billy Newton-Davis), and was nominated for the Juno Award for artist of the year in 2012 and 2013.
Deadmau5 became engaged to famed tattoo artist/television personality Kat Von D in December 2012, but the couple called it quits in 2013.