What to do and where to go from Mattituck’s favorite music mixer
Anyone who frequents the North Fork bar scene has most likely heard the sick beats of DJ Henry Eau, aka Henry Oh. At night and on the weekends, Oh fulfills his deep passion for music by DJing at local bars, venues and special events in Greenport, Southold, Shelter Island and everywhere in between.
“With my DJ style, I’m DJing for mostly a mainstream audience, but I like to make sure I can introduce different sounds to people,” Oh says, “even though it’s kind of like a mainstream vibe. I like to find either forgotten songs or cool remixes that nobody’s heard or lesser-known tracks.”
That pull toward music started early for Oh. He grew up playing piano at home in Mattituck and learned trombone as a student at Mattituck High School, where DJing first began to pique his interest. He began getting into musical combat via DJ battles—a popular music phenomenon in the 1990s and early 2000s where disc jockeys showcase their beat-making, mixing and mashup skills — and watched the Disco Mix Club World DJ Champion-ships, studying their techniques.
When he got a turntable for Christmas as a high school freshman, Oh added spinning and scratching records to his bag of tricks.
Today, he’s expanded his talents to include electronic music production, beat making and live instrumentation — he’s also learning how to play the saxophone. And while he hasn’t quit his day job yet at his family’s dry-cleaning business in Southampton, practicing his craft and myriad DJ techniques is what really gets him amped.
“Picking songs for the whole night ends up feeling super natural, fun and easy,” Oh says. “I think a lot of professionals in various fields try to make efforts to get into that mind state. When it happens, it’s like magic and I think you end up in this nice balance.”
These are Henry’s favorite North Fork things:
Favorite outdoor space
The Greenport Skate Park (170 Moores Lane). It’s a cool space. Skating is what makes it all happen because it’s not quite dancing, but it kind of is too. There’s just a movement involved and rhythm with the skating.
Favorite East End event
The Prohibition Party at First and South (100 South St., Greenport).
Favorite bar
Stirling Sake (477 Main St., Greenport), the food and drinks are always fantastic. Yuki Mori also curates a cool mix of jazzy and funk-influenced tracks that provide the backdrop to the experience there. There are also always cool videos showing on the projector.
Favorite late-night bite
You can’t go wrong with 1943 Pizza Bar in Greenport (308D Main St.) and their clam pie. I also think Whiskey Wind (30 Front St., Greenport) is underrated for late night food; I know they changed some stuff recently, but they made awesome fried chicken.
Favorite regular gig
I really like the Industry Nights on Tuesdays at The Chequit on Shelter Island (23 Grand Ave.). Everyone is there to have a good time, there’s no pretension, you can do your own thing and it’s a classic night out on the town.
Favorite local live performer
I always love to see [duo] Garrett & Tamara when they are around the North Fork. Jeff LeBlanc is also a personal favorite local live performer to listen to. Both acts have a soulful sound I can really dig.
Favorite private party
I did a holiday party at Barrow Food House in Aquebogue (452 Main Road) about four or five years ago. I was expecting to play Christmas music—I walk through the door, they say no Christmas music. So, I just played a random set, off the cuff, and it was actually one of the best I’ve ever done. It was a friends and family type of situation … they just wanted to have a good vibe.
Favorite North Fork activity
My friends and I go squid fishing at night on the dock in Greenport every spring. We’ve been doing it for a while, and we always go out there every April and May before everything gets crazy. Greek and Korean people like to eat squid a lot, so they come out to Greenport in the springtime from Astoria and Flushing in Queens.
