Douglas “J.Quest” Chandler is the latest edition to the force behind the southern sound dominating the music industry today. The Knoxville, TN native started with a love for music thirty something years prior to his success today. Always feeling like a “big fish” in a little pond, he started early on his life‟s plan by traveling to major cities as a child with his parents. Making it mandatory, he never left any city without purchasing the latest underground mixtape from the record store. He would share his findings with school peers and close friends, keeping them ahead of radio‟s Top 40 with an understanding that Tennessee was slow to get the hottest songs. Having the latest in the underground circuit would serve as the minimum for young Chandler‟s growing passion for good tunes. “My father tells me all the time that I always had an ear for music. He said I could dissect a song with no problem. And I still do,” J.Quest admits.
Chan graduated from being a critic of the art to being the artist. While in high school, he invested in a key board and drum machine and began making beats around the clock. He went on to produce the popular late 80‟s street single “Chalk Line” by Lo Down. But Chan would not stick around long enough to bask in the success from his break thru song. He decided to pack up and serve in the military. “I really wanted to travel and have life experiences. I know people today who have never even left outside of my hometown, let alone have seen the other side of their area.” Living in Germany and Egypt and severing in Iraq as an Ammunition Platoon Sergeant, never stopped Big Chan from studying music. He credits his stay in the military to his well rounded/ diverse ear. After a 19 year hiatus from producing music, he decided after his active duty ended in February of 2010, he would return to music with no problem. However, he went in, only to find that the digital age of music production was in and hardware was seemingly out. Ever determined, he enrolled into the School of Audio Engineering in order to adjust to the new era of sound. “Being consumed with the military life, I couldn‟t focus on making beats. However, the discipline from being active in the military gave me the drive to learn more and fast. Most of the time, the school was kicking me out so they can close,” Chan says.
Today, with a major in Audio Engineering, Big Chan is a self proclaimed “one man band.” Doing business as Armored Sound Productions, he has produced for southern underground favorites, Crews Coleon of Alabama, CL Castro out of Tennessee, Ohio‟s Kool Kardi and Tennessee‟s newest female lyricist FinessDaBoss. Big Chan can be found in the studio making beats daily, but if he is not there, he is online studying production tutorials to enhance his knowledge of the industry. “Music and producing music runs through my veins. It always has and it always will.”
