WILLIAM BINKY FEATHERS

Binky. Seriously. He wants you to call him that. But it’s okay if you prefer William. Fair warning: he’s so used to Binky that he may not respond to William right away. Not that he doesn’t want to talk to you -- he just may think you’re talking to someone else.

The name came from an Aunt when he was a young boy and it just stuck. Not everyone knows him just for his name. Some remember him for his spot-on Michael Jackson impersonation in the mid ‘80s at an El Cerrito High School assembly.

“I have people that don’t remember me at all until they realize ‘Hey! You’re the guy who did the Michael Jackson thing!” Feathers says.

No requests, please. That was a one time deal, Feathers says. But it was far from his last time on stage. After a broken ankle cut short his football dreams at Fresno State, Feathers hooked up with some old friends who had formed the east bay area hip hop duo, “The Concious Daughters”. He worked with them on many levels, including being the hype man, warming up the crowd before the performance.

He moved on from his work there to becoming a Karaoke DJ legend in the east bay. He learned as much as anything that customer service, even (or perhaps especially) in the performance world, was going to be one of the things that set him apart. That and keeping a smile on his face.

Seriously: How could you be Binky and not have a smile on your face?