Carmen Fiorentino, aka I Am Me (better known as Twitchin Skratch) was enthralled with music since birth. His mother tells stories of her waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning, to him on his hind legs, holding onto the crib for balance, and bouncing up and down humming the Batman theme song at the top of his lungs. He was always a night creature.
In grade school, he and a close friend started DJing small 8th grade graduation parties with CD players, a mixer from Radio Shack, and a cheap belt drive turntable that didn't even have a pitch control. They really had no idea what they were doing. He then bought his first pair of Gemini direct drive turntables, with the dream of one day owning a pair of Technics; the wheels of steel.
His first year was spent learning how to scratch. He spent endless days and nights at his craft, annoying the shit out of his mother and grandmother, who both had the patience of saints. The first few months showed no improvement, has all of this time and effort gone to waste? Things finally started making sense, and he was doing little scribbles and transforms to the rhythm of the beat.
By the age of 15, he not only learned how to scratch, but was able to fully understand the structure of music. Carmen seamlessly blended songs together, for minutes at a time, perfectly in phrase - building and dropping at the same time; creating a whole new song out of the two. His next step was to land some gigs. In less than a year, he landed a monthly residency at Mission Nightclub, later named Medusa's, in Elgin, IL. It was owned and operated by the late and great Chicago legend, Dave Medusa, famous for his Chicago nightclub, Medusa's. This spot goes down in history for being extremely groundbreaking in the 80s / 90s. You can say it paved the way for other renowned clubs, such as Crobar, Chicago.
Since then, he has played thousands of local shows and has been a staple in Chicago's underground house and techno music scene. In his 20s, he became a DJ for a popular boutique clothing store, Republic of Couture, located in the Woodfield Mall. Over the years, Carmen has held residencies at numerous clubs and bars, including Soundbar, Chicago, and the world-renowned Spybar, Chicago - both while working for Exact Events. He has also held residencies with popular underground parties such as Techno Breakfast, the Tech(No) series, and Dragon Room, as well as his longest-lasting residency at Primary Nightclub, which was owned and operated by another Chicago nightlife legend, Derek Specs.
About a decade into his DJ career, he decided that he needed to start making his own music. By 2009 Carmen had his first release, "Salvation feat. Chessa", which he wrote the music and lyrics to. The song got signed by a record label in Italy and included an amazing remix by the Italian production duo, Phunk Investigation. Since then, he has had hundreds of releases with his name (under a handful of aliases) on them. Carmen even landed sync licensing deals and had his original music featured in tv and films, such as: Jackass 3.5, CSI Miami, Law & Order, The Price is Right, MTV, VH1, E! Entertainment, Nintendo commercials, and more.
By 2024, he had secured four #1 releases on Beatport, under his new imprint, Killer Mushrooms. His latest album "The Void" saw success, with all 7 tracks hitting Beatport's Top 100. "My Soul is Mine feat. Billy O" hit #1 in Downtempo, "Nervous feat. Jeeeane" hit #2, and the album as a whole was #1 Downtempo and #2 Deep House. Throughout the years, he had started a handful of record labels (Murky Beatz, Afterdark Recordings, Bottomless, Invaded, and now Killer Mushrooms), but as his music evolved, he always felt the need for a fresh start. Carmen's latest creations can be described as deep, dark, and sexy. His new sound eventually grew into this new label, and it's here to stay.
At this point in time, he was still going by the name Twitchin Skratch, which he unsuccessfully tried to change numerous times throughout his career. In late 2024, Carmen had a medical emergency that almost ended his life on this planet. From that experience emerged a new man, a new artist, with a new vision and purpose in life... and when asked who he is, he replies, "I Am Me."