There was a time when rising dance music star John Summit was keen to remind everyone of his Chicago roots. After all, he released a track via his own label last year called “In Chicago”, sampling the 2001 release “Judgements” by Steven Mestre and Wilson Santos – and even his own website calls him a “Chicago native”.

Let’s remember that Summit – real name John Schuster – is as much of a businessman as he is a lover of house music. Sources which Ears To The House have spoken to in the past describe Schuster as a man who “knows his worth”, calling him “one of the most savvy individuals I’ve ever met.”.

Schuster will understand better than anyone that associating himself closely with one of the cities where house music came from is a smart move when trying to make moves in the same scene – he is certainly not the first to use this tactic, nor will he be the last. He is, however, one of those who has utilised this strategy the most effectively.

Which is why those same people who took Schuster to their hearts in the Illinois city might be a little baffled by his decision to become a resident in the state of Florida…

Before some overpaid legal goon somewhere starts jumping up and down and getting very angry, let’s state the obvious. Ears To The House is making no suggestion here that there’s anything suspect about Schuster’s actions – as a resident of the USA, he’s perfectly entitled to live in any of the fifty states he chooses.

However, given that Schuster has spent the past few years professing his love for Chicago, we believe asking questions about this move is reasonable. Now, this move is not totally out of the blue – a lesser documented part of Schuster’s story from recent years is that he performed at a number of plague raves in Florida from September 2020.

Schuster is also not alone in dance music circles in making the move to the Sunshine State – fellow Chicago head DJ Sneak is based there, as was self-declared Chicago head Jeff Mills. But what’s the appeal of living there – surely it can’t simply be the nicer weather that lures all these DJs into the state?

As it turns out, it isn’t – and Schuster is disarmingly honest in his Facebook post on the subject. Saying the quiet part out aloud, he admits that “I don’t have to pay income tax” as a result of the move – proving that Schuster’s previous career as an accountant lives on inside his bones.

Florida is one of nine states in the USA that doesn’t levy a personal tax on income – in fact, the state’s own constitution prohibits one from being introduced. The state taxes a number of different goods and services at different rates – politicians always have their hands in your pocket, no matter where you are – but for DJs with sizeable incomes who don’t spend a great deal of time at home, Florida offers an enticing deal.

And Summit won’t be the last to be seduced. Here’s hoping no one has told him about the state’s high alcohol taxes…