Why I'm a DJ

This question has been asked of me a lot over the years, as I know it's asked of a lot of djs. The answers are usually very straight forward and cool-filled with personal anecdotes and such. Normally, I would give a very 2 dimensional answer, like "I just really love music", or "I can't rap" or the like-but in truth there's a lot more to it for me, and I figured that I might as well share it...so here's the full answer (prepare for cornification...):

Do you have a song that, when you hear it, transports you to another place? A song that speaks to you and makes you feel like the writer understands how you feel, or went through what you went through? For me, I have several hundred of those songs. When I was young, I used to make mixed tapes of songs that spoke to me, and play them for my friends. We'd sit at school with the walkman and just listen, singing along and letting the music take me away. For me it was a good time to be alive. 

I remember dancing as a child to McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stopping Us Now", and feeling so care free...

I remember the first time I heard "In the Stone" by EWF, and remembering the hold it had on heart.

These memories helped define me as a person, and it also gave me a personal connection to music that is unlike any other.

Music became very personal to me...not that I felt possessive of it, but governed, taught, molded, educated and partially parented by it. Music has been a good friend-I've always loved it and wanted to share it with others. Most times playing a song would say the certain something to someone that I couldn't say...

When I was a teenager, I was known for 2 things...I always had a baseball cap on, and I always had a walkman on me. The walkman was a tape only walkman. This was mostly because back in the day the walkman cost as much as an iPod, and you had the version that was radio only, tape only or the combo. My mother (bless her frugal butt) gave me a choice-tape or radio, since either of these were cheaper than the combo. Seeing as I already had a radio at home, I opted for the tape version and decided that I would make tapes to walk around with. It seemed like fun, plus I could just have the music that I liked with no commercials. Little did I know that this would be the beginning...

Making those tapes taught me to "program" music. I would make tapes to fit my various emo teenager moods...slow drag tapes, breezy summer tapes and so on. These tapes became the story of my youth, as each song was personally selected and had purpose and a memory attached. That connection was a deeply emotional one and I still feel that connection to the music I play as a dj.

Every time I hit the stage, I feel like a chef who's charged with creating the meal of a lifetime. Every song is personal, and I'm doing more than playing music...I'm sharing a part of who I am with the audience. I remember reading something that Bob Marley said about his music...about how he believed that what he created could help change the world-and how he wanted to use music to heal the sick and empower the powerless...I sort of feel the same when it comes to spinning.

In my head...no...in my heart I'm reaching out to the person that's had the hard day/week etc. I want to give that person the relief that they didn't know that they needed. I want them to know that if no one else understands I do, and while I can't write the song that gives you the relief, I can play for you the music that helped keep me alive for 34 years, and maybe it can keep you going for another day. When I play, I do it with my heart on my sleeve. I'm hoping that I can be like Bob, and Stevie and Dr King and do my part to "save the world", or lift my people. It's how I give hugs and say thank you and it's how I tell my story. I play for the 5yr old inside of me that still dances to McFadden & Whitehead, and for the confused teenager that wanted summer to last forever. I play for the friends that I've lost and the ones that I've gained. I play for my son in hopes that he more days of happy dancing than anything else...

So why am I dj? For all of the above and so much more...music is just as universal as math in the chord of life. This is just me playing my part.

-Mr. DJ