Music has the power to make or break a party or night at a club, and disc jockeys are often the ones who wield that power. With an extensive knowledge of music and the ability to spin and mix just the right songs for the crowd at hand, a DJ is largely responsible for keeping the party atmosphere going.

But pleasing a crowd is not always easy, said Western senior and DJ Casey Proud.

At his most recent gig DJ-ing for Late Night at the Wade King Student Recreation Center, Proud got a request for a Miley Cyrus song. He decided to play a mashup with Miley Cyrus instrumentals and Jay-Z lyrics. It did not go over well with the crowd.

“It didn’t take half the song for people to leave the dance floor,” Proud said. “People were like, ‘What the hell? I could have heard this on the Disney Channel.’”

Proud has been a DJ for two years and taught himself through online tutorials and advice from DJs on Internet forums. Purchasing the expensive DJ equipment was a step Proud did not take lightly.

“I had worked a lot the summer before [I started DJ-ing], and made a bunch of money, but as a college student, I was worried about spending that much money on a hobby,” Proud said. “But my roommate at the time said, ‘You’re young; if this is what you want to do, this is the time to do it.’ So I did.”

Proud bought his turntables, mixer and needles for $900. Initially, he purchased his music in the form of vinyl records, but at about $10 per song, Proud quickly discovered more affordable options.

“Now I have a system that is digitally integrated with my computer, which is a standard DJ setup nowadays,” he said. “I can connect my computer to my mixer and turntables and just play MP3s, and it emulates the sound of real vinyl.”

Western senior and DJ Rafael Zuniga uses a similar setup. Zuniga, also known as DJ Rafattack, said equipment can get extremely expensive—a quality mixer alone can cost more than $1600.

“I started DJ-ing my senior year in high school, but I took a break for a while,” Zuniga said. “It’s really expensive, and I had to save some money before I got back into it.”
Zuniga and Proud said people tend to have misconceptions about DJs and the work they do.

“My mom thought all DJs do drugs,” Zuniga said. “And a lot of people think all DJs are cocky and stuck-up. That’s not true.”

The biggest misconception people have about DJ-ing is that it is easy, Proud said.

“Some people think that all you have to do is push a button or plug in an iPod,” he said. “A good DJ has to pick the right tracks and mix them with skill. You have to be able to guage the crowd, predict what people want to hear and then interact with them. It’s not easy.”

Developing the instinct for what crowds want to hear is an ongoing learning process that often comes with a few setbacks, Proud said.

“There are times when you’ll try something new and think, ‘maybe they’ll like it,’ and then 90 percent of the people there aren’t into it,” Proud said. “That’s like heartbreak. But then you just have to move on.”

But when the DJ picks a song that clicks with the crowd, the results are immediate and rewarding.

“People will start moving along [with the music], and you can see it in their faces that they’re happy,” Zuniga said.

Self-promotion is key for young DJs who do not have regular gigs.

Western senior Brian Lohr, also known as DJ Psyphris, has been DJ-ing for four years and has a Web site, Twitter account and business cards. Lohr DJs at house parties, Western events and Word, a downtown Bellingham clothing store.

Western senior Cooper Eaton, who goes by the names DJ Coop and DJ Coupe1, said it can be difficult for a DJ under 21 to find jobs. He got his first paid gig in France.

“I was interning at a radio station in London, and I got invited to DJ at a ragtime club in Toulouse,” Eaton said. “That’s how hard it is to get paying gigs when you’re not 21—I had to go all the way to France to find one.”

Eaton now DJs at house parties and clubs. He also DJs on KUGS from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Lohr said balancing his work as a DJ with his responsibilities as a college student is difficult at times.

“[DJ-ing] is so much fun, but between taking 16 credits and working 19 hours a week, it can be really hard to find time for it,” he said. “Right now it’s not even a part-time job; it’s just something I love to do, and if it works out, I want to keep doing it.”

Eaton is a studio art major with a specific focus on music production and turntablism, the art of creating music using a DJ mixer and turntables.

“DJ-ing is my life,” he said. “If anything, my other responsibilities have trouble balancing with it.”

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