Dj Weatherman

Hello friends and fellow music lovers!

So, last night i was hanging with some friends, and i was mentioning how earlier I had dug up some of my old dj mix’s on my laptop, and somehow ended up going on a ‘rant’ about the reason I had gotten into dj’ing and what sparked had that so-called ‘fire’.

Now, I might add that i find the whole ‘where it all started’ articles kinda corny, but im kinda biased on this one, as you can imagine.

As i was going into the story and reminiscing on my earlier days of dj’ing, it reminded me of my initial purpose to learn the craft, which in short was, to help provide the same experience as i was receiving myself, to be apart of the journey.

Ive always had real close connection to music through out my life, so much so, that I can map my past experiences through different types of music, different songs, and as soon as i replay certain music or individual tracks, it brings me right back to a certain period of my life, or a specific moment or experience, so real i can almost touch that period of time….make sense? I know that the way i relate to music isnt incredibly unique, and im quite sure there are readers out there relating to my experience and identifying, which is awesome, and anytime anyone has related to me when Ive described it to people, there seems to be an automatic, un-spoken bond that develops, a pretty special thing…

Anyways, before i digress much more than I already had, let me share with you the experience that i had that led me to where i stand today, and im quite fortunate to be able to identify when that took place.

I was traveling on what is known as a ‘Tica Bus’ through Costa Rica in Central America. If i remember correctly, I was traveling from the surf capitol of Jaco up north to Tamarindo on the Guanacaste Pennisula. I was there on a surf trip with a couple of friends and at this point had been having a pretty amazing time. Great surf, great food, great culture etc…

It was sometime late night, early morning

and we were in the middle of nowhere, all i knew is that we had been traveling through the jungle for a number of hours at this point. I had my headphones in and my head resting against the window staring outside, I dont remember the specific mix playing, but it was done by a UK dj/producer who goes by the name ‘Youngsta’, very atmospheric, deep bass lines, spacey synths, echoing snares etc, the mix must’ve ran 3hours+.

But I noticed something different this time. Maybe the environment i was in had something to do with it, but i realized that for the last couple hours, this mix i had been listening to , had essentially created an atmosphere, a story was being told through the music, an environment had taken shape, the music had been providing me with this journey. And during that moment, I realized that i wanted to be able to help create that experience for someone else, to be able to tell a story through music.

I was able to finally see how i was going to be able to utilize my passion for music and make a connection to others and share what was so close to me.

Im going to skip through the whole ‘buying my first dj setup’ part of the story, it doesnt seem to hold much relevance to this story or the message im conveying. But i will tell you, that my intention was to create some mix’s to share some of music that moved me, and to duplicate the very experience i shared about. That was it.

Now this is a VERY condensed version of the story, I dont want to bore you with describing the countless hours and hours spent learning how to mix, use my equipment, reading crowds, promoting etc…but i never saw my ‘dj hobbie’ growing into what it has today.

Today, Ive been able to take my passion to a whole other level. From the bedroom to dancefloors.

I dont care what style of music moves you, I recognize my job and desire is to connect to the audience, by any means necessary. I never could have predicted playing to crowds I do today.

What i have come to learn is, whatever the genre, commercial or underground, the experience and goal is the same for me, to help create and be apart of that special connection that music has always had for me, whether on a bus in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle, or a crowded Hollywood nightclub, its all about the journey and that ultimate feeling, that nothing in the world matters at that very moment.

Shaun

-dj weatherman.