Over time I started doing shows that were just straight DJing all night long. In the beginning it was 2 of the cheapest wired mics I could afford, a Peavey IPR1600 amp, and a set of Peavey PR12 resin speakers all run by a 4 channel Peavey Mixer. Yeah, the place I got my gear from was a licensed Peavey dealer. Over the years I upgraded my equipment bit by bit. Larger speakers, better amps, larger P
eavey 10 channel mixer. And then, one day, my wife and I were visiting a friend's live band show. His sound guy couldn't make it due to weather, would I be interested in helping out? The board was a 16 channel digital Presonus board. It had tools I had never heard of before. Things like subgroups. Oodles of FX and tons of settings. I got a 3 minute rundown and a smile. Geoff was putting his band's rep on the line and I was having a panic attack. I decided I'd ride faders, do only small changes to EQs if I heard something I could tweak a little, and not go overboard on anything. A few years later I was traveling all over the state. Between live bands, weddings, DJing, karaoke, I was constantly on the go. I had a 32 channel Behringer X32 mixer, a Numark entry level DJ controller, 4 crown amps capable of pushing enough wattage to drive over 6,000 watts continuously and a system pushing 141 dB of sound at peak. I could engineer any setup in any room and get smooth, clean sound that complimented the music and at volume levels that felt right for the event and venue. I was also working as an overnight salaried manager at WalMart. I had plans to invest my bonus into a line array system so I could finally do the festivals folks kept asking me to do the way I wanted to do them. Right. And then I got sick. After my 3rd bout with Covid I developed long covid. It manifests slightly different for everyone. In my case there were neurological, lung, heart, and muscle issues. I ended up selling everything piece by piece to support my family. Cut to the present. I've been slowly improving. I can walk again. Lift moderately heavy gear. Even drive. I'm back in the game. I've been doing shows for a few months now. After being out of the game for 2 years I'm relearning things that used to be almost second-nature to me. I'm helping out my brother, Josh, at Peace of Mind Entertainment and doing my own thing as well. I've been doing bi-weekly karaoke with a recently purchased X32 Producer, and I've been doing a number of DJ gigs as well including a show at the Antigo High School which went well enough that they've booked me for 2 more right away. I'm not a turntablist. I'm a classical open format DJ. Meaning I don't scratch mix, I just cultivate the sets and adjust them as the night goes on. Open format means that I'm versed in nearly any genre of music. Country, Rock, Metal, Hip Hop, Rap, dubstep, trance, house, techno, dance, whatever. I mix the crowd and the event. I have samplers and transitions that I can and sometimes use, but my first priority is the "FEEL" of the crowd. I want them to enjoy the tracks that are being played, both the ones they know and the ones they don't. I want the flow of the music to be solid enough to do the talking for me. I MC on occassion, but I'm the kind of DJ that doesn't feel like everyone wants to hear me more than the music. We've only got a few short hours to make the most out of every track. I'm not about to talk over those precious moments or take the attention away from you and your guests to put it on me. It's not. about. me. It's about you. All of you. And the music is my tool for bringing you all together and creating a fun and exciting night filled with memories! I'm currently working on rebuilding things. Nothing like my old system. Not yet anyway. I'm focusing more on the DJ and karaoke aspects. Lights, cameras, and a dance floor full of action.
