We recently connected with DJ Roueche and have shared our conversation below.

DJ, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I moved to Los Angeles from Virginia when I was 20 years old. The only person I knew in California was my buddy, who I was moving to California with. I had a little bit of money saved up to get me on my feet once in Los Angeles, but I didn’t have any job prospects or even a real plan to find a job I wanted. I had the safety net of knowing I could move back to Virginia if things didn’t work out for me in Los Angeles, but the plan was to make it work in Los Angeles however I could. I’ve always felt that there are only maybe a handful of moments in people’s lives when they can uproot their whole life, and when I moved to Los Angeles at that young age, I knew that it was one of those moments in my life when I could take a big risk.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started DJing when I was 17/18 years old. Strictly as a hobby and mostly school dances, weddings and corporate events. The friend I ended up moving to Los Angeles with was a DJ and he asked me one day if I’d like to help him at one of his gigs. At that time, helping meant loading/unloading and setup/breakdown the speaker system, all the DJ equipment, cases and cases of CDs and all the cables for the equipment. This gig was an 8th grade dance and I didn’t play one song. But being behind the scenes and watching my friend DJ, from the perspective of the DJ, I was immediately hooked. Fast forward a few years, we move to Los Angeles, my buddy stops DJing but I still want DJing to be a part of my life. Not knowing anyone who was a full-time DJ, I got a full-time job in the music industry, working at a record label, I figured DJing on the side would still be a fun hobby. So I printed up some business cards and gave them to everyone I knew and everyone I met.
In 2002 I formed my company, VALA Entertainment (VA for Virginia, LA for Los Angeles), was making all of my income (not a lot at that time) from DJing. A year later, I ran into a former co-worker who know someone that needed a DJ for some “volleyball thing”. That volleyball thing turned out to be the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and I’ve been their official DJ since 2003.
Volleyball got me into the Sports DJing world before that became a standard thing, which led to DJing many other sporting events, including two Summer Olympic Games and eventually becoming the official DJ for the world famous Los Angeles Lakers.

I attribute my success in my career to things that everyone is capable of. I practice my craft, I’m easy to work with, I’m professional and my clients know they can count on my.
I pride myself on, once a client hires me, being the last thing they need to stress about at their event(s). They know I’m going to show up on-time, do my job, do my job well and help make their event as successful as possible.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

As someone who now not only continues to DJ professionally, but is also producing original music under the name, The Suicide Doors, the best way to support an artist/creative, is to help spread they word of their craft. We all have social media now, so a simple like, comment, tag, repost… goes a long way of helping spread the word. All it costs is a second or two of your time. As me and my production partner like to say, sharing is caring. I promise you, whether the artist/creative says something or not, they appreciate your support more than you’ll ever know.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The fact that I’m able to make a living doing what I truly love is the most rewarding aspect to me. DJing still would have been a part of my life, even if it wasn’t my full-time job, but I feel very fortunate I can make a living out of playing music and playing it at some of the biggest events around the world.    

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.djroueche.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djroueche/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DJRoueche
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyroueche
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/djroueche
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DJRoueche
• Other: https://www.thesuicidedoors.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thesuicidedoors/

Image Credits
DJ Roueche Laptop photo & Microphone/Mini Volleyball photo by: Mpu Dinani/agamephoto