We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jalen Anderson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jalen, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I started DJing in the fall of 2014 with the intent to establish a new hobby in my last high school semesters. I obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree majoring in Corporate Marketing and Corporate Management. I enjoy meeting and understanding people, and I often believed a career in marketing to be the best fit for me. I had no intent to pursue a career in music, and I never expected to do more than play at a few parties a semester. I had my sights on my social life and ultimately cared most about establishing myself as a student and establishing meaningful relationships with my peers.

Fast forwarding to the end of college, I interned and worked with a couple of companies that allowed me to gain a better understanding of the corporate world, and even DJing every weekend, I believed I wanted to straddle between both worlds of music and corporate business. I took a couple of months after college to really think about what would be the best path for me and decided it’d be the safest/smartest option to take a role as a practice representative where I basically marketed for a local chiropractor. I learned a lot, but after six months, I quickly realized music is what I needed to primarily focus on, and my timing of understanding this likely couldn’t have been worse. I decided to quit my job in February (I think?) of 2020.

What else “happened” in 2020, you ask? COVID 19. I understand COVID-19 first appeared in 2019, but the effects of this crazy thing we’ve never experienced seemed to be most prevalent around March 2020. In other words, I quit a job and immediately fully entered a field that was almost entirely shut down by COVID-19. I played my lowest amount of gigs since fully committing to DJing, 45, but in the end, everything worked out fine by the time protocols loosened. I used this still time to dive into the music scene and I met many peers, some of which I’d consider some of my closest friends. COVID-19 was a trying time for everyone; however, I’m ultimately thankful for the stillness it brought into my life. This stillness allowed me to reevaluate my goals, and gain a better understanding of the Nashville music scene, and it also brought a great deal of family time, which never seems to be less than beneficial.

I consider this jump from career the biggest risk I’ve taken, and I would do (almost) everything again if given the opportunity. Music speaks to me unlike anything else, and I thank God for providing in a time most would deem the worst year they’ve experienced.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Jalen Anderson, and I get to live my dream as the designated aux cord player. I’m a DJ and a Producer, known as DJ RIO, and my style is Open-Format, primarily playing a mix of House, Hip-Hop, and more in the heart of Nashville, TN.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record in every interview, but I started DJing to listen to music and establish a new hobby in the fall of 2014. I’m most proud of my relationship with the Titans, performing at home games, and many events throughout the year. My first public residency started at the Ainsworth in Nashville, TN, and I’d attribute many of the connections and gigs I have today are a result of my time playing with them over the past few years. It seems like everyone’s a DJ nowadays, so separation from peers and meeting the “right” people are key. I’d ultimately say I’m told most my passion is what drives and separates me in an increasingly busy career space in Nashville.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

New DJs, unless you are Calvin Harris, Tiesto, and a number of the greats who are more than capable to create and edit everything you plan on playing….The best piece of advice I received is learn more about record pools, and do your due diligence of finding tracks/edits/remixes that many others may not have access to.

My personal advice is to treat everyone the same, better than you’d even want to be treated, and to strive to play every gig like it’s your last. Your 1 millionth show is someone’s first time hearing you perform, so I recommend always bringing your best.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

DJing is understanding your audience and the people you are in front of. How else will you engage with your crowd if you don’t understand what they want? For many business people, this book is a must-read, and I learned a great deal from Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” This is really a cliché read for many, but this book aided the pivot of 21 years of my thinking. It provoked me to approach my relationships and changed how I understand people. If you’re not familiar with it, I recommend giving it a read.    

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thedjrio
• Facebook: @thedjrio
• Twitter: @thedjrio
• Youtube: @thedjrio

Image Credits
Jaide Langley Films