We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jesse Garcia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jesse, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I was asked once in high school what was to become of my life if I didn’t take my schooling serious. At the time, the world was changing and technology was becoming more prevalent and accessible so without much thought I said “I’m going to be a musical artist”. When prompted with the question of what instrument I knew how to play, I had to be honest and answer “none, but I think I can do it with just a laptop”. When I first graduated from high school I had a yearning to explore the world and experience things that I had only ever seen on TV or the internet. This lead me to attend my first music festival in Chicago. In that moment, as I stood out in a sea of 20,000 people dancing and grooving, I felt as if I was exactly where I needed to be. In that moment, I looked up at the stage and I knew that one day I wanted to be that person in control of the music, the emotion and the story telling. I had no idea where to begin but I had enough self belief to know that I could figure it out and so, 10 years later, I stand here as a professional DJ who maybe has not mastered every aspect of the art form but is far from a beginner and even further from a dreamer in his bedroom.
Jesse, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I broke through in the music / service industry after a chance encounter with the owner of a professional DJ company through a mutual friend. At the time, I still did not even consider myself a DJ as I had not show anyone my work or even let it escape my bedroom. Through this relationship, I was mentored and shown not only the technical skills of DJing but also the business aspects of the industry in terms of marketing, sales and professionalism. At the time, my mentor was and still is one of the top level service providers in the area and recognized throughout the entire state. Through him, I was able to get my first gig and consequently begin my own project, building it up slowly over time with his help and guidance. I know have my own brand, Elité Entertainment, which as the name states, takes pride in provided an Elité level experience for any type of social event. Growing up as a first generation Mexican – American, it was imperative to me to be able to cater to people of all cultures and backgrounds. Music is a universal language that knows no borders and I pride myself on being able to provide the best experience possible for people from all walks of life but in particular people like me, who grew up feeling like they are not really from here, nor there but can appreciate the music from both places and respect everybody’s differences and unique tastes.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist / creative is the ability to do something I genuinely love and not only live off of it, but share it with others in a way that they can also appreciate. Nothing makes me happier than a packed dance floor, especially full of diverse people. Old, young, black, white and everything in between, being able to keep a crowd entertained without leaving anyone left out is no easy task but it is a rewarding experience to see people have fun and enjoy your selections. Bonding with people over music brings many different people to the same place, sometimes people who you would never think might share a common interest with you are the ones who you relate to the most. Seeing people’s joy, shock, surprise and amazement when you play just the right song and the right time or something that may be brand new makes my own experience of digging through music to find the gems all that much more rewarding. In truth, I would and did do this for free for a very long time but being able to share it with others is much more rewarding, especially on special occasions.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Most recently, in the Spring of 2024, I made the decision to leave behind the 9am-5pm corporate lifestyle and go all in on my own personal entrepreneurial journey. From the beginning this was my goal, to be able to do something music related or artistic and live off of it but it is surely no simply feat and took years upon years of work and trial and error to even reach a point where I could consider making that decision. Ultimately, I reached a point where I either had to accept that my art could not possibly be more than a hobby unless I invested myself fully. A scary thought, especially with failure being a daunting fate but luckily I have taken the right steps in stride, both the good and bad and up and down. At the end of the day, like any other business, it is hard to convince others to invest in you if you do not have the confidence to personally back yourself.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: dj_yesi
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/eliteentia
- Soundcloud: yésí
