We recently connected with Katrina Karyofyllis and have shared our conversation below.
Katrina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers
One of the craziest stories I have from throwing events in Miami is one from a little over a year ago. My partner and I were hired to manage and book DJ’s for a private event at an art gallery. Covid restrictions were still in place at this time as gatherings were limited in size and scope. Upon accepting the request to manage this event the owner of the art gallery informed us that it was a small private event indoor and outdoor of 20-25 people. This seemed reasonable to us and we accepted this offer.
After arriving to the venue the day of the event the owner was no where to be found, the gallery was trashed. We began to mop and clean and disinfect the venue ourselves as the owner inferred us he would be back shortly with his guests. 2 hours go by and the venue is spotless and we are ready to begin. The owner gets back, but not with 25 people, he arrived in a tour bus along with nearly 200 people. As he disembarked from the tour bus we noticed a line of cars and hundreds of more people arriving.
Upon us informing him that this was illegal and that we were breaking the covid rules and regulations he told us not to worry about it he will handle it.
His solution was making his indoor gallery into an outdoor gallery, in the back yard. Upon the police inevitably showing up he gathered everyone in the yard in a prayer circle and tried convincing them it was a religious gathering. The moment that my partner and I noticed that new would be in violation we started packing up our gear and leaving as we wanted no part in the ongoing situation.
The police asked us what was going on. We told them we were hired for a small art exhibit and that evidently the owner had invited a 500 person warehouse party to his art event, and that we wanted nothing to do with it. The owner of the gallery tried convincing the police it was a religious gathering as they attached a hook to his back fence and proceeded to rip it down as he would not let them enter. As my partner I were leaving the last thing we heard was hundreds of people in the yard singing “Kum Ba Yah, My Lord” as they sat on the ground of his yard in a circle.
Some of the things we go through behind the scenes is unbelievable at times. The best part is there is video proof from this event and it still makes me laugh to this day.
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
I am a DJ/Producer from Ottawa, Canada and I moved to Miami 5 years ago in 2017. Since moving to Miami I have opened another business which is Industry³, my event production company. I got into DJing around 10 years ago as a teenager. I was bartending at the time in my home city of Ottawa, and my boss, the owner of the club was a DJ and someone who became a best friend of mine still to this day. I always loved house music and would go to Montreal every weekend for the big shows. After a night in Montreal I decided I was going to buy a controller and start to learn to DJ. My boss, Ilon allowed my to use the nightclub to practice and eventually gave me an opportunity to play. From there my career really took off fast for me. Shortly after I landed a position on the top radio station in my city, I was playing all the big nightclubs and festivals as well. In 2017 I moved to Miami and started working with Revolution 93.5 as a radio host and DJ. I still work with them to this day, just not in house everyday.
Industry³ specializes in house music event production, DJ bookings, Event Spaces, Venue Rentals, Event Operations, Music Production and more. Industry³ curates and showcases Miami’s finest talent this magnificent city has to offer, from local talent to worldwide acts. Industry³ Is more than just a party, we are a brand that is fully committed on delivering a unique experience through art, house music, honesty and passion. In a short period of time Industry³ has helped shape and maintain Miami’s Music Industry. Industry³ is local to Downtown Miami and serves all of Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, Broward County and more.
We are expanding and launching my record label soon which is called Industry³ Records. My motivation to do this was that I really wanted to showcase all of the extremely saturated talent here in Miami. A lot of up and coming artists do not have the network or guidance to even begin to get their music out there. At a very young age I was fortunate enough to have this guidance starting my career and I would like to give that back to others. There’s so much amazing music out there, sitting on their computers and never get heard as they should, only because they don’t have the experience or guidance to do so. I am excited I will be releasing my own music on my own label in the coming months.
Industry³ also has a weekly residency at Treehouse Miami every Thursday night. This was an extremely exciting opportunity for me as I love this nightclub and have been DJing there for a few years now. Our weekly party also focuses on showcasing Miami’s local talent, occasionally bringing headlining acts from around the world.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One thing people have always told me about myself is that I am resilient. I realize what that meant years later and why. I’ve always been extremely stubborn and when I want something bad enough I will never stop until I get it. If you are a self employed business owner you need to understand you have to be comfortable with taking risks, and understand that the consequences of those risks, good or bad are on you. You are going to fail so many times along the way, you are going to feel like you lost or get unmotivated and want to quit. One of my traits is that I never thought once quitting was an option. It has never crossed my mind to quit and from day 1 when I started DJing, there was never a plan B. I have kept working on what I started no matter what roadblocks I encountered along the way, and there were many. The thing is, it’s not failing when things don’t work out the way you planned, it’s just a roadblock you have to find a way around, and you always can.
I know and understand that my industry is constantly changing. Nightclubs open and close, artists come and go, music demands change etc. You have to be able to adapt and accommodate those. I find a lot of people give up when they lose a gig. Understanding that it’s okay, not getting emotional over it and getting back to the drawing board is the solution to success. There are so many opportunities out there, getting unmotivated is not the answer.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
One thing I’ve always put before my business is my family of course, and my morals. The music industry is not as pretty as it seems from the outside, behind the scenes can be very stressful, heartbreaking and even dangerous at times. I’ve been robbed, lied to, gone through handfuls of business partners etc. But one thing is I never let them destroy or change me. I would never do the same to anyone in order to get further in my career. I’ve lost opportunities because I refuse to cut corners, to not pay staff, to be disrespectful or lie to get further. In the long run the right people in the industry will find you. Authenticity is so rare and so important, and I promise anyone reading this that can relate, it’s worth it. I landed so many of my opportunities because of this.
I’ve finally found a team, a venue, staff and amazing people to work with who have the same values and morals as I do. My current team and I trust each-other fully. We are very transparent, fair and honest with each other. I no longer fear people stealing from the cash box and such. In todays world it’s so hard to find people to work with, especially in an environment like nightclubs whom you can not only succeed with but who you can trust, rely on and share the same work ethic as you, so because of this I believe society needs to work on this in business, and outside of business. It’s always worth it in the end to do the right thing even if it means losing an opportunity, because it was probably not a good one to begin with, and you will get acknowledged for it one way or another. Not everyone says things out loud but that doesn’t mean they don’t notice and want to work with you because of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: katrella.com, industry3miami.com, miamimusicindustry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djkatrella
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djkatrella
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/katrella-k-596723181
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/industry3miami
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRh4mrQWGumOC-b_3N8gcQg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/industry³-miami
- Other: Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/Katrella Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1sPBuPnLazBm1gQjHlIBQV?si=oMexhM7nSESoBlOxhIQpKQ SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/djkatrella Beatport: https://www.beatport.com/artist/katrella/634643 Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/katrella/1186418488 QR: https://qrco.de/Thursdays ALL EVENTS: http://allevents.by/industry YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRh4mrQWGumOC-b_3N8gcQg
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