We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steve King. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steve below.

Hi Steve, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I was largely self-taught and did a lot of Googling. I also took some online DJ courses to help understand some fundamentals, and then largely from there I just put time in playing out and learned a lot from seeing how crowds reacted (or didn’t react) to various mixing and technique styles.

What I didn’t realize initially was that I would have to learn were a lot of skills outside of simply playing music. On the technical side, understanding how to connect various sound systems and lighting via both wired and wireless methods. How to control lighting to provide a more interesting light show that was more in tune with the rhythm and energy of the music I was playing. How to properly set up and position various sound systems. How to get ahold of and mix music videos to add another element to my performances. How to pick the best equipment that provided the most bang for the buck and quality in terms of performance, transportability, and ease of setup and teardown. Understanding the need for multiple setup options so that I’m not going overboard on some gigs while being under-geared for others.

Then on the business side there was even more to learn. Licensing, Insurance, Taxes, Profit & Loss, and contracts. Soft communication skills working with clientele. Understanding the different dynamics between standard private events, corporate events, weddings, and bars/nightclubs – with bars and nightclubs requiring a somewhat unique priority on social networking and face time with other DJs, promoters, venue owners, and nightlife professionals. Setting yourself up for success with proper marketing (I still struggle with this one). Working with the DJ community building relationships helping each other out with new opportunities. Finding the right pricing to be viable so you’re not breaking your back for little reimbursement, but at the same time not being so overpriced that no one books you (This also ties into marketing). I haven’t even gotten into additional value-added services yet like photo booths and karaoke.

Everything I mentioned above I consider essential to being a well-rounded DJ professional servicing many different kinds of events. Really the only limit is you and the time and effort you’re willing to put into it. Being willing to keep pushing forward despite being told “No”, if you’re not ignored completely, many times.

I think what really would have helped me if I had to do it all over again would have been to find a mentor and shadow them to learn all of this first from someone who’s been through it already not just on the technical side but business as well. That probably would have saved me a few years!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Network Engineer for a top-tier Enterprise networking vendor by day, and award-winning DJ/VJ by night! I got into the whole DJ thing just playing around by our local community pool at the time as a hobby, and someone asked me if I ever considered doing it professionally. At the time I wasn’t really thinking about it, but shortly after I started doing my first official gigs, and things really just kind of blew up for me where DJing even as a side hustle was becoming pretty profitable.

I provide DJ and VJ (video) services for just about any kind of event from night clubs to weddings all around San Diego. In fact specifically in terms of weddings, I’ve been complimented more than a few times on the fact that I’m not the “typical wedding DJ”. I pride myself on the fact that my skillset is very diverse in terms of what music I’m comfortable with – I can do everything from a 50s/60s style Sock Hop event to your favorite night club Hip-Hop, Reggaeton, or EDM night, and everything in between. I am constantly updating, organizing, and improving my music library (sometimes more so than I’m actually DJing!). I’m also known for my attention to detail and planning (characteristics burned into me as an engineer) which is a huge asset for weddings, and more generally for my customer service, maintaining a perfect customer satisfaction rating on my booking site, and winning “Best of” since 2017. I constantly work to improve, learn more, and do more – rarely settling for maintaining status quo.

As a client who hires me, you can bet on a tailored experience so that you know exactly what to expect and get what you want, with excellent communication and professionalism along the way, and 100% transparency on what I can and can’t support. The biggest compliment I can ever get, and what I aim for, is for me to be the first person you think of when you want a DJ for your next event.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think a traditional challenge has been for those outside of the art is not fully understanding everything needed to provide a given service or to create a particular work of art. For DJs in particular, a lot of people think it’s just the DJ is just standing up there, pressing play and that’s it. Even for those DJs who aren’t scratching away like it’s a Redbull DJ Championship, there is a LOT of time, effort, skill, money, and love that goes into our craft to provide a great experience and will live on in the hearts and minds of those they are performing for well after the lights get turned back on and everyone gets ready to leave.

For mobile DJs, this is time spent just organizing, learning, and practicing – even before they are ever booked for a gig. Then when booked, they have to prepare for that gig because what is “good music” is often very debatable from one client to the next. They have to arrive early, lug hundreds of pounds of very expensive equipment to the venue, set everything up, and perform for those 4+ hours. Then when the night is done at midnight or later most times… while everyone is relaxing or on their way back to their homes for the night, that DJ is still sweating and breaking down equipment for up to an hour or more depending on how well they’ve streamlined their setup before making the drive back home tired. This is also time spent away from family – in my case leaving my poor wife with all four of our kids by herself while I go practice, rehearse, perform, etc. I’m so thankful for my amazing wife who largely makes what I do possible with having a large family.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me it’s pretty simple. Seeing the smiles on the dance floor and outside of it. Those magical moments where people forget about all their problems and just dance the night away. Those instances when a crowd-favorite comes on and everyone cheers and/or sings along at the top of their lungs. Those surprise moments where you find out you have a professional dancer in the crowd and they steal the show. When the ladies show the men what’s up and lead the way. Making that connection with the crowd in front of you. When you know you’ve won over your client and you’ll be seeing them again the next time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.djelevate.us
• Instagram: instagram.com/djelevateus
• Facebook: facebook.com/djelevateus
• Other: www.linktr.ee/djelevateus www.thebash.com/party-dj/djelevate