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

Hi Tina, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I started as a DJ around 23 years ago. I had just started learning the art, spinning vinyl on turntables. I had several friends who were resident DJs at clubs and they brought me in for a few guest gigs to get a fee for it. I eventually earned my first residency at Club Onyx. I earned very little for the amount of time I put into my art, and expenses (music mainly) far outweighed what money I made. I eventually started multiple residencies as well as starting a night on my own and was able to steadily earn more money. Once the club closed down, I created a night called Disintegration. Running a night cots a LOT more and requires an incredible amount of time, but I was able to earn a bit more and justified buying my own CD players and gear. I also pumped up the promotional side of my job which brought in a much larger crowd and even some sponsors.

In a field like nightlife, you learn the more effort you make the more successes you will have. I finally quit my office day job and focused completely on DJing. As of 2015 DJing has been my sole job, and I generally put in about 40 hours a week between playing live at clubs, streaming online at Twitch and all the promotional and research work I do during the daytime. Some people look at DJing like it’s a non-stop party. While I do indeed have fun at my job, it is also extremely hard and stressful. You are constantly in a state of trying to please people, being concerned about turnout & interest, trying to do new things and expose new music, all while trying to remain composed and live with a crazy schedule and lack of sleep.

I think some of the important things I’ve learned is to not get involved in drama, people far too often try to drag you down and insult you to make themselves look better. It’s always best to keep your focus on your own personal behavior and pushing forward to de bigger and better things. Focus on quality and perfecting your art. Keep trying different opportunities and meet new people and travel to introduce yourself to new scenes. Know when to practice self care, indulge in relaxation and pampering when you can because it is a brutally physical and mentally demanding job.

As far as speeding things up, I don’t think that is applicable in this field. You learn from experience and through reputation. You can’t hurry that, it’s something you live in real time and earn your status. People who think they can be successful in this business quickly will also probably have a quick fall. Any art requires learning and real life experience. I don’t really trust “insta-DJs” because they lack the true and deep music knowledge as well as the ability to adapt and read different dance floors & crowds.

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

I explained in the last question how I got into my field… but I left out the exact instant that sparked my passion for DJing. I have gone to clubs since I was 16 years old, I have loved music since the moment I can recall being able to hear as a small child. My passion for music and art have always ruled my life. I would go to clubs 6-7 nights a week. Finally one night I was asking my favorite DJ for a song request and he chuckled because I always had so many requests… and he said “Why don’t you just become a DJ?”. I was shocked. I didn’t know any female DJs so it seemed impossible to me. But I took him up on it… he taught me how to spin on vinyl and when one of my dear friend was moving out of state, that friend offered me his spot at Club Onyx. That became my first residency and the beginning of my career.

As far as my services, I am a full-time professional DJ. I DJ at Milk Bar every Wednesday and 2 Saturdays a month. I DJ at Club Vinyl every Sunday night. I also stream these nights on Twitch and I also do a themed stream on Twitch almost every Friday night. I have an out of state residency at Bar Sinister in Los Angeles that I try and DJ at about every 3-4 months.
In addition I am booked as opening support for concerts. I love DJing private parties most, and of course DJ weddings here and there as well as corporate events.
My favorite thing to do is stream my sets on Twitch. I love the interactive crew on there and being able to connect with fans worldwide.

I am very proud of my almost 23 years of DJing experience and for being a role model for female DJ’s who are very discriminated against in the nightlife field. I try and bring exposure to our mistreatment and fight for equal pay and representation. I am also incredibly proud to be the #1 most followed and subscribed to solo Dark Alternative Music DJ Twitch streamer in the world right now. That’s an amazing accomplishment and came after a LOT of work and wonderful support from the best community around!

I want people to know I truly love my job and my deepest passion is music. I love to share the music with the world so they can discover new bands/artists and buy their music to support them. I also love that people can see the enthusiasm I have for this art and how I love to foster a welcoming community free of judgement and no discrimination. We celebrate uniqueness, diversity, and enjoying ourselves! I have always put our community as my first priority whether it be at the club or online. People always remark on how much I dance and smile as I DJ… it’s because I really am enjoying myself and the music. That kind of passion can’t be faked! I also really enjoy being diverse with my music taste. Most people think I just spin Dark Alternative (Goth/Industrial/Darkwave, etc) but I also love doing pop-up sets where I might play metal, rap, Britpop, silly songs… or who knows what!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I preface this next part with I will be speaking in generalizations. I know that these examples I use are not true for everybody, just mostly for me during my own personal encounters. I also am using male/female as a generalization but other genders have also been part of these examples.

Being a woman in the nightlife industry is the perfect place to showcase your resiliency. It is a male dominated field with unabashed sexism and disappointingly obvious differences in treatment. While a male might ask for assistance (needing a monitor speaker, adjustment of lighting, moving of gear…) they would generally have their request handled without incident. If a woman asks these things, we are treated like we are nagging, or a Diva. A lot of DJ booths are in crows nests or areas hard to get to in heels. So we as women are unfairly critiqued if we don’t dress up and look sexy, yet our outfits can make it hard to accomplish things I could get done easily in sneakers and jeans like most the men wear. And on that same note, our appearance is much more harshly judged than our male counterparts.

The hardest part can be how we are viewed by fellow DJs and how they search for ways to discredit women or make our successes seem like they’re a result of our looks. The amount of times I have heard people try and credit my success to my looks, instead of the 23 years of hard work, countless hours, thousands of dollars ad sleepless nights. It is so disheartening but I won’t let it get me down. The best way to reply to haters is to work harder and continue being successful. The female DJs I know are the hardest working DJs in the business. We have a lot more hurdles to overcome and biases to stand up to… but that also means our passion runs even deeper. I always ask people to support female and femme representing DJs above all others because of the immense amount of adversity we have to endure every day.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is living my passion every day. I have a job I absolutely enjoy and am proud of my position. I have worked hard every day and fought through so much adversity… cried hard but smiled even more. I have brought people together through our love of music, dance and community. I’ve seen people start new friendships, meet new spouses, grieve through hard times, laugh through pain, and indulge in dance therapy. Having a safe community where we can all be ourselves and know we have a crew around us that will care for us and help us when we are in need has been the biggest success of my career. We truly have formed a family and it warms my soul every day when I look out at the dance floor and see people grinning from ear to ear and dancing their hearts out. I love sharing my knowledge of music and helping people discover bands/artists what will change their lives in a positive way and in return help those artists flourish and have successful career. We all help each other which makes a beautiful cycle that comes full circle over and over again. Creating a vibe on the dance floor where people can lose themself in the tunes and drown out the bad parts of their day… to rediscover their happy place and savor the moments.
While I struggle and have hard days… times when I want to call in or not do a gig… I work through it and know that music and dance therapy will sooth my mind, heart and soul. I consider that a reward… having my life revolve around the art I hold dearest. You really can’t ask for much more than that.

Contact Info:

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