...it was far from a swift journey...
It was the summer of 2006 when I stayed in Atlanta and just couldn't get certain beats and popular baselines that I'd imagine over vocals out of my head. It drove me crazy... Crazy enough to the point where I spent hours on end researching what I'd need to hear these sounds over each other. I ended up buying a simple CDJ system with a built-in mixer from ebay, got ripped off, and had to file a complaint to get a little more than half my money back. Wack. Real wack.
I didn't have much money and I wouldn't call someone up to pay for what I needed, so I had to take out a loan and start slow - two Numark CDJs, a recycled mixer, and a small speaker. Emory University had no parties by DJs. Bands and iPods ruled all of the events. And even though it sounds pompous, I knew I was about to change all of that with the ideas and sounds that I'd imagine people needed to hear.
My first party was at a friends' apartment, then Matt Graham (now Cody Simpson's manager) was convinced after I begged him to DJ his girlfriend's (now wife's) sorority party. This is about the time when Leyla A.-M. coined the name DJ TJ and the word-of-mouth started from there.
Several groups heavily supported me (Sig Chi, AEPi, ATO, TriDelt, and the SPC), DJ Rotate, DJ Kilo and I worked as the The Turntable Syndicate super-group, and all within one year I went from Moya to Masquerade to Panama City, FL semi-formals. I set out to bring my sound to whomever, whenever, wherever. As both a turntablist and DJ, I blended cutting, scratching and mixing with song selection, mic work, and DJ energy. I did this for about three more years and started to get booked at clubs (Opera, Sutra, Pure, etc.) via another more established DJ in Atlanta. My equipment was all upgraded and within 4 years I saw freshmen turn into seniors and then graduate. It was almost as if I deejayed out a whole class. Cool stuff.
But after a while I got frustrated...