For a short time I was a superstar DJ in Beijing!

2006, I went to Beijing on a summer internship for Nokia. I had jokingly (OK maybe not so jokingly) told some of my colleagues back at home that I thought I'd get into DJing over there. Anyways, so I get to Nokia and I'm bored out of my mind: everyone working there is at least 10 years older than me and is not very outgoing. I need to make friends.

One of the funny things I'm just realizing now, is it never dawned on me / I never even thought of going to the bars/clubs at night to socialize. Then again, that's not exactly my sort of crowd. But back to the story at hand.

So one day, I make a decision and say screw it. I'm going to go find myself a little DJ residency somewhere at a club around town. Step 1: Acquiring blank CDs was a surprisingly difficult task, being that almost no one (especially in the part of town I was living in) spoke English. Step 2: Make demo. Done (was always an Ableton/laptop MIDI DJ). Step 3: Research all potential venues in Beijing that fit the style of music I was pushing (breaks'n'house). Step 4: ... cold call/ approach the venues.

Step 4 took some serious adversity. Over two weekends, I spent all day going around to these venues in taxis during the daytime. Towards the second weekend, though, a grad student from my dept. at home who was from Beijing came to visit, so she was able to help me with translating. Basically all the management didn't speak any English / I kept getting kicked out. It was a total failure.

So I gave up...

Then. One day. I was walking back to the subway station from Nokia with my boss. He points to a big-building and tells me it's a really popular nightclub in the city (he had no idea I was doing this music stuff in the background). Right under my nose. The entire time. On closer inspection, they even had some posters up for some big acts I recognized (Takkyu Ishino, in this case).

So I pass by this place for a number of days wondering if I just want to disappoint myself again. Finally I realize that I'll regret it if I don't try. So I muster up the courage, go in to the front desk, and put my friend on the phone to talk to them while I just stand their nervously. Conversation ensues. Finally, the receptionist hands me back the phone and my friend tells me that I should head back to venue later that evening to meet with one of the managers. What?

So to wrap this up, I handed the manager demo. Manager liked it, and offered me residency. However, instead of doing that, she decided to market me as a famous DJ for a few one-offs. I'm talking like posters with my mug on 'em plastered around the city. The first show I did was totally nuts - I headlined it. I walked out on stage at this pretty big club (maybe 2000ish capacity?) to a sea of screaming and whistling people. And people got down. So, I did this maybe 2 or 3 more times, and even got flown back to headline their new years eve party. It was a pretty magnificent experience.

Bonus: I got an incredible group of friends out of it, though sadly we've lost touch over the years. Through the manager, who was an awesome person, I met other DJs, local punk rockers, rappers, tattoo artists, street racers, and got discover some really neat other bars/clubs/lounges. One of the best times in my life all around.

The power of marketing is incredible. TLDR: Decided to try to get a DJ residency in Beijing. Epic failed for a few weeks, but finally landed one and instead got marketed and treated like a headliner...