Without skipping a beat, deejaying has not only become a revered
enterprise, but also a full-blown lifestyle/industry.
The ballistic beats and brain-thumping drive of electronic dance
music have risen from the inner sanctum of the underground into the
main-stream. Such illuminated focus has knighted the modern deejay
with rock star status (e.g., Moby) and generated a lifestyle that
kids are embracing worldwide.
With this rising popularity, the role of dee-jay has evolved
from the once faceless record spinner or the geeky guy at
graduation parties and weddings to a rather musically impressive
guru, whose mixing and matching of vinyl-elicited beats has brought
forth a slew of profitable opportunities, spawning
lifestyle-specific lines of clothing, gear and accessories.
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Music equipment manufacturers have taken the reins as well,
creating deejay kits for anxious neophytes and advanced, upgraded
devices for seasoned pros.
Spinning records since 1985, Ron Dedmon (aka Ron D. Core), 33,
has seen his scratching and spinning of records for enthusiastic
crowds go from part-time hobby to full-fledged business. In 1994,
Dedmon and his wife, Helen Liang, 29, opened Costa Mesa,
California-based electronic dance music resource, Dr.
Freecloud's Mixing Lab (DFML), with then-partner Jeff
Adachi.
DFML offers mass collections of vinyl and mixed CDs that run the
gamut of dance music genres as well as accessories and gear ranging
from clothing and hats to record needles and bags. The scene has
become so huge that Dedmon hopes to eventually open a chain of
stores and expand his line of logo-laden accessories featuring his
signature design, a demented, bulbous-headed doctor. Not only that,
this enterprising company has evoked three in-house record labels,
and Dedmon still does gigs as well as mixes his own records and
CDs. Last year, DFML raked in $500,000 in sales, further convincing
Dedmon that the mass interest in the industry won't likely
fade.
"This music will always be innovative and changing,"
Dedmon explains. "Equipment is more durable, recording gear
has been upgraded and there's just a lot more variety in
design. Equalizers are much better now and cross-faders have become
looser-deejays' needs have been met."
But, fortunately for entrepreneurs, they haven't been
satiated. "When I first started out, I always said 'keep
your day job,' but today there are more and more avenues for
profit," says Dedmon. "Clothing design, graphic design,
promotions, start-up record labels, record stores. It has just
mutated."
Contact Source
- Dr. Freecloud's Mixing Lab, 145 E. 19th St., Ste. B,
Costa Mesa, CA 92627, (949) 650-0909