My Other Newest Pursuit: DJing!
I know, like I need something else to suck up what little time I have?!
This should come as no surprise to most people who know me. In fact, most people who know me already knew this was in the works anyway! I've always been a music nerd, obsessive to a point over some groups/artists, so of course I was curious to learn after hanging around with my fellah for so long and all of his DJ friends. I'm not out to be famous or make money, more to just have fun, and have something fascinating and involving to work on. Let me tell you, practicing at home turns into a time warp and the next thing I know, three hours have gone by and I've maybe made a 20-minute terrible mix.
I'm currently using Serato ITCH and Nick's old DDJ-S1 that he has so graciously let me borrow. I'm mostly teaching myself because if there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I am a horrible, horrible student to someone I know or am close with. I think it's rooted in being worried about embarrassing myself or something, but who knows. I'd rather work really hard at home and ask for pointers, which I have done from Nick and his pals (shouts to Drace, Ben, and Brady), and they've been super supportive and informative. I'm really grateful for all of those dudes not giving me the serious stink eye when I blurted out that I was teaching myself! Y'all rock.
I'm currently using Serato ITCH and Nick's old DDJ-S1 that he has so graciously let me borrow. I'm mostly teaching myself because if there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I am a horrible, horrible student to someone I know or am close with. I think it's rooted in being worried about embarrassing myself or something, but who knows. I'd rather work really hard at home and ask for pointers, which I have done from Nick and his pals (shouts to Drace, Ben, and Brady), and they've been super supportive and informative. I'm really grateful for all of those dudes not giving me the serious stink eye when I blurted out that I was teaching myself! Y'all rock.
I have so much to learn! But that's the best part about trying something new - you can only get better and better if you work hard.
In all my excitement over starting, I asked my photographer, Miles, to join me one night and snap some outfit photos that also included my headphones. The poor kid ended up being super sick that night but managed to bang out some awesome shots!
We met up at one of my favorite places in the city - Gelateria del Leone on Grand. I was hoping to use the gangway between the street and their back patio, or perhaps the back patio itself, but lighting wasn't quite working out back there. So we opted to be those obnoxious people taking tons of photos with remote flash on a sidewalk near one of the busiest streets in St. Louis! I'm sure the people in the apartments across the street were all sorts of annoyed.
As for the outfit itself, this is a spin off a post I've already made! I'm a sneaky little thing. You can find the post that is sister to this post over HERE. We crammed two shoots into one.
This shirt was a thrifting surprise. I often sift through the men's T-shirts to see if I find anything I can't pass up, and this was an instant winner. It's just a regular old black Tee that someone/some company/some entity decided to stamp a party anthem onto. I would think it makes perfect sense for DJing! I adore it, even if I'm not that much of a party drinker anymore myself (keep it classy, yo). I like rolling up the sleeves a bit for an extra kick of sass. The pants are joggers from work, and these babies feel like I'm wearing pajamas but I'm not. Who can say no to that? To pump up the look I chose some of my most wicked heels. These highlighter yellow stilettos were on stupid sale at Aldo last winter and I knew I had to have them. Little did I know that they were blacklight-sensitive! I found that out one night while out dancing while my fellah was DJing.
In order to keep myself accountable, and to prove (pitifully) that I'm not totally terrible (okay, I still sort of am), I started a Mixcloud to shuffle mixes onto as I record them. Tonight I just uploaded a very basic goofing-around mix at home that's okay enough by my standards to let the entire world cringe over since it's not perfectly smooth as I'm still a novice. But we all have to start somewhere!
You can find my silly little mix over here at my Mixcloud account here:
http://www.mixcloud.com/DJSelkie/
You are more than welcome to make total fun of it!
If you'd like to come hang out some time and stare at me while I attempt not to make a fool of myself, I have two nights that I'll be playing out in May! This coming Thursday, May 15th, my fellah is letting me support him at Pinup Bowl in the Delmar Loop. We'll be playing from 10pm-2:30am. Come have a drink and chat with me when I'm not playing!
I'm also (and very excitedly!!!) donating my time as a DJ to the American Cancer Society! I met a couple of the coordinators for the St. Louis chapter at the maurices event detailed HERE in a previous post, and they asked me to DJ the West County Relay for Life event. I am SO STOKED. The event is being held at Villa Duchesne on May 31st, and I would absolutely love to see a familiar face out there walking the track! You can find more information about the event HERE.
Because I am donating my time and not being paid, my logo is being printed on the T-Shirts for the event. HOW COOL IS THAT! Speaking of my logo, here it is:
Because I am donating my time and not being paid, my logo is being printed on the T-Shirts for the event. HOW COOL IS THAT! Speaking of my logo, here it is:
If you're not familiar with the term "selkie," it's a mythological creature, classified as a water-based shapeshifter. On land, a selkie takes a human visage, but in water, typically resembles a seal. I chose this name to honor my Irish heritage, and celebrate my fascination with mythology and the supernatural! The beginning of my half-sleeve tattoo features a mermaid, which is based on my mother's family crest. Yes, mermaids and selkies are different, but I like that they're loosely related by myth and water. That's why I incorporated the triton into the logo. Having been a graphic design major, this little thing took me way too long to make. I hated every typeface, every version, everything about it and felt that it was falling flat and was leaving me without visual impact. Then the idea of the triton occurred to me out of the blue and I knew I had it. We creative people are crazy and work in all sorts of backwards ways. It's not perfect, but I love it. Every designer friend of mine probably will have something to say about it, but I'm happy!
Photography: Miles Gaudet
Outfit Details: