Humble artists.

There is nothing like a humble person that you look up to.  When you find out that someone you admire is a douche, you die a little inside, but when someone you dig is the shit, then it motivates the hell out of you.  There are so many amazing artists out there that are just down right friendly people, but one that really surprised the shit out of me was Messinian.  Maybe others have had different encounters with him, I don't know, but I have booked him twice and each time he has been insanely chill and easy to work with.  When you hear his vocals over tracks, you'd think, "Holy shit, this dude is gonna be a wild man!" but he was very professional, full of conversation and low maintenance.  That is the kind of shit that every promoter dreams of.  OK, I'll get off his nuts now.

There have been many other positive interactions with artists that I look up to and most of the time they are super cool cats and it makes me respect the shit out of them even more.  I'd love to go down the list of all the DJs I've met, who inspire me on a deeper social level, and not just their music, but to do so would mean accidentally hurting someone's feelings who didn't get mentioned, and I don't want to do that.

When you meet an artist that doesn't talk down on you, doesn't boss you around, doesn't expect you to wipe their ass, and actually listens to you and engages you, it is one of the greatest feelings.  That is why I try my best to talk to people as much as I can, even if they are drunk and talking my head off.  Granted, I wear a mask when I am throwing shows, or spinning, so sometimes it is hard to hear me speak, or read my facial expressions, so communication (especially sarcasm) can be difficult in a loud club.  I'm also surprisingly shy at starting conversation, so I may not approach you, but I usually open up when someone says hello to me first.  If I'm not rushing around fixing something, or lost in the music, I love talking to people.  Obviously I'm not perfect, and have had my share of anti-social moments, so if I've ever been short with you, let me just apologize right now.

Luckily I don't smoke cause I could see myself getting stuck in the smoking section all night babbling on with a bunch of different people about all kinds of shit.  That is not necessarily a bad thing, but if good music is playing, I'd prefer to talk outside of the club when the night is over.