REGGAE JAMDOWN podcast is a smash. Between Bigupradio.com and the original stream from podomatic, more people listen to the REGGAE JAMDOWN than I could have ever imagined. Last July, the broadcasting rules adjusted so that I had to change the way I recorded the show. Simultaneously I became frustrated with the studio I was using (Mac vs. PC thing) and fell behind.
At that point I decided to make a home studio and just never had the time to get it together and reestablish my work flow before the end of the year popped up. Around then we had one of those income changing blessing in disguise things happen and so we were scraping by for while and the podcasts slipped down the priority list.
January came around and I threw all my eggs into getting myself to the NAMM convention in Los Angeles. I had not left Humboldt for over a year and I just knew that I had to be there. I put every last penny into and it even took a month to recover from the missed work but I had another game changing incident. The convention is the largest gathering of music instrument makers in the world. There were 20,000 industry people at the event daily (not open to the public) and superstars such as Quincy Jones, Yoko One, and Slash. Superstars of the DJ world were also there in force including Beat Junkies Sound, DJ Z-Trip, DJ Enferno and I exchanged a nod with the late great DJ Hideo. This event help me make sense on the last 10 years of my work of which the podcasts is something that I feel I actually did right.
What I came home with was a very clear set of goals that ended with this website and updated podcast content. It’s been six months and the first piece of the final stage of these goals is showing up today. Probably around 6 PM Pacific time, UPS will drop off (gently I hope) 1 of 2 Studio Monitors. The second one was on backorder. The third and final piece of the studio (at this point, there is always lots to add) is a 16 channel mixer with USB audio interface. I should be able to get that soon. I wish I could tell you that podcasts will magically appear once everything gets plugged in, but that is when the next set of goals starts…THE WORK.
So in celebration of getting to the end I want to share some of these achievements with the world. Of which I am most proud of is changing my lifestyle. I started going to the gym daily. I hated it at first but now I crave exercise. I had put this part of my life on the back-burner as I got caught up in school and my small kids. I was not happy with me weight or my energy levels so I had to change them. I have lost 25 solid pounds and gained at least 5-10 in muscle. I just completed a 30 day challenge without Bread, Cheese, Alcohol or Coffee. Considering a bagel with cream cheese and coffee has been my breakfast almost everyday for over 10 years and I work in bars 3-4 nights a week I didn’t think I could do it. Guess what, I did it and I am going to keep doing it. I’m only halfway through that goal but I am thrilled with my progress and my family is too.
The rest of my goals have to do with my business. I started my business out of the backseat of my car in the summer of 1999 with 25 house records. I was actually just doing a favor for a friend while I was on my way to look for a home in Humboldt. Before I even had a house I had a group of customers buying records out of my truck. That led to a store, then a bigger store, and to what has now been over 1000 events produced in Humboldt County and 7 years worth of a Friday radio show. Oh and I can’t forget that 7 years spent at HSU to get that business degree.
Even though early on I had “a vision” of the path I would be taking through this musical journey I never planned anything out. I just have been going on gut for a decade. I still go on gut but the 7 years in school gave me some skills and I have spent the last 2 years distilling that information into my own works. NAMM helped me pull all of that together, to see the end of planning and the beginning of my work. I mentioned that I was strapped for cash when I went but when I came back I had a list of $5000 worth of gear I needed to get the “job” done. I really didn’t see any way of making it happen quickly, but now 6 months later and I so thrilled that I made it and had some bonuses along the way.
At the top of the list was fixing my ailing DJ rig. I had dropped one of my 10 year old Technics turntables after a gig one night and was on a borrowed (Thanks DJ Peta!!!) deck. Not only that, but I needed another set of turntables. In 10 years, I have never had my gear set-up at home for more than a few days. I have had almost all of my DJ time in clubs, on the radio, and at my store when it was there. I have moving these decks around almost everyday. I had just rubbed shoulders with some of the worlds best DJs and I was now more motivated to practice my craft daily than ever before. I needed not one but three new Technics which are rumored to be discontinued and thus have skyrocketed in price. I scored a broken deck at a pawn shop for $75 which had one of the parts I needed to fix my original and was $50 cheaper than the part.
So now I had two broken decks, but I finally coughed up the dough for one new one and now I was back on track. I decided to learn how to repair my own turntables and have educated myself on the inner workings of the Technics 12XX series of turntables. I got the pawn shop deck working and decided a full rebuild of my original TTs was in order. I’ve since stripped both decks down to parts and have been working a custom paint job on the cabinets. Because of the rain it has taken my 5 months and I’m still a month out, but I will end up with some nice looking turntables. They are on the second of 3 layers of clear coat over a charcoal gray Montana paint. The LEDs have all been changed to purple and I may paint the platter purple as well. It’s been fun, but next time I’m taking them to a paint shop.
So now I have 4 turntables, 2 of them in the field and two custom ones for the studio. I’ve also started offering turntable repair as service and have fixed up a couple sets already including the 20+ year old decks at KHSU that I use to mix the REGGAE JAMDOWN.
Many of the other goals had to do with getting this website started over from scratch and the final organization of my business plan. The plan hasn’t really changed in 10 years. The goal is still healing the world with music. I do this by performing as DJ Dub Cowboy (Reggae, Dub, Dancehall, Dubstep) or MXMSTR KRSHN2N (Top 40, Hip Hop, Club, Remix), putting on the podcast, selling DJ and Lighting gear (talk to me for the best prices on almost anything) and soon to be manufacturing vinyl records (more on that later, podcast first).
So many people have reached out through this radio show locally and internationally. I asked the universe for guidance on how to keep this channel of communication clear and expanding and the answer came in the form of getting my shit together. I have to admit that for 6 months, I didn’t know if I would ever get to the podcast again. But today I woke up excited and hungry for the hours I will spend editing the show. At least I will be doing it in my own studio on my preferred operation system and preferred mixing board and speakers. I am also happy that those hours won’t take away from the time I needed to plan out the business. All good things take time, and this is a great thing.
If you have read this I hope you understand how much I appreciate your support. I call the REGGAE JAMDOWN my highest paying gig even though I don’t make a penny from it. That is because of the people that listen to the show and share my love of life and music. That is worth more than any money or golden pieces of studio gear. Thank you and I truly do love you.
Massive Respect,
DJ Dub Cowboy
Related posts:
