Junior Kain LiveJournal

As far as I can remember, my DJ career wasn't so significant, professionally. I had good times. I really enjoyed each moment as a unique moment. But the best moment was the beginning, and the events shortly before and after this start.

I started to play when I was 13, arranging small parties to entertain my school and neighborhood buddies.
The wave at that time was the dark and punk scene, the "new wave" style was dying, and the rock bands were emerging again in Brazil, especially the Brazilian bands. I remember when I was at my first big party (not DJing), in my school, listening to the big hits and watching the people go crazy with all the DJ's music change. I was only 13, a teenager with a few pubic peels, feeling that sound and trying to avoid any thoughts about the girl I was falling in love with. I was exactly the way I am right now, just a little lower... skinny, extremely timid, but funny enough to be considered "cool" by my friends, and "fool" by the girls. I didn't change a bit...

The DJ was an ugly kind of guy, big, strong, but ugly like a donkey. I've never seen it before. Nobody saw it. Anyway, this strange guy got the most beautiful creature in our school (maybe the most beautiful in the world, no kidding). The gymnasium was very crowded (maybe 800 people, or more) and I returned to my home, walking alone.

I didn't sleep that night. I was thinking about how to be a nice guy, how to be popular, how to be... anything! I realised that I was nothing. I was one in a thousand at my school, trying to fill my life with bullshit. Thirteen years old and a consciousness crisis, ridiculous!

But, anyway, the story goes, and now I know that was ridiculous.
I remember when my father was a music store owner, and I was a boy with a high-skill knowledge in music. I always stayed after closing to listen to the new records. My father always gave me promo records and gave me the right to choose 2 records a month, any one! I really liked rock music at that time, and I owned a big collection of Kiss, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, and some new wave and dark styles like B-52's, The Cure, Joy Division, Devo, The The, just to name a few.
I decided to use this potential to my own benefit, to get beautiful girls, to be popular, to be cool. I decided to be a DJ.
But how can you become a DJ without equipment? That's what friends are for!

My best friends decided to help make this dream a reality, so we created a party staff. I contributed my records and my home sound system, Maicon contributed more records, and Joel with additional home sound system (better than mine).
We rented a place close to our homes where we designed lighting effects with simple lamp bulbs, food cans and colored transparencies.

We made a flyer using collage, with magazine cuts and advertising... 1000 photocopies! (yes, we thought in a return of 10%). We invited the hot-dog and popcorn (???) sellers to come to the place, like an "opportunity to increase their gains". Oh my...
Half of the flyers were distributed at our school, and the rest were distributed around our neighborhood. We went to another school, but we weren't so popular there. A reception comittee kicked us out (the traditional story: bad boys, fights, humiliation...).
The party was a flop. Only 10 or 15 people, including us, showed up.

Anyway, we paid the rent in advance, so all we had to do was to keep the party going, and we did. Fifteen people can be just a few, but they were very important at my first party, which was on a Sunday night, hot as hell, without a fan or vent, but they stayed 'till the end and asked for more!
These 10-15 people spread the news. The best party in the neighborhood, the best repertoire and the best "DJ's" were there!

Ooops! We rented the place for one night only and we ran out of money, but some people asked for a new party.
We reserved a new date and started to "sell tickets in advance" (photocopies with a personalized stamp, and a watermark made of lemon juice, but nobody knew this 'till the party). An electric heater (my grandma heater) was used to "check the ticket authenticity", but when the ticket caught on fire, the entrance was cleared by technical failure. Funny...

350 tickets in advance, the place wasn't so big and no vent... We were fucked! We decided not to sell tickets at the door, and we borrowed 2 big fans from our school, for a "cultural encounter we were preparing". Our principal was so naive.
The night started out without any major problems.
The place was very crowded. Our sound system didn't support the crowd noise and those big fans were like airplane motors. We didn't thought about security. Two fights ruined the party, the equipment, one toilette and the entrance door.
I thought: "We are fucked! We don't have money to pay the expenses!"
Joel said: "Yes, we have money enough now to pay the expenses and plan another party, but we need to hire some people."
Maicon said: "Well, it wasn't so bad. The people at the school are asking when we're gonna throw another party."

Our best lucky moment was when we returned the fans to the school's principal and she asked: "How was the reunion?" And I told her the truth.

The first big party was at school, the principal was very excited to have some money to paint the gymnasium floor using the classmates' efforts, and she asked to have a party there. The party, even being a disaster, is profitable. Whoohaaa!

This time, we had security, rented lights and sound system, headphones (uh, never used before? yes, but not a good one), new records, some money from our parents and some money borrowed from our friends' parents... for these guys, entrance cleared.
Believe me, 1,016 people filled the place, people loudly singing "Boys Don't Cry" by The Cure, with a smooth and perfect transition to "Private Idaho" by the B-52's. Strange? No, we are Brazilians! We mix things, diferent styles just to fit our mood!

By the end of the party, we were the coolest guys that night!

I went to my house, walking alone... nothing changed...

But I could consider myself a DJ... and I walked alone to my home, singing and laughing...
This was 20 years ago...

I'm at:	at work
I feel:	nostalgic
Booming my speakers:	Laid Back - White Horse

Junior · Kain · LiveJournal

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