Most students at Naperville Central go to parties hoping to dance, sing and listen to their favorite music. As they are out on the dance floor, few stop to think about the party’s DJ. But sophomore Anish Shah thinks only from this lens, having operated a successful DJing business for several years.
Starting in middle school, Shah became interested with the idea of DJing. He had always wanted to experiment with the musical world, specifically in music production.
“It was around sixth grade [that] I saw my family friend DJing, and I really got into it,” Shah said. “I had a passion for music, and that pushed me to start my career. It wasn’t really until late seventh grade that I started to have the business and get more gigs.”
Since then Shah has exponentially grown, a fact clear to the people around him as well.
“I remember his first talent show back in sixth grade,” said sophomore and Shah’s videographer Adi Julka. “It was a little interesting, but then I saw him [at]Red and White Night and he’s definitely improved a lot in his capabilities.”
For Shah, getting started took a lot of time and effort; DJing isn’t a skill able to be picked up without proper training.
“I just took lessons, learned from YouTube videos online and this summer I’m planning to go to a DJ/music production camp in New York,” Shah said. “It’s this academy that teaches niche skills about DJing.”
Shah’s parents were a huge help in supporting his journey. Since he was only in middle school, it was hard for Shah to run the business by himself.
“My parents, when I was first starting out, really helped me get on my feet,” Shah said. “They bought [me] speakers and [due to] [me] [not] have[ing] any gigs and they helped me with marketing and telling their friends about my business.”
Along with his parents, he has had Julka create videos to promote his business which appeal to a variety of audiences.
“He sends me a bunch of clips [and] I [will] add effects to them like a promo video business,” Julka said.
Shah references DJs and music producers such as Sammy Virji and Fred Again as inspirations for his work.
As Shah grows his business, he has improved not only his DJing skills, but his business strategies and tactics as well.
“I usually start researching [the music I’m given], if it’s a music type that I’m not familiar with,” Shah said. “[Then], I’ll start looking at different remixes of songs, and it’s really a lot of work to create a playlist and find what streaming platforms it’s available on, so it’s a lot about creating a playlist. Once I create that playlist I add my own twist onto it. When I have my playlist, I’ll usually go and practice for a couple hours, doing a rough run through of my set.”
Shah uses a series of “hot cues,” a way for DJs to tell when they are going to mix songs or add different effects to spice up the music.
Certain events may run longer than expected, so it is up to Shah to make sure he has music for the whole night, whether it is played or not. For that reason, Shah has built up multiple playlists, feeding new songs into the playlist when needed.
“Sometimes, clients will tell me [to] do whatever [I] think best suits the event,” Shah said. “Over the years, [I] have developed playlist[s] that would suit [different] event[s], whether it’s a graduation party or a birthday party. [Other] times they will give me a set list or a theme they want me to follow, and I go off [of] that [and] look for remixes, [while] add[ing] my own twist on some of the songs that they give me.”
While this planning prior to the event is time consuming, the transportation of Shah’s equipment is an easier step in the DJing process, as he actually doesn’t use a lot as part of his DJ setup.
“I bring my computer, two speakers, my board, a mixer, lights and a bunch of cables that plug into each other [on] the board,” Shah said.
A mixer is a common piece of equipment for DJs and it really allows them to do a lot which is very crucial for keeping the night flowing steadily.
“The mixer basically allows me to control the different EQ, and that’s what I mix off of,” Shah said. “My board [is] what I connect to my computer to play music, and what outputs to the speakers, and the mixer is where everything plugs into. The boards are really just for scratching and playing music.”
Operating as a one-person business in the industry has proven difficult for Shah at times, especially when gaining publicity and keeping a consistent flow of gigs.
“There’s a lot of businesses in Chicago that have multiple DJs and that are part of these big companies that send DJs out to multiple events a night,” Shah said. “It’s hard to compete with some of those companies, especially in the suburbs as a small business owner.”
Despite these challenges, Shah has developed a sincere love for DJing and music production, allowing him to express his creativity.
“I really like exploring different types of music and being able to add my own twist to [it],” Shah said. “I really enjoy being around music and DJing is something that doesn’t feel like work: it feels like I’m just having fun.”
