I’ve always loved DJing.
I’m the kid who made mixtapes for his friends in high school. I got a small taste of it senior year, when I had my full setup in my basement, and hosted many sweaty fraternity parties (while destroying half a dozen speaker systems). But I never really understood what to do, and could never find a way of learning how (while most DJs I spoke to were self taught, it’s kind of hard to justify investing in equipment I had no idea how to use).
Enter Beat Refinery.
After finding out about the Beat Refinery program off of Thrillist, I signed up for their inaugural class. Taught by DJ Trayze, the beginners class was a perfect introduction into the basic skills and theory behind mixing. It was a lab-style class, where we each had our own station with the full setup a normal DJ uses, including Scratch Live, the industry standard.
After finishing up the first course, I went out and invested in a full rig, knowing that I’d actually have a clue how to use it. I just completed the intermediate course, where we learned some of the more advanced tricks, using more features available in Scratch Live, and getting a lot more hands-on time with the equipment, and great guidance and oversight from experienced DJs. If you’re in the DC area (classes are in Bethesda) – definitely check it out.
As busy as I am with skeevisArts and Structo, it’s nice to have something fun to take a break with.
The home setup
Beat Refinery – Intermediate Class – Final Mini Mix by DJ Skeevis