In This Business, You Need A Hobby—I’m A DJ

Mod Note (Andy) - as the year comes to an end we're reposting the top discussions from 2015, this one ranks #30 and was originally posted 9/6/2015.

Mod Note (Andy): WSO readers qualify for a $100 discount to Jared's Daily Dirtnap daily market newsletter...just email [email protected] and mention "WSO Monkey Discount" You can follow Jared on twitter at @dailydirtnap.

Things are okay now, but I got shithoused in the LEH bankruptcy. My stock went to zero, I had no income, and my portfolio got cut in half. Those were dark days.

I vowed two things:
1) To never put myself in a position where I could lose it all again, and
2) To have some fun for a change, for crying out loud.

Seriously. I had just spent the last nine years trading and didn’t do anything fun. I went about 3-4 years between vacations once, without even taking a day off. When I got home at night, I would get right on the Bloomberg terminal. On the weekends, I read financial books.

All that dedication has paid off, but it was a crummy way to live.

Flashing back to when I was growing up, I have always been a musician. I was close to what you would call a virtuoso pianist at a very young age. I was a church organist in high school (and got paid good money). In marching band, I played clarinet, then bass, then snare. I was drum major—twice—once in high school, and once in college.

I was even voted “Class Musician” in high school (but not Most Likely To Succeed).

On the side, I was an avid music collector. By 2008 I had a collection of about 600 CDs, let alone all the cassette tapes. Electronic music was my thing. I grew up with Erasure and Depeche Mode and New Order and all their cousins, and now, at the bankruptcy, I had been bitten by the trance bug. I couldn’t stop playing that Chicane album over and over.

So at age 34, I was considering taking up my first hobby: DJing. I’d been thinking about it for years, but always made the excuse that I was too busy. Screw that. Lehman was actually the biggest YOLO of all time.

So even though I had lost all my dough, I went out and spent probably 4-5 grand on a top-of-the-line Pioneer mixer and CD players. I then got some books on DJing, and set out to teach myself how to do it. I got a few lessons along the way from a friend, too.

In 2015, many people are scornful of this “Press Play” EDM culture where the donkey DJ just stands there and waves his arms around like a signalman while a pre-recorded mix is playing. 2008 was around the time that vinyl guys were switching over to CDs, and you still had to manually mix the CDs. Even for someone who is musically trained, like me, it was a challenge. Hours and hours and hours of practice. At top volume. My poor wife.

In the meantime, I was heading into the city and catching shows at places like Pacha—I vividly remember one night in particular when Above and Beyond was playing. I think I had a religious experience. And at age 34—I was the oldest one there.

Well, the point of DJing is to play out, not to play in your bedroom, so I set out to find some gigs. My first REAL gig was playing a bank holiday party in 2009, at the old M2 UltraLounge, a 1000-capacity club. I was so nervous. I had never played on anyone else’s equipment—I had never played outside of my house. It was a huge success. It is a pretty big success if you can get non-drunk Wall Street guys to dance to progressive house. I was buzzing for a month. From then I was hooked.

I’ve probably played out 30-40 times over the years, including some parties I will never, ever forget. Parties where people just totally lost their shit. That has happened twice. Between the equipment, the music, and the travel, I’ve probably spent $20,000 on this hobby. It has all been worth it. And I’m still doing it.

At age 41, I am now really the oldest guy at the clubs, though my tastes have changed over the years. I’ve gone from the uplifting progressive house/trance to old school Global Underground prog and techno. I’m probably not going to give people what they want, but I hope to give then what they didn’t know they wanted. That happens more often than you think.

The takeaway here is that it’s really, really important to have some kind of hobby or diversion if you’re a trader or a banker. The job can be all-consuming if you allow it to be, and if you don’t come up for air, you’re going to be a profoundly pissed-off person. And no, fantasy football does not count as a hobby. It needs to be some athletic or creative pursuit, something you put your soul into, because your job is trying to suck it out the other side.

I’ve been successful as a DJ—just two weeks ago I had a deep progressive mix play on terrestrial radio in Ibiza—but even if I played in my bedroom for the last seven years, it would have been totally worth it.

In case you’re interested, I have hours of music posted here. I’m told people like working to it.

 

I loved ~26-27 minutes in, it reminds me of a song from probably mid 2000s and I can't fking figure out what it is.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

That's awesome! One of my passions is music and hopefully I can own a radio station as my side gig. I want to play 60's-00's, including jam bands, House, hip hop, etc. But it will take me time for obvious reasons. Good Luck!

Greed is Good!
 

hope you got some Yeezy in your Serato

Disclaimer for the Kids: Any forward-looking statements are solely for informational purposes and cannot be taken as investment advice. Consult your moms before deciding where to invest.
 
Jared Dillian:

Richie Hawtin is a virtuoso. But I like all three

Saw Richie at Space a few weeks ago in Ibiza. That place is unreal. Not exactly my kind of music but I could definitely appreciate it. Props to you for picking up on something you're passionate about regardless of being a little bit older. One of my good friends is currently touring all over the world and I can only imagine having hundreds of people vibing along to your music selection... Best of luck going forward.

 

What a great story and a well-written post. SB-ed. And bookmarked your SoundCloud.

I used to be in a band too, but no one I know really playing anymore. So, my current hobby is simply video games and movies.

Fortes fortuna adiuvat.
 
ramadjaffri:

What a great story and a well-written post. SB-ed. And bookmarked your SoundCloud.

I used to be in a band too, but no one I know really playing anymore. So, my current hobby is simply video games and movies.

Edited: Kudos on your stage name too... DJ Stochastic. :thumbsup

Fortes fortuna adiuvat.
 

Thanks for posting. Seen sasha 3+ times, digweed twice, deep dish 3 times, not to mention guys like hernan cattaneo, guy J, etc. Big fan of techno as well but prefer the heavier, berghain style sound.

What are your thoughts on the negative connotations tied to the scene? People who aren't into the music seem to generalize so I often avoid the topic altogether.

 

A nesciunt itaque cum omnis dicta sunt nobis. Nam tenetur dolorem saepe neque. Consequatur non reprehenderit qui voluptates voluptatem tempora quo.

Maxime quae fuga non harum impedit. Minima saepe dolore recusandae ex.

Nisi fuga voluptas deleniti repudiandae omnis enim. Molestiae vel deserunt ut magni delectus. Voluptates ipsam ut reiciendis ut commodi.

 

In porro commodi possimus culpa. Fugit earum laboriosam quae aliquid qui. Hic illum et vero reiciendis voluptatum occaecati alias. Voluptate blanditiis velit tenetur voluptatum ipsam error est. Illo sunt temporibus est quasi quas est commodi.

Laboriosam sed et exercitationem autem soluta amet. Molestias voluptatem et et. Quidem asperiores quo ipsam et id vel. Fuga quis pariatur atque et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (85) $262
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (65) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (198) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
pudding's picture
pudding
98.8
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”