The idea of “paying your dues” doesn’t resonate with the DJs. Now, because I am more stable, I create those spaces ,” Talusan said. “I don’t think it should be as hard for everyone as it was for me. “In order to have community, you have to help build.” Her participation in Girls Rock! DC is her way of building up her community. “I rely a lot on community because I don’t have family to rely on,” she explained. Talusan moved to Hyattsville from Manila in 1999. Gray remembers campers who suggested that DJs don’t play any instruments, and she had to explain, “Actually, DJs kind of get to play all of the instruments.’” She and Wood led the first Girls Rock! DJ classes, and there are now former campers who now work as professional DJs. While it initially started as a rock camp, the curriculum grew to include DJing classes as well. With camps in cities all over the world, the organization not only teaches the students music, but it encourages them to be loud, proud, and unapologetically themselves. In the space of a week they take music classes, form bands, write original songs, and perform a show for their family and friends at the 9:30 Club. The campers are girls ages eight to eighteen, many of whom have never picked up an instrument before. chapter of this music camp from its start in 2007. Each of the panelists has been involved in the D.C. Girls Rock! DC is another way the DJs work to build each other up. The panelists voiced that breaking down that intimidation is key to the survival of the local scene. “I was like ‘I just moved here, I don’t know anybody, it’s going to be too cool for me.’ And now I know you’re just a bunch of nerds!” But in the beginning, she was too intimidated to attend. “I would see your parties,” she told the other DJs on the panel. At first, Dumas experienced that fear firsthand. They assume she’ll be unreachable or too busy and are afraid to ask. Photo by Xueying Chang, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archivesĭumas has always tried to pay this forward: “If I hear someone is having trouble mixing, I’ll be like, ‘Hey, why don’t you come over to my house and we’ll hang out for a little while?’” She finds people are surprised that she takes the time to mentor them. “In our family tree, Maegan has a bunch of branches under her,” Gray said. ![]() When it was time to upgrade her gear, she sold her old turntables to Kristina Gray (K La Rock), and she taught Ebony Dumas (DJ Natty Boom) as well. Maegan Wood (DJ Junebullet) helped form the First Ladies DJ Collective in 2002, kickstarting the careers of many others along the way. Mentorship is front and center in the D.C. ![]() ![]() In her introduction, she explained how cultural activism can form from friendship and community, and that these DJs were “examples of people who created the culture that they wanted to see.” Paying It Forward The panelists belong to women’s DJ collectives around Washington, D.C., including the popular First Ladies and Anthology of Booty.Īrts journalist and musician Allison Wolfe (I’m in the Band podcast, riot grrrl band Bratmobile) convened and moderated the panel. Pleasant as part of D.C.: The Social Power of Music, a program presented by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This past August, Talusan and four fellow female DJs gathered for a conversation at Lost Origins Gallery in Mt. Les Talusan (Les the DJ) says she has been met with, “Wow! You’re actually mixing!” and “Oh, you’re actually really good!” ![]() Once she identifies herself, what follows is usually an expression of surprise. “Where’s the DJ?” It’s a remark frequently heard by female DJs, as sound engineers or club owners look right past them, often to a male assistant. Maegan Wood, Kristina Gray, and Ebony Dumas in a panel discussion on women DJ collectives in Washington, D.C., August 8, 2019.
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