A DJ’S JOURNEY Jeron Hansen

JERON (DJ CMELZ)HANSEN

Journey as a DJ: Origins

To start off the story of my journey, we must go back to the beginning of where everything started. My DJ journey started back in 2008 at the college of RIT. That is where my DJ colleague, Keshawn King, and I started a movement on campus which would come to be known as Island Sound Crew Productionz (ISC).

The reason why we chose the name Island Sound Crew Productionz was, Keshawn and I come from a Caribbean background and when a group of DJ’s come together it creates a sound. We had multiple DJ’s in the crew, which is why the name was chosen.

First it started off as a group of friends goofing around playing at house parties but when our parties became well known around campus and Rochester individuals started to come around, we decided to do this professionally. My buddy, Keshawn and I, always had a love for music. Keshawn being an electrical engineer had a passion for speakers and I grew up a musician, so it made sense for us to start a DJ business. After we became the top djs at RIT we quickly became the DJ’s for colleges in upstate NY. To name a few: Brockport, U of R, Geneseo, Hobart and William Smith College, Monroe Community College, Nazareth, and of course RIT. For 7 years these colleges were our main clientele.

In our younger years of 20-25 we only dj’ed for colleges. As keshawn and I grew older we decided to venture into a new market since we were getting older and we were falling out of touch with the younger generation. We decided to start djing for the Rochester community. What I did not realize since we were only djed for colleges, the Rochester public didn’t know who we were, so we had to start from the bottom. 6 years later we are now making a name for ourselves in the Rochester community. We’ve dj’ed at Taylors nightclub, 45euclid St, Vinyl, Bar Bantam, Butapub, German House, Cure, Skylark Lounge, and Bar Louie. These places mean a lot to me as a dj because they allowed me to control

the music. ISC still has a long way to go but if anyone wants to know my journey and see the growth of the group, they can always youtube ISC productionz and see the different parities I’ve done over the years. Not only have I dj’ed for parties, but I’ve dj’ed for talent shows, step shows, dance battles, weddings, networking and corporate events, etc and the list goes on.

I pride myself for being a diverse dj. I’d like to thank RIT for that. RIT has a huge international population. I was able to be exposed to different types of music such as afro beats, meringue, bachata, reggaeton, Baltimore club music, and go go music.

I’m happy that before I became a DJ I was a musician playing the trumpet which gave me the opportunity to be inspired to play diverse music. Certain songs I had in my playlist I had to play in Jazz band. Whenever I play those songs it would take me back to the days I use to play with my bandmates. It was funny when I told my music teacher that I became a DJ. She laughed and said “I knew you would always do something with music.”

I believed I was always destined to become a dj, it fits my persona perfectly. Currently I work for the Rochester Women Online as their official dj and also work for the Rochester RazorSharks as their official dj. I am also proud to say that I am a resident dj for Cure in the public market area where I can throw my own events. So, the public can experience my style of music and pieces of my history and experience my journey.

When I’m not djing I like to travel and experience different cultures and music such as North Carolina, Canada, Croatia, Amsterdam, St. Thomas, etc. Travelling has helped me experience diverse music ,more than I would have experience in Rochester, NY. My main goal as an entertainer is to bring back diverse music so that Rochester can experience it. People ask me why I became a dj. I simply reply that I’m happy to come to work and play songs to make people happy. I don’t do it for the money, I do it for the genuine love of music. Bringing people together and connecting them is my second job. Overall, I just love what I do and bringing new experiences and music wherever I go.

“I believed I was always destined to become a dj, it fits my persona perfectly. ”