pre-game > Mixing it up BY EMILY WILLIAMS, UNC
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hat’s in a name? For DJs, a name isn’t self-appointed. It has to come to you. The Crush Mixers, a DJ group made up of three UNC sophomores, got its name at a sorority’s function. “When we got our check, it said it was the crush mixer,” said David Hutcheson of Rocky Mount, N.C. “We decided that was an appropriate name for us. It sounds tough, like ‘We’re going to crush you,’ and it also brings in the mixing-songs part.” The group formed when Hutcheson met Sara Soltau in a class on DJ culture. A Louisville, Ky. native, Soltau knew Andrew Hamlet from Atlanta, Ga., through the Out-of-State Student Association. The idea of starting a group first surfaced when they were all sitting in a resturant, discussing the role of the DJ. A few weeks later, the trio found a good deal on a DJ table and mixer. Thus, the Crush Mixers were born. Next thing you know, each of them had adopted a DJ name. Solatu is “DJ Sereal” because her brother couldn’t pronounce her name when he was younger and and because her favorite food is cereal. Andrew ended up as “DJ GJ” — GJ short for
“green jacket,” his favorite blazer. David is “DJ Gooberghan” because Soltau’s mom yells, “Gooberghan!” when she calls for their animals. Soltau started yelling that to get David’s attention in a crowd, and the name stuck. Their first gigs were impromptu and unpaid. And unlike most DJs, they honed their crowd skills before their technical skills. “We didn’t want to become the type of DJs who spend hours in their room, getting awesome at the technical stuff but have no idea how to work a crowd,” Hutcheson said. According to the trio, the most important parts of working a crowd are balancing the art of mixing songs with similar beats, choosing the right music and paying attention to the mood of the group. The group prides itself on knowing how to conduct the party. They arrange music by sound and pace, not genre. “The great things about being a DJ is that you are in control of the party,” Hutcheson said. “You can speed it up, you can slow it down. You just have to keep them dancing.”
PHOTO BY MATT NEIMKIN
The Crush Mixers have scratched and beatmatched their way up the partying success ladder. 4