Today we’d like to introduce you to SCHMACK.
Hi SCHMACK, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been doing music since I was in grade school. Growing up in Kansas City Missouri, there are only a few things to do as a child. Sports, or Music. I started on the violin, and after a year of that, a switch to percussion (Drums). I played the drums all thru middle school and high school. I was the leader of the drumline.
Our symphonic band even had the opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall in New York. (Super kick-ass time btw). I taught myself how to play the guitar and piano while in high school and was playing in garage bands with friends, and drumming in the church band. I continued to be in a band during my 1 year of college. And that’s when I started to fall in love with music production in a DAW. I started out just making Hip-Hop beats, they weren’t any good, and I definitely didn’t know what I was doing, but I was hooked.
I did Hip-Hop music for 10 years. Mostly with one of my best friends in the entire world, Captain Nasty. Yes, that’s his name. Super nice guy. Would give you the brand-new shirt he just bought himself as a gift because he thought it would look better on you than him. But he can freestyle like nobody’s business. I would make the beats, and then he would freestyle to them, or we would spend hours recording tracks. In the later years, we would get really serious with our music, and we finally became the 7 Ply Poets. We played a bunch of shows. Did some travel to other cities. It was a good time.
Throughout those 10 years, I really started to enjoy EDM, specifically Dubstep. And I really wanted to try my hand at making electronic music. Again, I had no idea what I was doing. And I had no idea how to make dubstep. Those early years of learning were tough, I wasn’t exerting a lot of energy into music at that time in my life. It was more of a hobby. I had my own house, I worked a full-time job, and I was partying with my friends. Cap and I were doing our Hip-Hop thing. EDM was really on the back burner until about 2019 when I retired from Hip-Hop to pursue EDM full-time.
It was a rough start. I had never DJ’d before. My production was terrible. I didn’t even have a name, but one of my friends Mason Hanson (head of Chaos Productions, and the Chaotic Collective) gave me my first shot to DJ, playing a 30-minute open deck set before one of his many shows started. It was TERRIBLE. I’d never even touched a CDJ before. I didn’t know any of the buttons except Cue and Play. I had to ask how to load up my tracks. And even that was tough. Because they were just loaded onto the USB, not thru Rekordbox. So, I had no WAV Files at all. It was terrible. Same as my second chance at djing.
I took some time off after that, I got into a relationship. It wasn’t good. I got back into the scene after Covid, in 2021. I’d spent some time practicing, I was ready. I signed up for a few slots at different Open Decks events. And then started getting bookings for shows. I booked my first Festival. It was an incredible year for me. I accomplished more that year musically than I had my entire life until then. And I’ve done quite a bit.
This last year, 2022 I made some big goals for myself. I wanted to play fewer local shows and more shows with headliners. I wanted to play more festivals, including Dancefestopia, our home festival. I wanted to release more original music. Big goals for me. And I accomplished all of them. Not only did I get the honor to play Dancefestopia last year, but I had the opportunity to play 4 other festivals as well including running my own festival with my friends, Magic Moon Festival, 2 of the festivals I was a Co-Headliner. Not only did I play a ton of shows, but I also released a ton of single tracks, as well as 3 Independently released eps. The Other Side, The Lonely Stoner, and Weird, Wet, Wiggly.
As the end of 2022 unfolded, I made the decision to move from Kansas City to Florida with my daughter to be with my family. Now an official Floridian, I’m ready to take the stage once again to create a positive impact on the scene and spread joy with my music, and the wonky music that I play.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely not been smooth. The life of a musician is a long, potholed-filled path. Over the years, I’ve lost friends. Ruined relationships. I’ve lost all of my music countless times.
I’ve had to rebuy gear over and over again. one of the main struggles I’ve faced is writer’s block. Everyone gets it. Sitting at my desk for hours, working on the same track, but just can’t get it right. I have hundreds of tracks that never make it past the intro.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I make a wide variety of electronic music. Dubstep, Future Bass, Trap, and even Lofi. But my favorite is what I call Weird Wook Bass.
When I play live shows, again, I play a wide variety. But you know it’s a SCHMACK set because of the high-energy melodies, wild edits, and my goofy dancing on stage. If I don’t have a bass face, something is wrong.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Humility. Everyone gets a big ego sometimes and we all let it get the best of us sometimes. Being able to humble yourself when your friends say hey man, you’re being a little extra lately is really important for personal growth.
Pricing:
- Booking Fees: Locally – $100
- Booking Fees: Nationally – $200 + Travel Fees
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Linktr.ee/schmackoffical
- Instagram: @dj_schmack
- Facebook: facebook.com/schmackoffical
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeMDUDhxHyd-6F_A7TbW92Q
- SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/schmackofficial
Image Credits
Ed Wong – ShotbyEd and Devon DuBree – DuBree Digital
