Meet David Watkins

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful David Watkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

David, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Thanks to my mom, my band director, and ultimately, a crush I had on someone in high school. I played trumpet all throughout grade school. When high school came around, I wanted to switch to playing football. Marching Band camp was coming around and I really wasn’t very interested. My mom forced me to go and see if I’d change my mind first, and I ultimately did. My band director even told me that I’d go far if I stayed in band. At the same time, I met my high school crush that year as well. I’m just happy that I decided to stay. I began composing music, joined extracurricular music groups and many other things. This is how I learned that music was my calling.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve been a DJ/Producer since 2011. My first DJ gig was my high school dance. All my friends knew I was getting into it more and more every year, and suggested, “Why don’t you DJ our dance? It’d make them more fun.” That’s all I needed, and I haven’t stopped since. When I went to my first show, I forgot about all of my problems, I forgot about the burdens of the world, and was reminded to enjoy the moments in front of me. It’s an amazing honor to now be that guy on stage to bring everyone together with one common goal, to have fun, and enjoy yourself. In a world so divided on social issues, politics, and everything else, when you go to see these DJs and Producers perform their craft, it’s a moment of solidarity. None of the negatives of life are relevant. Everyone is there for the same purpose and that’s beautiful to me.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Time and experience. I’ve been doing this for over 10 years, and it’s not easy. I’m very well known for my live performances and being able to mix all kinds of music together in a smooth, transitional way. My sets tell a story, they have dynamics. The hour experience lifts you up, calms you down, includes many tracks you’re familiar with, with an interesting twist sometimes.

I don’t consider this “talent.” Like any job, the longer you’re there, the better you get at it. I feel like that’s what it’s like for me. My creativity is heavily fed from the experience I’ve gained from DJing weddings, bars, school dances, corporate parties, etc. When I’m listening to new music to play in my future shows, sometimes I’ll hear a song, and it’ll instantly click for me in my head and I’ll tell myself, “WOAH, this will go well with [insert other song here].” That comes natural to me after playing so much different music for so long.

My best advice for DJs, especially those that may be new: PACE YOURSELF. Know your music! I don’t add songs to my sets unless it’s giving me goosebumps, which yes, means I can be picky at times, but when that right song hits at the right time, oh, it’s so worth it. I don’t play out music just to, “play music,” I’m going into it trying to create an entire emotional experience. However, that’s my niche. Many do it different. Embrace your own creativity and always try to improve on it.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

In the world of EDM (Electronic Dance Music), there is SO much out there. As a DJ, you need to keep up with what’s relevant. As a producer, you need pump out track after track to stay relevant in the eyes of your community. It all depends on what you define your brand as. I believe, locally here in Nashville, a lot of people see me as a well-rounded, multiple-genre DJ. It’s definitely is my biggest strength, and I feel I have that locked in, but that’s MY identity. Even then, I’m still most known to play the heavier genres of bass music, including Trap and Dubstep. There are other genres showcased all the time here, and one notable genre here is the Deep Dubstep / Experimental Bass scene. Jered Ardry, founder of Sacred Hive and Sound Haven Music Festival gave me a chance to play a show last year in this genre. He took a big a big chance doing that for me, and, it was an incredible event. I had people coming up to me after I played, saying things like, “DUDE, what?! You can spin deep dub?!”

This was one of my favorite accomplishments last year. Music is music, and no matter the genre, you can create a wonderful experience for an hour for everyone. It was a leap outside of my comfort zone, definitely, but it paid off. I’ve had a new recent embrace for the deep dub genre since.

Being well-rounded has it’s benefits, but as an artist, it’s important to have some sort of identity. That could be all strengths, being really good in one particular area, and it’ll work for you, but dipping your toes into everything that goes into an artist project is still very important.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kraymusic
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kraymusic

Image Credits

Images:

@vibemonstamedia
@discodonniepresents
@partybassics