We were lucky to catch up with Dre Vendetta recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dre, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
There have been only a couple times where I found myself stuck or not happy with my skill/craft or position. With no gigs coming in, and or low to little money, lackluster sets or crappy, empty venues. Every time I have felt stuck and wondered am I the problem, am I not good enough or cut out for this?! Watching as other DJs and artists etc. are actively making moves, steady gigs, heavy social media presence and content. Thats when I took a step back and said, let’s go back to the drawing board, back to the basics. Little things such as practicing and recording my craft or doing live streams of me DJing. Investing in branding, marketing, learning how to manipulate or use the social media algorithms. Showed myself there was more to learn and other ways to expand or take my craft/career to the next level. Whether it was odd end jobs here and there, part-time or whatever I had to do to make ends meet, I would save whatever I could and used my earnings towards my craft. Buying new equipment, making a website, business cards. Also expanding my skills was a big help, learning to do digital FX and photo/video to be able to cut the middle man out and save. (Not everyone can be good at multiple crafts, I encourage to hire or contract an expert) found others ways of monetizing. The point is to never give up, even if you have to start over. It’s okay, as long as you continue to move forward, however much you invest your time, is what you will reap. Challenge yourself, and never stop practicing and finding ways to grow your craft/career/etc. Everyday is a new day for opportunity, you have to create them!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is DJ Dre Vendetta and I am a professional DJ & Executive Producer, President and Founder of The Art of Miami. I have been in the Miami night life scene and industry for over 10 years. Currently I hold a couple residencies in the Miami area. You can find me on the Miami River, cruisin’ and mixin’ around the bay on the #1 party boat, the Miami Booze Cruise hosted by Epic Boat Tours LLC. My other residency is at Kuba Cabana in Doral City Place from 12pm-4pm Sundays! More recently I got in to photo and video, including editing and production. It started off as just a passion after a trip to New York, I wanted to mainly document and store my travels, experiences, & sights thru life. Eventually I researched ways of tying it in with my Dj-ing and ways to monetize, create a sort of synergy. This is where my production and services company, The Art of Miami come in to play. It was just a few years ago I decided I wanted to create a spotlight or platform, figure out a way to highlight and bring Miami, South Florida artistry and talents out from the shadows and simultaneously take my brand The Art of Miami and this idea to a brand new chapter in South Floridas cultural history! After creating and filing for LLC we went on to put together a collaborative album with some of Miami up and coming artists! You can check out the single “My Guys” featuring Dayo & Elesdee, available on all digital music platforms (Apple Music/iTunes/Spotify/Amazon Music) with music video on Youtube Directed by Wavy Lord all also available on our website along with merch and exclusive content only at www.theartofmiami.com . Also check out some of our other features some of which we manage and consult, like Art Pieces By Yare (@artpiecesbyyare) you can find most of her work on all social media platforms (Instagram/Facebook/Twitter). Some of the new features were doing is working alongside Miamis very own Aholsniffsglue & the Biscayne World Discord family on his most latest adventure in to the NFT crypto scene in his new segment, “Geographies of Trash.” Once again for all production and service needs or if you just really like art, whether it be music, painting, dance, fine cuisine/food, the current, past and future of Miami Arts & Culture go to www.theartofmiami.com and like, subscribe, support by following @theartofmiami & @AOMvisuals (theartofmiamivisuals) on all digital and social media platforms.
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?
Right off the back, no thinking it would have to be:
– FAMILY (without family whether blood or not, it’s all about quality over quantity! Have yourself a solid backbone, people you can confide and depend on, they genuinely want to see you succeed)!
– SELF AWARENESS (Always be aware of your surroundings, but more importantly aware of your thoughts and actions. Going back to family or your circle, you want to make sure to have heads around you that are going to push you and keep you grounded. Will check you when needed. Be aware of your self worth, be fair, but firm. Study your market or your craft/passion/business, learn ways to create value and be comfortable with the prices of your services or how you run your business. Lastly, be aware of your physical and mental health. This is crucial, you can not be great at anything if you’re not in a clear healthy place)!
– PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (No matter how far or great you are in your career or pursuit, you are never at 100% We are in evolving times and constantly changing and adapting to the modern advances, an old dog can always learn a new trick! Always keep practicing or sharpening your skill or skills).
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
From a young age and till this day teaching core fundamentals. Easy, but valuable morals. Always supporting me, showing up every day no matter what! It takes a village and I am so grateful for mine, but I am an extension of my mother and father. They were and still are the ying and yang to my core characteristics. Without them I wouldn’t be the man I am today! So for my mother when you read this, I want to say thank you for being my friend, my confidant, my rock! Thank you for never giving up on yourself, on your family, and on me! Love you, and thank you! To my father, like most father and son relationships it can be a little rough around the edges, but overall you were always a sound and steady voice in my ear. You taught me values, manners, the love of music, movies, sports amongst many things. Always teaching me to stay informed and other skills and lessons it takes to be a man! To everyone else, my village, without you I wouldn’t be here right now and I am forever in debt to you! Although this is a question for my parents, as I said it takes a village. My fuel and motivation for everything I do is my daughter Valentina, I love you and if or whenever you read this want you to know how proud I am of you! Love you all!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theartofmiami.com
- Instagram: @theartofmiami/@aomvisuals/@djdrevendetta
- Facebook: The Art of Miami LLC/Art of Miami Visuals
- Linkedin: Dre Vendetta
- Twitter: @theartfomiami/@AOMvisuals/@iDJDREVENDETTA
