Posts filed under 'DJ Wesley Personal'
My screen acting debut
OK, so that’s an attention-grabbing headline. The truth is, I did make my screen acting debut, but it’s about 2 seconds or so in length. 
The new music video for recording artist Rikah’s track, Everything is Changing, was released just yesterday. (You can view it on YouTube.) Assembled by some of the great folks at Import Sound and Vision in California, the video is set to the great Verano Remix of the song, and blends footage taken last October (2007) in Las Vegas, with some video shot here in Denver at Tracks Nightclub late last year. The Tracks footage includes some energetic dancing crowd shots, with my buddy DJ Brian Howe doing his thing. I had opened for Brian the night the video was taken, and was hanging out with him in the booth during the shoot. You’ll see my brief cameo toward the end of the video. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. 
Here’s a screen shot in case you do:
DJ Brian Howe and DJ Wesley at Tracks, in the Rikah video
I was surprised to learn that I was in the finished product, and I’m thrilled that it was associated with the amazing Rikah, who is one of the most amazing, most talented people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting—a rare gem of a person on every level. (Love ya, baby!)
Enjoy the video at the YouTube link (above), along with all the rest of the videos from recent CAPP Records releases.
Add comment September 19, 2008
New DJ Wesley web site
I finally got my new web site launched yesterday. You can, of course, get there at http://www.djwesley.com.
It probably won’t be winning any Webby awards, but I am particularly pleased to get the new logo rolled out on a web site design that is at least not embarrassing anymore.
As I mention on the home page of the new site, I’ll be better leveraging the blog moving forward. It’s a pain working with a regular web site when it comes to posting news, etc., and frankly, that’s really what a blog is for. So when there’s something timely to talk about, I’ll be putting it here, instead of a “news” page on the site.
There are still a few tweaks to come with the web site, so stay tuned.
Add comment May 1, 2008
Blog (sort of) moved
This blog is now functioning at a new URL: blog.djwesley.com. The old URL still works too, but it’s nice to have the site at a more appropriate address.
Add comment May 1, 2008
Well, crap…
The role of a DJ is multifaceted. We’re probably mostly “entertainers” providing “entertainment” to an audience. But another facet of being a DJ is promoting music, and I take that roll pretty seriously. In my online sets, I have the chance to talk about artists, tracks, and labels, and I do. I like making music personal and intimate; there’s a story behind every song, and when I know it, I like talking about it. And through this blog, my chart, and other avenues, I certainly talk a lot about what’s new, what I like and don’t like, and why.
In doing so, I try really hard to stick to objective aspects of the music. Is the production good? Are the vocals on-target? Is there too much compression? Are the lyrics redundant? But no matter how much you stick to supposed “facts,” at the end of the day, art is subjective. Some people like lots of compression, some don’t. Some people like redundant lyrics, and some don’t. And some people just plain like a song, and others just plain don’t.
Anyway, my friends have sort of come to depend on me to turn them on to good music, and I like that, too. But I was reminded only this morning of the flip side of all this: When a recommendation just doesn’t work out.
One of my good friends in Chicago recently decided to pick-up a copy of Above & Beyond’s Tri-State, which I’ve blogged about clear back in August of last year. While I’m really a house DJ, and that’s “my” music, Tri-State is a favorite from the trance realm. (You can read that blog posting for more about my thoughts on the album.)
In any case, my friend has heard me go on and on and on about Tri-State, so he finally broke down and ordered a copy of it. He got it yesterday, and I heard the news today: he was “underwhelmed,” and felt that only one track was really repeat-worthy. Well, crap…
Sure, I’m disappointed, especially since this particular friend is a real trance-head, and I figured it’d be right up his street. But music is deeply personal, and while we (as music fans) do collectively tend toward being a bit lemmingesque, blindly following one another like a herd (can you say “Billboard chart?”), what works for me just isn’t always going to work for you.
I guess I’m OK with that. I’d like to believe I have an ear for music in general, and dance music specifically. I think to be successful as a DJ, you have to. But I’m not always going to get it right.
So if you pick-up a copy of Tri-State, or anything else I talk-up for that matter, and you hate it, I’m sorry. I’ll try to make better recommendations next time. But you’re always welcome to comment back here, whether you agree with me—or not.
As for the friend in Chicago? I suggested he take it to a used CD store and get at least some of his money back… Or perhaps, white elephant gifting?
2 comments April 24, 2008
Label chic
As a designer wannabe, I’m a bit of a sucker for good visual design and well-executed branding. Such is the case with System Recordings, a dance label out of New York.
Honestly, I know next to nothing about these people aside from getting their promos and that I like some of the songs their artists are releasing these days. But one thing for sure: They have their design and branding act together. From their web site to their MySpace page to their online store, they sure seem to “got it going on.”
What prompted this post, frankly, is their t-shirt line-up in their online store here. They’ve taken their cool logo and done-up a couple of brand shirts that use it to good effect, especially the black one… What looks like a tire track across the front of the shirt is actually a mosaic of their logo. Pretty clever, and yeah, I ordered one just because I think it’s hot looking.
It’s sort of gotten me thinking that I need some DJ Wesley shirts once my new web site is up (speaking of branding and all that). Might be fun.
And speaking of branding, look for my all-new web site to be launched in the next week or two. I’m pretty stoked, but still a lot of work remains before it’s ready. Stay tuned…
Add comment April 21, 2008
Show notice: Tracks (Denver), Thursday, March 20
Hey everyone! Once again, I’ll be spinning at Tracks here in Denver ahead of headliner DJ Brian Howe (of XM Satellite Radio, among others) on Thursday, March 20th. As usual, doors open at 9:00 PM, and I would recommend getting there early. The first 50 people in the door get in for free!
Hope to see you there.
Add comment March 11, 2008
The chart lives!
For months now, I’ve been hoping to finish designing and programming a web application that would let me make the maintenance of my Top 25 Dance Chart easier. Making them manually is a pain in the butt, frankly, and it’s way more subjective than I’d like it to be. Since the dance music industry has enough politics going on inside of it to make the presidential election season look tame in comparison, I really wanted to try and remove as much subjectivity from the process as I could. And yes, I acknowledge, at the end of the day, a lot of what I choose to spin is based on my personal preferences, as it is with any DJ; but I wanted it to be as accurate and removed from “who do I like this week?” as I could.
While I’m weeks late in delivering it, I finally did, this week. You can see the results at http://www.djwesley.com/chart/.
The chart is based solely on play frequency data from the past six week period, which I selected because it’s a decent sized sampling, and it would help damp some of the “I got this new song this week and I love it so I play it all the time” effect. Play frequency is obviously based on my choices, but that’s also a reflection of audience response, and also factored-in are specific audience requests.
Throughout the week, I’ll upload playlist history data straight from my DJ’ing software of choice. Then each Friday, the web site will automagically generate an updated chart. So make the above URL one of your weekly stops.
At some point, I’ll see about putting it all into an RSS feed for those of you who are as web-geeky as I obviously am.
Anyway, thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor.
4 comments March 8, 2008
Show notice: Tracks (Denver), Thursday, November 15
I’m pleased to let everyone know that I’ll be spinning again at Tracks, one of Denver’s hottest dance clubs, on Thursday night. My good friend DJ Brian Howe (known for, among other things, his shows on XM Satellite Radio) just got residency at Tracks, and will be spinning there every other Thursday. I’ll do my usual house warm-up set this Thursday, 11/15, starting at 9:00 PM, and Brian will take over later with his awesome, high-energy mash-up style.
If you happen to be in the Denver, Colorado area, I hope you can come out.
Add comment November 14, 2007
Listen to Internet dance radio?
If you are someone who listens to Internet dance radio, I’d like your help in answering a few short questions in this survey.
Truth be told, I’m tossing around some ideas with a colleague of mine, and your responses to the survey would be helpful in thinking some things through.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Add comment October 4, 2007
Brief hiatus
Hey everyone, I’m going to be on hiatus for a short period while on vacation. I have several new blog posts in various states of completion, and I’m hoping to (finally) bring some of them to completion while I’m away from the day-to-day for a bit. Look for new blog entries mid-month in September.
Thanks for checking the blog, and thanks for listening.
Keep that volume turned-up!
Wes
Add comment September 5, 2007
