I’m changing my DJ name.
While this may not be earth-shattering and mind-altering news to everyone out there reading this, it’s a big step for me and is going to require a significant amount of changes, tweaks, and adjustments.
A little backstory. During my undergrad days, I co-hosted a radio show at the University of Maryland, College Park with my buddy Jake called “Independent Thought”. We were riding the big indie-hip-hop boom of the late ’90s and early 2000’s, and primarily showcased unsigned hip-hop artists on independent labels. Therefore, some of my close friends began calling me “Hip Hop Dan”, in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way. The name stuck.
Fast-forward ten years or so, and the musical landscape has changed drastically. What started with mashups and genre-bending dance tracks finally gave way to a world where Rivers Cuomo is doing songs with Steve Aoki and B.O.B., John Legend is collaborating with MSTRKRFT, and Rihanna and Beyonce have slowly nudged their BPMs up to the 130-range.
Simply put, despite my love for hip-hop and the strong musical foundation it has provided me with, the name “Hip Hop Dan” has become a bit of a head scratcher for promoters and booking agents. I feel as though by branding myself with a specific genre, it’s become a hindrance in my efforts to ascend the ranks of the DJ world. “Hip-Hop Dan? Does he just play hip-hop? Then why is that his name?” — I’ve encountered this exchange far too often.
Which leads me to a crossroads. Do I keep chugging along and hope that new opportunities aren’t lost, or do I cut my losses and do some rebuilding in order to move forward?
So with great deliberation (and some reluctance as well) I’ve decided to do the latter.
This will probably elicit a few chuckles from my readers, but about a year ago Chad, my partner in Missile Command, started calling me “Daniel Biltmore” as an inside joke. I thought it was a little silly at first — but after revisiting, I have to admit it has a pretty nice ring to it. And to be honest, what DJ names aren’t silly?
So there ya go. My nom de guerre is now “Daniel Biltmore”.
In the coming days/weeks/months/I will be changing my web site, twitter handle, business cards, etc. to all match up with the new name change. It may prove to be a bit more difficult than I am anticipating, but hopefully this (seemingly) small change will be a hugely positive one going forward.
Please feel free to offer feedback (good or bad), comments, criticism, and anything else in between. What do you guys out there think??
Thanks again for taking the time to read.
Regards,
Dan
Missile Command logo drafts by Jason Rodman of Noah Larmz.
Thoughts/feedback/etc??
love from la weekly
Thanks to Roselle Chen from LA Weekly for the awesome writeup!
“Chad Hugo, better known as one half of The Neptunes, came on a little past 3 p.m. on the indoor stage. A crowd had barely amassed at this point, with some filtering in from Riot Gear’s set outside.
Hugo opened with Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now,” while gesturing for the sound levels to be turned up — way up. A couple of people gathered around and bobbed their heads to the beat while Hugo inflected a drum and bass beat to Busta Rhymes’s part: ” You ain’t never gonna stop me/ Every time I come a nigga gotta set it / Then I gotta go, and then I gotta get it.” With his right arm propped on the corner of the DJ table, Hugo said, “Mr. Soundman, Mr. Soundman can we get some volume?” Then: “Make some noise if you want to be outside!” A few people cheered. “It’s all good, we’re here to have a good time,” he said. Interspersing hard house, electro, reggaeton, commercial hip hop and pop, he played songs like Lumidee’s “Never Leave You,” Clipse’s “When the Last Time,” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.” The set felt like a throwback to the early 2000s, with new beats mixed in. As more folks filtered in, they came alive to N.E.R.D.’s “Everyone Nose.” Girls twirled with boys to the lyrics: “All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom.” People in shades danced with big smiles on their faces, and guys, not girls, shook their butts to “A hundred dollar bills look - Achoo! Achoo!” Groups swung towels around their heads as Hugo spun more electro/house/reggae into Baltimore Club Music’s “Tear the Fuckin’ Club Up,” Lil Jon & Eastside Boyz’s “Chris Rock In The Club,” and even Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun.” A loose break dance circle formed as Chris Rock said “We never leave the muthafuckin’ club!…We go to church in da club!” The peak was Lil Wayne’s “A Milli,” with skinny guys in shorts doing lazy windmills, resting for a couple of seconds on the floor before getting back up to dance.”
In the studio with the amazing Graph! Formerly of Idle Warship (along with Talib Kweli and Res), the Toronto native knocked out some tunes while touching down in VA beach for a few days. Also make sure you follow her on twitter…
Part two of the interview I did for The Mickey Dunn Show!
Thank you Sam for the updated flyer!!!
Yup!! Artscape time!!
Aaaaaaand…Calgary!
The Mickey Dunn Show (@mickeydunn) interviewed me about DJing, the Missile Command Project, and music in general. Stay tuned for part two, to come soon!
