INTERVIEW
DJ mixes music and spirituality
Herald: How did you begin your career as a disc jockey?
Dave: I first became interested in music when I was 6 or 7. My parents gave me a transistor radio for my birthday, probably the size of a deck of cards. I was hooked immediately. I would sit for hours and listen to everything, not just music, but anything that came across the radio. I remember sitting in bed at night after the lights were out. I was supposed to be asleep, but instead I had my radio under the covers so I could listen to the hottest songs.
It wasn't until I got to high school that I decided to become a disc jockey — to take my love of music and turn it into a little spending money. This began when I was a freshman, about 15. I started DJing dances for my high school, and then branched out from there. Being a DJ in high school was a little intimidating, but all my friends thought it was really cool that I was doing this. That was my first real work experience. It was a good one because it set the tone for the rest of my work life. I saw that it didn't make any sense for me to be doing a job that I didn't absolutely love. I've been able to continue that approach to my work life and take it into other areas as well. It makes sense to love what you're doing and to enjoy it every day.
Herald: What inspired you to continue your music career beyond high school?
Dave: When I got to college, DJing seemed a logical way to put myself through school. I was beginning to think seriously about the music industry as a career, and about DJing as real job. There are several reasons that I continue to be in the music industry today.
First, there's the creative aspect. From an artistic standpoint, DJing is an art form in its purest sense. There's a lot you can do with records, CDs, and the kind of music that's out there. This is one of the aspects of DJing that I love, and will always love — the ability to create something new each night, every time you work, with different pieces of music. Also, there's a spiritual quality inherent in music, that will always keep me interested. I find this quality extremely attractive. I can't separate the qualities of music from my love of Christian Science.
For me, everything I do in life needs to be related back to spirituality and Christian Science,
Herald: What role do lyrics play in music?
Dave: The lyrics of a song affect society. The words are what people, and young people specifically, pick up on and remember. Lyrics become ingrained in thought very quickly, and in many cases subconsciously. There are certainly artists out there — sometimes hard-core rock-and-roll or rap artists — that don't have the most upstanding lyrics. But I think many more artists are sensitive to the idea that lyrics are key — and they try to minimize the negative aspects.
I think it's important to embrace and support the positive aspects of contemporary music and lyrics. Most artists are attempting to raise awareness and bring issues to the forefront. They're striving to make a positive difference. Over the last 10 or 15 years that I've been involved, I've seen the progress of music as genre. I think we need to focus on that and support it. The more this happens, the sooner the negative aspects of contemporary music will fall away.
Herald: Do you see any conflict between your love of music and study of Christian Science?
Dave: One of the things I've learned from my involvement in the music industry is that spirituality isn't separate from it. The role that Christian Science plays in my life inevitably bleeds over into, and directly influences, what I'm doing in music. Christian Science has helped me draw parallels between music and spirituality. It's prompted me to see the deeper meaning in what I'm doing in my musical career.
My study of Christian Science has also allowed me to stay grounded and focused in the musical world, which can be full of temptation. The fact that I have, for 15 years, worked in nightclubs all over the United States and never had a drink or used drugs or been tempted to smoke is inconceivable to some in the industry. Those temptations are closely tied to the nightclub world. And as people have seen, I enjoy what I do, and I'm able to excel in the industry, without succumbing to these temptations.
Also, my career has given me an avenue to talk with people about spirituality, and in some cases specifically about Christian Science. I might never have had the chance to talk with them about these things if it hadn't been for the kind of work I do. I go to nightclubs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night as the DJ — and I don't drink. Every bartender and club owner that I've worked with knows this very quickly. First they're amazed, and then they want to know more. They ask, “Well why not?” and, “Have you ever?” and, “How can you do that?” This kind of interaction has given me the greatest benefit, aside from the personal enjoyment and fulfillment that I've had in this career.
Herald: What connections do you make between your study of Christian Science and your work in music?
Dave: There's a certain rhythm, life, and soul that's inherent in all music. Each piece is an entity of its own. Each is individual and has its own personality and structure. One of the aspects of music that fascinates me most is that there appears to be a finite number of notes to work with. There's a scale, and that's it. From a humanly logical standpoint, you'd think that one would run out of ideas and creativity. You'd think that there's not much more one can do with that finite number of notes. But the fact is, there's an infinite number of ways those notes work together to create different pieces of music. Those notes create rock, jazz, classical, pop, blues, and dance music.
Each of us is as unique as any piece of music. Yet we each play the same basic notes, if you will. To me, those notes could be compared to the different aspects of God's character — Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle. These notes are expressed in infinitely diverse ways that unfold each day from God. This never ceases to amaze me. You can sit down and play an instrument, or listen to a piece of music, and it sounds different every time. How does that happen? This defies my human logic. But for thousands of years, it's been happening.
It's important that each of us, whatever interests we have — in music, sports, science, art — turn these interests into opportunities for spiritual growth. We need to find the connections between those interests and spirituality. And ultimately, between those interests and God. :)
