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Here are the job opportunities (or as we like to call them, Grind Opps) from this week's show.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #1
Position:
Music Production Assistant and Engineer
Industry: Recording
Location: Van Nuys, CA
Description
Top Studio looking for an experienced assistant engineer for North Hollywood area studio.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #2
Position:
Sports Highlight Reel Editor
Industry: Film
Location: New York, NY
Description
Bleacher Report sports website seeks editor to assist in editing highlight reels from college and professional games.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #3
Position:
DJ
Industry: Recording
Location: Lansing, MI
Description
Top restaurant and nightclub needs experienced DJ to keep the crowd alive.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #4
Position:
Videographer Needed
Industry: Film
Location: Brownsville, TX
Description
City of Brownsville needs a vibrant, energetic videographer to help film events for the city.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #5
Position:
Sound Designer
Industry: Recording
Location: Cambridge, MA
Description
Top virtual instrument software company seeks experienced sound designer to re-vamp sound library.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #6
Position:
Creative Production Trainee ( Paid )
Industry: Film
Location: Culver City, CA
Description
Top blockbuster film production company is looking for current students and recent grads to work and learn at their production facility in Culver City.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #7
Position:
Freelance Video Editor
Industry: Film
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Description
Fun and exciting film production company seeks freelance video editor in Santa Monica, CA.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #8
Position:
On Air Country Radio Personality
Industry: Radio
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Description
Top Country station looking for weekend on air personality to bring life to our weekend broadcast.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #9
Position:
Sound Stage Manager
Industry: Recording
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Description
Major Theme Park looking for a sound stage manager responsible for the proper operation of Audio and video equipment.
03/13/17
GRIND OPP #10
Position:
Cook For Country Club - PM Shift
Industry: Culinary
Location: Houston, TX
Description
Houston area Country Club is seeking an experience grill chef for exclusive members only restaurant.
Transcript
DJ IZ: Juanita. What’s all y’all? Welcome to Connected. I’m your host, DJ IZ. I got my lovely cohost, Miss Cloie. Say what’s up, girl?
Cloie: Happy Monday movement, y’all.
DJ IZ: So today is Monday takeover. Now we got one of the busiest, hardworking DJs in LA right now. Give it up for my man, DJ Mal-Ski, y’all.
DJ Mal-Ski: What it be like, what it see like?
DJ IZ: See, he came prepared. He’s got the lingo, he’s got the hand movement.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
DJ IZ: So shout out to Mal-Ski for showing up. I remember talking to you, man, about a year ago about what we were doing with Connected, man. And here we are, Monday takeover, it’s happening.
Cloie: Monday’s being taken over.
DJ IZ: It’s been taken over. Now this cat…
Cloie: Is doing everything.
DJ IZ: He’s doing everything. We’re talking LA Rams…
Cloie: For the Sparks.
DJ IZ: Yeah, USC, KGLH man.
DJ Mal-Ski: Bible studies and strip clubs, you know?
Cloie: I’m tired just with that list. I got so like, ooh, it’s hard.
DJ IZ: Yeah, absolutely, you know what, man? We’re actually happy to have you on today’s show. We’re in the house of Roland, man. Shout out to Roland, of course. My man is representing on the DJ 808, you know? And man, what can I say? Remember the days of carrying crates, bro?
DJ Mal-Ski: Oh man.
DJ IZ: You know what I saying? You could actually just show up with your laptop. Yeah, where do you want to put your laptop? You know, you don’t gotta hit the homie like hey bro, I got a gig man. Can you come with me?
DJ Mal-Ski: Can you bring your dolly?
DJ IZ: Can you bring your dolly?
Cloie: Do you miss it though? Do you miss it?
DJ Mal-Ski: No.
Cloie: No part of it?
DJ IZ: You know what though? Even for me as a DJ, I miss the art of like doing this, like looking at the crowd and saying, okay, you know what I’m saying? It’s a whole different thing back then.
DJ Mal-Ski: I don’t miss it. I don’t miss it at all.
Cloie: He’s like my back doesn’t miss it.
DJ Mal-Ski: You see, this is why I’m excited about the Roland 808. I’m excited. Listen, 965,000 songs in the can. There’s nothing, I could go anywhere. I love it, man, the accessibility.
Cloie: Look at you.
DJ IZ: Because I know we get DJs tuning in, so what’s like what you just said, right? So having that many songs at like the touch of your finger, being able to access it right there. Just give me one tip as far as aspiring DJs that have a huge library of music, and they read a crowd…like what is that? How important is that for DJs that have access to that many songs?
DJ Mal-Ski: All the DJs that I have, you know, under our umbrella, I tell them never show up with a set. Just don’t show up with a set. Show up, read the crowd, and go based on the crowd. As opposed to showing up with a predetermined, I’m going to play this and they’re gonna like it. And just show up, you know, read the crowd if that’s what you do, and make it a good time for them, because that’s our job at the end of the day. So don’t, just don’t have a set, don’t have a set in your mind. Show up and be open. And this gives us that opportunity.
See back in the day, you only could get 41 vinyl in a crate. So you could, you know, you had a select choice.
Cloie: Select live in the moment of these 41.
DJ IZ: Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
DJ Mal-Ski: You had to play what you brought, right? But nowadays with the accessibility of so much songs, you could feel the crowd. It’s better.
DJ IZ: Yeah, and that’s so crucial, man. You know, this show as you know, Jay, is yes, we wanna provide jobs and opportunities for aspiring creators, and musicians, and cats that are rocking film and all that. And you know, we try to offer as much privileged information as we possibly can. And what you just did for a lot of cats who are aspiring to DJ is a lot, man, because they’re in the game where they’re trying to figure out do I get turntables? Do I get a controller? I got all this music, but yes, you have all this music. But the key thing is like you said, being able to read a crowd and know what record to play. Which leads me to more tips that my girl Cloie put together on the job tips. Cloie, you’re busy…I need you to focus on the show.
Cloie: Oh sorry. I’m sorry. I’m back.
DJ IZ: So go ahead and introduce this job tip clip that you wonderfully, so elegantly put together for them.
Cloie: This old thing? Good, stay tuned for this job clip. It’s all about what do you do when you get the interview. How to like not screw it up. Should we cut to it?
DJ IZ: Cut to it.
Cloie: Make it happen.
Cloie: Job tip number four. Interview advice part two. Last week, we talked about how to approach a job interview. This week, we will look at what you should say and how you should say it during the interview. First, get into character, i.e., the right mindset before you leave your place. Don’t wait until you walk into the door of a company you’re interviewing for. Second, be honest. If you don’t know something, say so, and that you’ll look it up as soon as the interview is over. Third, don’t talk too much about yourself. The word I can be a dangerous thing as there is no I in team. Fourth, position yourself as a team player, someone who is quick to share success with others, willing to accept blame when warranted, and focus on what’s best to achieve a goal rather than what’s in it for yourself.
The interview process is a job skill. And just like any job skill, you need to practice it to perfect it. In the meantime, good luck with your next job interview.
DJ IZ: You sound so professional and like so…I love it. It’s proper. It’s fly. It’s cool. So I’m just gonna dive into this right away because I feel like what we do here on Connected is very much that, what you were talking about. And you know, Jay, for us man it’s always been about presentation. Right when you show up to a job, and you’re looking to like really lock it in and nail it, there’s a couple of things you gotta have in place, right? You know, first of all, you gotta be on time.
Cloie: Don’t be late.
DJ Mal-Ski: You gotta be on time.
DJ IZ: So like for instance, we drove out here today. And I know you’re at least 45 out.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yes.
DJ IZ: So you know just going, just off the cuff, okay, I gotta factor in traffic. That might put me at this, so you know, and it’s really about mapping your day out prior to attending or applying, you know what I’m saying?
Cloie: For sure.
DJ IZ: So many folks just kind of wake up oblivious, not factoring the possible obstacles that can just pop up.
DJ Mal-Ski: Absolutely.
Cloie: Maybe you’re a person that needs to eat the breakfast. You gotta make time to eat the…maybe you get hangry, you know?
DJ IZ: Yeah, and I think you know what’s key too is there’s certain measures on how you’re gonna execute this interview, whether it’s your resume, whether it’s a great sIZzle reel, knowing how to talk to that person, knowing how to speak well. And it’s funny too because I’ve just been spending a lot of time at high schools doing career days, and one of the things I always talk about and implement is this right here. You know, conversating, you know, talking with folks. And really allowing people to feel the confidence you have within yourself so that they get the vibe that you’re actually adequate for this job.
Cloie: Eye contact. We don’t talk about eye contact, but I think it’s a huge thing just in the world in general. If you don’t wanna look…what are you hiding from, that sort of a thing, I think is also a very, very big thing. And also having to do your research on the person or the company that you’re interviewing for with before getting there. That’s just a part…
DJ Mal-Ski: That you know, you know? You could be walking in the office and walk past one of the big bosses, and if you’re not up on the information of the company, they just walked past and that could’ve been an opportunity to spark a conversation. So you kind of got to do your research prior to.
DJ IZ: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So you know, man, first of all again dude, we’re so happy to have you on here, man.
DJ Mal-Ski: Thank you, appreciate it.
DJ IZ: Just somebody I consider a brother. We actually spent a lot of time growing up together, each other pursue their crafts, man. Happy to have you, man. We’re in the house of Roland. You know, so this is the part if the show where you get to kind of like kick your feet up, relax…
Cloie: Literally if you would like to.
DJ IZ: The table’s a little out of my leg reach…
DJ Mal-Ski: So I can put my shoes on the couch? Thank you, Roland, appreciate.
Cloie: Sneaker game is strong, boy. Sneaker game is strong.
DJ IZ: So you know man, on this show we’ve been introducing jobs since then. I think we’re roughly over close to 400, maybe over 400 jobs now?
Cloie: I can tell you in a second.
DJ IZ: Hit me with that number.
Cloie: Between 371 and 380. These are the jobs 371…
DJ Mal-Ski: Wow.
DJ IZ: So man, you know, this thing is really taking a whole other life of folks just really looking to be a part of this Connected culture that we’ve created, man. It’s really about, you know, allowing creators of all sorts and arts to really just connect with other creators, you know? Because if you got a dude who’s doing film, that film guy needs music. He talks to music guy, hey, here’s some tracks. You know, and that’s how the connectivity happens, man. So I know you’re well up to speed on what we do here at Connected, man. And like I said…
DJ Mal-Ski: I did my research.
DJ IZ: You did your research, man. I think he’s even tuned in a couple times.
DJ Mal-Ski: Absolutely, absolutely.
DJ IZ: You know, just to check out…
DJ Mal-Ski: Because I wanna actually, you know, be a part. I want to offer a few…I’m engaged to about 11 different colleges, and so I wanna offer some…it’s kind of out of season now. We’re just ending, you know, athletic season as far as colleges. But I wanna start to offer a couple of jobs, you know, via you guys as a medium too.
DJ IZ: Oh dope…
DJ Mal-Ski: Aspiring DJs, some on court hosts, some MCs…
DJ IZ: So there you have, viewers out…I would suggest you get your questions ready for Mal-Ski because when we get to the Q&A, you don’t wanna miss a beat. Now we’ve had a lot of aspiring DJs, bro, who have like logged on and have had really key questions, you know, versus controllers, actual turntables, what do I do, how do I get a gig, you know, the whole nine. So I wanna make sure these folks are able to extract as much info from you when we get to our Q&A. So…
Cloie: It’s like DJ Double Trouble.
DJ IZ: That’s the new group, yo. DJ Double Trouble.
DJ Mal-Ski: I’ll tell you what. I’ll wear black fur and you wear white fur. And we…
DJ IZ: Well, what’s going on? So before we kick this thing off, Cloie, is there anything we need to get into before we get into these jobs?
Cloie: Yes, yes we do. We need lots of things. We need a bright attitude, a shining disposition. We also need your pens, your pencils, whatever you’re gonna take notes with, grab it. Grab it, if it’s…you’re texting, your device, your tablature, whatever, get it because this is the time. Nobody’s waiting for you. Not even life.
DJ IZ: And also too, Mal-Ski, just so you know, I mean, we’re really key on details for these jobs, you know? We’re not sending folks out there blindfolded. You know what I’m saying, like you gotta prepare, you gotta do your homework, you know, to really apply and execute these jobs, man. So we’re gonna kick off the first Grind Opp of the day, which is in the field of…
Cloie: Drumroll, please.
DJ IZ: Bam, right there. Music production assistant engineer. This is in Van Nuys, California, our backyard. Top studio looking for an experienced assistant engineer for North Hollywood area studio. Responsibilities include setting up audio equipment and Pro Tools for sessions.5. Export and import stems and build out sessions for mixing.
Now here’s what’s dope. This job didn’t even say at least one to two years’ experience. But we all know to do a couple of those things, you need to have some experience.
DJ Mal-Ski: You need to have some experience.
DJ IZ: You need…
Cloie: Like what? Like what? Talk about it.
DJ IZ: You need to know what stems are. Now stems are certain parts of a session that a lot of folks tend to ask for these days, especially if you’re simulating music to like film, you know, producer, or a remix. They want stems. And stems are a group of parts of audio elements to the song. And that’s how they want them. And you know, I’m assuming if you’re an engineer in today’s recording world, you kind of know this already. But you’d be surprised how many folks kind of get in there and kind of have to like, you know, kind of dodge some things, you know what I’m saying?
DJ Mal-Ski: Have to Google a few things.
Cloie: Oh, sure.
DJ Mal-Ski: Well the thing is if you don’t know it, there are certain things in engineering that if you don’t know it, you don’t know it, and it shows, you know? You know, stems, knowing that each of the stems are individual parts of a song, so you know, if there are eight background parts, a stem will be each, a stem of each of those parts readily available and ready to be mixed. If you don’t understand that, if you’ve been working…no diss to anybody, but if you’re just been working on your, you know, some program, you wouldn’t know it, you know what I mean, so some of this…
DJ IZ: Yeah, and that’s another great thing because Mal-Ski’s actually a producer as well. So he knows both sides of the spectrum. DJing, playing records, yeah that’s great. But he also knows how to record music and finish a product. And I think, you know, the key things is some things are getting lost in translation right now with audio, and artistry, and what’s cool, and what’s popular. Like we came up in the days of two inch. Right? Splicing two inch. Lugging two inch reels to the studio.
DJ Mal-Ski: …to the studio.
DJ IZ: So now, you know, in this particular Grind Opp, you know, it mentions Pro Tools, which is a computer based software. And you know, some of the things, you know, you have your benefits, right? You have, you know, the economics are much more affordable and, you know, because you can pretty much get what you need to get done on a laptop, a couple audio plug-ins or whatever…
Cloie: So self-sufficient.
DJ IZ: Self-sufficient. And in the interim of that, we’ve kind of lost an art form of engineering in my placement, you know, EQs, outboard gear.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yes.
DJ IZ: You know, and I think it’s so important that folks understand both sides of the spectrums so then you can create a hybrid, which becomes then your template that you paint from as an engineer.
DJ Mal-Ski: Absolutely, I mean I tell people that…relating it to DJing, I tell people that, they’re like should we start on vinyl, should we start on controlling. I don’t wanna jump ahead, but you know, I tell them you should start on what originated. Start on vinyl and then learn the controller so that you can have the knowledge of doing both. And engineering would be the same way, you know? If somebody gives you the opportunity to go mix on an SSL, go mix on an SSL. Get out of logic.
DJ IZ: Yeah, yeah, get out of your laptop.
DJ Mal-Ski: And reason and go mix, and touch, and feel, and understand where this all came from because that helps you all around.
Cloie: It’s like back to basics.
DJ IZ: Back to basics, the fundamentals.
Cloie: Starting at the basics before you jump ahead like 17 million steps.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yeah, you’re trying to dunk and you can’t even dribble.
Cloie: Oh.
DJ Mal-Ski: You know what I’m saying?
Cloie: Yeah, yeah.
DJ IZ: Another thing too, Mal, is I think what’s great for this kind of opportunity is that we have a lot of students who come out of RFC who are well-equipped, well-certified because they’re not showing up to a classroom every day. You know, when they show up, they’re showing up to a studio. They’re working with people in real-time. They’re working with artists. So they when to infuse their opinion. They know when not to. They know when to be a fly on the wall. And that’s another thing we talk in this day and age is man, just know how to be quiet when you’re learning.
DJ Mal-Ski: Be a fly on the wall. Just don’t be noticed.
DJ IZ: Right, yeah.
DJ Mal-Ski: Just don’t be noticed. I can tell you countless times, I can tell a time of driving all the way to Minneapolis, staying there for two months with two super producers, watching, listening, not being noticed, and just waiting. And then coming back and having an opportunity because I didn’t say anything. I didn’t push, I just watched, I listened, I was just a sponge taking in information, you know?
Cloie: Mission: absorb.
DJ Mal-Ski: And then you take in, and then when you get your opportunity, you rock.
DJ IZ: You rock, yeah.
DJ Mal-Ski: You rock when you get your opportunity. And that’s the best way to do it. You don’t wanna walk in cocky, and you ain’t done nothing yet. You ain’t earned the right to give your opinion. You ain’t earned the right to touch anything yet. So you wanna start off learning, start off humble, you know what I mean? You know, and that’s it.
DJ IZ: Well said, bro. Well said. So that again, that Grind Opp was in Van Nuys, California, in our backyard. So if you’re from Cali, and you’re an engineer, make sure you apply for that particular gig. So before we jump into Grind Opp Two, what do we got?
Cloie: Oh my gosh, guys. Before we jump into Grind Opp Two, of course, we have our student success, our newsletter. So every week we are highlighting some of our RRFC students and alum that are out in the world, and doing their thing, right? So this week’s shout out goes to Chris Locke. Yay, Chris.
DJ IZ: Chris Locke, we see you, man.
Cloie: Yes, Chris, after he graduated was hired at his mentor’s studio, and he worked there for four years before opening his own studio, and he’s specialIZing in hip hop.
DJ Mal-Ski: Nice.
DJ IZ: Dope.
Cloie: This is what I’m saying. He’s actually just named Engineer of the Year in Austin.
DJ Mal-Ski: Congrats, Chris. Yeah.
DJ IZ: Great stuff, great stuff.
Cloie: I know, right? For more information on Chris, check out the newsletter that’ll be coming out a little bit later today.
DJ IZ: That’s awesome, man. I think too, you know, I always say it’s so great for us at Connected to make sure we highlight the folks who are on the ground, in the field, making stuff happen in real-time and he’s a perfect, prime example of what you can do out there, you know? When you’re connected to your passion, and you doing what you love, and you’re willing to climb that mountain, I mean that’s key for our viewers. So great job, Chris, man.
Cloie: It’s happening. Life is happening.
DJ IZ: Always.
Cloie: Well…
DJ IZ: You know, you got your go-to character. She has a go-to character voice that goes all the time.
Cloie: Oh, now I gotta switch it up. I will have a new go-to character voice. I’ve taken the note. I’ve read the note now. I will have a new go-to character voice by the end of this episode.
DJ IZ: Well while you get that, I’m gonna go to this next Grind Opp. This is Grind Opp Two of our takeover Monday. Let’s check it out. This is in the field of reel editor, okay? Sports highlight reel editor, New York, New York. Bleacher Report sports website seeks editor to assist in editing highlight reels from college and professional games. General duties include creating B-roll packages of live clips for playback. Fulfill highlight requests for social media and daily video team. Edit clips from previous weeks’ games. Must be familiar with Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere. General knowledge of college level and professional sports.
Cloie: Boom.
DJ IZ: So…
Cloie: So that wouldn’t be me. I don’t know anything about…
DJ Mal-Ski: I know those guys really well…
DJ IZ: Okay, so here’s what’s crazy. So like here now, now we have a Grind Opp that kind of says hey, need to have some experience with Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, so…
Cloie: Respect the sports.
DJ IZ: Yeah, that sports, and that’s great because that’s a world you’re in all the time.
DJ Mal-Ski: Absolutely.
DJ IZ: You know, so just looking at that Grind Opp, what are some of the things that kind of just jumped out at you right away?
DJ Mal-Ski: Well first of all, you gotta know what looks good in the sporting world, you know? What looks good in music videos is different. It doesn’t necessarily compute to the sporting world. So…
Cloie: No twerking.
DJ Mal-Ski: No twerking, or no whatever. You…
Cloie: No gas metal?
DJ Mal-Ski: She won’t bring up gas metal, right?
Cloie: No, I wouldn’t. My mother watches this show.
DJ Mal-Ski: But no. In this, you gotta kind of know, it said at the end experience of knowing, you know, professional and college sports. It’s knowing what people wanna see. So if you’re doing, say, content, I work for the LA Rams. Shout to Chris Slocapura [SP], he’s over all the media for the LA Rams. What he’s looking for are things that catch sporting lovers’ eyes. Yeah, it’s quick, it’s fast. Bright, it’s colorful. It’s not mundane. It’s not dull, you know. And so not only that, but it’s cut, the way it’s cut is quick, you know? Really fast, high energy. The music even that goes along with it, all of that, you would have to have and be ready.
DJ IZ: Yeah, it’s all impact. And I think too one of the reasons why we stress, you know, to our viewers who are looking to take advantage of an opportunity like that, we say, hey man, send in your sIZzle reel so we can look at it. Because like you said, sports is a very different dynamic impact than music. You know, sports is like no time for rest. Just wow factor, impact.
DJ Mal-Ski: In the moment, spontaneous, constant. It’s not up and down. It’s constant maxing. Constant, you know, crescendo.
Cloie: It always feels like a Nike commercial or like a Gatorade with like the sweat pouring down. That’s what I think of when I think of sports.
DJ IZ: That’s the culture and, you know, it’s so key. Like you know, to really be in tune with the culture of what it is you’re creating content for. You have to know the language. You gotta know what it looks like. You gotta do your homework. And it’s really easy homework. Like with any facet of what we’re talking about, whether it’s musicianship, recording, like you can go on YouTube right away, and identify really quick what it is, what it looks like, what it’s supposed to feel like. So I think just being that, that’s the world you’re in all the time. I mean, that’s something he sees on a day to day.
DJ Mal-Ski: Every single day.
Cloie: I will also say that for a Grind Opp like this, I feel like what’s gonna be one…it’s something even more advantageous is to be a lover of sports. It’s how they say like, yeah, you have to have some experience. But more than that, and it has to do with that passion you’re talking about, right? Because you could be able to edit it, you could speak that language, but if you don’t have a love for it…
DJ Mal-Ski: Yeah, it’s not gonna come across. Yeah, it’s not gonna…
Cloie: You gotta romance it.
DJ Mal-Ski: Absolutely.
Cloie: You know what I mean? You gotta take it out to dinner, put some rose petals for it, make it happen.
DJ Mal-Ski: Is that romance is, that word? Okay.
Cloie: That’s what some say.
DJ Mal-Ski: Good to know, good to know.
Cloie: That’s what some say.
DJ IZ: So again, folks, that was out in NY, NY, that is video editor for sports, okay? Keep that in mind, sports. Before we jump into Grind Opp Number Three, I’m gonna let you have it.
Cloie: We’ve got this thing. How’s that for character, is that better?
DJ IZ: Okay.
DJ Mal-Ski: We’ve got this thing.
Cloie: We’ve got this thing that’s kind of amazing. For those of you that don’t know, the Rock Dwellers, which a fine shout out to the Rock Dwellers, we have an app. Connected, there is an app for that.
DJ IZ: Yes, sir.
Cloie: Connected…
DJ IZ: Now it’s something we kind of been bragging about for, you know, the last…a little over a month now, I wanna say.
Cloie: Has it been a month? I guess it has been a month.
DJ IZ: And it’s great because, you know, one of the things that tends to pop up in our Q&A a lot is how do I get to this? How do I meet this? And what the app is great for is it connects you and corresponds you with people that are near you, whether it’s 5 miles, whether it’s 60 miles. So you’re able to start a dialogue with creators that you didn’t know existed in your area. And you know, you can also…like let’s say you’re a DJ. You can put your DJ feet up there. You can put your bio, what you’re done, and really, you know, promote yourself in a way that it allows people to see you in a business fashion, you know, so it makes it easier. Like I tell folks all the time, how much easier can we make it for you guys? We’re finding jobs. Now we got an app…
Cloie: It’s geo-based.
DJ IZ: It’s geo-based, you know? And all you gotta do is get on to your Facebook and, you know, enjoy this app in Messenger, connect. So we always make it a point to remind folks we got an app and you should definitely check it out. So yeah.
Cloie: So check it out.
DJ IZ: So check it out right now.
Cloie: The end. We’ll wait for you.
DJ IZ: I’ll let you take over this Grind Opp, this next Grind Opp.
Cloie: Oh, Grind Opp Number Three?
DJ Mal-Ski: I think you should let me do it.
Cloie: Oh, you wanna do it? Do it.
DJ IZ: Go for it, man.
DJ Mal-Ski: You should let me do the next Grind Opp.
Cloie: Go on and get it. We’re gonna roll it…
DJ Mal-Ski: Do like this in a stadium.
DJ IZ: Yeah, do it like it…
Cloie: Are you in character right now?
DJ Mal-Ski: No, I’m not. I got clothes on. I’m just joking.
Cloie: No, you’re gonna do it. We are all…
DJ Mal-Ski: It got, we’re in character.
DJ IZ: We’re always on.
Cloie: Grind Opp Number Three, pale.
DJ Mal-Ski: All right. Grind Opp Number Three. DJ needed in Lansing, Michigan. Top restaurant and nightclub needs experienced DJ to keep the crowd alive. Responsible for music selection and directing the party. Will be responsible for overall entertainment programming. Have to have knowledge of DJ and sound system is a must. At least one year experience as a DJ in a party or club setting. Equipment provided.
DJ IZ: I guess this is my cue. I guess I’m fired. My man just kind of came in and blazed this Grind Opp.
Cloie: With his DJ voice.
DJ IZ: He got on his slightly Don Cornelius…
Cloie: I think for the rest of the show, that’s how we all should do it.
DJ Mal-Ski: Don Cornelius.
Cloie: …do it like our version of Don Cornelius.
DJ IZ: So Jay, that was actually a perfect Grind Opp for you to introduce, man, and just looking at those details, what are some of the things that just first and foremost?
DJ Mal-Ski: Well first it’d be over all the entertainment at a place. What happens is venues come and they wanna set a certain mood in their environment, right? Stores are actually getting involved in it, but let’s say whatever, Friday’s the restaurant, they want to set a certain environment when you walk in, right? So first of all, you would have to be familiar with what they wanna set, what kind of environment they wanna set. If it’s Hooters it’s one thing. If it’s Katsuya, it’s something else, you know? So you have to be familiar on what environment they wanna set. And then based from that, can you set that environment, right, on a consistent basis in different formats via live band or via just certain music playlists. Like if, you know, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays will be a certain vibe. The weekends will be a different vibe, you know? Understanding that, and then being able to set it, that’s really pretty much the gist of that. I would say if you’re in that area interested and you understand music, it’d be an awesome opportunity. Awesome opportunity.
DJ IZ: And what’s your take on like the very last detail which was equipment provided.
DJ Mal-Ski: Well if you don’t know how to use certain equipment, then that means your experience level has to be at a certain place where whatever they provide you could use. So you know, generally as a DJ, when someone says equipment’s provided, it’s 100%, 90% of the time, it’s turntables and a mixer, you know? Pretty much, you know, 90% of the time. But you just have to have some experience in that. It also said experience needed too because you have to understand, look, if it’s a clean, if it’s a family friendly environment…
DJ IZ: I talk about that all the time.
Cloie: He does.
DJ Mal-Ski: You gotta have clean versions. You gotta be able to adapt to whatever environment, you know, so…
Cloie: No 2 Live Crew in Friday’s.
DJ Mal-Ski: You can’t…oh, get it, get it oh…
DJ IZ: That’s so true.
Cloie: I wanna rock, I wanna rock.
DJ IZ: But that’s a great point because I even like, I even run something similar to that, which is the quality of your MP3 even at that, you know what I’m saying? Like it’s great, yes, you got clean version, but also like audio clean versions as well.
DJ Mal-Ski: Hey, stop downloading stuff from YouTube, man. Go get real music, man. Stop, stop doing that, man. We hear it, and it’s a big difference.
DJ IZ: It is, no I agree.
DJ Mal-Ski: I’ll give you a great example. I’ll give you a great example, right? I’m doing BET Experience. At that night, it was Tanashe [SP], Ray Schermer, Neo, and Nicki Minaj, right? In between, so I’m the host and DJ for the whole night at Staples Center here in LA, you know? In between, there was about a 15 minute gap in between each, right? Well Nicki Minaj was 49 minutes late, 49 minutes late. No one knew why, no one understood. In that, I’m playing music, trying to keep the crowd. And everybody’s dancing and in it. I’m playing all these great songs.
Well there was one song. An artist came up to the booth and artist is pretty known. Busta Rhymes comes up to the booth, and I wanna play a certain song that he has, but I don’t have the version that’s clean. So I’m like, oh, what do I do? What do I do? So you know, on the cuff, I just download real quick, trying to find a quick version, and it was a terrible version. I play it, and while people love the song, you could hear the difference. So from then on, I just vowed I’m never gonna do that again because you can hear the difference.
Cloie: I’m so stressed out.
DJ IZ: That’s an important story, bro.
Cloie: I’m so stressed out.
DJ Mal-Ski: You could hear the difference.
DJ IZ: You can hear the difference.
DJ Mal-Ski: Like it didn’t beat like the high quality version would be in the Staples Center. So it’s disastrous.
Cloie: That’s disastrous, yes. Here’s my other question though. The people, like the laypeople, did they notice a difference? Not that, and this is not about making excuses or whatever. That’s not what I’m saying. I just wanna know for my brain.
DJ Mal-Ski: Well what happens is there’s a subtle, a subconscious decrescendo in your brain, right? So at any party when there’s a hype song coming on, you innately wanna move and stand up. If there’s a break, you innately settle down, sometimes wanna sit down if you’re in a venue, sometimes you look for your drink subconsciously. Well that happened. So as I’m crescendoing, trying to get the headliner on, it’s on its way up. We’re killing, boom, boom, boom, and then it goes…it flat lines at the top, right? And then I gotta go, um okay, don’t this hit make my people wanna…and then I gotta try to get it back up. So what happens is the quality, all of that matters. All of it matters.
Cloie: And the psychology. I have never thought about DJing in a psychological manner before.
DJ Mal-Ski: It’s a full out art.
Cloie: It’s like getting in here, the hearts and the minds to make them…
DJ IZ: And you know, Mal, that’s great information for that particular Grind Opp. You know, for those of you who do DJ and are looking to access that job, definitely a lot of keep in mind, to take into consideration, so I mean, you hear from a dude that’s doing it every single day in real-time, whether it’s sports, whether it’s on the radio, which is another thing we’re gonna talk about because DJing on the radio is a whole different dynamic.
DJ Mal-Ski: It’s totally different.
DJ IZ: And DJing events, man. So definitely appreciate your advice and your experience on that last Grind Opp. We’re gonna move into Grind Opp Number Four.
Cloie: But before we do…
DJ IZ: Tell me what we’ve got.
Cloie: But before we do, guys, we are approaching our very, very, very last week to vote…to vote for our finalists. They are going to be announced next week. So let’s roll it so we can see who they are.
DJ IZ: Let’s check it out.
Cloie: For our 10K scholarship. Alex, Dederick, Edwin, Tyler, Alexander, Nathaniel. Next graphic, please. We got Casandra, Doyi, Josh, Nigel, Katz, and Maria, which reminds me of a “West Side Story.”
DJ IZ: Now, last time we did this, I think…
Cloie: Nobody got my joke?
DJ IZ: I did. I’m sorry.
DJ Mal-Ski: West Side, yes. You’re my little West Side Story.
Cloie: You’re welcome.
DJ Mal-Ski: Maria, Maria.
DJ IZ: So when we did this, you know, last week, I think Doyi was at 600 and something votes for her 10K scholarship that we’re giving away. So we’ve telling folks like look, get your community together. Get your folks. Get the folks that root you on, get them to vote for you because this is crucial because we’re narrowing it down.
Cloie: It is a \$10,000 scholarship.
DJ IZ: \$10,000 scholarship in film, you know, engineering, recording. And we’re narrowing it down to our four. So when is that…
Cloie: Midnight tonight. Midnight tonight, that is the last, it’s the end of it for the voting.
DJ IZ: So I’m gonna say this personally because I know Katz has been tuning in since show one. Katz, I’m pulling for you, bro. So look, call your sister, tell your sister to call her home girls. Shoot, her home girls could be my home girls…
DJ Mal-Ski: Call the cousins, call the church, sopranos section at church, call everybody you want. Call them all to come vote for you right now.
DJ IZ: Get your votes in, get your votes in. And honestly, and I mean that goes for everybody that’s looking to obtain this 4K scholarship, okay? So let’s get these votes…
Cloie: 10K, 10K.
DJ IZ: 10K. Let’s get these votes in, so…
Cloie: Now I think we can move into Grind Opp Four.
DJ IZ: Cool, let’s move into Grind Opp Four.
Cloie: I love it.
DJ IZ: Let’s keep moving. Monday takeover. What we got?
Cloie: Monday, we’re taking it over. It’s going like this.
DJ IZ: Grind Opp Four, let’s go.
DJ Mal-Ski: Let’s go, Grind Opp Four.
DJ IZ: Videographer needed, Brownsville, Texas. City of Brownsville needs a vibrant, energetic videographer to help film events for the city. General duties include operation of video camera, assist director with overall production. Assist editors as needed. At least six months work experience and/or technical training. General knowledge of cameras and editing software required.
Now this actually is like, this is Cloie’s world. So Cloie, I’m gonna let you chime in on the details of this Grind Opp.
Cloie: So it kind of, this is in the world of…because this is in the world of what we were talking about with the sports job, right, and the ability to take a mood, take a setting, take a whatever and translate it to video, right? So you might have some raw footage, and it is your job to tell this story through the filter from the voice of this particular event, or show, or whatever. And that’s basically what this job is highlighting. I think that it also speaks to what we were saying before about having a love for that thing. Because what are they asking for? Vibrant, energetic, so if you’re like 3 minutes from it, and 30 past it, this is probably not your Grind Opp, you know what I’m saying, because that’s your main job as a videographer is telling a story. Six months experience, that’s not a lot of time when you come down to it, which to me says that you have to have worked in this field as well, have to have worked in this field already.
DJ IZ: Right, which is another Grind Opp that is great for our RRFC students who are in film because again, that’s something they’re very accustomed to, which is being on a film set, kind of knowing the workflow, you know, where to be, where not to be, how to work with, you know, directors, PAs and stuff, so…
Cloie: And in terms of what they’re asking for with those specifics, they’re not asking for like a ton of, you know, how to operate a camera, great.
DJ Mal-Ski: Software equipment, easy.
Cloie: Great, great.
DJ Mal-Ski: Simple.
Cloie: Which also to me says that there is a fair amount of hard knocks learning, you know what I mean, which we’ll get into in a second. Our school of hard knocks with this one here so elegantly executes. But yeah, so I think that this would be a great way to get in and spread your wings, and be in, the end.
DJ IZ: So before we get into Grind Five, I know we have something else, or are we going directly into it?
Cloie: We’re gonna just say get your Q&A ready.
DJ IZ: Oh yeah.
Cloie: That’s all I was gonna say.
DJ IZ: Get your questions ready.
Cloie: Because we’re popping when it happens. Nobody’s waiting for you.
DJ IZ: No, we want you to be ready for these questions, Mal.
DJ Mal-Ski: Let’s hit it.
DJ IZ: Okay, they’re gonna come at you left and right.
Cloie: You’re in the hot couch.
DJ IZ: You gotta cough up the secrets, bro.
DJ Mal-Ski: It don’t matter. Whatever you ask, I’m bringing them to you. Any questions you ask as it relates to anything. Let’s go.
DJ IZ: Okay, cool. So fifth Grind Opp of the day is in the field of sound designer, which is very fun. This is in Cambridge, MA. I’m gonna say MA because MA could be…
Cloie: Massachusetts.
DJ IZ: Massachusetts, there we go.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yeah, it’s across the bridge.
DJ IZ: Here we go. Top virtual instrument software company seeks experienced sound designer to revamp sound library. Work with third party artist and producers in creating new libraries. Record and mix live instruments, produce unique sounds that will be exclusive to sound library. Knowledge of audio software, Pro Tools, Ableton, Logic, etc., and at least three years’ experience as a professional sound designer. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
Now sound designing is always fun, man, because like I equate it to like the days we were sampling, building our own libraries, and sounds, and it’s so important as a sound designer to actually know sonics, you know, balance, left, right, stereo, mono. You know, and we come from the day of like getting the gritty sound, right? Got the crackle, the dirty, the record pop…
DJ Mal-Ski: Yes, SB1200s.
DJ IZ: Right, so it’s always fun I think because you kind of get to explore, you know? It’s kind of like to your liking or to your preference of what you think a dope sound is, you know? Everybody has a different idea what…
Cloie: Well sound designer, again layperson, but you are telling that story but through music.
DJ IZ: Through music, through a sound. You know, a lot of it too is like, you know, when you’re scoring a movie, there’s particular certain sounds that you use for let’s say a moment that’s really…
Cloie: Tense.
DJ IZ: Intense or a moment that’s very, you know, tear-jerking or intimate, you know what I’m saying? And it’s knowing those things and how to build those sounds is very, very…I’m not gonna say hard, man, but it’s…
DJ Mal-Ski: It’s intricate. It’s very intricate in a sense of…and this being for a virtual instrument company. So they’re already an instrument company so I’m assuming they have certain instruments. This would be the ability to combine and make different sounds, which is…
DJ IZ: And update…
DJ Mal-Ski: Or update this…
DJ IZ: So you’d be kind of be taking their existing catalog of sounds and really bringing them up to speed, or updating them, and then you know, capturing sounds that they don’t have, that don’t exist in your existing library. So…
Cloie: I mean, that just sounds like so much fun.
DJ IZ: It is fun, man. It is fun.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yes, shout to Cambridge. Everybody in that Boston Cambridge area, go see. Go get it, go get it, go get it.
DJ IZ: So Cloie, that is our fifth Grind Opp of the day. Now we do have in addition…
Cloie: Oh boy, do we.
DJ IZ: Five Grind Opps, we’re at 10 now. I think, you know, I think since last time we talked, we were at five. We’re at 10 now, bro. So these additional five you find on our website, okay?
Cloie: We’ve got in film, creative, a paid creative trainee in Culver City, California. That’s also in our backyard. Another in film, freelance video editor, Santa Monica. That’s also here. Shout out California. In the field of radio, we have an on air country radio personality in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Also in LA, recording, we got a sound stage manager. And in the field of culinary, we’ve got a cook for a country club for the PM shift. Let’s be specific. So you’re talking about some dinner. Steaks, because it’s in Houston, Texas.
DJ IZ: Cue going on.
Cloie: All that, some Wagyu beef and Angus, and the whole Kobe, all of them.
DJ Mal-Ski: Kobe beef.
Cloie: That Kobe beef. That Kobe beef, yeah. So that’s 10 jobs. Guys, we’re just left, right, and center, just jobs.
DJ IZ: Man, I don’t know what’s going on in Washington, DC, but we got jobs here. We got jobs.
Cloie: Well, well.
DJ IZ: So what else have we got, Cloie? What else we got today?
Cloie: Well before we go into anything else, we do have our school of hard knocks. And this week, we’re talking about what it means to be an entrepreneur. School of hard knocks, for those of you that are just joining us, also for those of you that are just joining us, hello and welcome. Put a one in that chat box and shout out where you’re from. Chat box is in your upper right if you’re on the thing, the internet thing, the interwebs.
DJ Mal-Ski: On the thing.
Cloie: On the thing, yeah.
DJ IZ: Okay, Marvel.
Cloie: Wait, specifically we’re gonna flash to this clip that we do for our school of hard knocks, which is like real world experience, which we touched on a little bit ago. And this is about technology and how it influences the entrepreneurial mindset. So I feel like now’s the time. Let’s check it out, shall we?
DJ IZ: You have to understand all the different elements or facets of what that means, right? Entrepreneurship today is like you gotta look at yourself like a walking business because whatever it is you’re doing, or whatever it is your craft is, you have to understand how all the pieces work together. And part of understanding that comes with being, or having the mindset of an entrepreneur, you know, it’s not just talent. It’s not just skill. It’s knowing how to apply the other end, which maybe isn’t so easy for you. You know, for me like making music is the easiest part. It’s how do I convey that message? How do I entice business? How do I bring in those elements? And being able to understand all those facets of what entrepreneurship is, is extremely important because you are the business.
How well you communicate, your ability to show up on time, all those fundamentals are outside of what comes easy to you, which is the craft or if it’s a skill. So being able to understand how all those things come together and play their role is a huge part of being an entrepreneur.
Cloie: That is a good job. It is a good job. You don’t suck at that.
DJ IZ: That was good.
Cloie: So before we go any further, there is a birthday in the house. A soothsayer once said in “Julius Caesar” beware the Ides of March. I say we are reclaiming them here on Connected with the birthday of this one right here.
DJ IZ: Pisces all day.
Cloie: Pisces all day. So without any further ado, mi, mi, mi, mi.
DJ Mal-Ski: Happy birthday to you.
Together: Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday…
Cloie: Everybody can sing. It’s okay, we’re live. The crew is looking at me like uh.
DJ Mal-Ski: He’s like I’m not singing. Happy birth…
DJ IZ: Do I blow them out now?
Cloie: Don’t act like you don’t know what to do with the candles on a cake.
DJ IZ: I just wasn’t sure if you guys were finishing the song. Thank you guys. Thank you. Thank you, Cloie. Thank you Mal-Ski. Thank you to my Connected team who always look out for me, and got me a cake. Now you know, just the kid in me says where’s the milk, but…
Cloie: Milk? People still drink milk?
DJ IZ: Yeah, yeah, so you know, I don’t wanna be like a greedoid on camera, so I’m gonna set that right there. And yes, it is my birthday month. Pisces all day. And I look to see you guys on Saturday because I am having a birthday bash. So yes, I’m saying it live. So if anybody decides to cop out, we got it on tape.
Cloie: I show up.
DJ IZ: You do, you do. So we’re gonna move this birthday Monday takeover along here…
Cloie: With some Q&A.
DJ IZ: With some Q&A. But before we go into Q&A, there’s something I wanna touch on real quick, which was our school of hard knocks, and I kind of wanna get a little bit of your insight on this, Mal, because you know, I think as kids, we saw a lot of great talent around us. We saw a lot of great grownup talent around us, right? But we always wondered why they couldn’t get off their mom’s couch, right?
DJ Mal-Ski: Yes.
DJ IZ: So a lot of it where you look at today where the skillset and the business mind has going, they kind of have come together because now it’s not so much about your talent, although talent is what gets you, you know…
DJ Mal-Ski: In the door, or to the door really, yeah.
DJ IZ: To the door, but your skillset as an entrepreneur, or being business-minded now has to come into play. And just even in your role, whether it’s you DJing for the Rams, taking a meeting at KGLH before you got the gig, you know, what are some of those things that you felt instantly kicked in on the knowledge side as far as okay, let me got my posture, let me get my mouthpiece together. How did those things eventually come together with your skill?
DJ Mal-Ski: Well first of all, the understanding that you are a brand, like first. Even, I mean, most creatives, you know, walk around. They don’t shave and they just walk around the same sweats for like three days, you know what I mean? Like and you’re like no. If you realIZe that you are a brand just like that Roland keyboard, or like the DJ role in DJ 808 is a brand. Like the same way that brand is ready to be shown camera ready whenever, you should be camera ready whenever, and ready to be shown. The same way people discuss cars, or discuss any of their products, you should discuss you as your product, you know, in the same way, but in a way that’s palatable or that’s, you know, accessible to someone who’s not a creative.
See when we grew up, we grew up around artists that were really creative, but could not communicate what they were doing to the average ear. So you have this singer singing…doing all these different runs and whatnot, but it doesn’t necessarily communicate or, you know, come across to the normal listener. They’re like I don’t understand. And if you’re a musician, you’re like, oh my god. But the normal listener is like what is that?
So understanding that whatever it is your thing is, you have to be able to communicate it. So for me, when I walk into the Rams office, when I walked into the Sparks office, when I walked in to do the Laker Kobe’s last game as the Lakers, you know with the Lakers, you know, my thing was understanding that I’m a brand. Presentation is everything. Communication, how you communicate. If I walk in saying, “Hey coz, let me get this job.” If I walk in, you know, all of that matters. Every detail matters because there is not necessarily time for them background check you and verify you, if you will, you know what I mean? So a lot of times understanding that all of that matters as it relates to the business of you, you know what I mean?
So with that said, if you’re taking it…like when I walked into the Sparks office, right? Did I walk in in shorts and, you know, in a hip hop shirt and some Jordans? No, like you actually have to understand each and how it relates in each, you know? Now when I walk into the Rams office, I’m dressed one way. When I walked into KGLH, I’m dressed a totally different way for that setting. The same way you would be walking in too. So just understand how that relates in all of that.
DJ IZ: And that’s such crucial information, man, because you know, the key thing is for…you know, it lends itself to other areas of your pursuit, you know? It’s not just DJing. It’s not just, you know, being on camera. It’s not just getting the engineering gig. It’s just understanding those core fundamentals of that entrepreneurial component along with your skill and your talent, and how they…nowadays where the world has turned, they have to coincide. They have to coexist.
DJ Mal-Ski: Absolutely. What I was gonna say is any entrepreneur, any successful entrepreneur, right, if you create a business, the very first thing to do…let’s say, Cloie, you decided to fry chicken or something, I don’t know. If you decide to do a fruit stand, right? And it’s good. Everybody loves your fruit stand. It becomes successful. You create it. All right, we’re gonna build and make a fruit stand place. You create this location. Any entrepreneur, the first thing they’re gonna tell you is get out the kitchen. The first thing they’re gonna tell you is train someone else to do that and you focus on the business side. So when we were growing up, no one told us that get off of doing those scales and go focus on the business side. Nobody told us that just like you’re waking up every morning practicing crab scratching, you have to be doing the same…be as intentional about the business practice. So…
DJ IZ: Well put. And that is actually great for us to segue into the questions we got for you, man.
DJ Mal-Ski: Bring it.
DJ IZ: So we’re kind of high tech here, man, so we kind of get our questions in live…
DJ Mal-Ski: Live? Okay, bring it. So I’m gonna stretch out.
DJ IZ: I’m gonna kind of like join you on your phone for these questions.
Cloie: Sure.
DJ IZ: So let’s see. First of all, do we have our viewers who put the one in so we can kind of shout out…
Cloie: Well, team could we do that? Because I just got a question.
DJ IZ: Let’s see what the questions. If that’s what we got, let’s roll.
Cloie: So the first question is Tim from Georgia, wants to know where can I find some killer 808 samples?
DJ Mal-Ski: Oh Tim, maybe we should ask the producer that, huh? Well I can tell you there are kits. There are available kits that you can download, Tim. Many producers offer production kits, you know? For an 808 kit, you know, Little John offers kits that you can download.
DJ IZ: And that’s a great [inaudible 00:49:55]. I figure since we’re in the house of Roland, go get a Roland 808 drum machine if you really want the real essence of the 808 booms, the 808 snares, and the detuning and all that. But…
DJ Mal-Ski: That’s the answer.
DJ IZ: If you ain’t from that school, I mean, I would say, you know, you can get on YouTube, Spotify, you can actually type in 808 boom and you’ll be surprised what comes up. I know that’s how I’ve been able to do it too when I’m crate digging. So various ways you can get your hands on some of that stuff. And just kind of just have at it. Sample away.
Cloie: So now Nigel from Burbank wants to know what were the challenging aspects of creating “Happily Ever After?”
DJ IZ: So I’m assuming his success story? That journey?
Cloie: Nigel, can you give a little bit more information?
DJ IZ: Well I’ll tell you what. Let me kind of just, you know, embellish on that question. So the time you started to where you’re at now, reflecting on some of those speedbumps or obstacles that you had to encounter, just on that journey?
DJ Mal-Ski: Well first of all, the 10,000 hours, right, becoming a master at what you do. The first thing is become a master at your craft, right? Once you master your craft, then you can take that mastery, teach it, perform it, play it, do whatever, but first become a master at your craft.
Secondly, you know for me in that process, there were a lot of bumps and bruises, and you learn, you understand. You start to get, you know, information. You know, I have an experience where I actually left home and went to the military. You know this. You dropped me off, you know? And it was, I mean, I think it was a mistake because I feel like I lost out on five years of experience in music. Because I went away thinking I need a job, I need insurance, I need this. I wanna provide from my…traditional structure. I need to provide for my family. But I feel like I lost out. So when I came back, I literally had to start over. And what people don’t understand is the game moves so fast in DJing. You cannot take six months off. You are lost. You are a whiffle ball in high wind when you get back, you know? You’re lost.
So you know, staying in that and doing [inaudible 00:52:19] to get to happily ever after. And then what happens is happily ever after actually happens before you know it. You’re like, whoa, wait a minute. That just happened. And sometimes if you’re like us, you’re so ambitious, you’re so focused on the next step that you’re like, dang, that happened, but I’m going toward…dang I reached this financial goal, but I want this financial goal, so…
DJ IZ: And it’s crazy you say that because even for me, what I found in interviews is when people point out these key things that have happened in my career, that is the true only time I actually get to reflect to where it’s like, wait a minute. Because like you said, you’re so focused on the next, the next, the next, that sometimes you don’t really get to take in, you know, those achievements and those accomplishments until you actually sit down. And it ain’t about anything else other than why you’re here today.
DJ Mal-Ski: Exactly. I just did Staples Center, Usher, Bryson Tiller, and I’m DJing. I leave there, and everybody’s like oh my god, you just did the Staples Center. Can you believe it? It was 27,000 and you were killing. I’m like yeah, but I’m on my way to go DJ this next event. My mind was so focused on the next event with Stevie Wonder that I didn’t even remember that someone else later on, it was like wait a minute, that was a dream in itself. That was a goal accomplished in itself.
DJ IZ: And that’s a great thing because I think it’s so important for people to understand really what it means to be on your A game. And when you’re on your A game, that’s just how it goes. You know, you’re able to execute in any kind of environment, don’t matter the time or day. It’s like this. It’s second nature. And to get to that point, man, it’s a lot of work. Like he said, 10,000 hours to become a master at your craft. And that’s the work. It’s so important for our viewers to understand that because a lot of them are just getting into their craft, getting into that roadmap, that framework of what their future’s gonna be.
Cloie: And the mindset is different now too, not for nothing. The immediacy of technology, everybody wants to wake up and be a DJ. Everybody wants to wake up and think they’re an actor even, and it’s not that.
DJ Mal-Ski: But what people don’t understand…I know I’m being long-winded, but sorry. What people gotta understand is what the 10,000 hours does is it hones in your voice, right? So as a DJ, I could tell you right now, you wanna be a DJ? Buy a DJ Roland, a DJ 808, right, and download the top 100 songs in the country and blend them together. Does that make you a DJ? Really? But the thing is is it doesn’t give you a voice. And the reason why you’ll get one of these jobs, like one of the Grind Opps was creating an environment. It’s because of you’re the way you do it. If you just, you know, the 10,000 hours is what helps you define your character. You know, as an actor, you don’t even really know what type of actor you are. I could just play anything. No, that’s not realistic. That’s not.
Cloie: What do you do better than anybody?
DJ Mal-Ski: You better, you know? For me, yeah, and you don’t understand that when you’re first starting. You’re just I just wanna be. I made six beats so I’m a producer. Okay, so what’s your, you know, specificity? Where is your lane? You don’t know it until you’ve gone through enough times.
DJ IZ: And that’s key. I think what we’re talking about is just developing a personality, something that’s exclusive to you, that separates you from everybody who’s doing it. Because I will say this, everybody is doing what we do.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yes.
DJ IZ: And the only thing that separates you is obviously your skill level, but how you do it.
DJ Mal-Ski: Well I don’t mean to cut you off, but here’s the thing. So if you know basketball, right, in the NBA, right? Everybody on the NBA, you get to a certain skill level. Everybody jumps just as high, everybody is just as fast, everybody can run as long, and shoot just as good, you know? So there’s a thing that separates you. Like you know, Clay Thompson and Steph Curry. They both shoot really well, but one is a point guard in addition. One is not a point guard in addition, right? But they both shoot really well. You know, what separates you from the rest is what is gonna define you and make you, you know…
Cloie: You know what? This is really funny. This is in the acting world, the same conversation. I’m gonna be starting on a film project in the next few weeks and I didn’t even audition. They just wanted to meet me. And it’s also because of that same thing. At a certain point, everybody can act, everybody can do what they wanna do. But it’s like but who are you? Because these characters, some of them will be heavily influenced…exactly.
DJ Mal-Ski: You’ll be able to put a little bit of you into it, and that gives…a lot of you…
Cloie: Whatever, exactly. But it’s that same thing of like if I’m going in there like, “Well I mean, I don’t know. Can you give me something to read?” No, no, at this point in the game, yeah.
DJ IZ: What other questions do we have for Mal-Ski?
Cloie: Lots, okay. Micah from Spokane, Washington. I’m a producer, producer as in I make music on Ableton Reason, etc.
DJ Mal-Ski: Okay.
Cloie: He puts that in there. I plan on moving to LA this fall. What should I be doing now to find a job in LA?
DJ Mal-Ski: Huh, tuning in, applying. Number one, tuning in, applying. I would suggest, I mean a little bit more, what should you do to find a job? You could search random job sites here outside of, you know, this Connected show. If you’re looking for a job in the area in production, there are a lot of people looking for assistants. I would suggest becoming someone’s assistant, you know? A paid internship or assistant are always good in the field. I mean, if you’re a producer, and you’re IZ’s assistant, it puts you in the realm. You see, you get experience, it’s OJT, plus you get paid at the same time. I would suggest that.
But moving here, getting your catalog of music and songs up. Not just beats, songs. Get writers to put, you know, like lyrics and create full out songs, and be ready with a catalog when you get there. That what I would say.
DJ IZ: Well said.
Cloie: Done, okay. So then we have Zoe from Boston.
DJ Mal-Ski: Zoe.
Cloie: How long does it take to get really good at being a live DJ like what Mal-Ski does?
DJ Mal-Ski: Shout to Beantown. It takes a while. And what I do, the thing that separates me, and I could give you that, is that I grew up as an MC. I was an MC first who just knew music. I mean, me and IZzy would, you know, as children would ride around in the car and freestyle, and rap. We were both MCs first. So in a sense of DJing, I have this combination of both that a lot of people can’t do. There are a lot of great DJs with great fingers, and great hands, and great touch, and even great sensitivity to crowd, but they can’t MC as well. So for me, that was what set me apart, and that was how I got to the place where I am because I could offer two in one, right? So when I go to the Sparks, I could be your on-game, your in-game host that does the competitions, interviews Magic Johnson sitting courtside, interviews Floyd Mayweather sitting courtside, gets back in the DJ booth and plays all the music. That’s how I got to where I am.
So I would suggest figuring out your lane, conquering your lane, and going to where your lane is most beneficial.
Cloie: I love it.
DJ IZ: Great stuff.
Cloie: Damn. Clark from Athens, Georgia.
DJ Mal-Ski: Clark Kent.
Cloie: Right? For Mal-Ski, hey man, was looking you up. Said you did music for some films and TV.
DJ Mal-Ski: I did.
Cloie: How’d you get in there and do that?
DJ Mal-Ski: Well as IZ said earlier, I produce as well. A good friend of mine, a director Sheldon Kandis [SP], he was working on an independent film initially. And he came over to the studio, listened to some music, and he was like, man, you know what? I think I can use some of that music in my film coming up. I said, you know what? I’m actually interested in learning, you know, some of that technique. So here, I’m going to bring you a bunch of tracks, teach me the process. I got to sit with him, see the process, and from that, another three independent films, two theatrical productions, came from that, just from learning.
So sitting, watching, being a sponge, understand that game. I didn’t just jump in it. Like I didn’t work with one film and go hey guys, I film score now. It was like no, you know, I sat, I learned, tried to get another independent, tried to build, tried to, you know, and just understand as much as possible in that area.
Cloie: Work. All right, so we got DIZ from Compton.
Together: Compton. Yay, Compton.
Cloie: He says I got a couple guys I rap with. They come over and we lay stuff out but looks like it always ends up getting competitive instead of collaborative. Has this ever happened to you? What can I do to keep the peace? It got pretty heated for a minute last week. Thought it might come to blows, all that. Whoo.
DJ Mal-Ski: Well…
DJ IZ: So I would say, you know the thing when it comes to that type of thing with MCing, I mean, it’s always great to be competitive. Because hearing somebody that possibly sounds better than you only makes you better. However, when you’re in a crew, it should never ever come to that. You know, and that’s for me, like even in our days when we had our crews, and you can definitely account to this Mal-Ski, is that we were always competitive. We were always, you know, fearful of who was gonna be better. But it never came to that.
And you define your crew or your brotherhood by, you know, family, the principles of what that means is having each other’s back and never hating on anybody, wanting to see each other grow and become successful. You know, that would only cause me to really like double back on the crew I’m in, you know, when it comes down. That’s not good for anybody. And you know, it’s one thing to get in there and be competitive and creative, really incredible songs, everybody’s verse is right and dope. But it’s another thing to like not get anywhere at the end of the day and wasted time. That to me sounds like wasted time.
Cloie: So it’s a difference between competition and inspiration is what I hear you saying.
DJ IZ: Yeah, I mean come to blows? I mean come on. Who’s got time for that these days?
DJ Mal-Ski: Yeah, I would even just chime. Like Motown, you know, with Barry Gordy was very competitive. Barry Gordy would literally take the same song to four different producers in the same house, in the same house. And they would all compete for the same. So it was competitive, but the best man got the job. But it was never an issue of, you know, debating because he understand art. Art is how you paint it. It’s how you paint it. So there’s really no competition because it’s how you paint is how you paint it. How I paint it is how I paint it.
Cloie: And it’s a difference between the story they wanna tell.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yeah, but that’s what would make your crew so much better is understanding that, how each of you paint it is how you paint it. And that’s what will make you collectively dope, you know? Wu Tang style, but the West Coast style.
Cloie: So we got a question…so Nigel also from Burbank wants to know where do you typically find new artists in music to DJ?
DJ Mal-Ski: Huh, where do I…well I have a connection now. Initially I would go out. First of all, if you’re a DJ and you’re not out five days a week, you’re not doing your job. Not just when you’re DJing, you should be out every night, right? So initially I would be out and I would see these artists. People would come up, you know, other people will perform. And then what started happening is relationship with labels, and labels are like “We’re looking at this artist, we’re looking at this artist.” And then it became going to different studios because a lot of artists, because I do radio, want to, you know, I’ll come and pick singles for different artists. So I’ll be in a studio and listening to the whole album, and they’ll say, “Pick a single.” And I’ll pick the single, and they’ll go, “By the way, we have this new artist we’re working with. Why don’t you listen and tell me what you think?”
So a combination of all of that is how now I get new music. Labels will send it, Spotify, I was on Spotify today listening to a new record. Ill Camille [SP], man, shout out to Ill Camille. Whoo, but yeah. Like always really, and always looking out for the next thing. If you’re a real DJ, like not an old dude out here, if you’re a real DJ, you’re looking for the next thing because you wanna be the one who breaks it.
DJ IZ: Yeah.
Cloie: Right.
DJ Mal-Ski: You know, so…
DJ IZ: Dope.
Cloie: So then we got also Tim from Atlanta. Shout out to Nigel and Tim blowing up the chat today. What does side chaining do? Bless you.
DJ Mal-Ski: Side chaining?
Cloie: Crickets.
DJ IZ: I don’t know, a chainsaw? I mean, put the chain on. I’m not sure. Let’s move to the next question.
Cloie: Love it, okay. All right, so this is various parts. So Enzee from Detroit, Michigan wants to know several things, but wants to know who the most famous person you’ve met is, who was the nicest, doesn’t really wanna ask, but kind of wants to know who was the worst, right? And then also wants to know in terms of urban, are there any challenges that you have met, or any adversity in the very, very hot button world of race?
DJ Mal-Ski: Okay, let’s see. Most famous person, I work with the greatest songwriter of all time, Stevie Wonder. So…
Cloie: Well isn’t he lovely?
DJ Mal-Ski: Isn’t he lovely? Nice, I like that. I do, you know what I’m talking about?
DJ IZ: He’s a master for real.
DJ Mal-Ski: He is the master. So master blaster. He is the greatest songwriter of all times in my opinion. You know, I have the privilege of working with him as his DJ at his station as, you know, his connection to a lot of what’s going on now in today’s world of music. And so that would be that as far as the most famous, most notable to me. And I consider him a friend, you know, a mentor and a friend. As far as someone who has the biggest attitude, I don’t really wanna put anybody on blast like that.
DJ IZ: We hold no punches here, bro.
DJ Mal-Ski: Oh, we hold no punches?
DJ IZ: We hold no punches. It’s Connected. Throw it out there. Give it to me.
DJ Mal-Ski: Listen, don’t go at me, but Nicki Minaj.
Cloie: Oh no.
DJ Mal-Ski: Don’t go at me. Now mind you, let me…
Cloie: Oh god no, she’s gonna come hard.
DJ Mal-Ski: Listen, let me give credit where credit’s due. Her new records, no fraud. And like the new records that she just put out are crazy. But the three times that we’ve been around each other, it has been drama. It just has been issues. And I’ve done nothing but try to help the shows that she’s been on, you know, yadda yadda. But it’s just been, you know, somebody will be…I’ll be standing there and somebody will just have a camera and she’ll just be like, “Uh-uh, what are you doing?” Or just random, and I’ll be like uh, okay. All right, cool, no problem. No issue. I don’t have no issue. I’m neutral. I’m trying to make it better for you. So I don’t have problems, but that’s only real like weirdness I’ve had. And I don’t know, you know, I’m sure as beautiful as she is, I’m sure guys are trying to get her all the time. I don’t know if she thought maybe I was one, but you know, I got the one, you know what I’m talking about? So but anyway…
DJ IZ: Before we go any further, how we looking on time? Are we good?
Cloie: We got a couple more questions and we’ll wrap it up.
DJ IZ: Okay.
Cloie: So then…
DJ Mal-Ski: I’ve been long-winded, I’m sorry.
Cloie: No, no, no. This is perfect. This is perfect. So the follow up to…the last part of Enzee’s question was about race. Do you encounter any adversity from either side in like urban and…
DJ Mal-Ski: Well it’s interesting because the…some of the venues that I play at, right, are the most diverse you can be at. I mean, an LA Rams game, 92,000 people, right? There’s every race, pretty much every age. I don’t think there’s any like newborns, but pretty much every age, every race. And so I’ve had a couple times where I’d be either at Coliseum for Rams game or a Sparks game, or a Lakers event, or something like that where you know, a guy will just say, “Can you not play all that rap?” You know, like a random guy would typecast me if you will, and yeah, are you just gonna play all of your music? Like what’s all my music? What is that? You didn’t even know I was about to play Led Zeppelin, but now I’m about to play 50 Cent, you know what I mean?
But not sometimes, that’s happened. And if you understand that you’re a brand and you’re a business, you know how to handle it. You handle it with grace, with humility, and you handle it in a way that says, hey man, you know, whatever you’d like to hear, I’d love to play it. Whatever you’d like to hear, I’d love to play it.
Cloie: Do you have any requests? All right, so last question. We have Bell from Chicago.
DJ Mal-Ski: Chi-town.
Cloie: Do female DJs have to do something different to get noticed in radio? I notice they either have a boring…they have boring radio jobs like announcing stuff, or they’re the cohost who are supposed to chime in every now and again. Okay, she wants to be a shock jock.
DJ Mal-Ski: Okay, so now there is a difference between a DJ and a personality, okay, in radio. It’s different. The DJ is the one controlling the music, playing the music, right? The jock, or the personality…now sometimes they’re one and the same.
DJ IZ: Like you.
DJ Mal-Ski: Like myself. Now sometimes, they are one and the same. But there are many cases where they are not one and the same, i.e. the biggest show on the West Coast, the Big Boy in the Morning show. Big Boy is the jock, DJ Vick One is the DJ, right? So Big Boy, while he’s handling the personality driven things and running the show. Vick One DJing and running the music, right? So for her, she’s saying mostly DJs, female DJs are either in a boring or only can chime in at certain times. Well one of the biggest female DJs in the world is here in LA, DJ Charisma. And she got it popping. There’s no boring in DJ Charisma. She’s popping, she’s dope at it, right? But she’s the DJ, not the jock. The personalities that she work with, you know, she’ll work with…it depends on whoever, you know, it is at the time.
So understanding that first, if you wanna be a shock jock, work on your personality, your tonation of your voice, and things that create a theater in the mind. If you wanna be a DJ, work on your ability and skills. Now to be both is very rare, but you can do it. Big Tig is one of them. You know, Big Tig, DJ Envy is one of them. Shout to Envy. And it’s a lot of guys that are like that that can do both. So Felly Fell is one of them that can do both, you know, so there you have it.
DJ IZ: Well I do have a questions for my man.
DJ Mal-Ski: Uh-oh.
Cloie: You said anything.
DJ IZ: And DJ’s gotta ask a fellow DJ this question. One of the most favorite records you love to play when you’re doing a set.
DJ Mal-Ski: Oh man. That’s the hardest…
DJ IZ: What is that one record that gives you a good feeling as a DJ, like your go to joint.
DJ Mal-Ski: Well okay. It’s gotta be two. It’s gotta be two. It can’t be one. And here’s the reason. Because there are two different…so people don’t understand. There’s two different types of DJs, right? There’s the artist DJ and there’s the service DJ, right? The artist DJ is a DJ you go to hear what they are going to play regardless who’s there, right? So they’re coming in with a preconceived set. Not dissing anyone, but they’re coming in saying, “You’re coming and hear what I’m gonna play,” right? The service DJ is a DJ that says, “I’m gonna play what everybody, whatever’s here. So I’m gonna look at the 80% of the crowd and I’m gonna play that.” That’s what I do. I’m a service DJ.
Now so a lot of that depends on the crowd, you get what I’m saying? Now if I were an artist DJ, my go to would be a Stevie Wonder song. It would be “Do Wah Do.” It doesn’t matter what happens, when that song comes on, it makes me feel good. Stevie “Do Wah Do,” as an artist. Now as a service DJ, it would depend on the crowd. If it’s a hood crowd, it’d be one song. If it’s a heels crowd, it’d be another song. You know, so it would all depend, you know, all depend on that, but…
DJ IZ: I have one record that I just love.
DJ Mal-Ski: What?
DJ IZ: “Me, Myself, and I.”
DJ Mal-Ski: Oh, De La Soul? That’s the one, it’s like I gotta play that. Man…
DJ IZ: It’s just my…no matter where I’m at…
Cloie: You will find a way.
DJ IZ: If I find the right moment and I throw it, that is just…
DJ Mal-Ski: I think Usher’s “You Don’t Have To Call” would be mine because it was at a time where I related to the record perfectly. So it was like in the chord progression and the energy, and I think Usher’s “You Don’t Have To Call” would be that record for me. So…
DJ IZ: Well man, you all heard it from, you know, none other than…like I said, the most busiest DJ in LA we got right now. My man is doing it with UNC, the Rams, Sparks, KGLH, I mean, that’s what you call a true craftsman of his work, and that’s DJ Raw-Ski, man. So happy to have you here with us today at Roland, man. And we’re gonna let you close out the set, man, because you know, we gotta let you get back to the DJing way.
DJ Mal-Ski: I had a question. Somebody sent me a text. How many events I did last year, 187.
DJ IZ: Wow.
DJ Mal-Ski: Yeah, so.
DJ IZ: And he’s a family man.
Cloie: Well there’s that too.
DJ IZ: There’s that too.
DJ Mal-Ski: That’ll be first.
DJ IZ: So definitely man, thank you for coming to hang with us, man. Is there any place we can tell our viewers where they can find you?
DJ Mal-Ski: DJMalski.com or any of the other social media @DJMalSki.
Cloie: Love it.
DJ IZ: Love it, there you have it.
Cloie: Pronounced Mal-Ski.
DJ IZ: Mal-ski. And shout out to our Connected team who are here in this building making it happen, making sure the audio, the visual’s on point. Shout out to my man Mark and Igor over at Roland. Go ahead.
Cloie: So sweet. That’s my other voice. IZ, where can we find you?
DJ IZ: You can find me wherever I go. Wherever…you can find me a Twitter IZ_Avela. Also to my Instagram is IZ_Avela.
Cloie: Mm-m, I love it. I’m @alwayscloie. I feel like you all should know where to find us because we are Connected.
DJ IZ: It’s a lot to follow. I’m gonna let the graphics…go ahead, Cloie.
Cloie: Done. So on social media, you can find us everywhere @IZConnected. On email, that’s where you wanna send your demos, your links, your resumes, all that good stuff, [email protected]. To sign up for Connected, find us at rrfedu.com/connected. And of course our Facebook Messenger app, which is rrfedu.com/connected/app. Second slide please. Broom. To apply for our jobs, check out rrfedu.com/connected/latest. That’s gonna have the latest and the greatest, including the six Grind Opps that we have only on our website. For resources for resumes, be sure to check out our vault, rrfedu.com/connected/vault. And check out our weekly newsletter, which is coming out a little bit later today, and it’s gonna be rrfedu.com/weekly-report. Bring us on in, boys.
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