Meet DJay Mando | DJ, MC, & Concert Curator

We had the good fortune of connecting with DJay Mando and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DJay Mando, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When I first started DJ’ing, I was DJ’ing and performing as often as I could, multiple times a week. Then, as I built demand for myself, I realized I could DJ less, and charge more. Of course, to get to that point, I had to consistently deliver a great product.

Now, I DJ maybe once or twice a week, but it’s worth much more than when I started, because I make more money and I have lots of free time

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a DJ from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, I always tell people, “I’m more than just a DJ”. When you think of a DJ, you think of somebody who plays music for a crowd. For me, it’s much more than that. It should be a performance, an experience. What I do and how I do it, is different, it’s a feeling, a sort of exciting chaos, the type of thing you have to experience in person to understand it. It’s more than playing music, it’s an energy that’s felt by everyone in the room.

Yes I play music, but there’s dancing and choreography, there’s light shows and giveaways, there’s skits, laughs, mosh pits, twerk sessions, dance circles, stage dives, and everything in between. We really create a contagious energy that you can’t get anywhere else, at least not in our city.

My purpose coming from Wisconsin is to show people that it’s posible to come from a small place like this and still make it big. I’m here to raise the standard for DJs and performance DJs, to pressure them into giving their audiences a real show. If you watch and study what I do, you can learn a lot

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The Miramar theater: this is where we have our weekly concerts. Fits about 500 people, very intimate, and super wild because it’s right on college campus.

The rave: this is where we have bigger concerts to bring bigger artists. Think of your favorite performer ever, they’ve probably been to the Rave. It’s an iconic venue

Bucks Game: you have to see the Milwaukee Bucks play basketball. It’s a must if you’ve never been to Milwaukee.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As a DJ, it’s pretty easy to make it a one man job. Lots of DJs represent themselves, perform by themselves, edit videos and do everything by themselves!

I made the decision to make what I do a team effort. I have Management, a media team, choreographers, a Lighting Director, a chef, security, everything. The people I have around me help contribute to my success, because we all believe in the vision and have one goal that we’re working towards. I have to dedicate my shoutout to my team, the army of people working behind me.

Website: Djaymando.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/DJayMando

Twitter: Twitter.com/DJayMando

Facebook: Facebook.com/DJayMando

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/djaymando

Image Credits
Basi Akpan

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