The (abbreviated, believe it or not) Story of (this) Dana
I keep coming back to this page, hoping to find a better way to illustrate my life-long tenancy to create and perform. I’ve done a lot that has shaped my career as a disc jockey – both directly and not. I hope this paints the picture:
As a kid, I was obsessed with music. My parents gave me a little brown cassette player when I was four and I latched onto it as though life depended on it. I played that obnoxious kids’ music so incessantly that my sister’s husband wired a headphone jack into it… and this was a good thing. Not only did it give their sanity a second chance, but it also gave me the freedom to listen to music day and night. Soon, my older siblings started to give me the tapes that they outgrew or lost interest in and so my music-hoarding habit began.
Fast-forward a few years to my sister Mary’s wedding. I didn’t really know what to do with myself there. I was thirteen years old and wouldn’t have been caught dead on a dance floor. What the DJ was doing, though, caught my attention, so I spent most of the evening by his side soaking in inspiration. As a guest, I was uneasy and awkward, but I had purpose when behind the DJ’s table. Not only did I have a front row ticket to one incredibly entertaining reality show, but I also felt like I was part of creating something great and memorable. I was hooked.
I did some brainstorming, sought advice from established DJs in the area, made a plan, borrowed some money from my parents for equipment and then I spread the word that I was a Mobile Disc Jockey. At the time, it felt like it was taking forever to catch on, but folks started to trust me with their events and I did my first wedding at just fifteen years old.
I have done an awful lot with my DJ career since then. While studying Hospitality Management in college, I dabbled with the campus radio station. Then, I graduated from Connecticut Schools of Broadcasting in 2005 and I instructed newcomers of Valley Free Radio for about two years. All the while, I continued to play for up to fifty events of all kinds each year all around New England.