Hi, I’m DJay.

I’ve spent the last couple decades doing a lot of things at the same time — mostly because I didn’t know any other way.

My story starts really starts when I moved to Southern California from the Bay Area to go to film school to make music videos. But before I knew it my path went a million directions.

I picked up the promoter bug early, back when I was still playing in my band, Wiggum. What started as trying to get ourselves shows quickly snowballed into booking coffee shops and tiny rooms, just figuring it out as I went. Somewhere in there, I realized I loved building scenes just as much as playing in them.

Right out of college, I landed at Lucky Artist Booking, booking artists during the day while still playing shows at night. That job quickly pulled me deeper into the touring world — helping route national tours alongside some incredible agents, and working with bands like The Matches, Voodoo Glow Skulls, June, and the Drive-Thru Records Tour. At the same time, I was still very much living in vans, venues, and back rooms, learning how the whole system actually worked.

Because apparently I didn’t think I was busy enough — I was also working as a PA and directing music videos whenever I could under Derek Dale at Generator. Somewhere in the middle of that chaos, I directed my first music video in 2004 for the band Emery. It didn’t feel like some big career-defining moment at the time, but it quietly set the course for the next decade of my life.

And yes — this is where things start really overlapping.

I left Lucky Artist Booking, because the promoter bug I’d picked up years earlier fully mutated. What started as booking coffee shops and small rooms eventually led to me becoming talent buyer at The Alley in Fullerton. For roughly three years, I booked shows there — including some of the earliest Southern California dates for artists like The Gaslight Anthem, OneRepublic, Metro Station, Aesthetic Lullaby, and plenty of bands who were still a few tours away from blowing up.

Around that same period, I jumped into New Band TV as an editor. That job escalated fast. Before I knew it, I was running their flagship television show, directing it, and eventually becoming Chief Operations Officer — all while stillbooking shows on the side and refusing to shut any doors. Literally, working from 6am-9am booking shows, 9am-5pm working at NewBandTV, commuting in rush hour across Orange County to Fullerton to run shows from 6pm-11pm, then working more when I got home. No wonder my girlfriend at the time left me.

I was often booking shows, advancing shows, directing TV shows, and making musics — sometimes all in the same week.

People sometimes ask how I managed to wear so many hats at once.

The honest answer? I don’t really know. I didn’t even start drinking coffee until much later in life.

I’ve just always had an extreme work ethic. Throughout my 20s, working from 9am to 3am most days felt normal. It wasn’t healthy — but it was fueled by curiosity, momentum, and a deep love for building things.

NewBandTv unfortunately ended with the economy crash, and I and I jumped into a marketing role Fearless Records, adding yet another layer to the stack. By that point, my life was a constant loop of edit bays, venues, production sets, and spreadsheets — with no real off switch.

I left The Alley, I left Fearless Records, and decided it was time to focus solely on what I went to college for, to make Music Videos. All of my experience converged into Anthem Films, a music-video-focused production company I ran for about a decade, producing over 500 music videos before shifting gears once again into TUFF creating music videos and commercials for some the biggest bands and brands around, TUFF MGMT, and TUFF Touring.

These days, I still move fast — but I’ve learned how to slow down where it matters. As I hit my late 30s, I forced myself to create boundaries, step back when needed, and prioritize time with my family after years of nonstop motion.

At the end of the day, everything I’ve done points back to the same thing: helping artists build real, lasting careers — without burning themselves out the way I almost did.

That’s me in a nutshell.

If you want the long version, I’m always happy to tell it.