Daily Inspiration: Meet Jr Lagade

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jr Lagade

JR, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
You really can’t understand DJ ZenZaddy without knowing the dancer JR Lagade… where my love and passion for music started when I was a wee lad in high school in San Diego when I made it onto Morse High All Male. Spending hours upon hours, days upon days, weeks upon weeks to perfect and perform a 3-min to 10-min dance set at various venues and competitions. I cherished the process and breaking down songs with our movements, syncopating each beat or lyric with the rhythms of our bodies. And especially thriving with every emphatic pose or living with every failure. This is where I began to understand the power of music, how it impacted people, and where my personality grew.

The thrill was intoxicating and I continued competing through undergrad at UC Irvine joining hip-hop dance teams such as Chinese Association Dance Crew (CADC), IV League (IVL) and finally Super Galactic Beat Manipulators (SGBM). And teaching hip-hop classes (UT RecSports) and salsa (Longhorn Salsa) in grad school at the University of Texas at Austin (Texas; UT). Each team ingrained key musical aspects that I still apply in my freestyle dance and DJing to this day – emphasizing big moments and collaboration (CADC); charisma and identity (IVL); and precision and pure love for music and dance (SGBM). Teaching in Austin, Texas taught me how different upbringings inspire a person’s reception and expression of dance. I even had the humbling experience teaching hip-hop in Colombia and Costa Rica. From these moments my affection for latin music grew exponentially.

Of course we can’t rehearse and take class all the time. And as they say if you see a dancer, a DJ is not far behind. From college events, clubs, concerts, to music festivals, you would see my silly buns on the dance floor. Much like a dancer physically “beat manipulates” the music, the DJ/MC auditorily orchestrates the music. And if there is good synergy between dancers and the DJ(s), you’ll have a pretty damn good event. I always admired from afar, sweaty from all the dancing, how DJs were able to control the crowds’ energy, movements and anticipation – just like dancers can control the audience’s eyes. So I danced, enjoyed shows and followed my favorite artists. But never did I think I would become a paid DJ.

Through these wonderful teams and the life-long friendships I made, dance and thus music was such a large part of my life. However, I was far from the greatest dancer and could not maintain a self-sustaining life. So as I graduated and became a full time civil engineer and hung up my dance shoes, I sought other passion projects to fill the enormous musical void that dance once filled. In 2016, I bought myself the DDJ-SX2 and employed YouTube as my teacher. Fortunately dance taught me musical structure and phrasing so the concept of mixing one song into another was not difficult – it was the physical mechanics of DJing that was very challenging…

“How do I match these beats? What are these spinning discs? Why do the quality of my songs suck? How do I get better songs? Are there better ways to transition than to fade out the volume?” Plenty of questions with no real direction. So for a very long time, my controller collected dust and I would practice maybe a few times a month. As I was about to hang up my proverbial vinyls in 2021 I discovered this DJ school I followed in the periphery – Academy of DJs (ACODJ) – was accepting applications for their 12th season. I enjoyed the various ACODJ events and parties that I attended in the past. And I had friends who were successful, great DJs (and prior or current dancers) that went through the school. So I thought to myself “why the hell not?” and mustered (mustaaaaaaaard) up the courage and applied and was accepted with one of my close friends Crystal Nguyen (aka DJ soffswerve)!

Through this six month (now three month) intensive we – along with 9 others – learned the foundation of DJing, were mentored by incredible DJs, and most importantly became part of a supportive tribe/community. We capped our season off with a huge Graduation event and party where we showcased our skills and styles to our family, friends and ACODJ faithfuls. And since then I’ve gradually built up my brand and skills so I can DJ in any setting, with any music genre, and perform a kick a*s set.

Fun fact about my DJ name “ZenZaddy” – I had a list of 50 artist names that I slowly chipped down over my ACODJ season by asking my season-mates, ACODJ staff and other confidants. Runner ups were Dinonuggets and SpaceCadet.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Much like “a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”, easy gigs or painless events never made me into a solid and reliable DJ. There are your normal struggles as a creative/artist – not having the right equipment, preparing insufficiently for upcoming gigs, or recovering from live performance embarrassments. What I am “struggling” with now – much like any other growing DJ – is being booked for consistent gigs. I believe the DJ industry is heavily saturated with 1) the volume of DJs; and 2) DJs accepting low-paying-to-free gigs compared to skillset. So how does one exactly stand out and be paid adequately for their services? For myself and I know others around me, it becomes a fun challenge of how do I get exceptionally better both in skill and business development. Simple intangibles I’ve learned is to really engage with my clients before and during a gig and understand their wants and needs..

Me: “Wow this a great space! Reminds me of a concert I went to recently…”
Client: “Yeah it definitely fills up very quickly. Oh yeah I just watched Charli XCX – loved her! Anyways, let me know if you need anything – I’ll be in the back!”
*During my set – drop Charli XCX edits*
Client: “Wow you were already killing it but when you dropped some Brat *swoon*”

For me, these interactions are fun to experience and perform, but more importantly leave a good memory in my client’s brain to book me again in the future.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In terms of sound, I really resonate with future beats, hip-hop, R&B, funk, house and disco. These genres are my bread and butter and I drop into a flow state everytime I get into these rhythms. This is all thanks to Soulection who I’ve followed and enjoyed since 2011. I dig deep for great edits/flips/remixes of classics from oldies, 90’s and 2000’s because they are memorable and they have a fun spin to them.

In terms of gigs, I’ve been fortunate to be booked as a DJ/MC for a myriad of weddings, engagement parties, corporate events, silent discos and fitness studios. I’m most proud of, and what I believe sets me apart, is the entertainment value I bring from my days as a dancer and MC during college. I love grabbing everyone’s attention with a witty joke about a bride’s parents or dropping a classic banger like Panic! At the Disco’s I Write Sins Not Tragedies. These are moments I personally love seeing as an audience member or guest to a party so to bring the moments time and time again to new folks really fulfills me.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Overall, the credit goes to Academy of DJs and their fearless leaders David Ho (DJ DHo); Jasper Hsieh (DJ Jasper / DisasterJasper); and Jeff Labastida (DJ Sosojeff). You can call it my pivotal moment, turning point, critical juncture, watershed moment, etc. – if I didn’t make it through ACODJ, my life would be entirely different. Perhaps I would still be a personal trainer or teaching surfing? Nevertheless I’m happy where I am and proud of where I’m going.

As for supporters, shout out to ACODJ Season 12! Our growth through and since the completion of our season has been tremendous. We do our best to support one another at gigs and special events. The amount of shenanigans that arise when we are together is infinite.

Specific mentors that have helped me grow my now small business include Raffy Piamonte (DJ RPM), Chris Cuenza (DJ SeeCuenz) and Jenny Rodil (DJ ROSÉ). They’ve allowed me to shadow and assist multiple wedding gigs, which taught me the ins and outs of curating a wedding couple’s special day.

Last, but not least, shout out to my lovely lady, ceramicist and now DJ support Kazuha Kurosu (DJ Slabthatass). Kazuha has gone to many random gigs of mine, which could be early in the morning (fitness studios) or of course late nights. And now she has become my trusted DJ wedding assistant where I can fully MC and be present during the wedding. But most of all we can DJ together and create content (peep my YouTube channel DJZenZaddy)!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/_zenzaddy
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DJZenZaddy
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/zenzaddy