Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrik Gonzaz.
Adrik, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Whenever people ask me how and when I started DJing I normally tell them that it’s a super long story and I usually end up just giving them a condensed version of the actual story. If I’m really going to tell the story I have to start at the root, when my parents first met.
When my parents were younger they were heavy in the club scene, hopping between disco clubs and salsa clubs turning up on practically every single night of the week. The only exception was Tuesdays, “nothing happens on Tuesdays”, my dad would say. They had met at a salsa club in West Covina called Wings Nightclub. They had salsa every Wednesday and Sunday and rock en espanol on Fridays and Saturdays. There were other clubs that they would go to on other nights but on Wednesdays and Sundays…..Wings was the spot. I don’t know the play by play of how they exactly got together ‘cause I don’t like to ask a lot of questions, but all I know is that I was born a few years after that. I was born in Whittier to two Latin immigrant parents, so growing up I remember constantly hearing the sounds of Salsa, Merengue, and Cumbia, just to name a few. Of course, there was some English music tossed in the mix like Disco, Funk, Jazz, Freestyle, and such, so I was constantly on my toes as far as music was concerned.
Eventually, my parents would come to grow apart and they divorced when I was 10. Don’t worry they’re still cool, but they split at the time was something I didn’t exactly understand and I felt like it was pretty much the end of everything for me and my little family. Later on, I would come to realize that it was a big part of what I would one day proudly call my career. My dad had moved in with a friend in Covina and I mainly stayed with my mom in Upland. I would switch between houses weekly, but you can only imagine why that would be a huge hassle for both my parents and I. As a result of the built-up stress of separated parenting, they would begin to go out dancing ever so often again. There were multiple clubs they went to but the main one was one called 3Vinos in Covina. On certain nights the club would be open, they would go, but on Sundays was when it was best. There were 2 DJs that played at the club that my dad had met a while back in his younger days, ‘Super DJ Robby’ and ‘Deejay Jorgeh’. Jorge was the first person to put me on to mixing with a controller. I remember spending a solid 3 hours repeatedly pressing play and pause and messing with random buttons until I finally kinda got the hang of it. The first two songs I ever mixed were Maldito Alcohol by Pitbull and Like a G6 by Far East Movement. Of course, the mix wasn’t amazing but it was my first introduction to the world of mixing and DJing and I was fascinated by it.
I would continue practicing with the help of Jorge, and with the help of Robby, I landed my first professional gig on July 13, 2013 at a quinceanera in Downey, California. I remember being so nervous that in a video my dad took that night you could see me trembling with nerves. Over time I would come to work more closely with Robby and do more quinceaneras and even weddings alongside him. I would help set up equipment and on the rare occasion play a short little set, but I was mainly there to listen, watch, and learn. Then as the years went by Robby would help me purchase equipment and teach me the basics of rocking a party, this included learning how to read and understand crowds, and of course studying and knowing all the music that is in my library. I am super grateful for the way things have lined up for me over these past ten years, I would have never thought that I would be in the position that I am currently in. I also want to thank everybody that has been on my team, if I could I would shout them all out, but y’all know who you are <3!!! As of right now, I am working from home doing live streams on Instagram and YouTube as a result of this unfortunate pandemic going on at the moment.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This journey hasn’t always been the easiest, at times I feel a lack of motivation and creativity. But all I gotta do is take a quick step back and look at things from a different angle. Whether that means taking a day away from the work or spending a day studying other’s styles and works, I have to always find a way to stay creatively motivated.
Another thing I struggle with at times is juggling my everyday life and as cheesy as it may sound, my DJ life. A big part of being a DJ is trying to spend your days thinking of different ways to set yourself apart from the rest. Nowadays, in this age of technology, everybody can pretty much call themselves a DJ. So as someone that lives this lifestyle I try to push forward the idea of creativity with my mixes so that I stand out amongst all these quote on quote “DJ’s”. I want to be able to say that I am one of the most colorful fish in this huge pond. There is still a lot that I need to learn but I try to make do with what I can by doing my best to stay on top of music, studying the work of the OG’s, and of course practicing.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
So when people ask me if I work or where I work, I always tell them I’m just a DJ. And as DJ I strive to make people enjoy themselves when they work with me. I always try to give people a show and leave them satisfied when my work is all done. I like to say that I specialize in a majority genres, most of which I grew up on and that I’ve picked up over the years. This includes Hip Hop, R&B, Top 40, Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Cumbia, Reggaeton, Afrobeat, Disco, Funk, Freestyle, and many others. And even if I don’t know the genre, I will gladly take the time to education myself on that said genre.
But even though I mainly classify as a DJ, I also classify myself as a producer and remixer. Recently I was attending The LA Film/Recording School getting my Associate of Science in Music Production. So I double as a DJ and a Producer creating my own tracks and making mixes and songs for dance teams and such. I plan on returning to The LA Recording School to further my education in production and to receive my bachelor’s degree in Audio Engineering. Something I want for myself is to be able to say I am as well rounded as I can possibly in the music industry. Everything I do including DJing and producing all in a way overlap, and so over time I would like to make them all turn into one thing like many other DJ/Producers have done in the past. I would just like to do with a heavy splash of my flavor and seasoning.
Recently a few of my mixes have gone viral on Twitter so I’m super grateful for that happening. Since then, I have been given many opportunities and I am super grateful for each and every single one of them. Hopefully, I can continue to get more opportunities once this pandemic comes to an end, but for now I will continue to grind and work toward making myself better as not only a DJ but as a Producer.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 9097670080
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrik.gonzaz/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Papo_AG
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/user-834358987
Image Credit:
Neo Filmz; Dominique Preciado; Lyric Mitchell
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