Today we’d like to introduce you to Sparky Garcia
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Growing up, I’ve always had a connection and curiosity with music. My parents were part of a church group and every Sunday I would watch the drummer, guitarist, or piano play throughout the event. I would only pay attention to them and nothing else. As I grew older around the age of 5-10, I would watch my cousins DJ at our family parties. From cotillions and birthday parties, I would be right next to them watching them spin or dancing in the dance floor but was always curious about the art of the disc jockey. From watching the drummer play during my parents church meetings, to being curious of my cousins DJing, I was intrigued by how I can start learning how to play something. Around the age of 13, I joined my local youth group and saw kids my age playing the drums in which caught my curiosity. Learning by ear, I became the drummer for my youth group and performed with our band for 4 years before being introduced to DJing. Within this time, I performed for many community events and church festivities and believed I would be a touring drummer in the future, As my drumming days came to a close in high school, I saw a group of friends DJing out school rally and instantly asked how to join. From there, my DJ journey began as I became a roadie, setting speakers, audio equipment, and lighting for Club 5 Entertainment, a major DJ/Party Service company in the Bay Area and dj’d for several high school proms, dances and private events my junior and senior year of high school. I became the lead DJ for our company and bought my first pair of turntables and began practicing and sharpening my craft ever since.
After high school, I pursued a career in nursing while learning the foundation of djing in college and signed up for a dj competition at San Francisco State University. That competition, I won second place, but fueled the start of my DJ career as I was complemented by all to be the winner which sparked this passion and drive to take DJing full – time and to chase my dream of being a DJ. I dropped out of my nursing major without telling my parents, switched to a major in Audio Recording/Producing and decided to fully take on this dream of DJing and started to drop monthly mixes on Souncloud. During my junior year of college, I joined a DJ group called DMP, performing and hosting college parties throughout the best nighclubs in SF, opening for acts such as Blueface, Tinashe, Shoreline Mafia, P-Lo, Kool-John, Miguel and many more. Throughout my time in college, I was dropping my monthly mixes which brought my art and passion to a greater audience that allowed me to grow and develop my sound to a larger audience. I spent my last years of college djing in the nightlife scene before graduating and transitioning into the party scene in the Bay Area, as well as djing for the first time in LA around the year 2019. As I started making a name for myself in the Bay, I started my summer show, Summer Bash, bringing the Bay energy and dance function to the Bay. Today, I am currently residing in Los Angeles, performing at parties and shows throughout the West Coast and hosting my summer show, Summer Bash, while focusing on my next journey in music production.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing has been smooth but it’s always been the perspective that I’ve put forth that allows me to pass through any obstacles I’ve come across. My biggest challenge in my early years was the acceptance of Djing and my art within my family and loved ones. Coming from a strong religious filipino background, my parents had expectations of becoming a nurse or pursuing a degree in business. From not telling my parents about dropping out of nursing and hiding the idea of me DJing at the clubs every weekend, this was the biggest obstacle I’ve grown to face and learn as my pure intention was to always never let them down and to live up to their sacrifices and all they have done with me being a first-gen Fil-Am. I was scared to let them down and was scared to open up about a lot of things involving DJing as they never saw it as a career let alone a way to financially fulfill yourself in my life. Till this day, they are still learning to accept things and seeing the growth and passion over the years have shifted their perspective on my career but this has and will always be a challenge when taking on a career in art especially DJing.
Building my foundation as Sparky and my career has always had struggles around the road. A lot of the challenges that have stood out to me was the time spent away from friends and family. From weekends being in the club, my dedication to my craft and passion has lead to me miss a lot of time away from the people I love and is probably the hardest challenge I face today. The understanding of balance between family and your craft has been the biggest learning obstance I face as I know my time with my family on earth is only getting shorter while having the pressure of wanting to make them proud and see your achievements and milestones and growth is what makese things mentally and personally one of the biggest challenges within myself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a disc jockey specializing in my sound of Hip-Hop/RnB and dance/ratchet/twerk music. I’m known for turning the crowd and the party up where ever I go. From dancing and singing your hearts out, it will always be a party when im performing. With my specialty being turning the crowd up and bringing the energy, I’m also known for my transitions and DJ sets of bridging the turn up with your favorite sing-along-rnb that will make you be in awe after hearing the combo.
I’m also most known for my soundcloud mixes. From 2017 I’ve dropped many mixes that have allowed the listeners and my fans to connect with my sound and to provide an audio experience for them to enjoy. Ranging from my RnB-curated mixes to the turn up mixes, my fans have known me for the best mixes on soundcloud.
I’m most proud of being able to inspire and connect others with my art and my passion. Being able to make someone happy or enjoy the mixes or set’s ive made or performed has always been the biggest thing for me in terms of DJing. To be able to inspire another person of my background or anyone in the world that have doubts of wanting to DJ has always motivated me to keep going as they see me as inspiration to not just be in the box of especially what a Filipino-American can do in our society.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was always the shy boy in the back of the party or corner always listening. I’m pretty introverted. When I’m around people I know or comfortable was when I opened up more. But as a kid I was always the shy one that had a lot of energy and the leader once I knew everyone around me. Aside from being shy and quiet, I was always the energy of the group. From an early age I was into sports, specifically basketball. I was the leader for all my teams growing up but also was a challenge with my heigh being a disadvantage, but allowed me to show my determination and leadership to take these negatives and form it into a positive. I played basketball, volleyball, baseball, and football throughout elementary and high school and was my main focus growing up, specifically basketball Aside from sports, I was also a drummer for my youth band and spent a lot of my middle school days practicing and performing at events and community festivals.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__djsparky
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@djsparky
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/djsparky510
Image Credits
@ICYPHOTOGIRL
@KAZUKARIM
@35MMALLIE
@bysydneele
