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Sunday, Nov. 17
The Indiana Daily Student

DJ keeps bodies moving

Music and student life mix together for 'DJ Scotty J'

Thumping music, flashing lights and clouds of smoke fill the dance floor as clubgoers dance the night away. Junior Scott Jacobson stands tall behind his DJ tables as his brown eyes gleam. Sweat pours down his face and seeps into his hair while his boots tap the rhythm against the floor.\n This is an average weekend night for "DJ Scotty J."\n Jacobson, head DJ for Vertigo, Bloomington's new dance club, has spent his last two years learning the basics of music and mixing records. To Jacobson, being a disc jockey is an art form involving making the right sound with which people can connect and expressing internal feelings and emotions.\n There are two different styles DJs have: DJ-ing with CDs, prominent at weddings, proms and bar/bat mitzvahs but less accepted within the DJ world, and DJ-ing with records -- using singles and LPs, full-length records -- available in most night club setups.\n Jacobson's career as a DJ began when Scott Present, a senior, introduced Jacobson to the world of being a DJ during their freshman year. On the second floor of McNutt Quad's Bocobo wing, the two spent nights and weekends exchanging ideas about music.\n "Present's idea of teaching me was for him to mix and for me to watch," Jacobson says. "Then this kid, Eddie, approached me, we exchanged numbers and he was willing to really sit down and teach me."\n Eddie Silverman, a junior also called "DJ Fast Eddie," spent hours providing preliminary lessons on the art of mixing records. Silverman told Jacobson he must aim to be enthusiastic, hard-working and willing to make the bodies move. In preparing hot hits and music that flow with ease, rhythm and soul must protrude naturally.\n "I like DJ-ing because a lot of people can't do it, but wish they could," says Jacobson.\n His first attempt to be a DJ outside the comforts of his bedroom was "Open DJ Night" at Club X in Chicago two summers ago. After practicing three times a week and filling one- to two-hour sessions of scratching the needle against the record in various styles, Jacobson was determined to prove himself successful. But on first entering the night club, fright settled in. He had only been practicing for three months and didn't have nearly enough experience to stand behind the DJ tables alone. \n "The experience was very detrimental for me," Jacobson says. "I'm usually willing to jump right into things, and I never really know what the consequences will be. But I knew that I wasn't ready at that time."\n About a year later, DJ Scotty J obtained a job as Silverman's partner at what was then Mars Night Club (now called Axis) in Bloomington. With the support of Mars, the men promoted 10-cent drafts and handed out admittance tickets to close friends. By the fourth week, Mars' attendance rose from 12 to 160-180 people, and Jacobson was living his dream.\n "That was my real first time DJ-ing," Jacobson says. "It was such a great experience."\n From Mars, Jacobson was recruited by Gattaca, another Bloomington night club that closed, and spent last summer at Chicago's Hunt Club, where he received his first solo job.\n "It was cool because Eddie and his partner James ("Jumpin James") were already working there," Jacobson said. "I began to build my record collection there."\n Jacobson says he's never been in debt like most beginning DJs, who spend large amounts of money on equipment. Because initially he used night clubs' equipment rather than purchasing his own, he invested the profits from parties to support his business and promote himself. He says most beginners don't have such luck.\n Despite the fun and experience, schoolwork takes priority over his music. Jacobson is a finance major and plans to become a stockbroker. He only practices after his work has been finished and will only schedule parties Friday through Sunday. On the side, he only practices two hours a day by spinning various records and trying out new mixes.\n "I like doing this because it was something that I couldn't do that fascinated me," Jacobson says. "I would hate to see it all end."\n Jacobson has invested about $8,000 into his DJ equipment. He owns two Technique turntables, a Pioneer mixer, two Mackie amplified speakers, two DJ stands, two sure DJ needles, and 140 records, all stemming from progressive, dance, hip hop, rap, Latin, Euro, club and techno. His profits fluctuate by event and vary depending on the size, time period and formality of the party.\n "DJ-ing is just an expensive hobby," says Judy Jacobson, Jacobson's mother. "I don't think he'll plan to do this forever."\n Contrary to his mother's wishes, Jacobson doesn't know what to predict. He plans to continue to DJ but is uncertain as to what extent. Even though his future is dedicated to finance, he still hopes and dreams to open and manage his own night club if and when the opportunity arises.\n "I can't really say," Jacobson says. "It all depends on where I live and basically where I end up."\n Jacobson says he takes pride in giving thanks to his previous "teachers," bosses, and to the brothers of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity for their constant nagging and jokes.\n "They constantly make fun of me DJ-ing, which has inspired me to keep working harder," Jacobson says.\n Junior Jared Zuflacht, Jacobson's roommate at Sigma Alpha Mu, says living with Scott is interesting.\n "I've lived with Scott for almost a full two years now and have dealt with him practicing all the time," Zuflacht says. "I think he should continue doing what he loves as long as he is able to."\n Jacobson has recently been named the newest DJ at Mobile Music in Chicago and acts as an independent DJ for apartment, fraternity and sorority parties on campus. He plans to release a CD sometime in the near future.\n "As I embark on year two, I hope I will reach the goals I have set for myself," Jacobson says. "I just want to continue following the opportunities that DJ-ing brings me"

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