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| DJ Jounce |
My reviews are becoming rather varied especially when I find something exciting to write about. This time I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have an up-close and personal (well on a virtual scale since he’s living in L.A. and I’m all the way in Windsor!) glimpse into the challenging yet exciting career of
Dj Jounce, who is anything but just a disc-jockey. He is also a talented artist, musician, songwriter and producer!
Creating a fusion of sounds that are addictive to the eardrums and energizing to the spirit, DJ Jounce ditches the path of ordinary to produce music that could only be described as extraordinary. Embracing his own groove and sharing his passion of what he was destined to do, DJ Jounce’s style is a comforting realization that music is truly the one element in life that brings us all together.
Below you can also read my interview with Dj Jounce:
Melissa Arditti: Thanks for taking time out of your insanely busy schedule to sit down and do this interview for me, I sincerely appreciate it!
Dj Jounce:
Hi Melissa! No problem. It’s my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
M.A: From your recent live-air phone interview on ArtistFirst World Radio, which I listened to, you said you were born and raised on the East Coast. Let me ask, how has small town life kept you grounded for the drastic change and excitement of LA living?
Dj Jounce:
LA definitely has a lot more going on than where I grew up … haha. Some things were …. and still are tempting … and potentially dangerous, but I guess having grown up without those things helped me know that I can still live without them. More importantly, I’m fortunate for my friends who do a good job of keeping me in check.
M.A: So I’m sure many people have inquired but I am really curious to know how you came up with the name DJ Jounce?
Dj Jounce: Oh yeah, great question. A lot of people think it’s just some silly name to rhyme with “bounce”, but it’s actually a real word. Call me a nerd, but I actually got “Jounce” from a physics term. Basically, it refers to the rate of change of a jerk over time. That jerk would be me [grin].
M.A: You’re obviously a musician at heart, being trained at such an early age to learn guitar, piano and other instruments. How do you feel that your musical style evolved since the start of your career, especially with the constant changes in technology?
Dj Jounce: I’ve tried to embrace the changes, and to take advantage of them whenever it’s been helpful. For example, instead of playing a regular piano, the keys on a keyboard can now play something totally different through the computer. So while I started off with traditional acoustic instruments, I’m now in the deep end with electronic music. The old boundaries have been erased, so everyone can write something new. And I’m trying to write new stuff all the time.
M.A: Since you are not only a DJ but also focus a lot of creative energy on actual songwriting, I heard that you sing in the shower for inspiration. How else do you create meaningful lyrics?
Dj Jounce: Haha … I sing anywhere and anytime! Music’s just always on my mind. I’ve belted it out at the top of my lungs in my car only to find people in the next car staring at me cause my window was down. Anything in life can inspire lyrics for me. And it can come at anytime. It's good to have phones these days where we can just type lyrics in or record a little melody before you lose it. I’ve got pages of random ideas and thoughts. Most of them just need to be organized into lyrics for a song.
M.A: In 2010, Homeless Volume 1 was never formally released, but what an incredible cd! I must say that I am truly in awe with the track “A Memory Of.” It invoked so many emotions in me and so what was your inspiration behind making this song?
Dj Jounce: Thanks, it really is a personal track for me. It was inspired by the death of someone close to me. But I don’t want the track to be a downer. It’s really more about celebrating the good memories with that person or anyone the listener can relate to. The ending piano lines are like a conversation back-and-forth because I can still hear the voice.
M.A: The photos I saw were smokin’ for the promo that you did last year for CK’s Brand X Clothing Line. Have you ever thought about collaborating with other fashion stylists and perhaps using your music for runway shows?
Dj Jounce: Oh, wow … thanks! Actually, it’s funny you should ask because I recently DJ’d and MC’d a major fashion show here in LA. I had several singers that I was collaborating with come in and perform songs we wrote together. It turned out really well. And yes, I hope to work with some fashion stylists, especially because I’m going to be performing a lot more over the coming months to promote my upcoming CD.
M.A: ColdPlay a top artist in the music industry has to brush his teeth before a concert and the purple one – Prince, he needs his popcorn fix before going on stage. Artists have some quirky pre-concert rituals. Do you have anything special or even unusual that you like to do before you’re ready to perform in front of a crowd?
Dj Jounce: Hmmm, I wish I had something really cool and funny to tell. Honestly, I don’t have any set rituals but I do find myself getting pretty quiet and calm. I don’t want to say I meditate, but I do get very relaxed yet focused because I do want to put on a great performance and sometimes I just need to clear out everything on my mind and think about the show. That’s the calm before the storm cause when I get on stage, I’ll start jumping around before the curtain goes up.
M.A: We’ve had Tiesto and David Guetta, two of your heroes, play here in our club-hopping town of Windsor, Ontario, where I’m living. I would hope that somehow we could get you to do a show or two here someday. I’d love to see a DJ Jounce show live. I’ve heard that it is quite a memorable and surreal experience.
Dj Jounce:Yes, I’d love to do a show in your area! And I’m adding even more to my stage show. I’m working out a lot of new lighting and video screen effects that’ll be in sync with the music, so it’ll be a visual extravaganza as well as an auditory one. As you know, I have the CD coming out and we will announce some upcoming show dates soon. So stay tuned and I will definitely let you know when I get up to Ontario!
M.A: Well it was a pleasure to interview you, and best of luck in all your creative pursuits! Once last thing, I imagine you’re totally computer-savvy, and hooked up to all the social networking sites. So where can we find you on the net?
Dj Jounce: Sure! My web site is
http://www.djjounce.com/ and most of the common web sites for me are just “dot com slash DJ Jounce”
YouTube.com/DjJounce
By the way, Room Trip Music is my production company & label.
Thanks again for having me, Melissa.
