What's going on here?
Hi, I am Sacha. I am a dad, husband, teacher, and a hobby turntablist. I have been spinning records for almost twenty years. I have loved music my entire life and have been lucky enough to have been collecting vinyl since it was common place. I have played in clubs, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and parties. I have never considered receiving payment for DJing. I do it to share the joy I get from the music I love.
On a seemingly unrelated note, last week the Minnesota legislature and governor made us the twelfth state in the union pass marriage equality, after almost narrowly defining marriage in the constitution in a way that would damage families nearly six months ago. I was in the capital with friends and family as the bill was being debated by the senate and later witnessed the signing by Governor Dayton. (I am the tall guy in the picture at the top waving the huge, borrowed flag.)
In August, when the law comes into effect there will be many weddings and celebrations. I know that without help some of my friends would not be able to afford the party they deserve. I figured that there must be other people out there that are in a similar situation. I want to make myself available for several weddings for folks who otherwise might not be able to afford a DJ. My problem: I desperately need to upgrade my gear in order to accomplish this.
Your generous donation to this campaign will make a huge difference in many celebrations and parties.
Tell me again what you need.
If you have read this far, you are mildly interested but probably want more details. As you might have seen by now, I have a lot of records. I have two turntables and a microphone. I even have a small 250 watt PA. There are several missing key ingredients, which your donations will allow me to attain.
I will spend $2900 to buy these items.
Mixer - The mixer I currently use is malfunctioning and cannot play another party. It is an entry level mixer that does not work without loud glitches. I am looking to purchase a Traktor Kontrol S4 mixer which will allow me to mix my vast vinyl library with my ever expanding mp3/cd library. I will also purchase a protective case for it so that it can move from party to party with ease. This adds up to about $1000.
Laptop - my cd/mp3 library currently lives on an old Zune and an external hard drive. I don't currently have a laptop that I can use for DJing. Properly grounded laptops such as Mac laptops or Rain laptops that are ideal for DJing would use the rest of the $2900. I am looking at a Mac Book Pro or a Rain Computers Live Book A2.
I have noticed many campaigns on crowdfunding sites go over their requested total. I would be overjoyed if this happened to me. I would spend the extra resources to make these experiences even better. Here are some of the items that I will add after the mixer and laptop are purchased:
$60 - Speaker stands to get the speakers off the ground and closer to ear level.
$500 - a simple lighting set up
$200 - join a DJ pool to get easy, legal access to the latest hits
More funds would be used to upgrade the sound gear or to rent more gear for larger parties.
With most of these campaigns you get something for donating...
You get the satisfaction of knowing you took part in the celebration no matter where you are.
$25 - Mix Tape CD: For folks donating $25 or more, I will send you a megamix cd produced on the new gear. You will be able to have your own dance party in your car or home!
$80.56 - Sponsor-a-Party: If I can get 36 parties in the next two years, that works out to be $80.56 per event. You will get the satisfaction of knowing that an entire event happened thanks to you. You will get the mixtape CD and shoot me a request of your favorite dance tune that should be on the mix.
$250 - Mix Tape and Tape Deck: Call my bluff. See if I don't send you an actual mix tape and a tape deck to play it on! The mix tape will be a one off original mix that is different from the one on CD. You will also get the swag from the other levels too!
Just a few more words...
I will play other parties for free beyond these marriages. I want to continue to use my love of beats to spread the message of love, equality, and justice. If you know someone that wants music, but finances are holding them back contact me.
If you have read this far and like my idea, but you are short on funds, you can still help. Spread the word, pass this on to friends any amount helps. This only requires 116 - $25 contributions to make the basic goal of the campaign. Make some noise. Shout with me!
