Armed with a mixer, laptop and turntables, DJ Donk is making a name for himself in the blossoming San Luis Obispo DJ scene. With weekly residencies at Mother’s Tavern on Wednesday and Saturday nights and Downtown Brewing Co. on Thursdays, the 21-year-old DJ is slowly wrapping his hands around the downtown nightlife.
A San Luis Obispo High School graduate, DJ Donk, whose real name is Patrick Grow, has been dreaming of spinning since he was young. While some 10 year olds may fantasize about being a firefighter or an astronaut, Grow was watching DJs spin on MTV’s Spring Break.
“I was like, ‘Dang I want to do that.’ And like ever since I was young, even when I would go to my friend’s house, I wanted to listen to my CDs. I never wanted to listen to what they were listening to. So I always wanted to be in control of the music, one way or another,” Grow said.
Never forgetting his goal, Grow had the opportunity to buy some used DJ equipment at a garage sale when he was 15. From there, he teamed up with a high school rap group, the 40 oz. Freaks, and began making the beats for their songs.
“That kind of was what I did for awhile. We were opening up for about almost every hip hop show at Downtown Brew,” Grow said.
Soon after, Grow began playing at fraternity and sorority exchanges, and was quickly becoming a name in greek system house parties. Within six months, his nightly pay tripled. And, after teaming up with Obsession Entertainment, a local event management and production company, Grow was booking weekend parties up until 2009.
His career took a big step after his 21st birthday last May, when he had the chance to play at Mother’s Tavern.
“When I turned 21, I started DJ’ing down at Mother’s Tavern — my buddy was the promoter there at the time. That was the first club I DJ’d at. So it was kind of a challenge for me, but it was a big step for me because they offered me a residency like right out of the gate, like we want you here every Thursday. And then Thursdays turned into Saturdays,” Grow said.
Earl Olsen, the general manager of Mother’s Tavern said Grow earned his residency because he enjoyed his sets.
“We had him spin for us a couple times and he did a really good job so we decided to put him on,” Olsen said.
As Grow’s career began to develop, so did the local DJ community. However, because today’s college students are all equipped with MacBooks and a large iTunes library, Grow said a lot of people are trying to take on the profession without any direction.
“That’s what everyone thinks, like at the beginning. But there’s so many things you need to know about music in order to be able to DJ that most amateurs don’t know,” Grow said. “There are some that know what they need to do. But just cause you have, you know, a bunch of music in your iTunes library doesn’t mean you can be a good DJ.”
Olsen said he has also noticed the rise in local DJs. And with few night clubs in San Luis Obispo, residencies are difficult to come by.
“There’s four clubs that have DJs on Saturdays, and there’s more than four DJs in town,” Olsen said.
Grow earned his Thursday night spot at Downtown Brew after winning the Central Coast DJ competition last November. General manager Monte Shaller said the competition was based not only on their mixes, but the network the DJ brought to the table.
“There were three judges, and it was based on crowd support too. He definitely had the biggest network that came in during his set,” Shaller said. “It was very much based on performance as well as networking. A lot of that goes hand in hand. It’s like a band on stage — they feed off that energy. I think the crowd worked in his favor.”
Grow said the victory has been the biggest wake-up call in his career.
“It was a big challenge for me,” Grow said. “There were a lot of good talented DJs there, and I definitely don’t think I was the best. I just feel like I executed my game plan and it worked out in my favor.”
Grow’s networking skills are also working out in his favor. Business administration senior Alex Lee, who is also a local DJ, said social connections differentiate the successful DJs from the struggling ones.
“There’s a ton of DJs out there nowadays — everyone wants to be a DJ. He’s definitely better than a lot of them because he has really clean sets and he’s very good with scratching,” Lee said. “But if you’re trying to make it on your own, you can still make it out there; you just have to meet the right people.”
Playing multiple shows during the week, Grow said his personal style ranges over all music genres, depending on the audience.
“I don’t want to be like everyone else. I take a lot of risks that other people don’t take. I don’t really mind looking like a dumbass once in awhile. I’ll play the most random music in hopes that everyone goes, ‘Oh I used to love this song!’ instead of like, ‘Dude, I hate the Backstreet Boys,’” Grow said.
Architectural engineering senior Willy Rosenblatt, who is Grow’s friend, co-worker and a local DJ, said Grow’s eclectic style is what’s giving him a step up.
“He is a true club DJ. He can spin hip hop, he can hit electro, he can do old-school throwbacks,” Rosenblatt said. “The cool thing about Pat is he can do that seamlessly.”
With every step forward in his career, Grow said all in all, his drive stems from his true passion for music.
“At the end of the day, I love music. When I go home and go to bed at night, I feel lucky that I got to go play music to make people have fun,” Grow said. “And I just love making peoples night enjoyable – making everyone have a good time.”