#035 6 Tips for Building a Successful Wedding Business, Interview with Desert House Productions, Dave + Drea

Building a Creative Wedding DJ Business with Desert House Productions

In this episode of 'Bright', host Melissa welcomes Dave and Drea Strickler, the owners of Desert House Productions and renowned wedding and event DJs. They share insights from their 20+ years in the industry, discuss how they built their successful business, and talk about the importance of balance and passion.

From starting their company while in school to navigating challenges and evolving their brand, their story is both inspiring and educational for creatives looking to thrive. The couple also dives into their unique sound healing project, Spiritual Thing, and offers advice on standing out in a competitive field. Tune in for invaluable tips and inspiration from two industry veterans.

6 biggest takeaways from Dave + Drea:

• The wedding industry is a pie. There's a piece for every niche. 
• Push that difference. Define your unique brand, it will set you apart from all the sameness in the industry.
• Work on relationships with fellow vendors at the wedding. Demonstrate low stress, keep cool and confident and you will be amazed at the referral base you create. And the guests will notice you as well.
• Be confident and professional, always. Have fun and deliver great energy. People will pick up on how engaging you are, not matter what your role is. 
• Be selective with who you work with (the interview process works both ways!) 
• Have the same enthusiasm for the wedding or event as your client does (you may do this all the time but you client doesn't  necessarily!)

00:00 Introduction and Special Guests
00:54 Meet Dave and Drea
01:40 The Birth of Desert House Productions
02:57 Building a Unique DJ Brand
08:48 Expanding the Team
15:18 Balancing Work and Family
20:05 Overcoming Challenges
25:43 Spirituality and Personal Growth
29:03 Life-Changing Moments and Spiritual Shifts
30:23 Connecting Spirituality to Business Success
31:55 Navigating a Saturated Industry
32:45 Standing Out in the Wedding and Event Industry
35:43 Building Relationships and Professionalism
38:44 Exploring Sound Healing and Passion Projects
41:40 Future Plans and Expanding the Team
44:30 Words of Wisdom for New Entrepreneurs
47:57 The Magic of Guanajuato
50:25 Final Thoughts and Farewell

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Transcript

Welcome to today's episode. I'm thrilled to introduce two special guests who have been friends in the industry and the most sought after wedding and event DJs for the past two decades. Dave and Drea, owners of Desert House Productions. I can't wait for you to hear their insights and stories. Let's dive into the world of Desert House and celebrate the creativity and passion that makes their work so special.

Welcome Dave and Drea.

Welcome to Bright, the podcast for wedding creatives that want to earn more and have a life and business that they love. Hi, I'm your host and money mentor, Melissa. I make understanding money in your business easy. Each episode, we'll be talking about finance, growth, mindset, and real strategies for your creative business.

Are you ready? Let's get started.

Welcome. Thank you so much. You two for being here. I know you are super busy and I really appreciate you and it's great to see you too because it's been a long time. So Dave, I think it's a couple of years. Flagstaff wedding. The last time I saw you and then Drea as we just spoke up more than five years ago.

That's crazy. So our past didn't cross all the time, but when, when they did, we were, we always loved to be around you guys. So thank you so much for likewise. Yeah, it was really cool to align with you two in our, you know, we were having a life transition into a new space, a new area, kind of a new, you know, a new way of living.

And it seemed to line up just with, with you two as well, um, doing the same thing. So call us a little bit more since obviously I know what you do, people who are listening don't. So if you don't mind introducing yourself and. Then I want to ask about the name Desert House. I don't want to forget to do that.

Sure. Both of you introduce or whoever's going to do the talking. So, yeah, I'll, I'll take most of that. So, um, my name's Dave Strickler. This is my wife, Drea Strickler. We are Desert House Productions, um, a modern DJ company. We specialize in unique. Full spectrum, a DJ services and all sorts of different areas.

Our bread and butter is, is modern signature weddings, but we do a ton of corporate events, all sorts of fun things in the nightclub world. And, um, you know, we've done a whole lot of other cool things, restaurants, lounges, restaurants. We've done it. Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, you know, obviously not the, you know, the halftime shows or anything, but, um, yeah, we've, you know, we've been living, eating, breathing, and super passionate about, you know, the, the DJ life and the gig life for what, 20 plus years now.

Crazy. Yeah. I mean, I think I have to have known you for 15, you know, I don't know. Yeah, good chunk. A date that, that I, that I remember. Exactly meeting the two of you, but I know it's been, it's been a while and I think that's exactly why you're sitting here right now because of the fact that you're still, you're still in the game and you're, you're thriving and you're doing, you're doing all the things.

So I would love to get started by asking you, you just touched on it. So 20 years. So how did the two of you, like, how did you come together to work together? Because obviously Keith and I are husband and wife team as well. Yeah, it's all the time. Like, how do you do it working? We actually love it. And we're a great team.

You know, we're obviously a great, I think, you know, couple, but we're also, we love working together. So yeah, for the two of you, how, how did it come together? Yeah, well, it came together right when we came together and that was 22 years ago. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Yeah. And, um, yeah, we kind of, we, we really fell in love through music, whether it was on the dance floor.

at a nightclub or through, you know, our own musical paths. I, you know, I, before I met Drea, I was a long time musician as a drummer. I was an emerging DJ. Um, you know, infant, I was in my infancy there when I, when I met her, she was going to, we met at ASU and she was going to school for music theory and composition, piano.

Yeah. She's been a classical. You know, pianist, composer, since she was, since she was three. So, um, we, yeah, we quickly, quickly knew right away that we wanted to be together, you know, in, in life. And we also wanted to do music together in life. Then. Um, yeah, that's, it was one of those things where when, when Dave came up to me at a mutual friend's house, one of the first questions he asked me was, what kind of music do you listen to?

And so that really, like a lot of our interests were, were the same, started dating that, that was, that was, it was a done deal from, from, yeah, the, the, the very first moment. What a great story. I love that. Like the whole, the whole, not just the relationship, but the whole, the whole path was. Was starting to bloom right, right then and there.

Yeah. So yeah, I think it was within a couple of months. We, uh, I, I wasn't deep, excuse me. I wasn't DJing at the time, but Dave said, you know, you play piano, you've been doing this your whole life. Let me teach you how to DJ. So it just felt really natural. And I think within a couple of months of dating each other, we started desert house.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because, because, and this is, this will answer. Um, that, that question mind if a desert ask question. Yeah. Um, her family, um, has, she grew up in a house out in the middle of the desert. Um, it's, it's outside of, outside of Phoenix, basically in between Buckeye and Heli Bend, right on the right on the river bed.

Essentially they have like 40 acres out there. Really unique space Hacienda found. Created art that her dad has done, cantilevered, um, oxygen bells, just a very, very unique and magical spot out in the middle of, out in the middle of, uh, the desert. And so that's, that's a very special place for us. It's a very special vibe that we wanted to bring forward in, in what we were doing.

And also, you know, our love, our, our, our heart and soul is, Is, uh, house music, so there's also that kind of embedded into the name. So that's where Desert House Productions came from. That's fantastic. It's like, it's not just some name pulled out of the idea. I had no idea. I have the backstory. Yeah. And it has a meaning, which is even more special.

What a great story. That's fantastic. So now, I didn't mean to cut you off before, but thank you for answering that very important question, where your name derived from. So now, okay, so you're at ASU, you come together, you start this business, you're both now DJs, and then, then what happens? Uh, well then it, you know, it really, it really starts to take off.

We, we went through quite a few years of, you know, before, before it took off, there, there was quite a few years of, you know, small, small time stuff, languishing in the bedroom, figuring like, how do I, You know, how do we really break out and get noticed? There was a, you know, there's a lot of teeth cutting, which is, uh, you know, super necessary to, to any endeavor.

And then, um, You know, it really took, I think our friends all started getting married and they were looking for, they were looking for something different because they didn't want, they didn't want the, the game show host, they didn't want people playing, you know, Macarena and the traditional mindset. So we started, you know, hitting, hitting those weddings.

Yeah. And I think that just as an observer, like not, like I'm not working with you all the time, but working with you enough and working within the same industry. To know that your reputation was, you were the one, the first person we always wanted to recommend, because you were so different, like you weren't, there was all the others, there was all the others, and then there was the two of you that seemed to really stand out in the industry, especially back 15, you know, 15 years ago.

Yeah, yeah, we always, we always knew, you know, we always knew. What we were relative to the, you know, the, the kind of, um, um, you know, average perspective, yeah, traditional, you know, perception of, of DJs. We already knew we were something different and special and, and, and, and, and we're bringing something, you know, truly unique, um, to the, to our clients.

And it took, you know, it took not too long, but once. You know, once we got that, that recognition from people in the industry, especially, you know, planners, vendors, other vendors and, and, and venues, once people really took note, then things just very quickly, you know, ignited and, and, and snowballed from, from there.

So now at that point, it's the two of you working together, because I know you obviously have, I don't know if I'm jumping the gun here, but you do have a team. At what point did you start, like, was it that quick? Because it seemed to me, You were everywhere, you know, that your, your names were everywhere. So when did you have to make that call of like, okay, we can't do this by ourselves.

I think it was around like 2010. Yeah. 2010. Yeah. The, the volume just, yeah. Called for it. Yeah. And, um, We, we, we had also been very, um, ingrained in the music scene and, you know, doing our own, um, residencies and promoted nights all throughout Phoenix, especially this one party we were doing called. called, uh, retro hi fi Sundays.

Um, and anyways, we've, we had made this amazing connection and network of DJs who are in that scene, who also had the, had the poise, had the professionalism to do other types of events, especially weddings. So we had started to vet people who we Thought would be a good fit. That's and then when we had the you know, the the need and the overflow We were really confident.

We were putting someone out there who represented represented desert house and it's still you know a nice Boutique sized team you've very closely held very super talented high caliber people who have the Have that Something special, but also have the passion and that presentability and professionalism needed for weddings and corporate stuff, especially.

Absolutely. Definitely. It's not, it's not easy and it must be, or at least I'm sure initially it's not, I don't want to use the word scary, but it's hard when someone's going out under your, you have to, like you said, do your due diligence and make sure that they're doing the same job. Like I always felt that when other photographers went out for us, that if.

They had to treat the business like it was theirs, except I want to know that they're putting our best interests in the interest of obviously the client. Yeah. All of our DJs are, you know, also really, really good friends. We know and trust them, you know, even some of them like Alex, we raised him as a, as a DJ.

So he, I mean, it's, it's all, everyone's got to be family. And it also helps that almost all of the DJs who work for us have had a storied career in and of themselves. So they're, they're bringing, they're bringing so much to the table, um, that we can rely on. They already have their foundation. They've already, they've already cut their teeth.

They are, they are already at operating at, at a high level. So there's not, we're not going, we weren't going so much out on a, on a branch, bringing, bringing them. Into the, into the team, into the fold, you know, I'd say to a lot of our DJs have, um, places that they're consistently playing at in Phoenix. So, you know, if people want to go check them out, they can even see them live in action prior to booking them.

We want DJs who aren't just, you know, moonlighters, you know, some, some, some of the are, but they're, but they're. Constantly working. They're very much in demand. They're always on various different types of events. So they're all well rounded, um, very well tested, skilled people who are constantly in different front of different types of, of, of crowds working with different sounds and yeah, being very creative always, um, you know, not just as a, not just as, as a side hustle.

That's wonderful. I was thinking about when you said that people can can see them, you know, in action, basically, is that is that something that drives people towards you as far as like, you know, part of your, honestly, marketing, but is that something because you are out there, you and your the people who work with you?

Is that something that is one of those opportunities to attract more clients? Or is that something that you Someone does inquire and like, Oh, come see us here. Yeah, it's, it's, it's great. It's, it's great for creating that initial trust with people and letting them see, see your, your work live. Then it's fantastic for building the rapport and relationship with the clients once they are booked.

They know. You know, they can come out and see that they're getting a DJ who's a DJ's DJ and is really going to provide something special. They can go to their, you know, their, their club night in downtown Phoenix and have a blast there. Or, uh, you know, pop in, pop in and look in on a Um, uh, you know, corporate party or a wedding, a wedding party and see that what they're getting is legit.

So they, yeah, so they get really excited. We get really excited. And then also we get the benefit of, um, you know, the longterm relationship with, with our clients that we, we build with them from those types of experience, both before. And after the wedding, for example. Yeah, that's critical. I mean, obviously for long term success, where it's not just a one time, you know, one off work experience with each other that they, as you just said, that they continue to use you for all of life events or corporate events within their lives.

So it's definitely something that I don't know that everyone wraps their head around that this is when you are working on a wedding or you're working on an event with somebody. That's your opportunity to create a client for life, which is much easier. What's crazy is we, you know, every time we go out and do a wedding, we just did one together down at Walter warehouse, 300 people.

And it was amazing to see how many like past clients were there and friends that we knew. So it's just like consistent. Yeah, it was like a family reunion vibe and we get that so much now when we're, you know, at weddings, but also, you know, especially at like public appearances. So it's just, it's, it really, yeah, it just, it just keeps that passion alive.

For us and just keeps that keeps that flame burning, right? Because, you know, it's just so, so fun and awesome. Yeah, it sounds to me, it sounds like, Oh, it's a fairy tale. Like, my goodness, what a great story. That just sounds so, so easy that you built this amazing business, but obviously. There had to have been some hurdles.

Do you wanna shed some light on any, any, do you wanna shed some light? Um, well, any bumps in the road, I would say, I would say for me, my biggest hurdle so far has we, we have two children together. They're five and seven now. So for me, that hurdle, having kids and going out and having events and sometimes being gone for a day or two or going to bed.

at three o'clock in the morning and then waking up with five kids. That, that was definitely challenging for me. It's definitely getting better, but still having that mom being a mom and then having the career is, is, you know, it's difficult. I think that's the biggest hurdle for me as well was. Really defining that work life balance because it's easy to get caught up in the in the hustle and you're living for reviews or you're living for the clients or you're living for, uh, you know, to please this vendor.

So that I think that's, you know, you, you got to make it work for, you know, we had to make it work for us to have that healthy balance in the lifestyle, especially once the kids came around and, you know, we worked really hard for that. Before the kids came around, I'd say that another huge hurdle also in that same note was the, um, the party lifestyle that comes with the DJ world with the industry, definitely, you know, alcoholism is the thing and, um, you know, getting ready and healthy, both mentally, physically and spiritually to have.

A life with kids was something, um, we put a lot of, a lot of work into so that the type of growth that is necessary to overcome those hurdles is, is, is needed to, to, to do it. Yeah, I mean, we miss a lot of time with our families and thank goodness. I think you mentioned I have family that helped us. as well, like when we were working.

So I didn't feel that, um, I was completely abandoning my children. But on the other hand, I did feel that we missed a lot, which is another reason we're kind of, uh, you know, I want to say stepped away because we realized we only had. Couple more years left with our kids under our roof, and it was really important for us to spend that quality time.

So we reversed , we did it almost in the, in the opposite of what we did. So we plan a little bit better maybe than this , but this , we still could do it better. I mean, we, you know, we we're doing the same thing. Now we're like, we really want, um, you know, we want our weekends, we don't wanna be missing out on mm-hmm

The things that the kids are doing and the ballet and, uh, you know, other things. That's all, that's all starting to happen right now. So we're working still to maintain that balance step back where we need to not feel like we have to be on doing every single event or weekend, you know, weekend wedding night that comes our way.

So it's, that's, that's the biggest thing. So I wanted to bring up and another reason why I asked the two of you specifically and those that I'm. Interviewing, um, I want to include people that don't have another six figure earner in their life that are supporting them. Like this, this, this is all we did to support our family.

And this is what you do. You were talking about like the life work balance. I think sometimes when you have in the back of your head that. This is how you're earning your money and you have to support a family of four, you make different choices and, or, or maybe take on more than, or at least I felt that way when it was time to save for college and it was time to do all the things that's when I'm like, Oh my God, Keith, we have to take every single job that comes, you know, corrected myself and like, no, no, we don't, we just have to take, we have to work with the right clients and take the right job.

So it gets a little, it got hectic for me, you know, trying to, Find that life work balance. Yeah. Well, we had already established, you know, we had already been established for quite some time before we had the kids and, and, you know, we had them later in life and in more recent years. So that mentality had already kind of.

Or that need for that balance had already taken place before that there was, you know, at least what, like, you know, a decade or more that we were like, let's take, take everything and we were working, you know, we were doing like fours for four things a week, like a couple of corporate parties, maybe, uh.

Maybe a restaurant gig, you know, back to back weddings on the weekend. Sometimes we were doing like three for weddings, just like insane, insane schedule. Um, but you know, we, we were young, we didn't have kids and, and we could do it. And we were just like firing on all cylinders. So it was a big kind of check to, you know, a big kind of change to, to, to slow down, put the brakes on a little bit once the kids came along.

But jumping back to something you said earlier. You know, we, when we very first started, we weren't both, you know, six figure earners by, by any means. So we were, we were really tossed to the wind, especially around the 08 recession area. I had, you know, I, I had lost my, I'd been fired from, um, my, my day job, which was a total blessing, uh, in, in disguise at the same time.

Um, and she, Drea was just. Like teaching piano kind of on the side. And so we basically got the, you know, the whole rug pulled out from under us. Um, it went into a ton of debt. She, she grabbed, um, you know, a job at, uh, Trader Joe's. We, you know, we just did what we could to scrape by and, and, and, and make ends meet.

I, you know, uh, I was, you know, doing most of the, you know, weddings and events there and that was really starting to be more and more, but we, you know, we, we did what we had to do. We, we went into a ton of debt and it took, you know, a few years to, to really dig out of that. But whether you have a support financial support system or not, um, it's just a matter of just driving forward, no matter what, do what you have to do.

I was, uh. You know, I took jobs smashing rocks for my geologist cousin out in the middle of the Arizona summer. And, um, yeah, it was a strange day, whatever to make ends meet. And then eventually things people took notice of, of. Of the company and the brand and and, um, you know, we've caught that, caught that wave.

Yeah, I think there was a good two years, year and a half, two years where we didn't really even see each other because I would have to be at Trader Joe's unloading trucks at three o'clock in the morning. And so he would be coming home from Yeah. Um. And I was doing a nightclub gig and we would literally be on the phone, just like waving outside of our windows.

And I said, all right, as we passed on the freeway, I would do that until, you know, 11, 12 o'clock in the afternoon. And then I would go teach piano until the evening. So for two years, my average sleep cycle was probably four to five hours a night. And it was, it was pretty brutal, but we made it through that.

And, um. Yeah, started hitting those gigs and money started coming in. So it was, it was great. Nice. So how would you say that you approached that? Did you have some sort of specific goal in mind or did you just say, this is, we're just, we're just doing it. This is what we want to do. And yeah, and she, she had an epiphany after, after working at, at, at Trader Joe's and us not never seeing each other.

Like, like she, she just said, she, she went down to one of her. One of her hometowns, um, she went down to Guanajuato, Mexico on a kind of a return trip with her sister and was, well, I'll, I'll let you tell this. So I was, I was working at Trader Joe's and my sister said, I wanna take you down to Guanajuato for two weeks.

And I said, I can't do it. Like it's everything that we can do right now to pay bills. She's like, I'll pay for your flight. And I'm like. It's not just that, it's, it's the income. She said, I'll pay you for your time off. And I'm like, okay, well, let's go. So I went down there and Guanajuato is this, just this beautiful, um, old silver mining town.

Cobble streets, musicians. It looks like a colorful Italian village. It's just. It's gorgeous. I remember sleeping for nine hours for the first time in two years and we were in the middle of the city and the next morning we're staying at our friend's place and she had this beautiful house that had this two story like spiral staircase that just went to this 360 degree view of the whole city.

Bells are going off, roosters are crowing, just one of those magical mornings. And I was like, Almost just like awakened. And I said to my sister, I got to quit my, I quit my jobs. This isn't, this isn't working out. So I had breakfast. I called David. I'm like, I'm quitting. You know, I don't, I don't know what it's going to take, but I can't do this anymore.

So I came back from that trip and quit our jobs and we just made it work. And it, and it, and it, you know, it came full bore back to us. So that was the hardest decision you probably make in your life. But yeah, that was another big, that was another big leap. I mean, we took, we took the big leap when, you know, I lost the, lost the day job.

And I just said, I'm going full, full bore into the, into the DJ life and not looking back. And then she did the same thing coming back from going on hot though. Wow. That's really powerful. Cause I imagine if you didn't make that choice, well, maybe it happens years later or some other divergent path happens, but imagine like.

Well, don't imagine what could have been because you know what, what is it, but it's definitely a scary leap and you know, to be at that point where you're just, you're just done like every, every cell in your body is like, you, you can't do this anymore. That's the point where I was at and I just kept on telling myself everything's.

It's going to work out just trust in the process. We're going to make this work. I just need, I need to quit this in order to launch us forward. Just yeah, just making that decision to allow yourself to open that door for the next opportunity for yourself. Yeah. So you brought up spirituality because I feel like there's always been, I don't want to say an aura around it because I don't have the right words to use, but the two of you just seem special in a certain way that I can never put my finger on, but I feel like there was something, something more to, um, that's not even the right way to word it, but tell me more, tell me more about the spirituality.

Yeah, well, I mean, we've always been really connected. Um, to each other and to that life, um, through, you know, initially through, um, anusara yoga. And then kind of from there, you know, it's, we, we leapfrogged from there to Eastern spirituality, especially specifically non dual Kashmir Shaivism or non dual Tantra.

And then there's meditation and stuff that comes out of that. We've done a lot of other work and various other modalities, you know, Peruvian, Native American type stuff. So that, that's always been a big part of just who we are as, as, as people. And, you know, we're, we've always been seekers. And so that leads, um, That leads into a lot of, a lot of different things, but, um, that's kind of underlying, you know, spiritual seeking.

Curiosity is, is, has been been there from, from the start as well. And it's really grown, uh, so much in, in, you know, I'd say like the, the last, um. Eight, you know, eight to 10 years, especially the time we stopped drinking. Yeah. And that we needed to get off the sauce. Yeah. And also, you know, yeah. About the time we stopped drinking and we wanted to, you know, realize we need to start having.

Having kids and yeah. Mm-hmm . That is so funny. And so we all could learn from that for sure. Reaction. So it's so funny how you start to see the light once you're, you know, out, out of the bottom of, once you start, once you stop numbing your not in the haze of bourbon and all sorts of other things. So, no.

Was that a conscious choice? I would, I'm just, just, I dunno if that's the right thing to ask, but I mean, was obviously things were, yeah. It definitely was. We were, we were hitting it pretty hard when we were, um, doing retro hi fi and DJing, you know, we were having constant parties until the wee hours of the morning.

And then we wanted to have kids and we couldn't figure out why we couldn't get pregnant. And so I literally woke up one day and I was just, it was just as clear as light. I didn't want to drink anymore. Um, completely changed how I was eating. I started seeing, like, naturopathic doctors and, and that kind of catapulted us forward into getting pregnant and cleaning up our lifestyles and definitely staying off.

The alcohol, how many epiphanies do you have like this? I like how you just wake up and they just, that's how that's how they go. When, when, when the universe is like, Hey, listen, listen up. Yeah. Yeah. And they're sorry. Go ahead. Please. Oh, no, no, no. Go ahead. No, no, no, I'll remember that. Um, I'd say, you know, there was, you know, there was a lot of life changing moments in various different, um, workshops, uh, you know, meditation type things, retreats, and that, and that sort of thing that, um, That needed to happen, you know, especially those, those deep epiphanies and awakenings that just really let all the light in and crack open the, the heart and, and, you know, reveal the, you know, the path that was always there, but in a, in a new, in a new, in a new light.

Now, can you correlate that to, um, this sounds probably an awful way to phrase this question, but can you. correlate that to the success of your business? Do you think that how much that influenced or inspired or had some sort of underlying role or massive role? Like, how can you quantify that in a sense?

If I'm asking it correctly, like I, cause I feel like when things happen like this, whether you find, as you said, when it's put out in the universe and you're, you're, you as a person. I'll speak of us, like when we decided to focus on our health and do things like that, I feel that everything aligned for us in ways that, you know, had we not done that, I don't know that everything else would have fallen into place the way it did.

Yeah, exactly. You know, it was, I, I, I honestly don't really remember too much of my professional life. Or, you know, even, you know, normal, normal life before that shift, you know, what it, what it did for me was, you know, dropping, dropping the, the, the alcohol going through this whole spiritual shift. It allowed me to be so much more present and engaged and immersed in the, in the moment.

And that. You know, and that's not just in, you know, everyday waking life. That's also in the business and being so much more present with, with the moment allows you to connect so much more directly with people when they're on the dance floor with the music, with what you're doing, it gives you full clarity and confidence.

And I, I, I think what I was doing before that shift in with desert house was apparently. Great, because there was a lot of good feedback from clients and stuff, but it was nothing compared to what, what I've noticed with my own, like, passion and talent and abilities behind the decks since that, that, that shift.

Again, another powerful. That's just amazing. I just thought your, your story's fascinating. 

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And so as it relates to the wedding and event industry as a whole, like when, when you look around at. I'll, I'll speak for like photographers, but all I hear constantly from, from people who that I mentor and coach is that saturated.

How do I stand out? Um, there's too many photographers, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I hear that, but yet I see a lot of photographers doing really, really well, you know, and I see the industry as a whole growing yet. I see a lot of people kind of competing amongst themselves, like on the, I don't want to say the lower end as far as like what they're charging, but just that.

Everyone's websites look alike. Everyone's showing a lot of similar work. You two seem to have always been on the outer side of that. You're not trying to be like everyone else. Clearly. What advice would you give to people who think, Oh my God, there's so many competitors in the industry? Well, um. You know, that's, that's what I've always heard about every different industry at various different times in the past.

It's so saturated, you know, oh my goodness, there's so much competition. The best advice I ever got Um, you know, right off the bat when I was, when we were really getting out there, um, and it was from a photographer, actually, um, uh, Archie cozy. I don't know if you know Archie and, uh, Heather. Um, anyways, this is quite some time ago, but, um, you know, he said his best advice to me was, um, you know, it's not a.

It's not a pie, the industry is not a pie, it's a whole bakery, it's a whole pie shop, there's, you know, there's so much, don't be small, small town minded when it comes to others, there's something out there for everybody. So I would say to people who are starting out, don't let the amount of competition, the saturation throw you off.

It's a pie shop, not just a pie that you're, that you're, you have access to great analogy because yeah, like that's a fantastic analogy. And just within exactly as you described, there's enough for everybody. It's just a matter of. Choosing how you're going to stand out. I think when you try to be like everyone else, it's hard to stand out.

There's a niche out there that, you know, for, for everyone, you just got to figure out what's your niche. So when you're starting out, just keep grinding, just, just hit it, beat the streets, you know, especially like if you're in the, in the DJ industry. Go out there, support everyone, you know, across the board of, you know, irregardless of genre, just go out there and make acquaintances with people, see what people are doing.

Um, and, you know, if you're in photography, go be a second shooter with, you know, all sorts of different people, just get that experience and get that confidence, get that skill set. And then that will translate into what makes you an individual and sets you apart and really think about. early on what it is that you want to be as a distinct, um, artist, vendor, et cetera, you know, early on, think about that, visualize it, you know, and then that will, you know, set that intention and that will come to fruition as long as you just keep, keep at it.

And I think sometimes it's the fear of being different and keeps people the same and then you as an example and you, you, you both seem to have known that years ago and just follow that path. And I think push that difference for sure. 100 percent because that that might be the that for us. That's that's the big thing.

Push that difference for sure. Make sure people can see why you are. Are unique and clients respond to that. I think when they know that you're the expert and you offer something that all these others don't, I mean, it's a clear choice. The other big thing too, is just really working on those, those interrelationships, you know, and when you're going to an event, making sure you have that connection with all of those other vendors.

Because that's, that's when it starts to really spread. You know, those vendors, those coordinators really enjoyed working with you. You were super professional. You were low stress. Like that's a huge one is just showing up to an event. And even when things are going awry and you know, they always are, they always are is just.

You know, taking those big deep breaths, keeping it super cool, especially around all the other vendors, because if you're, if you're stressed out, then all the other vendors are stressed out, you know, it spreads like wildfire. So keeping it cool and keeping confident and then just, yeah, just, just forming those relationships, because then you start to get the referrals from the coordinator, the photographer, the videographer, the other musicians that you work with.

And just like you mentioned, you go to an event now and you know half the room. I think a lot of people forget that those 200 people at a wedding or at an event or a thousand people at an event. They're also potential clients. They're also watching you work. And when you're calm, they don't, they may not know what's going on behind the scenes, but they'll see you doing, you know, putting this incredible pace forward and they just think you're fantastic and, and you're, you're marketing to them indirectly, but it's, I think that some people lose sight of you're out there every single event, at least Keith and I always view that every single event we're working, we're in front of all these people and, you know, behave and like you said.

Be on your best behavior. I think you'd be shocked at how many. Yeah, be on your best behavior, but keep it light, keep it fun. You know, maintain a balance between, you know, confidence and, and, um, professionalism. You know, the, the, the extremes of both of those are, you know, someone who's, who's an egotistical.

Diva, which you don't want to bring into. And then there's also, you know, the other side of that is someone who's, you know, bringing in a total amateur, you know, slacking type of energy. So that, that happy medium where you're, you're having fun, you're totally confident and in control of what you're doing, just delivering that, that great poise.

energy, people really, really respond to that. Just being nice and constantly engaging, treating everyone, whether it's crowd or the, uh, the other vendor team, like, like family keeps it really feeling great for you. And it feels great for everybody else. And then that people will pick up on that energy and want to work with you again, that.

That great feeling will keep the passion alive within you as well, and we'll give you longevity in the, in the industry. Yeah. So you don't get, so you don't lose your soul to, you know, to, to the, to the job we have, we have this. Sound healing. We call it symphonic immersion. Um, it's basically a group or a band that we've started.

It's called spiritual thing. And we now are offering these really unique sound journey experiences that involve all of our talents as DJs, music producers, musicians, performers, and it's a mix of this. Cool spaceship of keyboards and vintage electric pianos that we've built for Drea and then, um, gongs, crystal and Tibetan bowls, various different shakers, Native American flutes, a whole bunch of A whole bunch of really great sound design that we put into it and, you know, atmospheres and cool effects pedals, a whole, whole lot of delay and reverb.

Anyways, we're, we're, you know, this is our, our, our passion project now of delivering this. My next question. Yeah. This is like, you know, we want to deliver, you know, immersive healing frequencies and these sound journeys to, to people. And we've really started to take off with that doing some, um, you know, doing some, some great work with that, um, and, and some larger, larger, uh, larger size, uh, unique venues around Phoenix and, and Northern Arizona.

And so that's, that's, that's our. But, you know, a big part of our path right now is, is the spiritual thing, sound healing stuff. Yeah, it's been really nice. Oh, no, I was gonna say, it's been really nice. We actually ended up converting our, our garage, which we're in Flagstaff. So we're going to be shoveling some snow.

But, uh, we converted our garage into our studio and it's, it's really nice because once a month we offer a virtual Symphonic Sound Immersion. So people around the world can log on when we do those. And all they do is put on a pair of headphones, they can lay in their own bed and they get this beautiful two hour.

Oh, I'm excited. Can I join? Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we'll send you, we got you on the next to the next one. . . So you're doing this once a month and then the others are in person, obviously, like you said. Yeah, yeah. We have a couple, couple big in person shows, let's call 'em. Um Okay. You know, throughout the year.

Our last one was just at, uh, the a SU Care Cultural Center. Oh, nice. Um, to start off the, the new year. Okay. In, in a, in a, in a big way there. Our next one's May 10th at, uh, a SU Care Cultural Center. And, um, we've got some other cool, cool stuff coming up. Um, beyond that, it's some other spots. Yeah. No worries.

Where's your cat? I know. Where's, where's the cat? At the door. So, okay. So question when you're, you're, you have this, you call it a personal project, a passion project. Where do you see yourself? Like if you had to think five years or 10 years, so obviously this is. The next where you're in the, this evolution in this direction, what else is on the horizon or is this, I think that's, that's the, that's the horizon that we want that to be the, you know, the, the, the main, the main part of the path, you know, I'll, I know I'll still be doing weddings five years from now, I've really got the, I've really got the fire, but I, we want things to be more, Um, spiritual thing mainly, and then still, you know, a good healthy portion of Desert House Productions events.

Um, so yeah, I mean, that's the, that's kind of the, we're, we're another like transitional or growth period right now with, with that. So does that mean you'll add more? Is your team getting bigger? We actually have expanded the, the team in, in recent years. And we, you know, we want, we want the team members to be more of the initial bookings that come in, but we're still, each of us, there's still so much the face of the company of Desert House.

We're the First and the most that's in demand when people come to the company, but our veterans or residents are starting to, you know, be more and more so, yeah. Cool. Yep. That's so exciting to have that, I mean, I wouldn't call it a project. It's obviously the next, uh, phase of your business. Yeah. It's beautiful.

My goodness. Can't wait to hear it. That phase is scary. Literally. Don't worry. It's, it's, it's, it's nice. I've, I've cut back on the amount of DJ gigs I've been taking just because of the kids. And so this is really nice because it allows us to be home a lot more. So we have that new balance of, of, of the family with being able to still pull in the income.

Nice. Very nice. And you can focus a lot more on, um, you know, the, the compositions for, for the, the sound baths. Oh, my goodness. I can't even imagine. It's just going to be so beautiful and great. And now that you have your own studio, too, I'm sure I was spoiled for sure. Dave's Dave's bill. He's built quite the remarkable spaceship.

I just go in there and I don't know. I don't know what he does. He's a wizard and he's constantly putting this chord in that place. And then he's like, okay, go play. And it just, it, it, it just sounds like pure magic. Wow. Oh my goodness. I saw just the little piece that I saw online. I'm like, Oh, this looks fascinating.

So now I'm even more excited that I could participate. Um, okay. Is there anything else you'd like to share with us, ? Any words of wisdom? Yeah, let's see what I wrote down here. Um, let's see, my words of wisdom for anybody starting a new bus business. I mean, it's, it's kind of a double edged sword 'cause you know, you wanna make income, so you wanna take the gigs.

But once you get into that sweet spot where gigs are coming in, um. Be really particular about your clients. Yeah. Be very particular about your clients because sometimes you just have that feeling in the pit of your stomach and it's telling you don't, don't take this, don't take this gig. And a hundred percent of the time it's, you know, it's right.

Yeah. Uh, and, and I totally agree with that on the same note. Uh, I would say be excited. About your, your clients. That's, that's the main thing. If you're not excited about, um, the event that you're taking on, then that's going to translate into, into how it goes. So, um, as much as your clients vet you. Make sure the whole, make sure the overall recipe is, is, is amazing so that you're really set up for, for success.

I think that's, that's, that's great. I mean, that's, that's the probably like the number one advice I can get give or we can give is set yourself up for success. And that is being really excited about the client that you're taking on the, The event that you're going into the vendors that you work with, with, if that excitement is, is there, and that passion is there for that particular gig, that's going to transmit over to the dance floor or the, the overall energetics of event.

And just totally, you know, take, take that event exponentially to the, to the next level for you and for everybody involved, right. It's contagious. Yeah. Fantastic. Great energy. And like you said, everyone, everyone benefits from that. It's all about the energetics. Absolutely. Yeah. So where can people find you?

Like where? So we obviously we're talking about two separate businesses here that are related, but, but yeah, different names. So how can, how can we find you? Yeah. Uh, well, you know, desert house productions. com links in, you know, to, to the Instagram. So does spiritual thing. com, but I, I think like our.

Instagram land is kind of where we put out our, our, all of our calling cards, so to speak, or, you know, samples of work and that type of stuff. We're pretty active on there. So definitely, you know, we post things from many different worlds. On desert house productions, including spiritual thing, our nightclub gigs, a ton of raw footage from past weddings and corporate events.

So, um, yeah, just, you know, at desert house on Instagram, I think is, is the best kind of focal point for all of the stuff we chatted about. Okay. Yeah. So my last question, like, would you say that most of your people, like if you had to, I don't know if you keep track of percentages or have any idea, but would you say that word of mouth is pretty much your, your leading?

Definitely. Yeah. Word of mouth is the thing for sure. Yeah. Fantastic. That's so cool. That is so amazing. Any, any other parting words? I, I appreciate because I know how busy you are, but it was just, it just felt important to me because I know that the two of you are doing great things and it's just exciting for us from afar to watch Guanajuato as one of my favorite cities.

Oh my God. I can see how you had the whole awakening there. Not too many people have been there. Did you go to Guanajuato, Guanajuato or like San Miguel? No, the city of Guanajuato. So we've been working with this Mexican family for probably 15, 20 years, 25 years, maybe since when we met and they live in Lyon.

So yeah, their daughter got married, she, Keith had seen her grow up and then they surprised her and had Keith and I come photograph the wedding, but they were so sweet and brought us to Guanajuato all over, but San Miguel for like an hour to Guanajuato to spend like a week there. Oh yeah. So you know how magical that place is.

Yeah. Yeah. My parents. It's picked up and, and moved down there. We lived there about two years, about two years. And um, yeah, it was still to this day, like one of my favorite places that I've ever lived. So cool. It's just, it's such a special and amazing. I'm sure both, both sets of parents are amazing, but yeah, they sound very, yeah, they, uh, They had seven kids, and they, they decided that where we currently were at wasn't, wasn't in alignment, and so they sold our house, and they just packed up, um, 1989, 1990, and yeah, lived in central Mexico at the time.

Moved to Guanajuato on a whim. Yeah, we, they didn't have internet back then. So we had no idea of what it looked like, they were like, yeah, one of their friends is like, yeah, go move, move, move your family, don't want to watch if you want your kids to be fluent in Spanish. And they're like, yeah, let's do that.

And at the time, you know, there was no Americans, all Americans are in San Miguel. Oh, yeah, exactly. Oh my God. I barely heard Spanish being spoken there. Yeah. Wow. That's amazing. That's so incredible. I love that. When I was seven, my mom, like she got divorced, she's like, just pick a spot on the, on the globe, Melissa.

I'd like my sister and I get to pick and we moved to Seattle from Boston. Oh, wow. Yeah. So it's always kind of been in my DNA as well. It's like, Oh, well move. Sure. We'll move to Guanabata. That's awesome. And yeah, what a, what a great, great experience. Well, it's cool that you guys are living in Paris now.

For now. Yeah. Like, yeah, it's working. It's working out. We'll see. We'll see. But I like that approach. Like, you know, now that we'll be, I don't want to say free, but like the kids are going to be gone. Yeah. That's going to be a new chapter that we haven't experienced. So we'll see where it goes. And, um. You know, but it's just fun.

It's just fun to have kids your age. It's fun now and it's all, it's all, it's all wonderful. Yeah, that's great. But thank you so, so much. I really thank you. Thank you so much for thinking of us for this. This is, this is. a treat and it's great what you're what you're providing for. I don't know. It's fun. I just like I'm clearly Keith and I like to talk but it's just fun.

I just I hear that. It's not true that you can do it. People like Come on, just Yeah, just believe in yourselves. And yeah, you know, I think that people just need to hear from more people. Yeah. Well, especially folks like yourself, you guys have such just amazing positive energy, you know, who also are Professionals, you know, it's just people that, you know, I know, like we want to, we want to work with, with you guys and others who are, who are just like you, just bringing that just good energy into everything.

And also happen to do amazing work. Oh yeah. That's fun. We're all having fun too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Stressful and a lot of, yeah. At the end of the day, and fun being with like your advice at the end was fantastic. But I think people because they do a lot of weddings, they forget like this is their only wedding or their only event or whatever, like be as excited as they are about the event.

So I think people lose track of that. So excellent advice. Thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a pleasure chatting with Drea and Dave of Desert House Productions. I hope you enjoyed the insights and stories they shared. I absolutely love their advice from what they've learned over the years.

I couldn't agree more with choose your clients wisely and don't forget to be just as excited as your clients are. Tune in next time for more tips and inspiration. Have a great week. Thank you.

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