Che Cruz - djwavybb
Che Cruz’s love for music and dance began a very young age, but it wasn’t until a near death experience brought her the conviction to pursue DJing. From then, she’s immersed herself fully into DJing and the DJ and Pinay communities. Starting her DJ life during quarantine, Che’s experiences and performances have all been virtual. She holds weekly Twitch live streams and has participated in various virtual fests including Justice League Twitch stream which raised money for Equal Justice Initiative. Che loves R&B and EDM, and plays all genres with an ease and confidence on camera. She’s grown with the support and inspiration of her friends, DJ collective All My Friends, Academy of DJs, and Twitch community, and continues to create. “My goal as a DJ is simple: to curate a vibe and bring the listener on a journey.”
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Pronouns: she/her
Was music always part of your life? When did you decide to pursue it?
Music has always been my life at a very young age. I danced ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop and also played flute. I decided to pursue DJing February of this year when I had a near death experience of almost getting hit by a car on my way to work. As I saw the car coming in my peripheral, I accepted that I was going to die and one question popped into my head: what do you regret? And the first answer that popped into my head was that I never learned how to DJ. I made a pact with God that if I survived, I would pursue and learn how to DJ. Unscathed, that very night I bought my DJ controller, speakers, and headphones. That very instance was a bittersweet reminder of how short life truly is and that it’s too short not to live it the way that you want and to do things that bring you joy.
Growing up in a Filipino household, music was seen to only be a “hobby”, nothing more. I never felt like it would be accepted to pursue in any form growing up so I kept pushing down the idea. The more you think about something, no matter how hard you try to push it away, it lives in your mind for a reason. I’m a firm believer of timing and that everything happens when it’s supposed to.
Also during quarantine, I started (but have neglected) my own music podcast called “It Comes In .WAV Files,” a pun off of my DJ name but also a testament to music (for those who are unaware, one of the highest quality audio files are .wav files). In the podcast, on the first episode I go more in depth as to why and how I became a DJ. The second episode, I do a deep dive as to how I crafted my first mix ever. And for my third episode, instead of the traditional podcast format, I’m taking it to my Twitch channel so it’s more authentic, raw, and we can have live engagement from the chat. I’m excited to see how this project develops. In the third episode, I interviewed my good friend Erin aka sanguine. about her journey as an artist and DJ.
What are your favorite genres to play? Songs to play?
I loveeee playing R&B and EDM (house, jersey club, trap, moombahton, etc.), both current music and throwbacks. These two genres take up most of my music library and are genres I enjoy most listening to as well playing. I love making people dance with me! A few of my favorite songs to play include (it’s so hard just to choose a few!)
Mrs. Officer by Lil Jon
Tell Me by RL Grime
Do You Like (Cashmere Cat Remix) by Miguel
Candy by Dillon Francis
Like You by Bow Wow & Ciara
Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home) by Usher
Throw it in the Bag by Fabolos
All Me by Kehlani
How do you convey your style as a DJ while performing?
First and foremost, I would say I am unique in the sense that I started DJing during quarantine. So all of my DJ experiences thus far have solely been virtual, mainly via Twitch. Many people have told me that I’m very comfortable in front of the camera. It’s interesting because some of my DJ friends who have DJed for people in real life are hesitant to do so online, but I’m the opposite. DJing in front of real life people intimidates me, so I think it’s interesting and definitely something to keep in mind as I’m growing into and establishing my style of DJing.
As I am still new to DJing, I’m still finding what makes me unique. But so far, I would say I love to play a whole lot of different genres. I’ve been told by different friends that I have a huge range in terms of music taste. I also noticed that no matter the genre, I’m always singing and dancing while DJing. A lot of people have told me they love my energy and I think that’s what heavily contributes to my style as a DJ, it’s all about energy baby.
My goal as a DJ is simple: to curate a vibe and bring the listener on a journey. To me, DJing is a very personal form of self-expression and therapy. As I’m learning through therapy, one of my biggest triggers is that I really feel like people never truly listen to what I have to say. To me, DJing is my way of commanding people’s attention and to invite them to hear what I have to say aka play for them. Every performance, regardless of the amount of people watching/listening, I put my soul and heart into every performance, in hopes that people can enjoy the journey along with me. I also love introducing people to new music that they might’ve not found on their own. Nothing compares to that feeling. People don’t always remember what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel. I do it all for the love of music and self-expression.
What are some of your favorite performances?
Like I mentioned earlier, all of my gigs/experience have all been virtual. That being said, I would say one of my favorite performances would be Justice League, a Twitch streaming festival a few of my DJ friends put together to raise money for the Equal Justice Initiative. This was my first online “festival” I’ve ever performed for and the generosity and support people showed were unparalleled. We ended up raising $2,500 collectively and found a corporate sponsor to match that. That was definitely a milestone for me. I’ve done a handful of fundraising DJ streams and the generosity and compassion my viewers have blows me away every time.
One other performance that stands out was Cuffin All Things R&B, a slow jams and R&B party that’s held throughout the country. I only found out about this party a few months ago via Twitch and I thought to myself “Damn, one day I’ll play for them or a party of that stature like them” and then Kuya Rols asked to have me on months later. It was a full circle moment for me and I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity.
And last but not least, AMFest. AMFest was a 4 day online music festival on Twitch me and my collective—All My Friends Collective—put together and have been concepting since May. Not everyone in my collective livestreams, so I wanted it to serve as their streaming debut to get them the exposure that they deserve all the while making it a fundraising stream. Over the course of 4 days, we raised $500 for the Northern California Wildfire Salvation Army. And it was also held during my birthday week in August so it was a great celebration for a great cause!
You are involved in Pinay communities, has that been uplifting to you?
Extremely uplifting. Growing up, Filipinos have always been the minority in most of the communities I’ve been a part of. I grew up in a predominantly white and East Asian neighborhood in Orange County and I was one of maybe 30 Filipinos in my high school of 3000 students. Although I was the president of the Filipino club in high school, I still felt isolated given our club was so small.
I came across more Filipinos when I went to college in Boston, shout out BUFSA! This was the first time I found a larger community of Filipinos/Filipinas who looked like me and had similar interests as me. I told them every year that they were my home away from home, as I only visited California twice a year. They introduced me to traditional Filipino dances, culture shows, and helped me network with Filipinos through conferences and different schools throughout the east coast. College was a bumpy yet rewarding road, and I definitely would not have been able to get through it without my BUFSA community. Overall, I did a lot of my healing in Boston, as it was my first time standing on my own, living life on my own terms, and the first time I felt empowered to chase my dreams.
Post grad, it’s always hard to find new communities. When I found Pinayista in May, it felt like I was finally home and to be able to add to the cause through my DJing is a dream come true. Pinayista is all about empowering us Filipinas to unlearn what was taught to us growing up, and to thrive on our own terms and un-apologetically pursue our dreams, all alongside our Pinayista community.
How has the current events and quarantine affected you and your work?
Like I mentioned, I was a DJ born out of quarantine so this is the only space and environment I’ve ever known as an upcoming DJ. For me, in a DJ respect I’ve been thriving since all of my “work” and performances have all been online. Because I can capitalize on the internet, I’m able to connect with more people who I would’ve never met were it not for the internet. I’ve made such genuine connections with people all over the country and globe thanks to Twitch. If I can accomplish this much online in only a few months, I can’t wait to see what else I can accomplish once life slowly comes back to normal and in real life gigs are back.
What/who has been instrumental in your personal and creative growth?
During this time, I’ve had 4 sources of inspiration and support for both my personal and creative growth: my friends, my DJ collective All My Friends, Academy of DJs, and my Twitch community. For over a decade, dating all the way back to high school and college days I’ve constantly told friends how cool it would be to be a DJ one day. It seemed so unattainable and out of reach back then, but now that I’ve gone full force in doing so, having my day one supporters continue to support me and encourage me has been instrumental to personal growth.
During quarantine, I had an idea to start my own DJ collective sparking from curiosity, simply to build my own community of friends who also have the same love for music and DJing. I felt I learned as much as I could from YouTube, but I craved more knowledge. Over half of us started DJing during quarantine, and I realized I was having similar one-off conversations with each of them. So I figured, why not talk collectively? I’m sure we can all learn something regardless of skill set. I also felt shy asking strangers or DJ veterans for help. So I wanted to create a judgment free zone where we could ask each other questions, share music, and just be there for each other.
It’s so amazing to see how close all of 7 us have gotten these past few months against all odds: most of them did not know each other prior and we all live in different cities throughout the country (LA, OC, Boston, and NYC). They are an integral part if not the biggest supporters in both my personal and creative journey as a DJ, pushing me to grow and encouraging me when I feel stuck and low. So much love to All My Friends, because I would 100% not be where I am right now without each and every single one of them, love you AMF!
Academy of DJs. This school has been something I’ve been dreaming of for the past 2 years and to be 1 out 12 students picked from a pool of 200 is still mind blowing to me. In a span of 3 months, I’ve already learned so much more than I could imagine both from a technical and life perspective. They are definitely the biggest reason I’ve grown this much this fast in the span of 10 weeks thus far. Not only do they contribute to my creative growth, but they also have contributed to my personal growth as well. Their love for the craft, their willingness to push us to become better DJs, believing in us, and keeping it real with us from the get go has me completely and utterly grateful. I would not be the DJ I am today if it wasn’t for this community.
Last but not least, my Twitch community. Twitch has been a source of comfort and growth for me during quarantine as I’ve made so many genuine friends who mostly happen to be DJs from it. Twitch is the place I documented and am continuing to document my entire DJ journey. In April, I was let go from my job due to COVID and I seized the opportunity to learn how to DJ on my own. If you look back far enough, I streamed from my phone with not the best audio quality for months. I had max 7 viewers but I didn’t care because I wanted to learn.
Fast forward to now, I have friends all over the world who share the same love for music and have even been able to get to know a few of my favorite producers from this platform. Twitch is my way of connecting with those I can’t physically be with at the moment and simply share the love for music. I’ve cried numerous times on stream mainly from the love and support the Twitch community has shown me and I am so grateful for those who continue to support me.
Do you have any upcoming projects, performances that you are looking forward to?
In terms of virtual performances, sometime this month (unsure of actual date yet), The Future Beats Show invited me to play on his Twitch channel. This is another huge milestone for me as a DJ and I am completely humbled and grateful for this opportunity and love electronic music to every fiber of my being. So to be able to curate a set for TFBS is something I could only dream of.
In terms of in real life performances, for Academy of DJs, the last half of the program is dedicated to crafting up our dream set for graduation which will be held sometime in December or January. This will be my first in-person gig/non-virtual gig, I can’t wait to make these dreams/visions into a reality. I’m still not sure how it’ll be executed due to COVID, but regardless I’m ready and excited to share my set with the world once it comes around.
Photos courtesy of Che Cruz