NOTLAD

Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] How's it going, Ready fam? It's BBop here and I am with uh DJ Not Lad aka Dalton. Hi. Hi. And uh we're here in Cookanino and we've just finished day one. I guess like some of us are still really just waking up. I'm still in my PJ shirt. And um we just want to recap the first day because uh we got to hang out, listen to some incredible live music and then you got to DJ at our afters at the cabin and so now's a chance for us to kind of talk a little bit about that. >> Yeah, definitely. Um Coconino's been a >> little bit of a wild ride for me. Uh but I've enjoyed it. Um the biggest parts that I really enjoyed were probably seeing YDG. >> Big fan of YDG. Um, my very first remix was actually a YDG remix and I love his music. I sent it to him. I don't think he ever listened to it, but that's okay. >> You know, he's super responsive on socials. He'll like heart stuff. You tag him in and like if you like send him stuff a lot of times, he'll at least look at it. So, like, shout out YDG. I love his music. >> So, I want to talk a little bit about your music, too. So, we saw a whole eclectic group of DJs yesterday play and then you came to our afters and played a set unlike any of theirs. Correct. Right. You dropped it. Uh, and so let's talk a little bit about your music. Where does that inspiration come from? >> I really like trap music. Um, festival trap is like really big for me, but I also hang out with a lot of people who are big rhythm heads. >> So, so a lot of my music kind of meshes those two genres together. Um, plus I'm a really big sucker for just stuff I like like throwbacks from like the '9s. So, like you throw some Lil Wayne on, I'll throw I'll go down for some Lil Wayne. love me some Childish Gambino. I like like all those classics and like to kind of bring that back into the party. Um, but overall I also like a lot of weird things like anime and K-pop and all this other stuff and I try to throw that into my music too. >> Um, but a lot of people have told me that my specific style of like DJing is very flowy and has a lot of ups and downs and a lot of uh >> a lot of a story to it is what I've heard. Like it takes you on a journey where it's like, "Oh, I'm here. Psych. Just kidding. And now we're here. Psych. Just kidding." So that's a lot of what I get. >> I love that. You know, the different directions that you take people on. Sometimes music can be like a roller coaster. It's, you know, the unexpected twist or turn at the bottom of the hill that really gets you. >> Yeah. So, but overall I'd say a lot of my style for like specific DJing that I really like is festival trap and I throw a bunch of rhythm elements because snares and a lot of the kicks are very similar in both of those genres um with like isoaxo things like those things those happen in rhythm too and a lot of people don't >> really notice it but it does. >> That's awesome. So, you also played some like anime influenced music last night. You played some K-pop Demon Hunter and so tell a little bit of how it is to marry those two genres together >> specifically um like K-pop and anime and like the trap and stuff. >> Yeah. And those that song you sent me a sneak preview. I'm ready fans. You got to know sometimes Daltton and I our love language is music and friendship and phone calls, right? We're you know we're like that. So he sends me this mix and I'm in my kitchen, you know, cooking up as I should be and we put it on and the kitchen erupts, right? It is just we're waiting, the drop hits and everybody there goes, "This is incredible." Cuz it's different. It's fun and it is on the pulse of, you know, I think the excitement to what a lot of people are feeling right now. >> Yeah. Um to mix those genres, I feel like I'm very meticulous of songs that I do mix together. Um, >> I take time to put like actual music together well and I sit there and try to find the best transition point in each song and I do it song by song the entire way. Um, and then I'll have like a set group of songs. I'm like, do I really want to start with that first song? And then Record Box is super cool. It has this feature where you can like look at the same songs in the same key in BPM. So, what I do is like I'll see if my first song is really what I want to start with or if maybe I want to make my own intro. I've made two of my own intros. Um, I'm starting to produce. I don't have any of my own original stuff, but it's like a lot of remixes and just kind of mashups right now. Um, and I really enjoy that. But overall, like putting my music together. It's a it's a process of just kind of trial and error >> with things that I really like. And I throw everything I like into a playlist and I'm like, "Okay, how do I fit it together to get as many of these songs as I want into this set?" >> I love that. >> So, that's kind of what I do. And then I I'm always open to hearing like other people's perspectives on thing. They're like, "Oh, if you like this, if you like that artist, you'll probably like this." So, I try to also be flexible and listen to other people's perspective as well, but >> I like to try to stick to my roots, too. >> You have a really eclectic pull for a lot of the different songs that you take. Um, you know, I heard you at After 12 and like you went from Skrillex to being able to drop some Lil Wayne to like dropping some rhythm and it flowed really well, right? you know, you hit them with voltage and they feel something and then you move them into a different BPM. So, where do you pull like that feeling from? Is there something that you experienced maybe that you're like that was it for me? That's what I want to do. >> I think I think that starts with like where I kind of got involved with music. Okay. >> Um I've always seen music as kind of an outlet to just enjoy life. It's kind of like I guess my drug in a way. Um, I'm a pretty much sober dober in the in the scene. I'll drink a couple alcoholic beverages, but never really getting drunk. Um, but a big thing for me is like music does something to people. It makes them feel and it it brings out emotions that >> most things can't. I think there's there's power in sound waves. There's >> there's authenticity in like everything that I put into like remixes and stuff that I make that I'm like, "Wow, >> this embodies me." So, I try to make it about like what I really want my direction to be and where I want to see myself five years from now. >> And I throw all that kind of together. But overall, music has just kind of been a big thing. I started in choir. Um, I was a drummer. I don't have much like piano skills or anything like that, but I know my whole whole half whole half. Like I know my basic music theory and I can throw stuff together. Okay. But in the long run, it kind of just comes down to what sounds good, what takes people from here to there, and gives them an experience. >> Cuz I want the music that I portray and give out to be exciting for people to have something to look forward to, something that they're enjoying, and something that's different. Because what I've always heard is a good DJ plays what the crowd wants to hear. But a great DJ plays what the crowd doesn't know that they want to hear. >> But I think that the best DJs, >> they play what they want and they help people learn to like it as well. On top of that, >> um because a good DJ has to have a good ear. >> And if they're not playing stuff that they like, they can't put the passion and the drive and the desire that they want into their music. >> So that's where I think the best DJs come. Like Skrillex play anything, anything at all. and everybody would love it. >> Skrilix could play the My Little Pony theme song. >> Mhm. >> And everybody would go crazy because he's Skrillex. >> Mhm. >> But people go for Skrillex. >> Mhm. >> They go for the person that connection that that music brings them to him, >> you know? >> So, as a tradition on Ready VIP, one of the things we always love to do is give artists the chance to have the last word. Say something that really means something to you. What is something that if you were on the other side of this and you wanted to be able to hear it or you wanted people to be able to connect to you as an artist, >> what is that? >> I think there's two. Okay. >> One's a little funny. I'm waiting for my friends who really like Sudden Death to ask me for this patchmina because I'm not a big Sudden Death fan, but I got it as like the the championship belt because all my friends are really big rhythm junkies and I'm like, I got it and you didn't. >> So, I'm just still waiting for one of them to ask me. But overall, the real answer is probably [Music] >> and I think it's also a question for everybody. >> What's your why and why are you doing it? Um cuz I have specific reasons why I do DJing like religion and things like that because I want to show people like that overall rave rave culture is a safe space >> wherever you're at. And there's >> the universe or God or whatever you believe in. And there's there's power there. And that power has >> the power to change people to show people love or >> to make you sad. M >> but you got to be content with your why in life to know where you're going and where you want to be and follow that. And if you don't follow that, what's your purpose? >> And if you can find your purpose, you have to have your why to back up your purpose. Cuz you can do something with a bad heart and then you don't get anywhere. And you you don't like that's what where a lot of people work. They go to work every day to make a paycheck, but they're not doing something they love. So then they end up getting frustrated having arguments with their spouse or whatever it may be because they're not doing something that they love and that they enjoy >> because there's not a why or a heart behind it. Whereas like for my job, I work with kids and I love kids and I want to be a good dad one day. >> So I have a purpose to do my job well and I enjoy my job even though sometimes it can be a little hard. I really like what you said that, you know, finding your why is really important and that there's a lot of healing power in the music and the culture and the community regardless of what walk of life you come from, especially if you feel like you would be out of here. >> Yeah. And I'm learning more and more that it's not a judgmental space. Even though you can feel like the world is going to judge you wherever you're at, um it's really good to know that there's people who genuinely will love you, but are also cool enough to call you out on your mistakes >> because that's a big part of like being a friend. There's people who you have as friends and people who you have as acquaintances. And you put distance and barriers and boundaries up with those people because overall you want to have your circle be the people that are going to lift you up, encourage you, and help you grow. But if you're pulling the wrong people into your circle, it can ultimately lead to death. And death isn't fun. I don't think it is. >> Well, people fear it. >> Instead of ending on a sad note, I'd love to end on something positive, which is a way for people to find you. Where can they go social media, musicwise? Um, where's your next event? If you want to tell them, we can uh leave that to them to follow that thread. >> Yeah. biggest um events that I have coming up. I'm supposedly opening, not opening, playing after 12, you either the 1st or the 2nd. Haven't gotten details on that yet. Um but then my next official show is at um Brickbox in Tucson. >> Okay. >> Um with Lizer Guideer, >> Lizer Guide, >> MGM, >> MGM. Um so they're going to be playing along with me and I'll be on at 9:30 there um down in Tucson at Brickbox. So that'll be fun. Tickets are on sale. Uh you can check my page. It's all there on my Instagram which is I am notlad. So there's kind of what I have. And I have Soundcloud. It's not llad there. Same thing. Um but yeah, overall that's kind of where I can be found. >> Yeah. And a little lore on the way out. >> His DJ name is his name backwards, which is >> true. Dalton. >> Dton. Thanks, Daltton. >> You're welcome. Bye, guys. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]