Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Breitenstein.
Hi Robert, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got started in this business back in 2014 with a love for music and skills. Fortunately for me and for many, a hobby became a full time occupation. I went from taking any events that would book me, like birthday parties, homecomings and graduation parties. These translated into some bars and clubs when I turned 18 and went to college. I always wanted to be able to do stuff that others couldn’t. Learning to be a technical DJ who scratches, mixes by music just by listening to temps or bpms, programming my own lights, and learning all of this early, helped me stand out from every other DJ. I started in 2014 and by 2016, everyone wanted to be a DJ at the time. I was quickly able to find my fit within my community, branching off from being booked for an event, to hosting my own events. This was not a solo effort. My friend, and later in life the best man at my wedding, Eric Goree, were able to break through and create our own night, and make money. This all laid the foundation for what we are able to stand on now. Learning what we did from those events in 2017 and 2018, we funded new production equipment like lighting, speakers and the knowledge of how to market. We later were able to turn that into a new event called “TheAssignment” in January of 2022. We booked an artist, were able to host over 24 events, and still do. The money we made, portfolio we built, and reach we achieved through clever marketing landed us gigs in and out of town. We have had 7 photographers on our team, DJs, and lighting techs. Our team is expanding and we are hoping for a great year.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Of course it has been rough. Pandemic was a big downer. I had graduated college in December of 2019 with a record amount of gigs the following year, only to go into pandemic. It was rough but we had set up the business to be low overhead. We kind of went into hibernation mode and planned for our return. Eric and I began to plan an event in 2021 as things opened up. By January 2022 we launched. It was a huge success. Some rough patches have been date conflicts. We have seen over 1500 people at our events with lines to the street, and we have seen it with maybe 50 people. You just never know what else is going on in town and dates change. Financially, that has been the hardest for us, figuring out when to and when not to throw events. This year, 2024 has been strange. People are not spending money like other years. I have my predictions on why but it definitely has changed. Restaurants and bars are closing. My bartender friends are telling me that people aren’t going out much less tipping. I know it isn’t just me. Another issue that we ran into early was that our team would have about a 2 year turn over. A person really only becomes hungry enough to get out there by their junior year in college and then leave once they join on within a year or two. It has been constantly finding someone who is a good fit, has the work ethic, and is open to learning where they may need it. Rough patches are to be expected. There are people who will just talk about them and there are people who plan for a return, make do with what we have, and capitalize on it. Markets change and you just have to be about to adapt. It is difficult but I like it. These kinds of hardships weed out a lot of competition.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
What I do specifically is DJ. I like to think of it as a maestro. You need to know how to do everything and then help others and bring them together. I DJ, program lights, I work on AV equipment, I emcee, I can do taxes and speak fairly well as far as financial literacy, I take photos and shoot video and edit and I market and Majored in communication in College. Fortunately, I have a team and most, if not all of those can be delegated to other people and I can focus on my specialty, DJing. I am known for my open format style. This style is based on playing all kinds of music and genres. I am known specifically for rnb music. I have always been fascinated with how EDM DJs need those heavy hitter songs at high temps, yet I can get the same big crowd reaction with a classic RnB record. Finding the unexpected songs and being inclusive to all backgrounds has been a big reason for my success. TheAssignment gave me a platform to play Spanish music in a not so diverse town. I played afrobeats, Spanish music, dancehall, house music, and all kinds of styles. With that I was able to appeal to the guys who want to hear hiphop, the girls who wanted sing alongs, the edm people who wanted to get rowdy, spanish who didn’t hear their music at these parties, and afro beats that was being played in big cities but not in small rooms. This style of everything and playing for everyone led me into lots of weddings, parties, bars and private events, creating a diversity on where I was booked.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I am still a child. I’m 27 but I feel young. One of my most fond memories, aside from my wedding(I love you wife), was the very first time we hosted TheAssignment. The music was whatever we wanted and it was incredible. We had probably 1500 people there two nights in a row. I was able ot bring in my best friends to help and book my go to photographer Kiersten Hart. We all got paid and knew we had something special. Not just this date, but the whole experience. I saw my social media presence spike. I showed my parents and wife. They were all so happy to see it all. To top it off, the best event I’ve ever DJed was only followed up by my wedding the following week. I was on top of the world. I had my whole family, a great gig to follow up with, my team, and everything was copacetic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/allthingsrnbtx
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthingsrnbdj/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzG25EMuewovLlfqEmxa6Q
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@allthingsrnb
Image Credits
Colbie Balsamo with Colbie Clips, Josh Hightower with Hightower Productions, and Kiersten Hart with K.hartfilms.
