Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary Gistarb
Hi Zachary , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am DJ ZachG. I started Dj’ing in college at northwestern state university in 2012. Me and some friends started throwing house parties and needed music so being that I always loved music I took the task of being a dj something that I always thought was cool. Ive been the life of the party since a young age and always had the energy to hype of a crowd of people. Now I was Dj’n the house parties but it wasn’t just instant that I started doing the big college parties, I had to actually put in the work start with smaller venues and little to no money and wok my way up. Thats the beauty of it and it taught me early in the game that nothing would be giving to me and that I had to actually work my way up to get noticed by promoters. Once I was solidified in Louisiana I then graduated from college and moved to Houston and that’s when things started to get bigger for me but it wasn’t all at once. It took maybe 2-3 years of me living here just to secure my first gig out here. Breaking into the Houston market was very tough but I knew I had the talents to make it happen. So I got my first gig at this club that wasn’t even fully opened yet but some promoters had started doing events there before the grand opening of the club. Now the parties were almost never packed but I knew I had to make the best of this opportunity, so I went into the gig like it was a packed out night every time and put on a show I didn’t care if it was 2 people or 20 people in there I WENT ALL OUT. The owner of the spot noticed how talented I was and ended up hiring me as the house dj for the spot. So I begin working there and was there for about 2-3 years until they closed down. But I was able to build my name and brand there and started getting noticed by other Dj’s and nightclubs in the city, and things started going up hill from there.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road, lol of course not this journey has been a roller coaster ride you could be up and booked and busy and in a few months be down to little to no gigs. Its all apart of the grind though. I struggle with branding and marketing myself and I feel like that could slow my process down, also some more struggles is networking, I mean I never had a problem with talking with people but post pandemic its been so many Dj’s going up to promoters and club owners saying that they dj and don’t deliver quality so they get jaded and think that every dj that comes up to them is on the same timing, when in my case that aint it I deliver every time. Another struggle is staying consistent in social media content. In anything your trying to do in life you may struggle but the struggles created a monster and I’ve been feeling like I can’t be stopped by anyone or anything.
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?
So I am a Dj and also a producer. I specialize in crowd control at different venues and clubs around Houston. Im known for my electric energy and mic presence all while mixing peoples favorite tunes. Im most proud of how far I’ve come because I remember when I first moved here I was on the verge of giving up on my dreams because no bookings was coming in. Im my own person I’ve never copied or tried to be like any other dj I’ve come across. Things I do in my sets are not rehearsed and everything comes from my creative mind on the spot. I can dj and mc at the same time I know its a lot of dis that is not blessed with that gift. Also I try to stay out of the nightlife politics and keep it strictly about Dj’n with me, Thats what sets me apart from others. Also it doesn’t matter what age group, genre, race, etc I can get the job done for just about any party or event I’m booked for.
How do you think about luck?
I wouldn’t call it luck, But God has blessed me to be able to make an honest living off of my talents.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: GoDjZachG
- Facebook: Zach Gistarb
