DAWSON'S DREAM HAS BECOME ROD'S REALITY

Australian DJ Rod Dawson has a hit song and is preparing to conquer the US music scene.

  Stating that DJs are the new rockstars is like saying nerds are the new cool…it’s so obvious that it is redundant. Still, the notion that one individual with turntables (often virtual ones) or a laptop can transfix, move, and entertain a crowd which numbers in the hundreds or thousands is still new. The generations which have a decade or less of experience in clubs thrive on the idea and those with two or more decades are amenable to this new form of modern shared entertainment. The modern DJ is what the rockstar was in the 70’s: glitz, wow-factor, larger than life and ready to impress; lacking the political statements of the 60’s era but with all of the style of the 80’s. For Australian DJ Rod Dawson, it was all he dreamed of, foregoing the chance to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a famous race car driver. Music was a place of solace and escape for the young Dawson who by age eleven had decided that being a DJ was a way for him to share the feelings music gave him to others. His early exposure to Heavy Metal music is something to which he credits the prominence of heavy Bass in his signature sound.

   Focused heavily on making it as a DJ from sixteen years old on, Rod admits that nothing brought him true happiness the way that playing tunes on his decks made him. After playing some paying gigs and realizing he could make a career out of it, he went full steam ahead. His family was supportive while also instilling the idea that your aspirations are achieved through hard work rather than as a benefit of knowing the right people. Hard work was something Dawson took to instinctually and fervently when it came to music.

  Before becoming one of Australia’s most recognizable DJs and gaining international notoriety, Rod had a strict game plan for making it as a DJ. He recognized the essentials as song selection, technique, emotion, and the flow of how to put it all together to captivate the audience. He studied the greats and those in the major clubs of Australia but was ever vigilant in terms of creating his own sound. It was paramount to Rod to create his own voice that was similar to no other.

  After winning the All Hands on Deck DJ competition and embarking on his own headlining tour of Australian super clubs, Dawson set about to blend different styles; successfully doing so in his collaboration with LA based DJ Slushii on the song “Volt” which has found its way into the sets of such world renowned DJs as Skrillex, Kayzo, Party Thieves, and others. This combination of psy-trance and dubstep quickly propelled Dawson’s work into the hands and ears of the elite of his industry and gave him exposure to hundreds of thousands (or more) of potential fans.

   While this instant hit has brought him attention, it’s the excitement of his live shows that continues to grow Dawson’s brand. He states, “I move around like a crazy man!! With DJing, you get minute sections where you won’t have to do anything while the song builds up so I jump onto the booth or run into the crowd to hype people up in every show. I always jump around like crazy when playing, throw my arms around in the air, Head bang and clap and make the crowd follow my clapping all while DJing at the same time. I also get on the Mic and try and hype the crowd up that way as well. I hope that I can get them out of the hard world where they live for at least an hour or so. I play to them, I play for them, and I take them on a journey to their happy place. I hope I can make them have the most fun night of their lives and create memories that help them through hard times when they experience them. I hope they leave with a piece of my happiness and I can Inspire others to chase their dreams as I have done. They’re at my party and I want them to have the best time they have ever experienced.”

  It makes sense that Rod feels strongly about his artistic community. They have made his hit remix “Volt” ubiquitous in club and concert venues and Slushii is preparing to take him out as the opener on his “Light It Up” tour. However, Dawson’s thoughts and affinity for community reach much further back than these accomplishments and accolades. It’s his contention that the creativity of those around him cultivates greater activity on his own part. It is the very fact that many of the previously mentioned famous American DJs have felt inspired by Dawson’s work that has the Australian pondering his interest in the US music scene. He relates, “The US fits my Style of music better than anywhere on the Earth. I have a lot of like-minded friends there who can push me in the right direction. Thanks to people like Slushii, Skrillex, and others who have been playing my stuff, I have a lot of fans in the US these days. It seems like a perfect fit for where I am in my career right now and I’m very intrigued about investigating the possibilities in the US for myself.” Rod Dawson seems to be one of those lucky individuals who enjoys the support of his family, fans in Australia, and now fans in America. It’s a situation that allows him a number of potential avenues to pursue. He has already proven that he is an innovator in his industry; what remains to be seen is what he will do next and how those around him will be affected.