Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Avalos.
Hi Bryan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Honestly, I feel like my journey has just started. At the time of doing this interview, I’ve only been performing live and been a part of the music industry for a few months. Hopefully one day I’ll look back at this moment and say “this is where it all started.”
But truly my exposure to music began when they made everyone take music classes in elementary school. Something that everyone had to take since at the time we were kids so they had to test our motor skills but also give us an introduction to the arts. It really didn’t start to hit me until about middle school / high school that I realized music meant much more to me than to the average person.
I grew up going to public school but let me just say this, just because you don’t go to a private school doesn’t mean there aren’t teachers who are absolute gems. I was so lucky enough to have the most kind and the most supportive music directors who really gave me the foundation I needed to understand how music is not only made but how it can be interpreted. It’s a very powerful tool that I’m still thankful for to this day and I feel it’s gotten me to where I am right now. Honestly, it’ll probably be the thing that takes me where I want to go in the future.
My mother always told me music was a gift from God and that I was “blessed to understand music” and “blessed to be able to play different instruments.” My life didn’t always feel like a blessing though. My mother started to raise my brother and I on her own around my sophomore year of high school.
If you’ve ever been in the situation where you’re raised by a single parent, or if you currently are a single parent, you can understand how hard mentally and emotionally exhausting it can be for developing teens. I love my mother dearly though and she has always done the best she can. She is a big supporter of my music which makes me feel like I’m doing something to make her proud.
Something momentous for me that also happened in high school though was that I was able to attend my first concerts thanks to some friends at the time. I still remember the first was the Bruno Mars Moonshine Tour with Ellie Goulding opening and after that it was the Beyoncé formation world tour. Two shows that, just wow. I mean was literally 18 looking at a Beyoncé production for the first time absolutely astonished at the artistry and production she puts into her work. I’ve been a #BeyHive since then.
I recommend everyone to go to at least one concert in their life please do not leave this world without experiencing the concert of one of your favorite artists that is still alive I promise you won’t regret it. A concert is like taking the music that you’re listening to on your phone, or for me my iPod at that time, and making it into an intimate moment between you and them. Depending on the artist, the shows can be on a massive scale booking arenas and stadiums. Seeing music shared in that way solidified that I wanted to share music of my own one day. But not just share music, I wanted to find a way to make people feel something when they heard the music. To what scale I’ll be able to do it only time will tell. But I hope to one day to create something so big and so fulfilling to myself and the world that so many lives will be changed in a good way. Oh and Coachella. I would love to play Coachella!
After that Beyoncé concert I spent the next 9 years, and counting, basically addicted to going to music festivals and going to concerts to see my favorite artists. Everything from small local shows to large multi day music festivals. Most of those concerts were EDM shows. I never touched a musical instrument again though. At least, not yet from what I thought were your typical instruments.
I soon became the annoying friend who was always asking to play my music if my friends and I were driving somewhere or we were getting ready to go to an event. My friends, being the supportive royal court they are, suggested to drop making playlists and begin looking into actual DJ’ing. I had spent the last so many years going to shows admiring all these artists performing that it never occurred to me I could create a world to bring these experiences myself. Next thing I knew it was January 2025 and I was downloading djay Pro by Algoriddim on my 2015 MacBook Pro and watching hours of YouTube on learning how to mix. At the time of us doing this interview, I am still using my 2015 MacBook Pro and still self-taught by just using YouTube to learn essential tips and tricks about mixing.
Now, the thing about learning how to DJ on your own is that it is ROUGH. I mean, even all the music theory I had under my belt didn’t prepare me on how to use software to mix music. On top of that, having to learn how to use different DJ decks which is what I would consider a musical instrument of the 20th and 21st century. It might look easy once we’re on stage, but I promise you there’s years and years of knowledge behind all of it.
Even though I was just starting, I already felt so eager to share what I was learning with everyone I knew. I remember making a poll on my instagram maybe two weeks into learning DJAYPro, no deck yet, asking who wanted me to go live on instagram so they could hear my horrible transitions. Surprisingly the results were 89% yes!
I knew I wasn’t good starting out. But I didn’t have to be good, I just had to feel confident in what I was doing. I swear I thought I was a genius for learning how to transition with a crossfader and for learning how to loop beats to build a drop. I still have a video of the first time I learned that cause I posted it on Instagram immediately after to share my discovery.
Believing in yourself matters so much. I’m sure at the time I thought all of those transitions were fire. And truly, all I remember is my friends always cheering me on and giving me the positive reinforcement they knew I needed to succeed. It was like they could almost see a new spark in me that they wanted to keep burning.
I spent all of 2025 practicing in my bedroom and going to house parties that my friends would throw where it felt like a safe space and felt like I wasn’t going to be judged when I made a mistake. I invested on a DDJ-FLX4 a couple months after learning the software which solidified I was gonna be in this for the long run. Still the only board I have and use by the way along with my 2015 MacBook Pro!
While learning to mix I found that I really enjoyed mixing house music, but I also reconnected with my love for dubstep which is what lead me to go to EDM shows in the first place. There was also a newfound love for techno that I had never explored before. There’s also some genres I don’t even know how to describe like future bass that just make you feel something so immense it’s insane.
I never felt ready to step out of the house party environment until this year. The fear of failure and being judged by strangers in the public eye was stopping me. What I realized was fear will stop you from experiencing all the things that are meant for you.
My first performance was at an open decks at a venue called Sounders in Dallas on a Wednesday night. The story of that is for another time. To give you some context though, it was my first time on a stage and out of a random selection I was called to go first. I was so nervous that I left my headphones in a seat and had to have my friend Josh who came with me run to the booth to hand them to me! On top of that, they had decks I had never seen or researched before in my life.
That performance changed me in multiple ways. It was the first time I had heard music I had curated played at a scale I’ve only experienced being in the audience. It was also what I would consider my first real failure as I didn’t play anywhere near as close as I had been practicing. Instead of feeling upset with myself though, I felt a rage that I needed to make up for, in my opinion, how bad I did.
The very next night were tryouts for a music festival called Breakaway which actually has multiple shows around the US at the moment including Dallas. I had been to the first one they had in Dallas last year. It was also the festival where I met one of my now best friends, so I felt comfortable being able to give a shot at the opportunity.
The rules were simple, USB only, 20 minutes to show your style, and the more people who come to see you the more likely you’re chosen to play the festival. Oh, and two winners in about a room of 20 other DJ’s. I had already been begging all of the people I knew to come to the show. The energy of that set was unforgettable and I performed the best I had that night. That set is uploaded onto my SoundCloud in case anyone wants to listen.
After that night I got a message on instagram saying I placed third and that they weren’t able to offer me a spot on the festival due to my audience size. They instead wanted to coordinate a smaller show I could perform at. I was so shocked I even placed at all given that it was my second live show ever.
I was more than happy to even get a chance to play again. I really didn’t think manifestation was a real thing until in the middle of planning that second show the conversation shifted from “sorry you weren’t chosen to play ” to “would you like to play the festival?” I still don’t know how it happened.
Let me just put out there I’m not playing on any Main Stage at all but instead the Silent Disco the festival curates for local artists. Regardless, I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity given how much time I’ve been in the industry. That was a couple months ago I got the news.
Since then, I’ve been asked to play different spots both for events sponsored by the festival but also for promoters I’ve met who are guiding me through my journey. Not all paid but someone told me one time that if you do something for love, the money will follow. So I’m not too concerned about that.
I’m grateful to have found something that will continue to push me past my own barrier of fear. I’m also thankful to have found a way to share with the world music that makes me feel something in hopes that it makes them feel something as well. This year is my 10 year anniversary since I annexed my first music festival, and I plan to make every year now giving back to the industry and people that helped shape me into who I am today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think if life was a smooth road a lot of people would be more happier than they are today. Growing up I struggled with figuring out my sexuality whilst being heavily involved with the Catholic Church. When I came out as gay, my family did not take it lightly. It was one of those “we kind of knew already but we’re ignoring it” ordeals. Time heals all though and they ultimately came around. My own mother has even come out to see me at a pride parade I was in!
The industry itself has its own struggles. I’ve started to learn it can be very political. It’s getting to a point where if you don’t look a certain way or if you don’t have a certain following, it can be harder to get booked. Not all gigs are paid either.
Most won’t even bring up the conversation unless you initiate it. You’ll get booked and if you never discussed a booking fee or even a bar tab, you just signed yourself up to do a free show. There are some good promoters out here though who are really in it for the underdogs and want everyone to succeed. I’ve even had promoters pay me out of pocket out of the kindness of their hearts.
Talent exposure can be a challenge as well. Some of the best music I’ve played has been from SoundCloud artists just starting out and offering their tracks as free downloads to share. It’s insane to me that some people refuse to book you just because you don’t have a cult following. Support your local artist.
These people have some of the best mixes I’ve ever heard compared to bigger DJ’s. People say the industry is dying, but I hope to keep a part of it alive by continuing to share music not just created by mainstream artists and by bringing back the importance of safe spaces. PLUR in the EDM community stands for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect which the world needs more of.
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?
Currently, I’m a DJ based here in Dallas, Texas looking to expand and play outside of the city. I play a variety of House, Dubstep/Trap, and also techno depending on the show. I’m hoping to learn more genres with time.
I would like to believe what sets me apart from other people in the industry is the same reason people pick their favorite artists. The music I share makes you feel something deeper than just standing in the crowd. You feel a connection and you have something memorable that brings back positivity in your life.
I spend hours upon hours almost every day listening to tracks from all different sources that tell all different stories. Ultimately I ask myself the same question before deciding to include something in my library. How did that make me feel and is this part of my truth to share with the world?
I never get tired of music and there’s not really any genre I would not consider myself a fan of. I’m not just talking about EDM either. I mean, I’m a huge K-pop fan and I’ve also recently gotten back into classical with Rosalia’s latest release LUX. A must listen to anyone.
I’m also a very visual person, despite my poor eyesight. I have so many ideas and things saved for ways to tell a story in a concert setting. Production absolutely fascinates me and seeing how shows at a grand scale are made from the ground up is something that’s always intrigued me.
Overall, I feel Ike I’ve accomplished my goal as a performer if my truth can relate to even one person in a room. One of the best compliments I’ve gotten after a show so far was someone mentioning the energy I brought to the stage was the best out of everyone they saw. Knowing you were able to leave a mark on someone’s life in a positive way really does make everything worth it.
How do you define success?
Success I believe is subjective to one’s self. There is not a book you can read that can outline what success means to you. There are guides to success, but ultimately I believe the feeling is subjective to when someone feels satisfied with their efforts or the fruits of their labor.
To me it’s feeling that I did the absolute best I could’ve done into trying to achieve something no matter the outcome. I believe there is success in failure. The goal is to try because you will not always succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/AVALOOXZ
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/avalooxz
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/acsIa7UUT3nYKIE7Cy
Image Credits
TALASFOTOS
