Today we’d like to introduce you to Bri Aguilar
Hi Bri, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been a music enthusiast ever since I could remember! I attribute all of my wide range of music taste to my mom. My mom was a single mother and so we were together all of the time and some of the earliest memories I have of us together always involved music. We spent every morning listening to everything from Third Eye Blind, Stone Temple Pilots and Matchbox to John Legend, Mark Anthony and Usher on the way to school. And we did that together from the age of 4 until I was a senior in high school – when I could finally drive myself to school (haha). Music has always been our thing but it all really started my freshman year of college when she got me my first DJ Controller as a Christmas present. It was a Hercules DJ Control MP3 e2 and I don’t think either of us expected everything else that would happen after that. I started off doing small gigs for friends and family for about a year or 2, but, eventually, I had to put DJing aside because I was still a college athlete and was pursuing my degree. Although I still loved music, I didn’t have an interest in DJing again until COVID. Around that time, I found a huge interest in going to Electronic Music festivals and one particular DJ caught my attention and reignited my flame for DJing. His name is ILLENIUM. It also just so happened that my best friend was neighbors with DJ Royal Highnuss whose good friend co-owned The DJ School Dallas. If I remember correctly, I signed up about a week after finding out there was a DJ school and it was one of the best things I could have done! It was a 5 week course with a graduation performance lead by the owners, DJ Souljah and DJ Titan. I graduated in November 2020 and began getting DJ gigs from Souljah and Titan starting the next month. My first club gig was at The Clover Club in April ’21 and, ever since then, I hit the ground running. It’s been 3 years since that first club gig and I’ve had some amazing opportunities come my way thanks to The DJ School, DJ Souljah and DJ Titan. I’ve since added Candleroom, Hero, Greenlight Social, Komodo, The Green Elephant, The Boiler Roof, Lounge 31, Gilley’s Dallas and Kai Lounge to my list of club gigs. I’ve been lucky enough to perform in front of some big names including Drake, Micah Parsons, Dak Prescott, Dwight Powell and some other big name DJs and in June of this year, I got a really amazing opportunity to DJ the pregame for the Dallas Wings vs. Las Vegas Aces WNBA game – thanks to DJ Elusive! I’ve been blessed with so many special moments and I’ve met so many incredible DJs along the way that have now become good friends of mine. I love this community of Dallas DJs and Dallas music and I look forward to contributing to its growth in everything that’s to come!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say it’s been fairly smooth. The main obstacle I face is time. I do work a full-time job during the week for Fossil Group, Inc. as a Software Engineer and, obviously, my weekends are full. My first year or two of real DJing (’21-’23), I pretty much accepted every single gig that came my way (and, yes, I was still a full-time software engineer at the time as well) which would burn anybody out! This year, I told myself I would give myself at least one day a week to myself – that day is Sunday. I haven’t stuck to my goal 100%, but I’ve stuck to it at least 90% of the time so far this year. I’m a big family person as well and, sometimes, it does make me sad that I don’t spend as much time with them as I would like to. Currently, this is my biggest struggle – family time. To me, it’s one of the most important parts of life and my obstacle this year is allowing myself more time to spend with them and be a little more picky with the gigs that I am accepting.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Dallas-based, born & raised, DJ that is known for Open-Format and House music! I’m most proud of the confidence that I’ve built over the years from performing in front of all of the people that I’ve been lucky enough to DJ for. If you knew me as a kid and adolescent, you’d know that I was extremely quiet and shy. I would’ve never guessed I’d be comfortable getting in front of so many people to play music for them. It still blows my mind to this day. What sets me apart from others is my WIDE range of music knowledge (thanks to my mom!). Every gig, there’s at least one person that comes up to me and says, “I can’t believe you know this song!” (haha) – it’s one of my favorite compliments!
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The biggest lesson I’m still learning is how to let go and just simply have fun each and every set. I’m a huge perfectionist and always have been. In my early stages of DJing, I had to plan out every single set, down to what song would come after the other. I wanted each set to be “perfect” for each gig, but I very quickly learned that that would not fly if I wanted to be good at what I was doing. Every crowd can be so different from the other and it’s impossible to know what they will want to hear ahead of time, so I had to learn to let go of trying to be perfect every time. Reading the crowd can be a make or break for a DJ and I’m glad I’ve finally allowed myself to play based off whatever energy I’m receiving from the people in that moment instead of trying to predict what it will be beforehand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.effortlesstalentagency.com/copy-of-dj-souljah
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djbrizaguilar/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDJBriZ/
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/partystarterbmoney
Image Credits
Chelsea Tompkins
Joseph Dalcour
Faith Zuniga
