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Beek on being A DISC JOCKEY · Beek on being

• 0:00
  Melissa Shere Beek: Hi. I hope you're well. This podcast is a place for people to share personal and professional perspectives to talk openly and to ask questions. From serious to silly to sublime, it's all about communication and connections, Always coming from a place of kindness and curiosity, we talk about shared humanity, discuss ideas, and highlight people creating a better world. We've got to keep learning, keep growing, keep being.
• 0:25
  I'm Melissa Shere Beek, and this is Beek on being. Today's episode is Beek on being a disc jockey. That jam comes on, your soul feels it, your body's pumped, and your brain forgets anything that stressed you out. Vibe check. And a thank you to the DJ who's reading the crowd and knows just how to curate the music that moves you.
• 0:45
  In studio today, we have DJ Brooke G to break it all down and mix it up. I'm so excited that you're here. You have no idea. You're the coolest DJ ever. Thank I love you beyond beyond beyond, and I love that you represent the three zero five and the world.
• 1:01
  So that's it. Thanks. I'm so happy you're here.
• 1:04
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Thanks for having me.
• 1:05
  Melissa Shere Beek: Rock and roll chic for you today.
• 1:07
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I love your rock and roll, dude. I feel comfortable.
• 1:10
  Melissa Shere Beek: I'm stealing your shoes later.
• 1:12
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Just Any time. I'm stealing your pants.
• 1:14
  Melissa Shere Beek: Okay. Good. It's a good trade. Oh, so for our listeners who don't know you and love you like I do, will you introduce yourself and tell them a little bit about you?
• 1:24
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yes. I would love to. Well, other than being a family friend of yours from the beginning. Know yes. You Born and raised in Miami.
• 1:34
  I know you as sissie. Yes. That's just grew up with me. And I love your dad and your mom and your other sister. And I yeah, I'm happy to be here.
• 1:49
  I am a DJ for more years than we need to give a number to. So for forever. Yeah. I lost track.
• 1:57
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, god. So what does it mean to be a DJ?
• 2:00
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Well, I guess for me, it's playing the music for the parties, the people, and curating a sound vibe for different places and events and just keeping the music going with a set of skills.
• 2:23
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 2:24
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 2:25
  Melissa Shere Beek: So let's talk about because I was gonna ask you, like, two things. I was gonna ask you, like, the skills that you need, and also are there, like, DJ rules?
• 2:32
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yes. Okay. So when I came up, there were many rules and it was strict to you had to be able to mix two records Mhmm. Seamlessly with no mistakes by ear
• 2:49
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, wow.
• 2:49
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: For an extended period of time. So that was before computers. So you would listen to a song and another song, and how can I overlap them that they sound like one endless Yes? And it's tricky because as a regular listener, you're not listening how many beats per minute is How many how fast is this? How slow?
• 3:18
  What key is this in? So you have to train your ear. And so I practice and practice and practice. And the rule was to be able to do it for an extended period of time with zero mistakes before you could leave the house and call yourself a DJ.
• 3:40
  Melissa Shere Beek: So how did you become a DJ? Like, how did all of this start for you?
• 3:44
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Well, it started in college. I was infatuated with radio. Growing up here in Miami, I'd listen to WVUM and all the different radio stations. And I was like, when I get to college, I'm gonna I'm gonna do that. And I got there in a studio much like this.
• 4:04
  And was like, what are these machines? What how can I oh, wow? I can blend all sorts of music. We had turntables. We had tape decks, cart machines back then.
• 4:17
  And I was spending all my time at the radio station. And I finally got a set of turntables, two turntables, and I a mixer at a thrift shop. And at the house now I was, you know, trying to blend, had all these ideas, like I wanted to put James Brown over a rock and roll beat. And how could I do that, and spent a lot of time. And then eventually people kind of heard what I was doing and was, can you do this party?
• 4:53
  We're having this party. Can you play some music? And then, oh, we're doing a club night, and it just kinda went from there, where play you play for free.
• 5:04
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 5:04
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: That maybe someone throws you $50 if you're, like, doing good. And, yeah. But you love it so much that that's how it kinda unfolded for me.
• 5:18
  Melissa Shere Beek: You just started with a passion and that was it.
• 5:20
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. This the equipment, and that goes back to my parents' stereo. They had all the different components and I just wanted to manipulate the equalizer and all oh, and I went to the back of the machine. How does this all connect? That's cool.
• 5:38
  The turntable and the records, and they were just huge music people. Yeah. And I just fell in love with being able to manipulate sound and create, like, an atmosphere.
• 5:54
  Melissa Shere Beek: That's awesome. Thank you. So is you really are creating. So I was gonna ask you, a DJ is really a music curator.
• 6:01
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 6:01
  Melissa Shere Beek: Like you're, you are creating an atmosphere.
• 6:04
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Exactly. So, maybe it's not just a dance club, maybe, know, a, a cocktail party or maybe it's a festival or a radio show. So there's different types of situations that might call for a DJ. So, yeah, you're curating, you're picking out the vibe for because not one size fits all, as you know. So you're
• 6:35
  Melissa Shere Beek: You're feeding off the energy of the place that you're at.
• 6:38
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Oh, absolutely. The energy of the people, place Yeah, you all of that.
• 6:45
  Melissa Shere Beek: Do you need so besides the passion and being able to do everything that you did, do you need any specialty degrees? Or it's really more experience?
• 6:52
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So I wish they would have that you need a specialty degree now because like I said, there used to be rules. The rules have gone out the window. So I had, you know, different people in my life that, you know, like, my roommate was a hip hop kid out of Chicago and would cover his ears and yell like he was my roommate. He's like, oh, this sounds use your headphones. I can't hear this.
• 7:19
  And just, you know, hard on me. Then he I come back to Miami, And I have another mentor, DJ Tony G.
• 7:27
  Melissa Shere Beek: Uh-huh.
• 7:28
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: No relation. Right. But he, I caught the Tony G school of hard knocks. People should go to that class because he literally, like, had me come over. I was gonna open for him and bring my records Uh-huh.
• 7:45
  And made me, like, show what I can do, which included beat juggling, which is what is
• 7:52
  Melissa Shere Beek: beat juggling?
• 7:53
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Okay, so Sorry,
• 7:55
  Melissa Shere Beek: I'm taking my cool jacket
• 7:56
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: off. Take it off.
• 7:57
  Melissa Shere Beek: It got hot in studio.
• 8:00
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: It's where you play a part of a song. And you have two double records. So you have the same record on each side. And you play a part of the song, and on the other side, you play the other part. And you keep bringing it back.
• 8:17
  Melissa Shere Beek: So you just wind it back.
• 8:18
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: He winds it back to the exact spot. Okay. And then maybe it's a phrase and you cut it up. So, you know, you would you would hear a lot of this or recognize a lot of this maybe like in Run DMC.
• 8:31
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. I was thinking that.
• 8:33
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Stuff like Yeah. It's the scratch.
• 8:37
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 8:37
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: It's being able to like
• 8:38
  Melissa Shere Beek: Repeat the words.
• 8:39
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Chop up the words and on beat and on time. Wow. So he had me do that. He wanted to see what kind of records I had. And, yeah, and he was tough.
• 8:52
  And no one, you know, with hip hop, you need to bring crates and crates of And no one's helping you carry those records. And no one's yeah. So there, there should be a class. There should be a degree. There should be a sign off.
• 9:13
  Like, get all the OGs in the room.
• 9:15
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah.
• 9:16
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And like, do we sign off on you? Yeah. And like, you can't get your stamp of approval unless we sign off.
• 9:22
  Melissa Shere Beek: So do you learn all your technical skills, like, while you're doing your job or while you're doing stuff like that? Because technology's changed.
• 9:29
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So, yeah, I've had to move move along with the times. So, you know, I knew how to use I know how to use turntables, a mixer, all the things, how to hook up equipment. And then we move to after turntables, they move to CDJs, which are CD players with a mixer. Then it moved to a controller, which is a big board.
• 9:57
  And there's all kinds of software, and it keeps changing, keeps changing. And I always say, like, back in the day, like, you had to figure it out, the wires, you had to hook it up everything. So I always say I could hot wire a car by now because they can just figure it out, like throw me in anything and whatever You can make it work. Yeah. But the technology has made it easier I was gonna
• 10:24
  Melissa Shere Beek: ask you that.
• 10:24
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Pros and cons.
• 10:25
  Melissa Shere Beek: What's the pro and con of the technology today?
• 10:28
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So the pros is I don't have to come with eight heavy crates of records.
• 10:34
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 10:34
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And I have so much music and I just come with my computer and a backpack. Unlimited access. Yes. You can have everything. On the flip side, it's like there's not enough time to go through all this music.
• 10:50
  And like, there's it's just over and Too
• 10:53
  Melissa Shere Beek: large of a catalog.
• 10:54
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 10:55
  Melissa Shere Beek: It do you have to have, like, vast knowledge of different music genres if you're a DJ?
• 11:01
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Well, some DJs specialize in a in a certain type of music.
• 11:06
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right. Like house or hip hop
• 11:07
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: or Exactly. So I come from such a vast background of music, class classic rock.
• 11:18
  Melissa Shere Beek: I know I made you play a shit ton of disco that night.
• 11:21
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: 80s disco, hip hop, you name it. So I have a very vast knowledge just because I'm always learning new music and genres. And and so I think it makes you a better DJ if you
• 11:37
  Melissa Shere Beek: To know your music history.
• 11:39
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Oh, that too.
• 11:41
  Melissa Shere Beek: So wait. So technology's changed. Have the crowds changed? Yes. Okay.
• 11:47
  Tell me.
• 11:48
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Oh, gosh. So the phone, you know? The phone. Yeah. So what I see is everyone posing for a picture or filming or and they're not in the moment and it's super sad and you have to work that much harder to let people let go.
• 12:12
  Right. To
• 12:14
  Melissa Shere Beek: get them to let go. Yeah.
• 12:16
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And it's worse in The United States than it is in Europe.
• 12:20
  Melissa Shere Beek: Really? Why?
• 12:21
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: The phones haven't infiltrated their lifestyle and their way to just
• 12:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: Well they're appreciating the moment. Yeah.
• 12:31
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. And, so it's definitely that technology of like being able to just, oh, you know, see what's, in the club before you even arrive in the club instead of just walking in and being like, wow. And, yeah, so that's been, that's been tricky for us, DJs with these phones all
• 12:59
  Melissa Shere Beek: You said something else to me that was tricky. I wrote it down because I wanted to remember. You said that you don't wanna be viewed like a musician. That now people are, like, not really together on the dance floor.
• 13:12
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 13:13
  Melissa Shere Beek: They're facing you.
• 13:14
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. It's awkward as all f. Like, why? Why are you looking at me? Like, No, I don't have a guitar.
• 13:25
  I don't have drums. I'm not a band. Right. Hey, yeah, you can take a peek. What am I doing?
• 13:31
  I'm moving some, you know, things with my hands. And then it's back to your people and like singing the song and moving and checking people out and it's, yeah. So that whole, facing the DJ, even in the festivals. Yeah. Even I've seen it's infiltrated, you know, in Ibiza.
• 13:56
  They face the DJ, and it's like, we were never meant to be faced like that.
• 14:03
  Melissa Shere Beek: Like, as as far as performers, like a band.
• 14:07
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, and people are dancing at me and it's like, okay, what's up? Alright. Peace out.
• 14:18
  Turn around. Go back
• 14:19
  Melissa Shere Beek: to You
• 14:20
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: know? Not sure. And and I'm busy. Yeah. You know?
• 14:24
  Melissa Shere Beek: Like, I'm
• 14:24
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: doing stuff. Like, yeah, I'm vibing too, but, like, later.
• 14:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, god. What is your approach as a DJ?
• 14:33
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: My approach is always kind of been the same, which is I'll know what the night is and I'll get, an idea in my mind. Mhmm. And back in the day, you would have a crate and you would start making your crate and putting different songs and records. Oh, I think that night I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna bring this.
• 14:56
  Melissa Shere Beek: Do you make a playlist now?
• 14:58
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So now you make a crate. I make a crate, I call it, my computer. Uh-huh. And I put all my ideas in it.
• 15:05
  Melissa Shere Beek: Cool.
• 15:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And then I'll, practice with the stuff I'm thinking at the house. Like, I have a setup at the house.
• 15:13
  Melissa Shere Beek: It's still ask you, how do you prepare?
• 15:15
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: It's still that my same two turntables Really? That I bought my first set since back then is tech techniques 12 hundreds that that is the standard. And it was it's still that's what run DMC that's what gram you know Grandmaster Flash everybody and they're that's how long
• 15:36
  Melissa Shere Beek: the OGs yeah
• 15:38
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: that they hold up and so I'll practice with those and then and then I go into the event or venue or whatever, and I'll I'll just vibe it. Yeah. And I just feel like this is what I'm gonna do. This is what I'm gonna play. And I'm off the cuff.
• 16:00
  And I've always been off the cuff. Yeah. And I there are other DJs that plan a set, and they'll kinda stick mix this song into this song, and they kinda
• 16:10
  Melissa Shere Beek: They stick with their
• 16:11
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: rules. Yeah. With but so there's I feel like two camps. Like, there's that style
• 16:18
  Melissa Shere Beek: Uh-huh.
• 16:18
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And my style. Right. And even to say, I'm like, you know, I should probably do it that way. And like yeah. And then I'm like and my husband's like, yeah.
• 16:27
  Because, you know, you don't haven't known what you're doing forever. Like, so
• 16:33
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. But you have so much experience and knowledge, so you can fly off the cuff like that.
• 16:37
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And and that's how it's been because you might make a whole crate and then not use any of it.
• 16:43
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right. Because the energy's different once Yeah. You get to the
• 16:46
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 16:47
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, god. Yeah. Because the people and the setting. So tell me because I know that you have, like, all these really cool venues that you go to. Tell me, like, some of these exotic far off places that you've been and some of the coolest places that you've been.
• 17:03
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Okay. So I recently started working with Formula One
• 17:08
  Melissa Shere Beek: Uh-huh.
• 17:08
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And the races have taken me to these exotic far
• 17:12
  Melissa Shere Beek: off I love it. I always, like, imagine where you are.
• 17:15
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. And never in my life would I have thought to go there. And so I did the race in Abu Dhabi. Cool. I've gone to with them to Brazil.
• 17:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: I think I called you once and you were like, I'm in Monaco. Can I call you back?
• 17:32
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: That was most recent. The crown jewel. Like That's amazing. I did that was not on the bingo card, like, at all. And so and that was was always the as my best friend said.
• 17:49
  She's like, you know, I never was trying to be famous. I just wanted to play my music in different places and be able to maybe, you know, make some money, maybe break even.
• 18:01
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. But have a great time.
• 18:04
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So England but I've played I've I've played in LA in the past Yeah. And New York and Boston. And yeah.
• 18:14
  Melissa Shere Beek: So this What are the pros and cons of traveling like that? Because now it's easier. You don't have to bring all your crates. You've got you've got your your list. But what what's the pros and cons of traveling all over the world as a DJ?
• 18:26
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: The pros is like this this this new crowd that's so happy with what you're providing for them. Yeah. So, yeah, they're just, like, happy to be there. And I see people smiling and dancing. And, like, they that just, like, puts fuel in my system.
• 18:50
  Like, it can bring tears to your eyes. Like, yeah, it's beautiful. So the the pros is like, wow. And it just like
• 18:58
  Melissa Shere Beek: We're really enjoying.
• 18:59
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. And the cons, maybe jet lag, but I'm on so much adrenaline that I'm just like, you know, so grateful to be there and, like, have these moments.
• 19:13
  Melissa Shere Beek: Do you bring your family with you?
• 19:16
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So I if you bring the family, you don't break even. You're you're, less than. So, yeah, I I'm kinda feel like the scout. Like Yeah. I'm scouting locations.
• 19:31
  Melissa Shere Beek: We'll see where we'll come back to.
• 19:33
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Exactly. Yeah. Like, so but they have, come to some things. And they've come to more of the local gigs. Sure.
• 19:45
  But by not by intentionally wanting to go that over all these years, I always forget something. They have dropped off back in the day, it was needles for the turntables. Then it's then it was headphones, wires is so even to this day, like, they're not planning on coming to the club, but they're coming.
• 20:12
  Melissa Shere Beek: Does your son think you're a cool mom? Are you annoying like the rest of us?
• 20:17
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I think he thinks it's cool. Yeah. And, yeah. And, like a story I was gonna say, like, even he's in middle school, I was playing in Wynwood, and I forgot this wire. And, so my husband and him pull up.
• 20:35
  He has the truck or whatever. And they go to the door and they stop my husband, but then they see my son, Cash, and they're like, oh, hey, what's up? Like, they're like, the doorman know him. He's like, I gotta bring something. And like, yeah.
• 20:54
  That's so funny. Yeah. Like, he's so he's been coming to the club, like, literally since
• 20:59
  Melissa Shere Beek: He's regular.
• 21:00
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Since five years old. Like
• 21:01
  Melissa Shere Beek: That's cool, though.
• 21:02
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So he's he's knows what I do and, like, he's been up in it. And
• 21:09
  Melissa Shere Beek: Is he interested in doing it as well?
• 21:10
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I show him some stuff. He practices some stuff. I said, like, this is like emergency. If you're at a park and someone like sucks, then
• 21:19
  Melissa Shere Beek: you Gotta take over.
• 21:20
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Here, you can help out, you know? So, yeah. So I think he he definitely thinks it's cool, and he's so supportive.
• 21:28
  Melissa Shere Beek: So cool.
• 21:29
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So Oh, I
• 21:30
  Melissa Shere Beek: love that. Yeah. So are there core skills that you need to have to be a DJ?
• 21:37
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. I think that you should have to be able to do it the way I had to be able to do it. And which means by ear. Right.
• 21:49
  Melissa Shere Beek: Know And your music.
• 21:51
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And know your music, respect the essence of the song. You need to know songs have structure. You need to have, you know, there's 32 counts. There's ways songs are meant to be respected. Uh-huh.
• 22:07
  So, yeah, you have to know where the song starts, where the song ends, where it's the break is, and how to put it together without giving someone a headache. Yeah.
• 22:19
  Melissa Shere Beek: Wait. So I wanna go back to all the different venues you have. You said you had clubs. I was looking at my notes. Clubs, festivals, hospitality, private parties.
• 22:29
  So in all these different venues because I wanna get to the fact that you're a woman in this field. Yeah. Is it hard?
• 22:35
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So it was never anything that was brought to my attention
• 22:39
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 22:39
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: When I started.
• 22:40
  Melissa Shere Beek: You're just doing your thing.
• 22:41
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Like, my hero was, like, Jam Master Jay.
• 22:45
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. Like,
• 22:46
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I I was like, who's the guy in the back And how his this sounds good. Like and so, yeah, it was more like, how do I do what he's doing? And then it was expected as far as calling yourself a DJ that you had to be able to do whatever
• 23:08
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah, prove your worth.
• 23:09
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Whatever was required. And so it never was like anything being a female. And like I said, no one helped carry the records. And so I had to prove myself.
• 23:29
  And, you know, along the way back in the day in South Beach, it was just a small group of kind of the DJs
• 23:37
  Melissa Shere Beek: Were that there any other women DJs during that time? Or it was just you?
• 23:40
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Not no. It was as far as in my urn, no.
• 23:45
  Melissa Shere Beek: What about today?
• 23:47
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Today, there are they're coming out by the boatloads, you know, and I think that, this whole female DJ thing I don't subscribe to, which will cause some, you know, waves.
• 24:06
  Melissa Shere Beek: No, but you subscribe to the the aspect of if you're gonna be a DJ, be a great DJ.
• 24:12
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yes.
• 24:12
  Melissa Shere Beek: Man or woman, it doesn't matter, whatever, fluid, whatever it is, just be good at what you do.
• 24:17
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Right. Right. So that's that's how it stands with me. So, oh, we have this female DJ thing. Do you want to get involved?
• 24:26
  I'm like, well, who's involved? Yeah. Who are the players? Yeah.
• 24:31
  Melissa Shere Beek: Let me hear them first.
• 24:32
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. I can't just align myself. And, but there were some female back in the time, like maybe, you know, after I was already established, there are some girls that have used their tits and ass to get where they are at their, I know one now that's headlining festivals, back, you know, that made her way sleeping around.
• 24:58
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, geez.
• 24:59
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So, maybe that's where female comes into play. So, yeah.
• 25:08
  Melissa Shere Beek: You don't just be good at what you do. That's what you respect.
• 25:10
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: That was how I got to where I am.
• 25:14
  Melissa Shere Beek: When did you feel that you broke through? You said, like, when I really was established. When did you have that moment like, oh, yeah, no, I'm here.
• 25:21
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I'll tell you. Okay. So I was DJing at the time at Opium Garden, which was the used to be amnesia.
• 25:30
  Melissa Shere Beek: Uh-huh.
• 25:31
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Okay. In South Beach. And it's a big club. We had different rooms. And I was manning opium a part of one of the areas of opium garden and it was a hip hop night and the, one of the guys involved in Opium Garden, his name is George Dukes.
• 25:58
  And he came, he would be in one of the other rooms or something, but he came through one certain night and he grabbed the mic and he turned the music off. And he's like, I want all of y'all to listen up right now. He's like, this is DJ Brooke G. And that's when I got my G. I was DJ Brooke.
• 26:21
  And he was like, she's the only girl on our team. She runs this night. This is, you know, this is her night, and you're all here because of her. I don't something like some Oh,
• 26:35
  Melissa Shere Beek: I have chills.
• 26:37
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I was like, holy shit.
• 26:39
  Melissa Shere Beek: But it's real.
• 26:40
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. And like, and then he's like, you know, and then throws the music back on. And he's so respected in the hip hop community by all the, you know Wow. Artists and and DJs and stuff and was like, boom. So that's where I and got my
• 27:01
  Melissa Shere Beek: say, holy shit.
• 27:02
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I was like, we just rocked it out after that. But it definitely was like That was the moment you he's like, she's, you know, she's he did say she's the only girl on the team. But That's
• 27:16
  Melissa Shere Beek: pretty cool, though.
• 27:16
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So and the team back then was like, DJ Khaled was in the other room. Oh
• 27:23
  Melissa Shere Beek: my god. That's right.
• 27:24
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: There was, you know, Tony G, Tom LaRock, there's a lot of DJs, DJ Irie. Yes, sure. DJ.
• 27:34
  Melissa Shere Beek: I remember.
• 27:35
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I mean, it was like 10 of us, So you that was big respect that I had made it.
• 27:41
  Melissa Shere Beek: Huge respect. Yeah. So what are the traits that you all need as a DJ?
• 27:47
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I think at the end of the day, you need to be a music nerd.
• 27:50
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah.
• 27:51
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Like, you gotta love music. You and, or it's just it's not gonna be authentic. It's not gonna come it's not gonna make people dance, not gonna make people smile. It's
• 28:04
  Melissa Shere Beek: You wanna leave them feeling good.
• 28:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 28:06
  Melissa Shere Beek: They want more.
• 28:07
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. And you gotta love music.
• 28:10
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. Like
• 28:11
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: that I think that's and and DJs weren't, like, the coolest person. They were, like The music nerd. Like the music nerd.
• 28:21
  Melissa Shere Beek: Am the music nerd.
• 28:22
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. I'm telling you. I am. And it's
• 28:25
  Melissa Shere Beek: I annoy people with music. I'm like, they stole that riff from this one that came out of this thing from me. Yeah. I'm
• 28:30
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: a because total you love it. Yeah.
• 28:32
  Melissa Shere Beek: I love it.
• 28:32
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: You know in that one groove, you're like, you know? And so, yeah, I think that's really to make a great DJ is
• 28:41
  Melissa Shere Beek: To be a music nerd. Yeah. Maybe in my next life, I'll be I'll carry the grades for you. What are the pros and cons with your work as far as is it hard because of the time, the hours?
• 28:54
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Well, it used to be till 5AM. And then we cut back. Now it's like the latest is usually 2AM for It's not five nights a week. Right. But as a creative, you kind of come alive.
• 29:10
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah, yeah. So
• 29:13
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: yeah, like, but I love nowadays, you can there'll be happy hours, brunches, all
• 29:19
  Melissa Shere Beek: sorts of times,
• 29:20
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: day gigs. Yeah. So it's really opened up to, you know, a better schedule than that one to What's five
• 29:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: your favorite kind of gig?
• 29:31
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: My favorite kind would be more like just when people are mixing and smiling
• 29:44
  Melissa Shere Beek: Really in it.
• 29:45
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Like, yeah, laughing. And it could be anywhere. It's just that kind of thing or they like, look at you like, oh my God, like that song, you know, I love that song. And so that's my favorite. It could be in a club, it could be in a restaurant, it could be a daytime thing.
• 30:04
  It is
• 30:05
  Melissa Shere Beek: This one, people are really grooming
• 30:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: to Yeah. And and enjoying themselves.
• 30:09
  Melissa Shere Beek: What's the hard part of of your DJing at all these different venues?
• 30:13
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Getting paid.
• 30:15
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. Really? Yeah. You don't do they how does it work? You have to be
• 30:20
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: a gangster. It's always been like that night lifestyle. Like, back when, knocking on the door and they like shut up. I'm like, like, going when they counted the register. I would go with a with some goons and, like, get my money.
• 30:42
  Like,
• 30:42
  Melissa Shere Beek: did they pay you in advance?
• 30:44
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I had no clue. Now it goes to, I don't have the combo for the safe. The owner forgot to sign it.
• 30:51
  Melissa Shere Beek: So it's not like getting it by Zelle or a check or a, like, Venmo. I mean,
• 30:55
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: there's all sorts, but there's all sorts of excuses too. There's all and I think it's just because it's that industry.
• 31:04
  Melissa Shere Beek: Really? Yeah. That's shocking. I wouldn't have even pulled that. I was thinking like hours, times, places, travel, things like that, but really getting paid.
• 31:12
  Yeah. Damn.
• 31:14
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: There you go. Yeah.
• 31:16
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh my god. So how do you get booked for these events? Yeah. Wait. I'm still stuck on I Can't Believe You're Not Getting Paid.
• 31:22
  Like, that's
• 31:23
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: But because I came up during that time, like, now it's like I laugh. And then these new DJs are like, oh my god, it's two weeks out and I haven't gotten And I'm like, pshhh. Good luck. Yeah, like, cry me a river, you know? So
• 31:43
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, god.
• 31:44
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Okay. So what do
• 31:45
  Melissa Shere Beek: I'm sorry. How do you get how do you book events?
• 31:47
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Oh, I've always been word-of-mouth.
• 31:50
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah.
• 31:50
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I never had management or agency. And That's
• 31:55
  Melissa Shere Beek: pretty cool.
• 31:55
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Because
• 31:56
  Melissa Shere Beek: that speaks volumes about how great you are.
• 31:58
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Thank you.
• 31:59
  Melissa Shere Beek: I mean, I know how great you are personally. But like no. But that your music and your work speaks for itself if you haven't had an Yeah. That's If it's word-of-mouth.
• 32:07
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: She knows what to do. You know, like Brooke, she's got you. Yeah. And it's always been like that. Oh, I got your number from so and so.
• 32:17
  Now, maybe someone reaches out through Instagram or email or, you know, phone. I get my I still get my card out,
• 32:25
  Melissa Shere Beek: So you
• 32:27
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: that's really how it's been. Yeah.
• 32:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: Is there anything that you turned down or that you have turned down that was like not it wasn't working for you? Or you knew it was just not gonna be something that's to the best of your ability that you were just like, yeah, no, the situation's not right?
• 32:42
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I think I'm more a yes person. And I like a challenge. And I'm like, sure. Like, you know, so I like to, like, step up to the plate. So even if it's something that is out of my wheelhouse, then I I like to give it a go.
• 33:02
  Melissa Shere Beek: So when you're in these exotic locales, what do you do in your downtime?
• 33:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I definitely vintage shop. Love vintage t shirts. Uh-huh. So I'm looking for vintage stores. I'll go to markets and all, I like to sit and have a coffee and picture what it's like to live there.
• 33:23
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 33:24
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And like kind of watch people.
• 33:25
  Melissa Shere Beek: Observe the people.
• 33:26
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So even though I'll go fast where I'm like, I gotta dig through vintage shirts, I gotta hit up this market. Then I'm like, okay, time to sit down and just And be in this so that's usually the downtime is kind of like seeing, you know, obviously record stores.
• 33:48
  Melissa Shere Beek: I still love
• 33:49
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: to go and like check out what they have, and dig through records.
• 33:55
  Melissa Shere Beek: Okay. Steven just got back from Japan and they got some really cool records of like, he just like, he went by covers. Right, Steven? What do you do? Do you go by covers or you do go by like genre or
• 34:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So, yeah. It's kind of like how I get prepared. It's like it's random. It's how you start. I could walk in on the left side and I'll just start flipping, and then it'll lead to somewhere else.
• 34:19
  So I just kinda like you have to like follow Follow
• 34:22
  Melissa Shere Beek: your attitude.
• 34:24
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. And I'm jealous of Steven because when you go to places like Japan where they preserve
• 34:30
  Melissa Shere Beek: That's what he said. Right? Steven Sorry. Yeah.
• 34:34
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I know. There's a music head over there. Three music The three
• 34:38
  Melissa Shere Beek: music heads. Sits in the studio today.
• 34:41
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So, yeah, they preserve all these records. And so there's these, you know, the b sides, the flip sides. And so it's really cool. And you and you need so much time. Yeah.
• 34:56
  So
• 34:57
  Melissa Shere Beek: you Never enough time.
• 34:58
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Nope. Not for all the music there is.
• 35:01
  Melissa Shere Beek: What's the most difficult part of your job?
• 35:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I I'd say, like I said, getting paid. Getting paid. Yeah.
• 35:10
  Melissa Shere Beek: Okay.
• 35:11
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 35:11
  Melissa Shere Beek: And what's the biggest misconception?
• 35:15
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: That all DJs are the same or, you know, that or another misconception is that we are the show or the entertainment.
• 35:25
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 35:26
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Like, hence, facing me and like, you know No,
• 35:31
  Melissa Shere Beek: hate that.
• 35:31
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So that's a misconception. Yeah. You know? You have Steve here, like, with all his equipment.
• 35:39
  If you were just like up in his grill, like, you know, he'd be like, what do you want me to show you?
• 35:45
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 35:45
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: You know? Like, so that's a like, and like I was telling you, like, I think I meant the joke, like, should I juggle some like oranges? Right. Right. Like, and that's where you get these DJs like, you know, dancing and pumping their arms because people are
• 36:04
  Melissa Shere Beek: Because the venue's looking at them and I asking for mean, the crowd. Yeah. Oh, god. That's off putting though, can imagine.
• 36:12
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. I mean, I try it, you know, I am vibing. I'm like, hey, what's up? I can dance with, you know, a little bit with, like, your groove. Yeah.
• 36:22
  But, yeah, that's we're not I mean, maybe there's other DJs that disagree with me. But, like No.
• 36:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: That's a weird I
• 36:29
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: don't think do. Doing, like, the jump in the air.
• 36:32
  Melissa Shere Beek: No. I don't think so. Yeah. What is the biggest mistake a DJ can make? Is
• 36:41
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: not using headphones. Really? Yeah. So there's this whole new, like, bunch of DJs, and people love to send me these young girls on controllers, pressing buttons, and they're not in headphones. They don't know how to mix by ear.
• 36:59
  So like, for me, I'm, I'm saying no, that's, that's not how it works. And I, you know, that's where I don't know. Yeah, you should be able to, and hear the sound. And I'm mentoring a guy. Uh-huh.
• 37:18
  And I'll throw a newspaper over the screen. I'm like, listen. And I'm like, this will make you a better DJ. Like, you're hearing the song.
• 37:30
  Melissa Shere Beek: So what's going on in the headphones? Are you hearing at that moment? Or are you ahead in the moment of what's coming next? Like, what's happening in the headphones?
• 37:39
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So you said it. You're ahead. So I'm listening. I have ideas of what I wanna play next.
• 37:45
  Melissa Shere Beek: Okay.
• 37:46
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And that's the And are
• 37:47
  Melissa Shere Beek: you hearing? Yes. Like on another
• 37:50
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So the other channel? Other turns to
• 37:52
  Melissa Shere Beek: know that it's gonna flow flawlessly? Yes. Like sound like?
• 37:56
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So I'll come up with ideas and Can need
• 37:58
  Melissa Shere Beek: an assistant? Sorry.
• 37:59
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So a research team
• 38:02
  Melissa Shere Beek: for sure. You're in the team. I'm in it. I'm on the team. Yeah.
• 38:05
  The music nerd.
• 38:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So, yeah, I'm listening.
• 38:08
  Melissa Shere Beek: Mhmm.
• 38:09
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And I, it's a secret. What am I gonna play next? And I'm queuing it up, meaning I'm bringing it back. And I'm overlapping it with the song playing now. And I'm like, do these compliment each other?
• 38:22
  Will this be good for, like, to keep dancing? Will this can maybe I should dip the energy down now. We're getting a little too crazy. Let's catch So, our that's what I'm queuing up. That's what I'm listening to is the song that I'm about to play.
• 38:39
  Right. And what I'm seeing is no, no headphones. So it means they're, they know they're picking it from some songs, but they're not like, that's the secret.
• 38:51
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right. That's the special sauce.
• 38:52
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Like, you don't know
• 38:55
  Melissa Shere Beek: also what you said about like feeling the crowd, okay, we need to take it down now. We need to pause. We've been revved up so high now. We need like that moment of calm before we get revved up again. So, oh, okay.
• 39:06
  Now I know what's in the headphones. I'm always curious to know, like, where you're at as a DJ, if you're present or if you're forward or, you know Yeah. You're listening to how you're gonna splice everything together.
• 39:16
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I'm a little forward, and That's it's the, like you know, that's the exciting part. Like, oh, look what we're gonna hear next. Yeah.
• 39:25
  Melissa Shere Beek: Are you creating beats?
• 39:28
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Live, I am.
• 39:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: Live, you are. Okay.
• 39:30
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So I am overlapping two songs. And sometimes I'll just play parts of a song, or I'll put drums on top of each other, or I'll use vocals with another piece of another song.
• 39:45
  Melissa Shere Beek: Okay.
• 39:45
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So, yeah, I'm creating new
• 39:48
  Melissa Shere Beek: Do you practice that at home? Yeah.
• 39:49
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Creating beats? Absolutely. I don't produce beats Right. Or make my own beats like we would say.
• 39:58
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right. But when you say that, like, make your own beats, do you mean that you record the stuff that you've made when you're at home and then use it later at a venue? Or what do you mean?
• 40:08
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: No, I don't. Like I said, I'm still like off the cuff. So but I'll have ideas at home. I'll be like, oh, let me like do these two with each other.
• 40:18
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 40:19
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: How could and I'm like, I back to the radio days, the James Brown over, like, you know, maybe the instrumental of Tom Petty.
• 40:28
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right.
• 40:29
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So yeah, and a lot of Run DMC beats with that. So, yeah, I'm doing it on the fly, but I'll have ideas and practice those ideas at home. And, and then sometimes I'll randomly do something in the club that will be like, woah, I like that. Wait, I gotta
• 40:48
  Melissa Shere Beek: remember There's that this guy I saw on Instagram. So there's that whole genre now of like yacht rock, which is like all of the singer songwriters from the seventies. Really cool. But he's putting it to like other disco beats or he's putting it to like other rock and roll beats and the tempo has changed, but the the the the singer's still present. And it's really cool.
• 41:10
  I like to watch how he mixes things up.
• 41:12
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yes. I know exactly
• 41:13
  Melissa Shere Beek: what And you're talking
• 41:15
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I had
• 41:16
  Melissa Shere Beek: My other music nerd. Love
• 41:18
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I had an ear. Is he going to respect the song? Because those songs mean so much to me and so much to you. Our parents were playing those songs.
• 41:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, I grew up on that shit.
• 41:30
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So
• 41:32
  Melissa Shere Beek: And it's also different because it was pre MTV. There was no video attached to like Christopher Cross or any of that. And they really were storytellers.
• 41:42
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 41:43
  Melissa Shere Beek: So when you listen and you listen to the music, I mean, early seventies, probably till late seventies, it's it's got a different energy to it. And I think like Laurel Canyon, I think like out there, like all the songwriters, and like the vibe they all played, like Linda Ronstadt, like the Eagles were the backup for Linda Ronstadt. So they all sort of like played off of each other, and you could feel the energy. But this guy's bringing it sort of forward.
• 42:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yes. So he's giving like a drum line. Right. But he's like pulling up the drums a little bit to make it more danceable.
• 42:17
  Melissa Shere Beek: But it's keeping the integrity of the song. Exactly. That's the coolest part of it.
• 42:21
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And I listened and I listened and waited for a mistake. I reached out to an old friend of mine who's a big time DJ, DJ Vice. And I said, I was waiting for a mistake. Like, I called him, like, old school. Like, I vetted him, you know?
• 42:38
  And and I was like and it still hit. Yeah. He's he's kept
• 42:43
  Melissa Shere Beek: the integrity of it.
• 42:44
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: That's the
• 42:44
  Melissa Shere Beek: whole thing. He's just like you said, he's he's revved up the beats. So, like, now it's more danceable. Yeah. But it's but he's really kept the integrity of
• 42:52
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: the song. I like that.
• 42:53
  Melissa Shere Beek: I appreciate that.
• 42:53
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yes. He's I'm using a lot of his stuff. Because I do I do I gave him I give him my nod, and and it feels good. And it's it's great.
• 43:04
  Melissa Shere Beek: It still brings back that good energy. That good feel. Absolutely. I love it. I love it.
• 43:09
  Okay. So what's coming up next for DJ Brooke? Gee.
• 43:14
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Well, hopefully, some more, Formula One travel and DJ ing some of their races. And it's always like a surprise what might be on the horizon. And let's see more parties, events, more just bring in, you know, some good music than making people smile and have a good time.
• 43:39
  Melissa Shere Beek: Whole world needs this. Absolutely. World needs your good energy.
• 43:44
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Thank you. I love doing it. And I love making people smile and laugh. And feels good for me. I'm so grateful to still be doing it.
• 43:58
  It's a back and forth that feels so good.
• 44:02
  Melissa Shere Beek: I'm so grateful that you're out there doing it because like I said, the world needs more of that good energy. You know I'm a dancer, you know I love music, and I think changes your whole mindset. When you've got that song on that really pumps you up and gives you a good jam and a good feeling, feel like you bounce forward for the rest of your day. Absolutely. Like you've got good energy.
• 44:23
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 44:23
  Melissa Shere Beek: It's a whole reset.
• 44:25
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. And you might not know, like, how you're feeling and and then and and to to to be honest, though, sometimes I'll dip into, like, a slower jam or something that makes you think or, like, hits in the heart. So I'm not always, like, up, up, up. Like, and then
• 44:45
  Melissa Shere Beek: But it speaks to you.
• 44:47
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: It speaks to you. And and then I'll you know, if you stick with me, we're gonna go somewhere else and Yeah.
• 44:54
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. You're calibrating. I love that.
• 44:56
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Thank you.
• 44:57
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, god. Is there anything I missed? I know I asked all the questions I was interested in, but is there anything I forgot? Let's something see. Like, everybody who's out there who might wanna be a DJ needs to know?
• 45:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. I would anyone that wants to be a DJ, yeah, I would try and go back to old school and and know where this came from, like, some of the documentaries and see what we were doing. We were trying to prolong the the beat, like, the part that was so good in the the breakdown, like, in between the vocals, or people just like jam out.
• 45:33
  Melissa Shere Beek: So
• 45:34
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: that's why hence two turntables like, this part of the song. Let's play it again. Let's play it again. So, yeah, to know your history, know where it comes from. Yeah.
• 45:45
  And, and that'll really stand up in the long game, like, you know, the test of time because you'll appreciate the music and it's not just like, hey, look at me, I'm a DJ. Like, yeah, and and that won't last because at the end of the day, like, are you creating that great atmosphere that people are enjoying? And it can't be computer programmed. It's gotta come from, like you said, from inside. From the heart.
• 46:19
  Melissa Shere Beek: That must give you such a great natural high, like coming off of a gig, you know that it was just amazing, and the people just bounced out of there and wanted more and more and more. Yeah.
• 46:28
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Oh, be it's such a beautiful thing. It doesn't happen all the time. Right. But even, like, you know, there's like a busser at one of my jobs that like, if I can get his he's been there as long as me, but I'm like, if I can't get his head to nod for like one of and I'm like, oh, like we're in. Like, you know?
• 46:52
  So but, yeah, it's that, you know, that one person so, or yeah, I I
• 46:59
  Melissa Shere Beek: That's a good feeling.
• 47:00
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: It's definitely it's definitely a high. And then it's all sorts of things. Like I said, it's a lot of nerves. I get still so nervous.
• 47:08
  Melissa Shere Beek: You too. So I'm like Why?
• 47:11
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I think it's the same they say with musicians and bands.
• 47:16
  Melissa Shere Beek: Like,
• 47:16
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: it's still that, oh, all these people are counting on me? Like, who who am I? Like, I
• 47:21
  Melissa Shere Beek: well, who picked me to do this? Know?
• 47:23
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Who put me in charge Yeah. Of this Exactly.
• 47:27
  Melissa Shere Beek: Then But does it take, like, a song or two to say, no, I got this? Or is it once you walk on that you feel it?
• 47:35
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I think, yeah, it go, it's a journey for me too. So like, I'll go in there and be like, I just need to hear this song. Like, you know, people are like, it's not even for the crowd. It's for me. Yeah.
• 47:50
  Yeah. And, and, you know, it's, it's always changing. And then some nights I'm like, what's going on? Like, what, you know, am I off? And, but I think after this many years, even if I think I'm off, I'm probably on
• 48:08
  Melissa Shere Beek: for everybody Nobody's knowing that.
• 48:10
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. I'm my worst critic. I'm sure.
• 48:13
  Melissa Shere Beek: I will.
• 48:13
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So, but, yeah, within, like, one or two songs, then you're you're in. You're bad. I'm just, like, there.
• 48:21
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's all great performers, like, not just musicians, but actors that they always sort of get that stage Friday kind of thing. But, like, once they're in it, there, it clicks.
• 48:29
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah, it's so nice. That part's like nice to be in.
• 48:33
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, love that. Oh my god, I'm so happy you were here today. Thank you so Oh,
• 48:38
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I I hope I covered everything.
• 48:41
  Melissa Shere Beek: I know. Hope I covered everything too. I'm gonna think about it later and go, shit, I forgot to
• 48:45
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: ask Yeah, or I forgot to mention that.
• 48:49
  Melissa Shere Beek: Anything we left
• 48:49
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I just want to like, maybe shout out some people.
• 48:54
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, dude.
• 48:54
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Like, so like I said, DJ Tony G was a mentor of mine, Tony G school hard knocks, would be cool. My friend who's no longer with us, but was also a big influence in me was DJ AM. And he was really doing what nowadays what I do also, it's called open format, which is we mix rock, and hip hop and everything in between house funk, you name it. And we were, he, we were doing it back then with records.
• 49:29
  Melissa Shere Beek: Uh-huh.
• 49:29
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And it was much harder
• 49:31
  Melissa Shere Beek: I can imagine.
• 49:31
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: To do. And, and what I always
• 49:35
  Melissa Shere Beek: The open form?
• 49:36
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Open format, which means you you mix it all, which is what I do.
• 49:41
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah.
• 49:41
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And what I only was he, like, such a sick DJ, he brought all the DJs together. He would just support everyone and send us songs and and we were like, it made the community super small. And he was yeah, just humble and cool. And, who else I want to give a shout out to like, the other people that have like, supported me over the years, like, back in the day, Michael Capone. When I was at Skybar, the short club, Ben Pundle, other DJs, I mentioned, read Tom Laroque.
• 50:24
  Who else? Oh, the mion brothers, Eric and Francis mion, Nicole Suero, Sara Vo. And yeah, a lot of the OGs that are still around now. Even the door guys were like part of this that and the bouncers Corey from mansion, Leron, Bruno. Let's see, who else?
• 50:50
  Oh, Sergio, like, all these, these, these were the people in nightlife that we were all
• 50:57
  Melissa Shere Beek: like Community.
• 50:57
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah, connected and helping each other out to make the sickest, like, time out of your life. Like in Miami, it was like New Year's
• 51:07
  Melissa Shere Beek: all the Always on.
• 51:08
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. So all those people that supported me and and Ivana Bolini and Kiko Seki back in the living room days, they were like, mix this record, they let me get on and mix a record. And I was so nervous, and I mix it perfect. And they were like, you're gonna make it. And I was like, oh my I love that.
• 51:30
  Yeah. George Dukes, all these, yeah, the the people that really were like, you got this. You got this.
• 51:38
  Melissa Shere Beek: They're your foundation.
• 51:39
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah.
• 51:40
  Melissa Shere Beek: That's so cool.
• 51:41
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I hope I got most of the people that
• 51:43
  Melissa Shere Beek: I'm I'm trying to shout sure.
• 51:45
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Aw,
• 51:46
  Melissa Shere Beek: well, thank you so much for being here. But before I let you go
• 51:49
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yes.
• 51:50
  Melissa Shere Beek: I have one thing I do with my guests at the very end. It's called Quickie Questions. Are you game?
• 51:54
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Okay. What
• 51:56
  Melissa Shere Beek: was your first concert?
• 51:59
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I think BC Boys was the first. Yeah. BC Boys and Madonna. Actually, they opened for Madonna.
• 52:11
  Melissa Shere Beek: That's right. They did. Yeah. Oh, my God. I forgot about that.
• 52:15
  That's a good one. Yeah. What haven't you done yet that you want to?
• 52:19
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I want to as far as DJing?
• 52:24
  Melissa Shere Beek: Anything in life.
• 52:25
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Anything. Let's see. I wanna surf some spots that I haven't surfed. Yes. My surfer girl.
• 52:34
  Yeah. I wanna surf some spots and I wanna DJ some spots, maybe near where I'm surfing.
• 52:41
  Melissa Shere Beek: Where? Give us a place. We'll put it out there. We're gonna manifest it.
• 52:44
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. Like, maybe Vice can bring me out to Hawaii. Get some surfing in and maybe, like, spin some, you know, that'd be sick.
• 52:54
  Melissa Shere Beek: I like that. Yeah. Take me out there too. You know?
• 52:56
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I'll work it for you. Yeah. Yeah. You're on the team.
• 52:59
  Melissa Shere Beek: I'm on the team. Okay. Do you have a treasured possession?
• 53:04
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yes. Some of the records that I've had signed from support of other artists like
• 53:12
  Melissa Shere Beek: Cool.
• 53:13
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Coolio was in my corner. Little John was in my corner. Pitbull was in my Those were shout outs Yeah. That I So all those guys were supporting me back when.
• 53:26
  Melissa Shere Beek: I would have loved to have all three of them as true too.
• 53:28
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: They're watching it. Yeah. So I had some, like, cool people that so some of the records or some of the drops we call them where they're like, I'm with my girl DJ Brooke G. Like, I
• 53:41
  Melissa Shere Beek: have their
• 53:42
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: yeah. Those drops. The music That's very cool. Yeah. And some of those pictures, we didn't have all the pictures
• 53:49
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah, sure.
• 53:50
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: But I have a few.
• 53:51
  Melissa Shere Beek: Oh, that's awesome. I have to see those. Okay. I was we're gonna go back to surfing. What did surfing give you that DJing didn't?
• 53:58
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I think they're similar, like it's being in the moment. And the swells come in sets, I think I'm kind of with this, I don't know, sound waves, the set waves, like, there's something with waves. Yeah. And there I see that now. Yeah.
• 54:18
  And just being in the moment. So I like this I'm I'm really sensitive to sound. So when I'm not DJing, I'm listen I'm, like, in nature a lot. But I like the sound of the train going by.
• 54:33
  Melissa Shere Beek: Cool.
• 54:34
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: So the cat the train every once in while goes by or so I'm I think it's that flow that you really enjoy of whether it's the sound of nature sounds
• 54:46
  Melissa Shere Beek: Right. It or must be a frequency that you're picking up. Yeah. That's cool. I like that.
• 54:50
  Favorite meal?
• 54:53
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Let's see. I think a good slice of pizza. That's Yeah. I'm with you on that one. Yeah.
• 55:03
  Melissa Shere Beek: A word you use the most or overuse?
• 55:06
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: A word I use probably dude or bro. Like, dude, bro, like, what's up? Like Oh, I like that Okay.
• 55:18
  Melissa Shere Beek: And last one. Who or what inspires you?
• 55:21
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I'm inspired by so many musicians. Yeah. Some of the people that aren't around anymore. And, yeah, I think, like, people saying it how it is, unfiltered people, and just truth tellers, and
• 55:49
  Melissa Shere Beek: Got it.
• 55:50
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: And it could be in radio, it could be in film, it could be someone that I have a conversation with at the gas station. Right. And I'm like, thank you.
• 56:00
  Melissa Shere Beek: Yeah. Honesty.
• 56:02
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Honesty. So that inspires me because it's we're we're, you know, walking this line these days. I'm like, hey, I don't wanna be on the line. Like, let's just say it like it is. And it's okay.
• 56:19
  Like, don't be offended. Can be like, you're crazy or whatever. And I'll be like, I know. So but we feel better for just being honest.
• 56:28
  Melissa Shere Beek: Speaking our truth. Yeah.
• 56:30
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I love it.
• 56:31
  Melissa Shere Beek: Aw. Thank you again for being here.
• 56:33
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Thanks so much for having me. I had the
• 56:35
  Melissa Shere Beek: best time. I hope you had fun.
• 56:37
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I had the best time. It went so fast. I didn't realize. Yeah.
• 56:41
  Melissa Shere Beek: It was it. It's conversational. It's easy.
• 56:43
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Yeah. People come in
• 56:44
  Melissa Shere Beek: the studio and they're like, ah.
• 56:45
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: But I'm like, no. That was me. I was very nervous. Had to stop and get a beer.
• 56:52
  Melissa Shere Beek: That's okay. We we we won't tell everybody what happens in studio here because we have a lot of people who can
• 56:57
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: Are they nervous? Yeah.
• 56:58
  Melissa Shere Beek: And leave at ease. Yeah.
• 57:00
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: I feel my like I said, I'm used to being behind the turntables Yeah. Speaking through the music, a little on the mic, but mostly through the music.
• 57:09
  Melissa Shere Beek: I literally turned the tables on you. Yeah. I'm sorry about that.
• 57:12
  Brooke Grabow Frenz: No. Thank you for making it easy and smooth.
• 57:16
  Melissa Shere Beek: No. I'm thrilled. I'm so excited you said yes. Alright. Stick around after.
• 57:20
  I'm gonna say my outro, and we'll talk after. To our listeners, thank you so much. So grateful you're here. Keep listening. Keep learning.
• 57:26
  Keep laughing. Keep up with Beek on being. Listen to Beek on being wherever you get your podcast. All episodes are automatically transcribed. DM us to share thoughts, ideas, or nominate a guest.
• 57:36
  Big shout out and a huge thank you to Steven Chen at Penthouse Studios. Woo hoo.