The art of DJing: An interview with DJ Purd Man

Q#1 WHO are you? What is your name(Real name) and Dj name?
A#1 My name is Leonard Purdy aka DJ Purd Man. The name “Purd Man” is derived from my last
name “Purdy”. I’ve had the name since 2002. At the time when this name came about, Bryan
Williams aka Baby aka Birdman (the co-founder of Cash Money Records) put out his solo
album “Birdman”.

Q#2 Why are you a DJ?
A#2 I am a DJ because I have a passion for DJing. I have always wanted to DJ since I was in junior
high school and was finally able to afford turntables in 2008 and I have never looked back.

Q#3 Do you have any formal training in DJing/is it self taught? What schools, programs, and or
seminars have you been to? Do you hold any technical degrees?

A#3 When I first started DJing, I learned on a pair of CDJ turntables, Pioneer MKII’s from a female
DJ, DJ Knaukaz. She taught me how to beat match and blend. Now I am using a pair of Technic
1200 MKII and a Vestax PMC-05 ProII Mixer, Serato SL-1 and a Denon-HC1000 Controller.
Other than that I have learned a lot on the fly from just trial and error and I have also picked up
numerous techniques from DJ legends like DJ Qbert, DJ Scratch, DJ Jazzy Jeff just to name a
few. I am a member of QSU (Qbert Skratch University).

Q#4 Have you ever attended Yuba College? Have you been to the Yuba College campus?
A#4 I attended Yuba College for the Spring Semester in 2010. The campus was under a lot of
construction then and since has improved vastly with the addition of the new football field and
track.

Q#5 Besides DJing what type of things have you done in the Yuba-Sutter community? Have you
done any fundraisers?
A#5 I help out at the church I attend, Calvary Christian Center located: 2620 Colusa Hwy Yuba City,
CA 95993

Q#6 How long have you been a DJ?
A#6 I have been a DJ for 4 years and counting.

Q#7 Is DJINg indeed an art form? Is is a Lifestyle? Is it a persona? What does it mean to be a
DJ?
A#7 DJing is an artform. Just like any poet or musician, REAL DJing is an art and you can hear DJs that invest time in their craft. I pride myself on being able to reference myself as a REAL DJ. Whether you are using Technic 1200s or a “controller”, it is all about your skill and dedication. Practice on your art. Being a DJ
means that you are in control of the event. Take control and show the people that you are great at what
you do and deliver the performance to back it up.

Q#8 How has Djing changed in the last 20 years? 10 years? 5 years?
A#8 It’s apparent that DJing has evolved with technology which is great. It eliminates carrying crates
of records which is a pain. It has gone digital which helps out a lot. But battle DJ’s still use vinyl
which keeps it original. It is great to see people use vinyl because there are no computers to tell
you things about the songs you play. The old school DJs had to find their parts on their own and
mark the record with a crayon or tape so they would know what part of the song they are looking
for.

Q#9 Is there lots of money to be made with the profession of Djing? Can it be a full time job
with great pay?

A#9 You can average $100-$300 a night depending on location. A lot of DJ’s are also producers. I am
not a producer. It is too time consuming for me. But if a person has the time then they can add
that to their skillset. Well established DJs that come from the bigger cities (SF, LA, Vegas) can
make over $1000 a night because they are connected with the right people.

Q#10 What are some challenges to the current Dj when there are things like Pandora and playlist
out that some may hook a speaker up to a laptop/computer?
A#10 I call these people “Laptopers” meaning there is no skill involved. There is also 2-5 seconds
of dead air because the songs are switching over. As a REAL DJ you are the playlist. You are
putting on a show scratching and mixing for 4 hours straight. You put one of these laptopers in
front of some turntables and they will freeze. Like the Geico commercial says: “It’s so easy, a
caveman can do it”.

Q#11 What are some benefits to being a DJ? Do you get discounts? Do you get to meet
Superstars? Do you get to travel?
A#11 There are many perks to being a DJ. As I mentioned before, you are the most important piece
to the event. There is so much power in music. Music is a behavior mechanism that can change
your mood in an instance if you hear a song that reminds you of an ex or a family member. It can
also take you down memory lane and you start talking about things you were doing around that
time in life.

Q#12 Where can people in the Yuba-Sutter community and the World hear you? Do you have a
current club you play at?
A#12 I can be seen currently at the Fusion Lounge EVERY SATURDAY at 724 J St. Marysville, CA 95901.Spinning
the latest and greatest in Top-40, Hip-Hop, R&B and Old School. You can also listen to my mixes on
facebook.com/djpurdman and mixcrate.com/djpurdman.

Calvin Hale

Mr.Hale, that is one way to address me. I am a very opinionated individual who loves to play The Devil’s Advocate on occasion. I like to discuss and write about things that are exciting, fun, informative and important. I am a little political, somewhat controversial and all around relevant.