You used to DJ at the infamously rowdy and now-defunct Fubar over by the University of Central Florida campus. That must have been insane.
I definitely spent a lot of time DJing the college bars, and I definitely saw many crazy things, and I experienced a lot of crazy things so many crazy nights over there. But I’m a little too old to do the college scene anymore. [Ed. note: Dawe is 31 ... not that old!]. Do you have any crazy stories from when you did the college-bar scene? Well, on multiple nights I'd walk into the bathroom and people would be having sex. And there’s always that one person that can’t handle themselves and ends up throwing up in the trashcan by the DJ booth. But the worst experience I ever had DJing in a college bar was when I played a place that used to be in the same location as Fubar was, it used to be called Liquid Cellar. I was playing a free pitcher night or something, and some girl walked up with a full pitcher to request a song, and she spilled her entire pitcher into my mixer. It's Friday night at a packed spot, and the music just ... stops. The music just cuts off. That was a memory. You spent a lot of time doing nights over by UCF – were you a student there? I never went to UCF. I spent about two months at Valencia Community College, then I started doing more of the DJ stuff. I took a quote-unquote "break" and intended to go back but I never did. Maybe someday I’ll go to UCF, though I might be getting too old! But I always felt like I was part of the UCF community because I was always very active over there, and I did a lot of campus events. I was the official DJ for the Sigma Chi fraternity. I did all their parties, I played many a tailgate. I think most people thought I was a student, but I actually wasn't. What's life been like since Master of the Mix? I've been traveling pretty consistently since the show aired. I've been all over the country. I've played very major city from coast to coast, I’m going to Boston tomorrow, then I’m going to LA. I was in Houston, Texas last weekend and Montgomery, Ala. The weekend before Indianapolis and Philadelphia. It’s been an awesome experience and kind of crazy because I spent so much time playing in Orlando so it was definitely a big change. It took a while to get used to. And you still made time to play at our party! I was excited, I was happy to do it. I love the Orlando Weekly. I’ve read it for many years. I think in 2008, I was in the Best of Orlando. I came in second for Best DJ. I had a big rivalry with DJ Pauly Crush back then. He came in first. We're good friends now, though. What was the rivalry about? He had a big night at Firestone called Saturday Thursday, and I was a big fan and supporter. Then Pauly had a big falling out with the owner of Firestone. And there was a legal battle over the name, and I was asked to replace him. So basically, Paul was fired, and they asked me to step in an DJ for the night, which created some tension at the time between us and our fanbases. Mine was more college, his was more the hipster kids. It was a big local thing, people were taking sides. Looking back now, it was kind of funny. Now we’re both older, and he’s very successful up in New York with his many business ventures. I have a lot of respect for him and what he did in the world of DJing here in Orlando. He’s really a pioneer in terms of bringing dance music back to Orlando. For a while, in all the clubs it was all hip-hop and before that, it was all breakbeats. He set the tone with Saturday Thursday and then Crush. Now you walk in, and it's all dance music in almost every club in Orlando.We welcome readers to submit letters regarding articles and content in Orlando Weekly. Letters should be a minimum of 150 words, refer to content that has appeared on Orlando Weekly, and must include the writer's full name, address, and phone number for verification purposes. No attachments will be considered. Writers of letters selected for publication will be notified via email. Letters may be edited and shortened for space.
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