The 20 most coveted Colorado music-industry jobs: The complete list with five new profiles

By Team Backbeat Fri., Mar. 8 2013 at 4:00 AM

Gentlemen's Club DJ (Nick Hernandez, Shotgun Willie's)

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Before landing one of what many would consider to be the most coveted jobs in town, Nick Hernandez worked as an electrician, a vet technician and even a bathroom attendant. That last job is what led to his current position, which he considers to be one of the choicest gigs in the world. "I have the best job in the world, If I could smoke in the club I would be the happiest person alive," says Hernandez, aka DJ Ear Attent.

Hernandez has always loved hip-hop and the art of deejaying, but never knew it would lead to this type of dream gig. "I happened to have a friend who had a bathroom valet business, and he asked me if I wanted a job so I took it," he recalls, and from there he worked his way up. While working at Shotguns as a bathroom attendant, opportunity knocked. "One of the managers that worked at the club knew I was a DJ," he says. "So when a spot opened up, it was a little easier to get that chance."

By then, he was already an accomplished DJ. "I was just a kind of teach yourself type of learner," he explains. "I would watch my friends who had turntables in high school and it caught on. When I was seventeen, I got my own turntables and locked myself in my room for months."

Like many of his contemporaries, Hernandez was booked for house parties in high school and afterward, he held down a variety of jobs before ever making any real money off his talents as a DJ. Hernandez credits his relationship with local rapper Input as one of the most significant influences on his development as a DJ.

"That really took me from being a DJ that could rock a party, and step up my other technical skills," Hernandez says. "It's really different playing a party or club and playing a show like at the Marquee. I really had to step up my cutting skills, mixing back and forth from his songs and stuff like that."

Although he loves his job now, Hernandez says the one thing he was nervous about initially was speaking on the mic. "I still am not the most comfortable person with it," he says. "But I get the job done."

As far as musical selection and musical line ups go for the job, he said he was pretty familiar with the styles he was going to have to play, having worked for the company for a year before becoming a house DJ. "Girls pretty much request what is hot now, like Rhianna, 2Chainz, Nicki Minaj and stuff like that," he reveals. "I think it's harder to play stuff they don't know. They know the drops and choruses you know?"

Besides his job, Hernandez feels blessed to be a DJ in the Denver scene, noting that we have one of the best pools in the world with his personal favorites, DJ Vajra, Low Key and the Radio Bums crew, and he especially loves DJs EL-Brian and Deftron, who make up the Sprinkle Wizards. DJ Ear Attent drops free mixes on his soundcloud.

Keep reading for the original fifteen coveted Colorado Music-Industry jobs

Tags:

3 Deep, 95.7 The Party, artists, DIA Studios, DJ Bedz, DJ Chonz, djs, Hip-hop, ks1075, Music, national, promoters, rappers

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lltt2177

This is great about denver scene, but being someone who has visited Denver a few times, and been to some of these "events" that some of the above names mention has thrown parties in the past. I will say they are not approachable people. They are not humble. Maybe some should realize that in order to be example you need to act like one and really give back.

tagava

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@lltt2177

i'd like to disagree with you on that. Being someone who LIVES in Denver/Boulder I've been to these 'events' more times than I can remember (don't know why you put events in quotations). if you're approaching someone to try and chit chat at an event they're producing and managing, they don't have time for that. Imagine someone coming up to you at your job and trying to have a conversation with you? It doesn't work like that - yes the event may seem like a fun time, drinks are being had everyones having a good time - but SOMEONE has to be making sure that these events are running smoothly, and those people usually are the people mentioned in the list above. If you want to meet the person as they are in person when they're not 'on the clock' - do your best to contact them and meet them at a time that fits both of your schedules. Being that the music industry isn't a strict 9-5 type of job, this is very important. I intern for Berk Visual (Elm & Oak) and he is one of the nicest and more open people i've ever met, and it's been great working and learning from him. There isn't a person or even little kid that comes into the shop with their own clothing line or music that he doesn't give his full attention too, he's open to helping everyone and unlike you said, he is a very approachable guy - and Ben Baruch, despite how busy he is, he still found the time to meet a starry eyed college kid like me at a coffee shop one morning just to give me advice on how i should go about pursuing a career in music. I don't know most of the people on the list, but the ones I do know - have been nothing more than helpful as i'm trying to pursue a life in the cutthroat industry that is modern music. I think you may need to change the way you present yourself before you jump to the conclusion that these people are just self centered.