By: Victoria Workman

Imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning and play to thousands of listeners state wide. This is the life of local radio artist and performer Jeremy Fleming, A.K.A ‘DJ Dizz.

It was at a time when Fleming was young and reckless that he discovered his passion for music. After purchasing a fake I.D., He decided to attend his first EDM show.  Fleming immediately noticed the difference in culture at these events and fell in love with it entirely.

“I was just amazed with how cool the whole thing was; with the energy he had, the way he got the crowd going, the music and everything with it,” Dizz explains. “That was kind of the first start of it.”

He started out playing free gigs at The Mint opening for other artists, just trying to get his foot in the door. It wasn’t until being offered a Saturday night residency that his career finally took off. Now Dizz can be heard Monday through Friday playing the ‘High Noon Mix’ for local radio station KUUU U92. He can also be seen playing at clubs like Sky, Elevate and Hukka every weekend night.

DJ Dizz’s unique style, which he describes as a party rocking vibe, got him voted favorite EDM artist by City Weekly’s online vote in 2014.

“There’s usually not very many chill moments. It’s a very in your face, kind of an aggressive style,” he comments. “My number one goal is just to have people dance, have people have a good time and just make memories.”

Dizz loves his job and explains that there are many perks to being a local DJ. He loves the fact that he gets to do what he wants, often spending time, as he says, “turning up” with bosses. He has had the opportunity of meeting and playing with major EDM artists of the day. The coolest artist he has met was Diplo last year in Vegas. U92 and Diplo’s record label arranged a meeting at the Encore beach to hang out before Diplo’s set at EDC. At the time, Diplo’s album Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack U was sky rocketing to number one on the world music charts.

Dizz is more than just a DJ, he is a father and boyfriend as well. A close friend of Fleming named Timmy revealed that at one point the DJ was married, and forced to choose between a family and his career. Though he is no longer with his ex-wife, he still spends significant amounts of time with his two children Aubrey (age 8) and Landon (age 5). The most difficult part of balancing his career and being a parent is the fact that they run on very different time schedules.  As a DJ you are generally expected to be up late, where as a father you are expected to rise when the sun does. Somehow he manages to juggle both responsibilities by having his kids during the week when they aren’t on track, and scheduling weekends to have them sleep over when he can.

Jokingly, Dizz says another downside to being a DJ is the hang overs. On a more serious note, he admits there are some moments he wishes he didn’t have to be present at events with people he does not usually associate with. Often times he has to just smile through it and kiss the babies. The main problem is that he does not get to do a lot of personal socializing since he works weekends, making it extremely difficult for him to see his friends very often. And when he finally does, it is generally at the night club he is currently spinning at. At some point clubs become more about working and begin to get kind of boring.

But the drawbacks seem small compared to the joy Dizz receives from his job. Performing gives him a natural high, not just on stage, but on the radio as well. He actually enjoys working for the station more than he does live at clubs. It is more than just free tickets and getting to meet artists that come to station. He loves knowing that every day he gets the chance of playing for over 300,000 listeners.

For all the aspiring DJ’s in the community, Dizz offers a few words of wisdom. He explains that he personally looks up to DJs, and kind of mocks their style before making it his own. He also divulges that the industry is a very tight knit community of DJs and you have to know how to network. It is a very political game.

“The sky is the limit, just never give up,” he concludes. “A lot of people get discouraged; playing in their bedrooms, handing out demos, trying to get people to book them. It just takes one gig to really make a start for yourself and make a career out of something that is a hobby currently.”