Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnnie Judah.
Johnnie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a DJ, I feel like I started early but didn’t start the business side of it until around 2005. Ever since I can remember, I loved wiring and sound applications. As a teen I learned how to install car radios and alarms and then moved on to learning telephone wiring. Then when VCRs came out, I learned to use two VCRs to splice together my own video productions. I learned computer programming around age 12 on the Radio Shack TRS-80 after school at the Panther Boys Club, starting with Basic and eventually learning Pascal and COBOL in high school. I have always loved music and media. I was one of those guys that always had a vast music collection.
Books and books of CD’s, so many that I began selling mix CD’s on the side at my last corporate job, AT&T. I produced pictures and video slideshows for events at my job as well as for employees’ personal events(birthdays, graduations, etc.) Also, I would repair hardware and software on computers at the job and often, employees would bring their computers to me for upgrades and/or advice. Another skill I benefitted from was building websites. I gained a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Javascript as a result.
I used to get in trouble for using my technical skills to get over. For example, I worked in a call center and figured out a way to re-route calls myself to kind of be able to extend my breaks. I also rigged a 25-foot extension of my headset so I could walk around the office freely and still be able to answer the phone. I was a real terror and kept my union stewards busy trying to defend my shenanigans! So often fellow employees would ask me “Why are you working here? You should be doing something bigger than this!” but I was afraid of leaving Corporate America so I stayed much longer than I should have. One good thing about staying was that I was able to obtain an Associate’s Degree in Information Technology, and that has really helped me in this new digital DJ era.
When the music transitioned from CDs to digital media (mp3s) in the “Napster era” I ended up boosting my collection exponentially and then when a friend approached me with a copy of VirtualDJ software (don’t judge me) I came up with the idea of DJing to make some money off of all this music I had collected. My first residency was around 2005 at B&B Blues Bar on the south side of Fort Worth DJing from 9p – 2a for $45 on Saturdays. I did that for s little over two years and finally left because the owner at the time wanted to cut my pay even lower. So in 2008, I ventured into mobile DJing. My first setup was two huge tower speakers and a used component stereo amplifier that I bought from a pawn shop. I don’t even know how I fit those huge speakers in my car!
In 2009 my work shenanigans finally earned me the ax from my corporate job. I was ready to embark on my own journey on the outside as far as everyone could see but on the inside, I was scared to death. With a marred employment history, it was near impossible to earn the pay that I was getting so I was either going to take a job making half of what I used to make or get out there and generate my own income. Very quickly, I figured out that there is a DJ on every corner so I had to do some things to make myself stand out as the one to hire. From 2009 to 2015, I acquired tons of equipment and learned valuable skills to make myself more marketable as a DJ and little did I know I would be moving into the content curator arena as well. I ended up learning virtually every software in the Adobe Master Collection Suite(Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Dreamweaver and After Effects in particular), photography and videography.
Two things that put my DJ career into overdrive was learning streaming software and video DJing. By 2013 Word had gotten around town that not only was I a decent DJ but a good sound guy as well, which caught the attention of a few internet radio stations in Fort Worth. By working with them, I learned of several streaming software and learned how to build streaming studios. At the same time, I started collecting music and karaoke videos to get a step ahead of regular music DJs. From 2013 to 2018, I would experiment with programs by going live DJing from my Facebook profile and eventually, I caught the eye of the manager of Brickhouse Lounge and later, I would also get the attention of the manager of Buttons Fort Worth. Up until COVID, I had a residency at both establishments and a Thursday residency at Makumba.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was definitely NOT a smooth road. I had one mentor, James Futrell aka DJ Big Luv, that started me out in DJing but he wasn’t doing it full-time. He gave me a great start but most of my DJ career is based on trial and error. I could have learned a lot quicker had I connected with a DJ in the industry but I found myself feeling like I was on the outside looking in as I was in my mid-30’s with no DJ experience other than DJ software and using software/controllers was frowned upon unless you already knew turntables. Even worse my software of choice was and still is VirtualDJ and my laptop of choice was a PC. “Professional” DJs often laughed at me telling me to get Serato and a Mac and they could help but as long as I was on VirtualDJ with a PC I was on my own.
Spin Doctors Entertainment – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Spin Doctors Entertainment is a full circle DJ company that caters to small – to mid-sized events (from 5 to 500). The company specializes in both the Audio and Visual side of DJing. I myself am probably known just as much for video expertise as I am for sound as I can create a regular and motion flyer for your event, also I can create visuals that can be displayed on TV’s and/or projectors, provide uplighting changing the ambiance of the event space, I am now a video DJ, offer karaoke, and can even stream your event live using my platform and software. I can also play corporate, school, and church events as I have a vast “clean” music and video library. What sets me apart is my ability to construct a full audio and/or video production as opposed to just coming in and playing music. I can implement cameras and software to literally make your event a movie that can stream live on Facebook, Instagram, and several other platforms simultaneously!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
One of my favorite childhood memories is a competition between two of my best friends and I. We used to challenge each other to come up with old music from our parents’ music collection. 2-3 nights a week we’d get on 3-way and compare the songs we discovered. Ironically all three of us eventually became DJ’s.
Contact Info:
