This week we are shining a spotlight on Christion Dinzeo, (Ahlan Wright in the physical world) a DJ with humble beginnings whose passion for connecting people through music took him all over the physical and virtual worlds!
How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it?
Well, I can remember being in Second Life when everything was made of the little square boxes (called prims) that I later learned to turn to different shapes, haha. My oh my, how we have grown. I just had my 15th year rez day party back in February. Wow, saying that makes me think back to when we all just had the same clothes, the same hair, and everyone was so amazed when you could just take a proof script, put it in a prim, and make particles that fly everywhere. Or when the Lindens used to come hang out with us at a nightclub like Blue Linden. What brought me to Second Life? Well, I used to play TSO and I was with an entire family, and one day we were all chatting and we found out there was a new (life) game that everybody was so intrigued by. So one afternoon I installed the game, and {it was back when} we all got to have the same last name of our choosing.
I guess you could say that makes us vintage lol. I remember that anything was possible back then, and even more so now. But most of all, we could create a lifestyle and live a Second Life. It’s giving us a chance to meet, network, and grow with some amazing people from all around the world.
How did you get into DJing in the physical world and when did you decide to bring that into the virtual world and start doing it in Second Life?
Well, I’ve always been in the entertainment business in real life. I first started out doing radio while I was in college. After a few semesters, a couple of my college mates kept telling me that I needed to go out and explore, and enjoy the nightlife, but I was a bookworm and I was studying day in and day out. I’ve always loved playing with computers. (I guess you can say that’s the geek in all of us.) Well, one night my roommate told me that we were going to go hang out at a nightclub. They would not take no for an answer, so I said “Fine, I’ll go,” and I honestly have to say it was the best decision of my life: we went that night and as we went to get in line, this gentleman stops me and asked me if I minded holding the door for him so he could carry some equipment inside.
I said sure and held the door for him as he started carrying some crates and some really heavy equipment inside this night club. A little bit of time passed, and he hands me $200 and asked me if I planed on going in the nightclub, as he could get us all VIP access. Being in college, money was always tight, so those were two things that any college student would love to have. So we accepted his offer, went into the club, and had the most amazing time. But as for me, I was more interested in what he was doing, watching his hands and how he would take each song and put them together.
Later on at closing time I walked up to the DJ and told him that I would absolutely love to do something like this. He told me that he could teach me, but it has to be more something that you naturally know how to do. So we exchanged numbers and he invited me back the next weekend to be in the DJ booth with him. I started watching what he did, and I told myself I bet I could do this. So after going to the club and watching him a few times, I learned exactly how to take a song that’s on vinyl and mix it with another one on vinyl. It was absolutely amazing to watch him take an instrumental and put it with an a cappella. So I told him that I wanted to try, and he told me if I came back early the next night he would let me practice. Now fast forward a couple weeks, and he really liked what I did, so he asked me if I would be the opening DJ for one hour on the weekends and he would pay me for my time. I was so excited, I ran back to tell all my friends in school that I was going to be DJing at a nightclub and they needed to come out.
They all came out to show support, and after a couple weeks the DJ started giving me a little bit more time each night. One night he called me and told me that he was sick and couldn’t come in, and that I was actually going to play the whole night and that the club would pay me.
Well I accepted, and again I have to say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because from that point on the owner was very happy with what I did. People were dancing all night long, and after a while the other DJ actually left to go work at another nightclub. And so the owner offered me a Friday night, and from there I just started playing every Friday night, and I learned that I had a very good ear for music. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved music but I could actually control the sounds that people were hearing and that was very exciting to me. I eventually graduated with a computer engineering degree, and I wanted to continue to go to school and learn about the art of music and design and create my own sound. And with the help and support of my DJ mentor I did just that.
I started playing at nightclubs all over on the weekends and going to school on the weekdays, until one night I played at a club called Platforms in Florida, and I found out that I was going to be opening for a major artist that goes by the name of Yung Joc. You might’ve heard of him, his most popular song was “It’s Goin’ Down.” After doing the show they told me that they would love to have me come play on some of his other shows on the East Coast. I accepted and the experience was so great. After that things got even bigger, and I started playing more shows with different artists in different states. As the music changed, people started liking more and more different styles than just hip-hop, and I started messing around with other genres of music and really found a love for electronic dance music. I started playing at a lot of different venues, festivals, and shows all over the world in support of big name artists like DJ Baby Ann and DJ Icey, and then I got to be support for one the the world’s music icons, Avicii. After that show I just started to tour in support of artists all over, from major festivals like Miami’s Life In Color. And the rest is history. I now live in Las Vegas and support many headlining acts in addition to signing on as an artist with a very big agency called Blueprint. Each week is different, and I often work with some of the biggest talents in the world. It’s definitely been a blessing in my music career and I can officially say that I too am an artist.
I remember this everyday and put it to use in the wonderful world of Second Life. So now back to the story of SL! After doing a few broadcasting shows, I learned that there was a way we could add commercials about the stores or pretty much anything, and we came across a program called Shout Cast. You could use it to stream and broadcast what was being played on your computer. Later, we found out that we could take URLs and put them in Second Life. So I did that and then I was hired for a few nightclubs.
What are some of the advantages or challenges of DJing in the virtual world, as opposed to the physical world?
I would have to say the advantages are that anything is possible, as it has helped me grow and be able to reach out and do things I never thought were possible, like being able to work with some big and influential names in Second Life.
The challenges would be not knowing if the stream is going to work or if it would coincide with an SL software update, or maybe your internet connection is giving you problems… Lol back in the day that used to happen to me a lot, it definitely was a challenge. But it was one worth putting up with.
What are your favorite genres of music, and what mood do you usually go for when you DJ?
I’m a future bass artist, it’s in the same family of genres known as EDM (electronic dance music), but I have to say I always fall back on my roots and I love some good hip-hop, especially everything from the 90s. I don’t play it as much irl but I definitely enjoy playing it in Second Life. For the second part of the question, I always love the ha and high energy type of setting, but I love to make people dance and knowing that I can make them dance and move to the sounds that I create is so special to me.
We hear that you may be involved in a new club opening in Second Life, ELEVATE! Can you tell us more about it and when it opens?
Well, I had been gone for quite a few years, because real life had really kicked off and I was away on multiple tours. One day I was sitting at my computer and I received an email saying that a customer had a problem with one of my hats (I also design in Second Life).
So I log in and send them a new copy, as I had made a custom fit hat for them. And it kind of made me miss this world, as it’s always been a part of me. After looking around and seeing all the different avatars it made me think I was a noob all over again lol. So that night I was on for a crazy amount of hours, as that’s how Second Life works for most haha, but I decided to upgrade and get myself all fixed up with the help of a few friends.
And then it was almost as if I never left, because all the clubs had opened their arms and invited me back, and I found many other clubs to be a part of. After a couple weeks of being back I noticed that a lot of the clubs were different, and I wanted to take the knowledge I had gained and give back to this world, so after a few days of searching and creating something unlike any other and having the support from my friends and family I created ELEVATE NIGHT CLUB. I was able to find a designer that made the dancefloor lighting go on your body like in a physical club. As you can see in the logo, it has the name of the club as well as a triangle design. The triangle represents important things in my life, the people that have always stood by me, and the person that means the most to me in both worlds. Not only has she been an SL mom to me but we have become very close in the real world as well, and she has always stood by my side no matter what the situation may be, and her name is Savvy Tomorrow. If I had to say anything about her I would have to say that she is my hero and has always supported me in both worlds.
Tell us about some of the other Residents in SL that inspire you and whose work you admire.
To start off I would like to thank all the people that did not believe in me and would not give me the chance, because those are the people that just made me push even harder to succeed and be where I am today.
And I encourage anyone who is ever told no to turn that into a yes, no matter what it is in life.
As I mentioned previously about my SL mom, she is definitely at the top of my list, but there are so many people that believe in me and that have supported me, who I’ve supported also, with another being my SL daughter Raine Dinzeo. She is definitely someone that’s been there from day one. Also there’s Havi and a few others that don’t really come online anymore.
I would also like to add that there was a time when my real life wasn’t going very great and I was not always a great person in Second Life, but since then I have definitely grown up and I’ve changed my ways. Sometimes it still haunts me, that maybe I didn’t think about something before I reacted and that I could’ve hurt somebody’s feelings. But I wasn’t even thinking about it at the time because I was hurting myself. I wanna let the people know that I have changed, I have definitely grown up and I have bettered myself not only irl but also in my second one. To any and everybody that I was rude to, I am truly sorry and I hope at some point in life you can forgive me, and give me a chance to show you that I have changed.
Where can people follow you to know more about your next shows? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts.
I wanna thank you so much for taking the time to include me, it definitely means a lot and hopefully gives me the chance to reach out to everyone that I may have run into at some point throughout my history in Second Life.
For info on our upcoming events | shows follow my Instagram:
Instagram: @ahlanwrightmusic
Facebook: @AhlanWrightMusic
Twitter: @AhlanWright
Soundcloud: @ahlanwrightmusic
I also recently did another interview for the the NFL tailgating committee.
Elevate Night Club’s grand opening is tonight, May 4th at 5pm SLT. Come party with Christion in your black and white attire!
We hope you enjoyed learning about Christion’s whirlwind journey and the important life lessons he picked up along the way. We encourage everybody to follow their passions no matter what, just like Christion and countless other Residents have.
Each of these weekly Spotlight posts will feature a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup.
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