Here's to new beginnings! This mix - titled 'Strength" is part 1 of a 12-part monthly themed studio mix series that I've committed to releasing this year.
I mixed this set in October 2022, when I began feeling my strength again, in my amazing DJ Lounge in Eugene, Oregon.
The picture was taken on January 1st, 2023 at Bucerias beach near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
2022 was a huge challenge for me. The best things about it were my DJ career thriving post-pandemic, my daughter of course, and other than those, just getting through it.
The hardest things were that it was the first year devoid of hope for my marriage yet still living in the same apartment together the entire year, and that it was the year my mother passed - and those things were HEAVY.
Hence the need for strength. Dating for the first time after 15 years was a shitshow, and by summer what I already knew started to sink in hard - focusing on my daughter was a way better idea. When my mom became very ill, it drove this point home further.
Just as I was starting to feel some strength, my mom lost the last bit she had left. At first I relapsed badly into bad habits. She passed suddenly while I was preparing to come out to Connecticut, and I felt tremendous guilt when I didn't make it out to be with her at the end.
Although I took my mom's passing really hard, it was the catalyst for change I needed.
I went from mid-September through the end of the year alcohol-free. I've had a few drinks in January but don't think I'll ever have a drinking habit like I did before. I gave up herb early November and haven't looked back.
I gave up these 'vices' without judgement but in the name of health, clarity, and productivity. I wanted to stop getting in the way of myself and achieve my true potential. I wanted to feel my strength again.
2023 will be a crazy year for me. It's the 25th year of my party, Tropical, and the last one. No one wants me to end it, and so this also takes strength. I've given a lot through this event - in many ways too much.
Of course I'm going a little nuts with it to the finale but I'm also showing restraint. I want to respect the party and give it the finish it deserves, but I have much else to do and know all too well it gets it the way of really being able to focus on other things.
My DJ career is a constant hustle, and is back to being my main source of income. That's not actually my vision but you also have to respect what's working. My venue booking business is growing slowly, largely because I'm limited by the other things. but I know it's my most sustainable future.
This is the last year I will work this hard. It's the end of a decade I knew I would work really hard, and I want to respect the deadline I set to take a chill pill and be focused on other things including self-care, and my daughter. I'm still going to work real hard after 2023, but more efficiently and with more help. And without the burden and risk of organizing events.
I started a bit early last Fall with increased self-care, sleep, and focus on Cerise - but with the onset of 2023 I'm also feeling the crunch of so many projects and goals. Still I feel more balance than I used to. And that is also strength.
Well I can go on forever but I'm going to cut myself off. I haven't said a word about the music on this mix this time, but that's ok, it speaks for itself.
I hope you enjoy the mix, and find strength in yourself this year and beyond!
Track list coming soon <3
