Inspired by the energetic hip-hop and R&B culture of the Bay Area, business management senior Andrew Gatdula went from mixing tunes in his dorm to DJing at major clubs in San Jose and San Francisco.
Gatdula attended the University of Portland as a freshman and struggled to establish himself and make friends there.
He isolated himself in his dorm and started using a basic DJ controller to mix his favorite songs.
“Instead of being a simp about my situation, I could use music as an outlet,” Gatdula said. “I downloaded a DJ program on my laptop and just started going with it every day.”
He began producing beats under the name “Gatz” and slowly started building up his reputation by playing at house parties and community events.
“People started asking me to do their parties as a joke, but I was like, ‘fuck it, I’mma do it,’ ” Gatdula said.
Although Gatdula first learned how to DJ by using a controller, he also learned how to work turntables and digital music players for CDs (CDJ’s) at venues.
Gatdula combines classic hits from his biggest influences such as Kanye West, Playboi Carti, Drake and YG with songs from lesser-known artists.
By pausing and scratching on turntables, Gatdula moves like a skilled chef in the kitchen.
“I like to take a lot of my influences off SoundCloud and try to mesh that into mainstream hip-hop and add my own flavors,” Gatdula said. “I would, you know, sprinkle in some old Kanye West with maybe some top 40s.”
Along with paying attention to trends through social media such as Twitter and Instagram, Gatdula explores playlists on Spotify and recommendations from friends. He also listens to sets from other DJs to discover new music and styles he can mix with his own.
He currently likes to incorporate rappers Don Q from Stockton and Offset Jim from Oakland into his music because he anticipates that they will expand from their cities and hit the charts in the future.
Gatz’s dedication to learning the tricks of DJing powers his unique image.
California State University, East Bay nursing junior and Gatdula’s girlfriend of four years, Sheyanne Marie, said he is passionate about DJing.
“It’s really something he’ll put his time into. Like, he’ll set aside time just to work on DJing or put something together for his club,” Marie said.
Gatdula said the diverse environment of the Bay Area allows him to continuously learn new techniques and how to make better transitions to further his style as an artist.
“Every time I go out now
. . . It’s kind of hard not to pay attention to the DJ,” Gatz said. “I’m always taking mental notes on what works and what doesn’t.”
By staying on his toes with new trends, Gatdula impressed his colleagues throughout the years.
“It was definitely a great time when we had him out and seeing him do club events now, I can say he improved in a professional sense and knows when to play the right songs at the right times,” said Tyler Doan, a classmate who studied abroad with Gatdula. He had Gatz perform at his fraternity parties in the past.
Doan added that Gatz heavily captures the Bay Area culture in his sets by combining gritty dance music with a splash of EDM.
Noah Panlilio, Gatdula’s fraternity brother from Delta Sigma Phi, admires his ability to gauge the crowd and mood of the scene by generating creative intros.
“The biggest area of growth I’ve noticed is his creativeness in his song transitions and intros,” Panlilio said over text. “He has the ability to transition a rap song into an EDM smoothly.”
Panlilio said he is always ready to press record on his phone to capture the vibrant energy and action Gatdula generates whenever he is creatively mixing transitions.
Gatdula said he strives to differentiate himself from other artists by finding songs that blend together in harmony, all while creating an energetic flow.
His pop-esque transitions keep the crowd guessing and dancing.
“I just want to be known as bringing unexpected sounds into the club. I like that ‘wow’ factor of playing something that I don’t think anyone else would play and then getting that reaction out of the crowd,” Gatdula said. “I think that is one of the best experiences of DJing.”
Although his priority is working in project management, he said he would like to expand his career as a musician outside of the Bay Area.
“I feel like my DJing career has just been so unexpected to where if the opportunity presents itself to say, in SoCal, I would for sure hop on that and adapt to the culture, learn the culture,” Gatdula said.
