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Super
DJ Barbella's Space Age Antics Liven Up Seattle Sundays
Being
a female DJ in a male-dominated industry might seem disadvantageous,
but for DJ Barbarella that has not been the case. Having only started
DJing about three months ago, Barbarella has 16 gigs under her belt and
attributes her initial success to her background as a promoter.
“Most people I know begin DJing first, then promoting, then moving
up to club manager and maybe bar owner, but I did it backwards,” she
says. “I was a promoter and club manager and owner before I became a
DJ.”
Barbarella made the shift to DJing when she discovered other female
promoters that she knew were promoting during the day and DJing at
night to de-stress.
“I wanna have fun too,” Barbarella said to herself. That was about
a year and a half ago, and she bought some turntables and started
learning the trade. Her style, as she and a friend have coined it, is
“retro-rock-electro.”
Thinking Outside The Booth
Not one to be boxed in, Barbarella says, “I don’t think DJs should
be in booths. You need to be able to interact with the audience.” And
interact she does. Whether it is bringing people onstage to dance with
her or passing out masks and toy guns before her set so that club-goers
can shoot at targets and play along with her, Barbarella engages the
audience 100 percent.
“I pass out code words before my set. If you know the code word,
you get a free drink. People with the best costumes get free drinks.
People will do anything for free (drinks).”
Barbarella’s goal is to make everyone feel like they are a part of the party.
“People often feel like they’re outsiders (at a club) unless they are there with a huge group of friends,” she says.
Always Involved
Though she plays other venues, Sundays at Capitol Club in Seattle
are Secret Agent Sundays with DJ Barbarella. The first Sunday of the
month is Spy Sunday, the second is Space Age Sunday — at which
Barbarella brings in her laser guns — the third is Superhero Sunday,
and the fourth is Superbad Sunday.
Although her career as a DJ only just has begun, Barbarella says it is something of she sees herself always doing.
“At some level I’ve always been involved with this industry,” she says. “I can’t really see that going away.”
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