This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northeastern chapter.
Dan Stearns has been spotted around Boston in Saks Fifth Avenue, Saint nightclub, Red Mango, and at a Boston University sorority charity event.
No, he isn’t a shoe designer, wild dancer, crazy ice cream fanatic, or boyfriend of a BU Terrier. Stearns is a self-made DJ, which he has considered his hobby since his first year at Northeastern.
“I love sharing music with people and partying. So if I can find ways to get paid while doing both, it’s even better,” said Stearns, a middler international business major who is often referred to as DJ D.Strns.
Stearns estimates that he has more than 20,000 songs downloaded onto his computer.
“I wish I could clean it out in an easy manner, such as getting rid of the ones I haven’t listened to in the past three years. [But] I just put songs on there, with the goal that, if someone asks for it, it’s on there,” he said.
In September, Stearns was the DJ for Saks’ Fashion Night Out. As promotional events and product collections are released at the upscale retailer, employees ask Stearns to play music. Recently, he was the DJ at the release of designer Brian Atwood’s shoe collection.
Stearns credits the beginning of his gigs to Red Mango, where he started working as a freshman. He sporadically played music at the frozen yogurt retail location at 334 Massachusetts Ave. on Friday and Saturday nights. One weekend, he even brought the fun to the roof of the building.
Luckily for Stearns, a BU sorority sister heard his mixes and asked him to host an event at the college. Soon enough, Stearns was sending a mix tape to Saks at the Prudential Center, and before he knew it, he was playing during a fashion promotional event.
Since the spring of his freshman year, Stearns has been the DJ at local college formal dances, retail promotional events, private parties, weddings, and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. He even had the opportunity to play 90s music at an extravagant, high-end party in North Attleboro for a Saks customer.
This past summer, he worked part-time for Marx Entertainment, which provides DJ services in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
“While playing at weddings this summer, I got to play music, get paid, and eat filet mignon way more than anyone should,” he said.
His one nightclub experience was at Saint, formerly located in the Back Bay.
“The only reason why I haven’t looked into more [club gigs] is because it’s commission-based. Private events give you rates,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure [at clubs]. You’re only as good as the number of people you bring.”
Stearns, 20, said he wanted to be a DJ throughout high school, but he never had the money to spend on the expensive equipment. Now, Stearns’ collection includes two digital turntables, a mixer, and two speakers. And don’t forget his computer, which is set up to the mixer.
“My mom got ticked because she said I should be putting the money toward tuition,” Stearns said. “She asked what I was going to do with it, but I had no gigs lined up. It was more like, ‘I’m messing around with this.’ It’s an expensive hobby.”
Stearns said he enjoys the club, dance, and party genres. He also listens to hip-hop music, but said he doesn’t host many events appropriate for the genre. For the most part, Stearns plays remixes and the Top 40 artists, including Afrojack and David Guetta.
With the help of his friend who is a student at the University of Connecticut, one of Stearns’ upcoming gigs includes DJing at the university’s semi-formal dance in November. Stearns predicts the event to be his favorite thus far.
“I like finding new music and sharing it,” he said. “I’ll usually download music and pass it onto people without asking.”
Besides his love for music, Stearns avidly follows soccer, specifically the Chelsea Football Club.
No, he isn’t a shoe designer, wild dancer, crazy ice cream fanatic, or boyfriend of a BU Terrier. Stearns is a self-made DJ, which he has considered his hobby since his first year at Northeastern.
“I love sharing music with people and partying. So if I can find ways to get paid while doing both, it’s even better,” said Stearns, a middler international business major who is often referred to as DJ D.Strns.
Stearns estimates that he has more than 20,000 songs downloaded onto his computer.
“I wish I could clean it out in an easy manner, such as getting rid of the ones I haven’t listened to in the past three years. [But] I just put songs on there, with the goal that, if someone asks for it, it’s on there,” he said.
In September, Stearns was the DJ for Saks’ Fashion Night Out. As promotional events and product collections are released at the upscale retailer, employees ask Stearns to play music. Recently, he was the DJ at the release of designer Brian Atwood’s shoe collection.
Stearns credits the beginning of his gigs to Red Mango, where he started working as a freshman. He sporadically played music at the frozen yogurt retail location at 334 Massachusetts Ave. on Friday and Saturday nights. One weekend, he even brought the fun to the roof of the building.
Luckily for Stearns, a BU sorority sister heard his mixes and asked him to host an event at the college. Soon enough, Stearns was sending a mix tape to Saks at the Prudential Center, and before he knew it, he was playing during a fashion promotional event.
Since the spring of his freshman year, Stearns has been the DJ at local college formal dances, retail promotional events, private parties, weddings, and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. He even had the opportunity to play 90s music at an extravagant, high-end party in North Attleboro for a Saks customer.
This past summer, he worked part-time for Marx Entertainment, which provides DJ services in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
“While playing at weddings this summer, I got to play music, get paid, and eat filet mignon way more than anyone should,” he said.
His one nightclub experience was at Saint, formerly located in the Back Bay.
“The only reason why I haven’t looked into more [club gigs] is because it’s commission-based. Private events give you rates,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure [at clubs]. You’re only as good as the number of people you bring.”
Stearns, 20, said he wanted to be a DJ throughout high school, but he never had the money to spend on the expensive equipment. Now, Stearns’ collection includes two digital turntables, a mixer, and two speakers. And don’t forget his computer, which is set up to the mixer.
“My mom got ticked because she said I should be putting the money toward tuition,” Stearns said. “She asked what I was going to do with it, but I had no gigs lined up. It was more like, ‘I’m messing around with this.’ It’s an expensive hobby.”
Stearns said he enjoys the club, dance, and party genres. He also listens to hip-hop music, but said he doesn’t host many events appropriate for the genre. For the most part, Stearns plays remixes and the Top 40 artists, including Afrojack and David Guetta.
With the help of his friend who is a student at the University of Connecticut, one of Stearns’ upcoming gigs includes DJing at the university’s semi-formal dance in November. Stearns predicts the event to be his favorite thus far.
“I like finding new music and sharing it,” he said. “I’ll usually download music and pass it onto people without asking.”
Besides his love for music, Stearns avidly follows soccer, specifically the Chelsea Football Club.
His current co-op position is as an allocation analyst at the TJX Companies, Inc. in Framingham.
He said he doesn’t have a dream job in mind, but wants to work for a company that has international business ties. During the summer, he traveled on a Dialogue of Civilizations trip to Germany, and hopes to study abroad and co-op in the same country for a year as a junior.
Once Stearns turns 21, he hopes to schedule more gigs at clubs around Boston. He said he would love to open for a major artist someday “because you have the huge crowd listening.”
“But I’m trying to put as little money into it as possible because I’m trying to keep it a hobby,” he said. “A hobby that happens to have some sort of income.”