Sheldon Falconer carving out niche as DJ

Sheena Gayle, Youth Focus Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:An avid reader, former dexterity driver, and budding photographer, Sheldon Falconer, also known as DJ Dutch, is about developing himself as a brand through music.

He is the website and social-media coordinator at Island Entertainment Brands and Margaritaville Caribbean by day, and a disc jockey by night, something Falconer said is all part of his plan to succeed.

"Some of the more successful people you will meet in this life didn't get there by sitting on their haunches afraid to take a risk," he said. "They saw what needed to be done and did it, and continuously did it till they got to the point where risk woke them up in morning and success tucked them in at night."

For this young man, entrepreneurship is having the vision of success and going all out for it, while at the same time learning to identify dead ends early and acting accordingly.

Musically, his alter ego, DJ Dutch, has always had a love for music - the universal language that everyone understands, and according to Falconer, it is the feel-good drug to which it is okay to be addicted.

"In my younger days, I always thought disc jockeys were the coolest people in the world, and as I got closer to my teenage years, I began taking a greater interest in the arts and music on a whole. I got my first chance when I was an entertainment coordinator at FDR Pebbles when my manager gave me the CD pouches one night and said 'As of tonight, disco a your baby'. That was almost 10 years ago, and I've been going ever since," he said.

Not a challenge

Outside of spinning music at nights, maintaining a balance between his social life and day job is not a challenge.

"My job is pretty social - both online and on the street. So both jobs manage to balance themselves out without much effort, and as for my social time, both my jobs facilitate me enjoying the best of both worlds," Falconer added.

Being a DJ is not for everyone, and as Falconer puts it: "A great DJ not only knows music, but knows how and when to play it. Anyone can press start and stop on a turntable, but only great DJs can read their crowd, no matter the age group or cultural diversity, and still have everyone dancing 'til their feet hurt. I am a great DJ."