Lucy Wrubel is no ordinary DJ. What sets her apart -- other than her amazing costumes and incredible energy -- is her deep love and vast knowledge of music. Join us as we talk about how to lie your way into a career, the benefit of taking creative chances, and the thrill of Blake Shelton mixing you a pink cocktail at his wedding reception.
Episode Six with Deejay Lucy Wrubel -- You Gotta Have Passion
Lucy Wrubel is no ordinary deejay. What sets her apart -- other than her amazing costumes and incredible energy -- is her deep love and vast knowledge of music. Join us as we talk about how to lie your way into a career, the benefit of taking creative chances, and the thrill of Blake Shelton mixing you a pink cocktail at his wedding reception.
Check out Lucy and her work here.
Follow her on instagram @lucywrubel.
Listen to her Spotify playlist "This".
And don't forget her podcast "Such a Good Song."
Interested in becoming a deejay?
And here's a playlist from Episode 6!
Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso
September by Earth, Wind & Fire
Tricia: [00:00:03] Hey there. I'm Tricia Rose Burt, and I want to ask you a question. What creative work are you called to do but are too afraid to try? Are you in IT but dream of doing stand up? A PR exec who longs to write a screenplay? Did you change your priorities and now you want to leave your fully funded PhD/MD program and go to New Mexico and paint? Or maybe you're like I was in my early career, trapped in a lucrative, but soul crushing corporate job when what I really wanted to do was tell stories on stage. In this podcast, we'll hear from artists who took unexpected leaps and found the courage to answer their creative call so we can inspire you to answer yours. This is no time to be timid. [00:00:50][47.3]
Tricia: [00:00:50] Hey there and welcome to the show. This week our guest is DJ Lucy Wrubel. And Lucy is no ordinary DJ. If you can, scroll through her website, lucywrubel.com, and that's wrubel, while you're listening to this episode and check out the parties she's played and what she's wearing while she's doing it. The photo where she's dressed as an octopus is not to be missed. Lucy travels across the country -- and sometimes the world -- DJing events. Her clients include Tom Ford, Neiman Marcus, Budweiser, the Dallas Museum of Art and believe me, that's just scratching the surface. She played an event at the George W Bush Library -- there's a great photo of her with the former president -- and she even attended Obama's inauguration and played music at one of the inaugural balls. Lucy DJs in barns, backyards, and symphony halls. But what sets her apart -- other than her amazing costumes and incredible energy -- is her passion for music. Lucy lives and breathes music. Always has. And it is that passion, that deep love and desire to know as much as she can about music, that sustains her creative life and makes her the success that she is. I'm so glad you're joining us. [00:02:16][85.7]
Tricia: [00:02:16] Hello, Miss Lucy. I'm so glad that you're on the show. I really thank you for joining us. [00:02:29][12.5]
Lucy: [00:02:29] Well, I appreciate you asking me. [00:02:31][1.5]
Tricia: [00:02:32] And I need to tell our listeners right off the bat that the first time I saw you, we talked a little about this, but what was it, I'm going to say ten years ago, in Dallas, Texas, and we were at some celebration for a bridge. [00:02:47][15.3]
Lucy: [00:02:48] Yes. [00:02:48][0.0]
Tricia: [00:02:49] And there was all kinds of music happening. And I looked over and I saw this woman who was the DJ for this event. And if I'm not mistaken, you also mentioned that you did indeed have a bridge on your head. [00:03:02][13.2]
Lucy: [00:03:03] I did. I did. [00:03:04][0.9]
Tricia: [00:03:04] That was that was crafted for the event. So you're DJing. You've got a bridge on your head. And I'm like, I just I need to know that person. It took a while, but here you are. You're on the podcast. I'm so excited. [00:03:13][9.1]
Lucy: [00:03:13] Here we are. Here we are. Yes. That was the opening of a Calatrava bridge in Dallas that I drive over frequently. And I always think about the fact that we had a big old bash on that bridge before anyone actually drove on it. I mean, Lyle Lovett played. Do you remember that? [00:03:30][17.2]
Tricia: [00:03:31] I do. I do. [00:03:32][0.7]
Lucy: [00:03:33] I had a really fabulous dress, too, but it was so cold that I had to borrow like a fur coat from my mother. But, you know, the whole costume is a part of what I do. And so when you live in a city and they're doing something like this and tax monies and people are paying and everybody knew about the bridge being built, and so I kind of thought, what should I do that would be unique? So I got with an architect who made me a little replica of that Calatrava bridge. It's fabulous. I still have it. It's in my entry hall and I, I have an amazing hair and makeup, like I believe he is so much a part of my success because he has taken all of the visual for me and made it way more stunning. And he put that bridge it down on my head. It was very uncomfortable. And then he wove my hair all around the bridge, kind of like a river. It was amazing. And it stayed on. And I remember I had to put my car seat all the way down to the floor in order to drive there with it on my head. [00:04:34][61.3]
Tricia: [00:04:34] Well, it's just a thrill to talk to you because you're so passionate about music and you're so passionate about creating experiences for people. I mean, you're actually in the business of making memories. So many of us make tangible things and you're creating experiences. Talk a little bit about the work that you did before you became a DJ. [00:04:52][18.0]
Lucy: [00:04:53] Absolutely. I went to a small elementary school here in Dallas called the Lamplighter School, and I was painfully shy, horribly shy. And I had a real special group of teachers there and one drama teacher in particular that saw something in me and thought, if I can just get her to feel good in this arena, you know, I know, I know she'll come out of her shell. Well, it completely backfired on them. And by the fourth grade, I was like, I've written a play and I'd like to perform it for the entire school. I mean, I was just like, I mean, I went from someone who wouldn't even look at anybody, and I could still feel it. Like, I know when people are like, Oh, but she's so shy. I know what that feels like there's like a, I can't explain it. Like, its almost like a warmth, like a hotness. And like, I don't know if I can do it. I mean, timid. I mean, it's in the name of your podcast. I was 100% that. And then I went on and I really loved theater and I love performing. And I, and I was a cheerleader. And like anything where I was just, like, rallying people to participate. Always been drawn to that kind of thing. And I went to a really amazing program at USC, a BFA program. 12 girls and 12 boys in a conservatory situation. And I came out of that knowing that I wanted to be in the improv world and in the sketch comedy world. And so I worked my way through. It takes many, many years. People don't realize this, but it takes a long time to get into those companies like Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade and the Groundlings, and it takes a lot of effort. And so I worked my way to that. And then by the time I got into what's called the Sunday company, it's like the most creative thing you can even imagine. I mean, you're writing sketches every week and putting them up, and then you're performing them for paying audiences on the weekends and doing lots and lots of improv, you know, which is just flying by the seat of your pants. And I was so inspired by everyone around me. And a lot of my friends from those days are have had great success and are recognizable characters in the world. But they, to me are they're the people who are great observers. When I was at SC, I always loved the guy who was just pump the keg because he knew who was where, what was happening, knew what the next song was going to be like. Those kinds of people that are actually just stopping and taking it in and then jumping in, those are those are sketch comedians. Those are improv actors, and they all have such incredible brains and and big hearts, really. It was a great time in my life. It really was. [00:07:33][159.8]
Tricia: [00:07:33] And so when did you make the transition from improv to being a DJ? Like, how did that happen? [00:07:38][5.1]
Lucy: [00:07:39] I got fired. [00:07:39][0.4]
Tricia: [00:07:39] Oh, well, there's that. [00:07:40][0.9]
Lucy: [00:07:41] Yeah. And you know what I always say to all young people, you know, you will get fired. And when you get fired from a job you hate, it sucks. But when you get fired from a job you love, it's a death. It's a heartbreaking situation. You know, it's like eight of us that got canned and we didn't see it coming and we were all devastated. And then, you know, a lot of them went on to do amazing things. And for me, it allowed me to stop for a hot minute and get married to my my boyfriend that I had been with for a long time. And then he signed with an agent. He was a photographer. He signed with an agency in Milan. And we packed our bags. We threw a going away party for ourselves where we wore togas. We put everything in storage. We took our cat and we moved to Rome. And I thought I still was kind of moping around still. And he's like, Look, it's a big world. You just need to remember that. Let's go. So we got there, and the smallest, the strangest bit of circumstances happened. A dear friend of mine had gotten married there a year earlier and I'd been the maid of honor. I became friends with the gal who was the party planner, and she knew that I always had music with me, which I did. I've always had music with me all my life. I made mix tapes growing up. I spent more time making mix tapes than actually studying for school, period. And my two best friends from high school and I, all we did was go to Sound Warehouse and Peaches Records and talk about music and watch MTV and read liner notes. And we paid attention to everything. And I came by it naturally because my family did not have a TV downstairs for a big chunk of my childhood. We spent way more time listening to music and talking about music and respecting music. My parents were always like, You don't have to love everything, but you should give it a little weight and and you should be open minded to art in general, but especially to music. We weren't allowed to criticize other people's taste in music because that is just rude. And I love that and I still feel that way. I'm like, maybe I just don't understand this. Let me try and understand it better. And I think that bled over into kind of everything for me. But anyway, the bottom line is this gal who was the party planner called me and she said, Hey. I need a DJ. I need a girl DJ. I've got a guy DJ. And I need a girl. Like I don't know how to do that. She goes, Yeah, yeah, you know what? He'll run all the gear. You just show up in a cool dress and play some tracks, and then, you know, he'll show you how to do some things. And, you know, I just really need you and I'm like alright. I've never been to Lucca. Okay, So I gather, like, I had CDs. That's all I had with me. I gathered together a bunch of them, and I got there, and this guy wanted nothing to do with me, Tricia. Like he told everyone I was his girlfriend and kept asking me to get him drinks. I mean, nothing. And no one danced. I mean, no one danced for, like, an hour and a half. And finally and he acted like he spoke no English, you know, the whole thing. And then he finally looked at me and he said, okay, what do you have? What do you got? And I said, Oh, you speak English. Hold on a second. And I'm embarrassed to admit it because I really don't play this song very much, mostly because it's the tempo is so low, but it felt right. Maybe it felt right with what he was playing. I don't know. But I put on Brick House by the Commodores. [00:11:12][210.9]
Tricia: [00:11:14] You can't go wrong with Brick House. Come on. [00:11:15][1.8]
Lucy: [00:11:16] Well, it's kind of a low tempo, like it's kind of a.... it's good. [00:11:18][2.6]
Tricia: [00:11:18] Yeah. [00:11:18][0.0]
Lucy: [00:11:20] But it's not like a banger. You know what I mean? These days, especially. Anyhow, I put that on and these people came running out of the buildings, like running and jumping, and they were so excited. He goes, Oh God, what else you got? I'm like, Okay, well, I'll stay on the funk tip for a minute and we'll go. And I mean, I was there till the sun came up. I mean, the cops came. It was unbelievable. And what, circling back to your initial question, what I realized in the wee hours of that morning, it's the same thing is being an improv actor. I, instead of trying to make people laugh, just trying to make people feel happy. Yeah. Or I'm trying to make them dance. Or I'm trying to make them feel sexy, or I'm trying to make them feel like it's really what it's a task and I'm using someone else's art to do it. And I'm also using my my own energy and my own point of view to sort of manipulate -- even though they show up ready. Yeah. LIke at a comedy show. People are showing up ready to laugh. They want to. They've come. They've had a beer. They're ready. They're ready to laugh. You know, they're sitting down in their seat and they're ready, like, Tell me something funny, you know? So it's the same situation. However, in some ways, it's a one man show most all the time. Yeah. I use other people to help me. I mean, I have great respect for people who have to set up my set up. You know, they set me up for success. If I'm raised off the ground, if there's not too many lights, if, you know, my outfit kind of correlates with what the energy is like, there's all kinds of things that we can do to make it really, really impactful. But sometimes I could just be in your living room and have the same effect. You know, it just it really kind of depends on a strange chemistry and a lot of sociology. A lot. [00:13:13][112.6]
Tricia: [00:13:13] See, that's what's so fascinating, is that piece of. Yeah. Knowing who you're doing this for. How do you approach a gig? Because you do several things. You do live DJing. You put playlists together for like Tom Ford and Chanel and Neiman Marcus and all those places, right? But talking about your live performances, how do you go about those large events? And they can be smaller, more intimate things. How do you work with your clients? [00:13:39][26.2]
Lucy: [00:13:40] I thought about you yesterday because I knew we were going to be talking. I saw something on Instagram because, you know, software has gotten so good. When I started, it was very, very raw and like I had to match beats by counting in my head and tapping my finger on a counter. And I would be, you know, after this job in Italy, I came back to Rome where I then lived and I lied. And I tell every young kid I know, every young person I know, I tell them to do this. I lied my way into the first job I had. Acted like I knew how to use the gear, said, Oh, I know how to do that. I know exactly what I'm doing. I just lied because I thought I've already been fired from my dream job. I can get fired again. Number one. Yeah. Number two, what have I got to lose? [00:14:24][43.7]
Tricia: [00:14:24] How did you lie? What was the situation? [00:14:25][1.0]
Lucy: [00:14:26] I told the guy that I've been doing this for years in L.A. and that I would be a great DJ and that he needed better music in his disco. And he was like, Great. How about you come work for me on Thursday night and I won't pay you, but I will give you some free beers if you want. I said, Fabulous. I'm in. And I came and it was great. I learned everything in that little place because I lived there, I should say pre during and post-9-11. Hmm. And what was very interesting about playing live music in a setting like that during that little era of time was I could feel when people just needed to feel better if they were sad, if they were nervous, or if they just needed to let go. When was that moment? You can see it and you can feel it. So this is where the improv skills kind of came into play. Like, I really I don't know why, but I can I can look at a group of people and be like, okay, they're never going to go. They're never going to let go. Or, Oh, my God, I'm not going to go now because I'm going to exhaust every single thing I've got. So the other side of that is one side of the job is that -- is sociology, is watching. The other side of it is I have a very good memory, like weird, like an elephant. I can remember a set I played two weeks ago. I can tell you almost beginning, middle and end, the arc of it. I can remember it. So I remember a lot of music. And remember I like a lot of music. Yeah. So, so that the the thing I saw on Instagram the other day is technology has gotten so much better that now there's a DJ on every corner because now all they have to do is hit a button to match the beats. And that is true. But what you cannot replace is knowledge of music, of understanding of people. I am hired by someone and that person says to me, I want these people to dance on the furniture, or I'm hired by someone who says, this is a corporate event. They'll never dance. They just need to be able to talk to each other or I'm hired by someone who says, I, this is my birthday. I had this recently, this is my birthday. I had the worst year of my life. I would like it to feel like high school again for me. Oh, wow. And she was turning 60 and she told me the year she graduated and we made it that those four years were -- not a thing was missed. And she sobbed. So, like, I love the fact that I don't play in clubs anymore because when I played in clubs, I essentially played the same set every weekend. And I think you can get into a whole lot of trouble when you're bored doing this and you're not paying attention. Yeah. [00:17:10][164.2]
Tricia: [00:17:11] Yeah. [00:17:11][0.0]
Lucy: [00:17:11] For me, every night is different. I'm in a different city. I'm with, like you said, sometimes a thousand people, sometimes I'm with 40. But I know my mission because I've asked you know, I've asked very few questions. Four songs you might like to hear. Two you would not. No more no less. Because remember, I know a lot of music. And when they say, I love this, I love this. I really don't love this. That tells me almost everything. And I get there. The first few tracks I drop in a set is what I'm really watching. Especially if the crowd is already assembled. I could drop two or three tracks and I could see heads move. And when I see that, I go, oh okay. I think I know who they are. I think I got this. I mean, I played New Year's Eve in Pasadena this year, and it was really fun because I started playing dinner and they were in other rooms and people started coming out of the rooms to see where it was coming from. Wow. And the lucky thing is, you know, they were close to my age group, but also I had gone to college out there. So I was playing some obscure stuff to see if anyone paid any attention. And they all did. And they all knew. And like I played in Atlanta last Saturday night and I played some old R.E.M., like right out of the gates. And they were so excited. And I thought, Oh, great, I can't wait to drop some random B-52s and all that Athens stuff. And so this is where it comes in handy for me, because not only am I paying a lot of attention to my people, and believe me, it doesn't always work. You know, it doesn't. I mean, I can work, I can be covered in sweat. I mean, I make a total fool of myself. I dance like crazy. I jump up and down. Usually I can break people down because if I am genuinely and I love music that much, it's not like I'm faking it. [00:19:12][121.4]
Tricia: [00:19:12] Yeah, yeah. [00:19:13][0.4]
Lucy: [00:19:14] I can be in a really bad place. I mean, I've showed up to work. I mean, having had just like, maybe one of the worst days ever, and I thought I got to go do my job and I have to be happy. I got to pull this together. And I have been plugging in my gear thinking, I'm not going to be able to do this. But about 15 minutes in the music sorta takes me. I don't know what it is. It's just it saves me. [00:19:41][26.8]
Tricia: [00:19:42] I mean, listen, I love being a storyteller. It's what I do. But if I could pick something else, I would be a musician in a heartbeat because of how music transports us. I mean, I can remember getting in a car. I was in Nashville, Tennessee. I was in the worst mood. I'm like, you know, everything is just bad. And Rosalita came on the radio and I'm like how can you not love life when Bruce Springsteen is singing Rosalita? Like, in an instant, everything was better. [00:20:18][36.5]
Lucy: [00:20:18] It's the truth. I did a wedding in Cabo last July, and the two men who got married, they're the cutest, hottest things ever. And one of them is my SoulCycle instructor. He's like a guru. I mean, like we all just worship him. He is from New Jersey, and we played Rosalita and his entire family. I mean, they raised the roof off the joint. [00:20:45][27.1]
Lucy: [00:20:45] It was so I have such a great memory. And I don't think I've ever played Rosalita at anything before. I was like, gosh damn, you know? But isn't that the best? Isn't that the best? It's the best. [00:20:55][9.6]
Tricia: [00:20:56] I mean, it is remarkable what music can do. It's remarkable how it can shift in any direction. I mean, if you're just about to cry and you can't pull it off, you know, just put on that song that'll just. [00:21:07][11.6]
Lucy: [00:21:08] You know, if you want to cry. Yes. How about that? You know, put on Peter Gabriel and just let it rip. [00:21:16][8.4]
Tricia: [00:21:17] It's the soundtrack to Cinema Paradiso, if you put... [00:21:20][3.0]
Lucy: [00:21:22] Oh for sure. Top three movie for me. [00:21:22][0.0]
Tricia: [00:21:24] We're done. We're done. [00:21:25][0.8]
Lucy: [00:21:26] Done out of Africa. Bring on any of that stuff. [00:21:28][2.3]
Tricia: [00:21:28] I was listening to you and another podcast interview you did, the Garage Brand podcast. Yeah, I was sort of ashamed of myself for not realizing how much research and study goes into, if you are going to be a good DJ, an excellent DJ. I mean, you are like, top of the top of the top. Really the research and the knowledge that you have. I mean, talk a little bit about how you learn so much about music. It's not just passion. You've got almost an intellectual and academic grounding in it as well. [00:22:05][36.6]
Lucy: [00:22:06] I hope so, Yeah, I mean, I hope so. I would say that I always feel like I don't know anything, you know, I mean, it's such a it's such a deep well and and I wish I actually had more time to, like, really read. Like there's a Questlove book on my bedside table that I keep going I just need to read that from beginning to end, you know, so I can actually understand that genre. Of course, I can hear a track in a minute and go, That's a hit or That's this or That's going to work there. I'll put it there. And in my head I'm just stockpiling where it goes and in these lists in my head, but also on my computer. There was a ton of prep. Yeah. I mean, these people, that think I just and most people think I just put on high heels and show up because like what I wear and how I am when I work is a big part of what I do. Yeah, I think it is just it is what it is. [00:22:56][50.6]
Tricia: [00:22:57] Do you just show up, making it look effortless? It is anything but totally. [00:23:01][4.7]
Lucy: [00:23:02] I mean, it's a high wire act, you know, because everyone's watching you and they're depending on you and there's no backup. I mean, when your gear craps out on you on a set, you want to throw up on the spot because there's no other musician that can step in the spotlight while you fix it. Like, Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of pressure there technically. But I would say this, yes, the prep side of it's fairly interesting to me. I'm always looking and I'm always listening for music. I feel like it's sort of never ending and, and there is constant new stuff coming out. I can't stand it when I show up and some kid says, Play this. And I'm like, I've never even heard of that. I've never heard of that person. I'm always like, writing it down. So I don't know. I'm always dipping into to kind of everything and trying to try to know a lot about it. You know, you've got. [00:23:52][49.9]
Tricia: [00:23:52] So many elements of storytelling in what you're doing as well because there's an arc. You mentioned the word arc earlier. There's an arc to an evening, there's an arc to an event, and you're really creating that through the music you're selecting. [00:24:03][11.0]
Lucy: [00:24:04] I also have to know when it ends, like it's super important to me, like, is there a hard stop at this or are you going to let it go? Because if you're going to let it ride, I'll be here for another extra 3 hours for sure. If you want a dance party, you don't want a DJ for any longer than 3 hours. I love a dinner set because I love that kind of genre, so I would love to show up for an hour like I was talking about earlier, where I could start to build and then we go. But if you don't want that, if you're going to if you just want people to come in -- 4 hours is pushing it. Five is too long. It's just too long because you have three arcs. Three arcs and three falls. Yeah. And people get too, people get too drunk, to be very honest with you. Yeah, they just do. And then they don't even know what you're doing. Yeah. Yeah. And you don't really either. You know, I mean, I will admit to you that I always have at least one cocktail while I'm working, because otherwise I'm just not nice enough to the people. Because the people are on such a different level than me of a clarity. I mean, if they come up and say hey we want this. You know, I'm like, Oh, they're annoying. Yeah, but if I had one vodka soda or one glass of champagne, I'm a lot nicer. I mean, I feel like I'm at the party a little bit, you know, But it's not going to hamper my ability to do anything so. Or make me have to go to the bathroom because I never leave the stage. [00:25:24][80.4]
Tricia: [00:25:25] You know, those are real life concerns. If you're on stage, man, it's like, okay, I got to make sure I can navigate the next, I mean, I had a one woman show, I was on stage for an hour and a half and it was like. [00:25:36][11.3]
Lucy: [00:25:37] Can't go to the bathroom. [00:25:37][0.3]
Tricia: [00:25:38] Gotta make sure I'm good for the next hour and a half, you know? [00:25:41][2.9]
Lucy: [00:25:42] So Todd Fiscus, he's one of my favorite party planners, put me in a lighting truss above a hockey arena in Connecticut and it would go up and down throughout the night like it would lower, had fringe around it. The party was down on the floor. There was no ice in the arena. Obviously. There were thousands and thousands of people. And I would go all the way up to the ceiling and a band would play. And then he would drop me down when the band was stopped and I would play like I've just dropped down from the ceiling and I was in the truss for 5 hours. [00:26:13][31.4]
Tricia: [00:26:13] Oh, that's crazy. [00:26:15][1.4]
Lucy: [00:26:16] Is that wild? And there was a clear floor so I could see the floor. I was terrified. I didn't realize that I was going to be terrified. You better wear some shorts, girl, because you're going up high. I'm like, Oh, my God. There I was up on the ceiling, just standing there for hours. Oh it was wild. [00:26:31][14.8]
Tricia: [00:26:47] We'll get back to the second half of our conversation in a moment. But right now, I want to tell you about our sponsor Interabang books, a Dallas based independent bookstore with a terrific online collection. At Interabang, their dedicated staff of book enthusiasts will guide you on your search for knowledge and the excitement of discovery. Shop their curated collection online at interbangbooks.com. [00:27:09][22.5]
Tricia: [00:27:32] So Lucy, tell me what kind of equipment you use as a DJ? [00:27:35][2.8]
Lucy: [00:27:36] When I first started playing in Italy, it was, like this technology has drastically, drastically, drastically changed. I kind of thought the technology in the beginning because, you know, just the basic needle to a record or a CD and like a, you know, like fuzzy little transitions was kind of where I was going. And then Serato is the software I use a lot of people there's like three or four that people use, but I prefer Serato mostly because it's the one I chose. And so I'm sticking to my guns. Now, it's the most amazing software. What I didn't realize was it would make everything that I knew how to do 10,000 times better. And it's one of those rare softwares that is improving itself exponentially over and over again. In other words, when you do the update, it's like, oh, now you can separate a track. Now you can separate a vocal from a track. So like when I'm playing Gimme More by ABBA, which I play almost every night, I can drop out the vocals and the whole, and this song continues and the whole crowd starts singing Gimme More at the top of their lungs. It's incredible. It's so extraordinary. So because I travel, and so this another part that I feel like you should understand, there are like actors, there is like Meryl Streep, and then there's someone who is like on a soap opera. Are they both actors? Yes. Are they using different kind of muscle groups? Absolutely. A soap opera actor has to memorize 80 pages a night. I mean, like it's a workout. They don't get a lot of credit for it. They have a technical blocking situation that is different than someone like Meryl Streep. So, like, you know, you can liken DJs this way as well. So there's the DJs in Vegas or Ibiza that are making their own music. They're creating their own music, and they're mostly playing for tracks when they're playing live. But they have built that music. They own it. And then there's a service DJ, and that's me. I give the people what they want. So I am hired when you're like, I just want, you know, like, like a lot of the parties I discussed earlier, I want everyone to come and be in this little club. And it's my kid's 18th birthday, and I just want them to throw back the fire ball and have the time of their lives. Okay, I got that. We got 3 hours to do it. So I'm a service DJ. [00:29:53][136.6]
Tricia: [00:29:53] So talk a little bit about the playlists that you develop and who you do them for. [00:29:59][5.2]
Lucy: [00:30:00] Oh, the custom ones. [00:30:00][0.8]
Tricia: [00:30:01] Yeah. [00:30:01][0.0]
Lucy: [00:30:02] So those are interesting. And you know what's so funny about those, Tricia, is like, generally I get a call like, Oh, it's great. We loved it once, they use it once and that was it. Or I have a couple that are on Spotify right now and I'll give you that link. There's one that's just called "This" and I'm constantly working on and it's like the most chill, unusual, it's not Singer-Songwriter, but it's also it's not sleepy. It's so when it's so interesting to me, if I hear a track, I'm driving along like, Oh God, I got to put that on "This," you know, and I'll move it into "This." And so "This" is always evolving. And I have a lot of people who actually just follow "This" because on Spotify now, they'll just go access it and it's constantly evolving. I have a really good vintage country mix there too. [00:30:51][48.5]
Tricia: [00:30:52] Oh that's great. So we can go to the Link on Spotify. Yeah, yeah, we'll put that in the show notes so everybody can go. [00:30:57][4.8]
Lucy: [00:30:58] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And those are good. Does a really good. [00:31:01][2.6]
Tricia: [00:31:01] I heard from your other podcast that you created a list for a woman who just had a baby and she wanted music as she was pushing the baby. [00:31:07][6.6]
Lucy: [00:31:09] Yes, Yes. And I am telling you, that playlist, Tricia, I'm gonna send it to you. Oh, I love it. That is one of, it is fabulous. And she she had this one song that she wanted on there. I don't know if I said that on the podcast that she had one one request. She said this is very random, but I really, really want this cover of Moon River. And I said, Okay, that sounds great. Sure enough, Baby was born to that song. [00:31:36][27.0]
Tricia: [00:31:37] Oh no kidding. [00:31:38][0.8]
Lucy: [00:31:38] It was like an eight hour playlist. And she just had it on shuffle. And now, like, when she told me that, I'm like, You got to be kidding me. She's like, No, I swear, he was born to that one song. [00:31:46][8.0]
Tricia: [00:31:47] That's fantastic. I have one playlist moment that I want to share with you. [00:31:52][5.0]
Lucy: [00:31:52] Oh, please. [00:31:53][0.2]
Tricia: [00:31:53] I was in a boxing class years ago. It was the workout of the boxer. We didn't ever got in the ring. And they did a competition with everybody went to the class and said, Do a playlist. And this is cassettes. This is how long ago do a playlist for the class. And I was so proud of myself because mine got selected. [00:32:12][18.7]
Lucy: [00:32:13] Oh, what was on it? What was on it? [00:32:15][2.0]
Tricia: [00:32:15] And I started out we would start out jumping rope, and the lead song was Joe Cocker's Feeling alright. I thought, you know, this is the perfect way to start this. [00:32:24][9.4]
Lucy: [00:32:26] Slow build. [00:32:26][0.0]
Tricia: [00:32:27] You know, and the whole arc went, you know, and somebody else came and their tape had Rocky in it. And I'm like, Oh, for God's sake, that's just too on the nose. Just no. [00:32:34][6.8]
Lucy: [00:32:35] Obvious. [00:32:35][0.0]
Tricia: [00:32:36] Yeah, I am so much enjoy doing that and I can just see why you would love doing this for a living. I mean, like, how much fun? [00:32:45][8.8]
Lucy: [00:32:46] Well I used to say it like, how in the world could I possibly make a living making mixtapes for a living? I mean, I used to say that all the time, and I actually really kind of do. And, you know, my two best friends from high school, they're still two of my best friends. I was with one of them yesterday. And we we really our bond is it was making mixtapes for each other as we went to school in three different parts of America and we would send, music was still regional then, you know, it's not anymore, but it was then. And so I would send them what we were listening to in Southern California, Frank would send what he was listening to in Virginia, and Greg was down in Austin. So like, yeah, they would send it and I'd be like, Oh my God, this band sounds amazing. I've got to see them. And like, gosh Lucy, You're really into reggae. I'm like, I really am, you know? Like it just was awesome. And so we road trip and we used to think we road tripped a lot because three of us just like to go places in cars. But really we just want to drive around and listen to music. [00:33:45][58.7]
Tricia: [00:33:47] And are those the folks that you're doing your podcast with because you're doing a podcast. [00:33:50][3.2]
Lucy: [00:33:50] Yes. Yes. [00:33:51][0.6]
Tricia: [00:33:52] Which is first of all, I love the title. Such a good song. Such a good song. So perfect. I'm like, I somehow want to contribute to your podcast because I have all of these moments of when it was such a good song. This whole season, every episode is dedicated to how to sustain this creative life or integrate more creativity into your life. You have created opportunities for yourself, and that has I think there's a there's an element of neck that goes to it, you know, having a neck to just go out there and say, Yeah, I've used this gear and I've been doing this for years and let me just do it, you know what I mean? There's, there's, there's something about just saying yes and then figuring it out. [00:34:35][43.5]
Lucy: [00:34:35] I have a giant piece of art in my living room that says yes 43 times because it is my favorite word. It's my favorite word. And I would be remiss if I talked about music for even another minute without mentioning my father, because my whole family loves music, but my dad is like the DJ of my childhood. I mean, he played everything from the Grateful Dead to a lot of Neil Young and Cat Stevens and Fleetwood Mac. And I mean, he really was the educator for me. Yeah, but we, I used to make, I had a I had people that would ask me for these mixes. So I made mixes back when we had CDs for a store here in town and the owner of that store and I really dear friend and he and I would have these so much fun collaborating and making these mixes and then I would always run them by my dad. And my dad would say, Well, I don't like about 80% of them. If I was making that mix, I'd add these two tracks and it would be perfect. And he was always right. So people would say to me, What's Pops listening to? I'm like Beck and such and such. Like he was always like telling me like, Oh, you got to get this album. It's really good. [00:35:40][64.4]
Tricia: [00:35:40] Now, how old is your father? [00:35:41][0.8]
Lucy: [00:35:42] My dad is 83 and he's so amazing and my parents are both amazing. My mother's just published her first novel, and my dad, I mean, they're the best. They're the coolest people. Wow. They are why not? And say yes and fake it to you make it and work hard and all that. That's them in a nutshell. That was that's been my example my whole life. You know, the DJing of it is a bit, it's the bread and butter. But I don't know I just am a nerd who really, really geeks out to music. I don't profess to know it all, but I just sure do, I do think, you know, I mean, I was at the pool last night with some friends and I'm like, what the hell are they playing? And why isn't it louder? It's really irritating. Like I get real bossy. Like this needs to be louder. They need an extra speaker. And they've already heard this song. Like, come on, You know, I would get very cantankerous on that front. [00:36:42][59.9]
Tricia: [00:36:42] What is the thing that you are having to screw up courage for right now? There's something that you've got to really screw up some courage to do. [00:36:52][10.2]
Lucy: [00:36:53] That is a great question. Well, I would tell you that I have to I have to pull up a lot of courage, I think every night. Listen, when I bomb and probably two or three times a year, I just feel like it just didn't work. And I hate that. Like, I don't even want to invoice you, like, you know, and not be like, we thought it was great. Or they'll be like, Yeah, well, it just we just didn't go, you know? And that and that happens. And so I think I have to pull a lot of courage every single night I show up. I mean, I am crossing my fingers and saying all kinds of things to the powers above, you know, like, just let me think quick. Let me relax. Know that I know what I'm doing. Trust it, Take chances. Because always when you take chances, things are better. And what that means is sometimes you can fall into a safe routine. Like I can look at a crowd and go, okay, here we. I mean, there's one song, Tricia. There is literally one song. It does not matter who or where I am. If I play it, it doesn't matter who I'm playing it for. I'm not kidding you. It doesn't matter. They can be 18, which is one of my wheelhouses, believe it or not. Or they can be in their seventies. But if I play September by Earth Wind and Fire every single person will dance. And I'm really not kidding. So sometimes I'm like, trying to drive them to the floor, trying to get it started, trying to get started. So I'm like, Fuck. All right. It's time to play September. And I love the song. I know it's never let me down. Not once in all of these years. I mean, all these years. And I will tell you something. I'm trying to layer what I do because someday no one's going to want to hire me, I don't think. You know, but I think I'm sort of shocking myself in the sense that I keep getting hired. I'm more hired now than than ever, because maybe the older you get, the more, you know, maybe experience actually matters. Maybe if you have the knowledge of the depth and knowledge of music that I do, maybe that really counts. Maybe that comes through. As long as you're still curious for what's next. I mean, I don't stop at a certain point. Like, I still, I mean, I can play the latest doja cat and, you know, the newest track that just dropped yesterday. But maybe that's the secret. Maybe that's the sauce. I don't really know. And I don't think, I mean, I think people laugh at me a lot. I just don't care. I never have. Yeah. I mean, I really have never and I don't think as an improv actor, you have to have super tough skin. You have to go out there and make an ass yourself. And for sure, it didn't work and no one laughed. It's okay. You're going to survive that. So I have that. I'm always trying to impart that to my daughter. Don't be afraid. Just don't be afraid. Just, just try and just trust me. Go for it. Because even failures are great. You get great rewards from failures. And so, you know, sometimes I show up, and, I mean, I have these young kids, they come up and they will say some, I mean, I am single. They will say something to me. And I'm like, I could be your mother. You need to get off the stage. Don't offer me that. Don't say that to me. I mean. Move. Move along, little doggy. And then also, sometimes they're looking at me like. It's so weird. If my mother was doing that, I'd be embarrassed, you know? But I'm not their mother, so I don't really care, you know? I feel it's such a gift to have gotten to do something so fun. So ever changing from technology to music to crowds to opportunities for such a long part of my life and for it to have been lucrative except for during COVID. Yeah. And it was verboten. And I was completely broke. But other than that, it's been a great ride. [00:41:05][251.5]
Tricia: [00:41:05] I don't know what you're talking about. As a person who -- why do you think I'm now doing a podcast? There's no crowd. [00:41:13][7.5]
Lucy: [00:41:15] Oh, my God. I mean, it nearly killed me. Yeah, but it also made me I will say the other side of that, and I know you can relate, I never, I will never complain ever again about having to get up, throw the Red Bull down the hatch, put the high heels and the fake lashes on and hustle out, climb up an airplane, lug my gear over my head, plug it in in the heat, turn the glare off, crank it up, jump up and down, when I don't feel like doing it. I'll never complain. Never, never, never. I'm such a grateful, grateful artist. Yeah. [00:41:50][35.3]
Tricia: [00:41:51] Thank you so much for joining us, Lucy. We appreciate it. [00:41:53][2.5]
Lucy: [00:41:53] Thank you so much for having me. I think it feels like a misunderstood profession. And I'm it's a it's a real job. I mean, people say, are you still, someone said it to me yesterday? Are you still doing your little hobby or your little DJ? And honey, it's paying for graduate school and summer camp and electricity. You know, it's a job. So when people say, Oh, you're a DJ, like you play like barmitzvahs and weddings, I'm like, I don't I don't do a lot of that. But I did play Gwen Stefani's wedding, so there I did do that wedding. So that's, you know, there's the wedding, There's a wedding. And I did do that. And Blake Shelton made me a pink cocktail right before the set, which was incredible. So I would say, you know, I am a lucky, lucky, lucky girl. But to any young people out there, a lot of that luck just comes with staying the course. I get that where I live, it's not exactly the norm. I'm not a lawyer. [00:42:52][58.7]
Tricia: [00:42:53] I understand that well, but we are so glad you're not a lawyer and we're so glad you're a DJ. Lucy, thanks so much for joining us. [00:43:00][7.2]
Lucy: [00:43:01] Thank you for having me. It is a thrill to talk to you. [00:43:03][2.3]
Tricia: [00:43:24] There are few things more exciting to me than being around someone who is that passionate about their work. And Lucy's passion is infectious. I feel an urgent need to play Rosalita and September and maybe have an impromptu dance party. In the meantime, here are some questions to think about. First, what are you passionate about? Second, how knowledgeable are you about your medium? Are you continually learning or just staying with what you know? And third, here's a challenge for our more cautious listeners. Try saying yes to something and then go figure it out. To learn more about Lucy, go to her website lucywrubel.com. And again, that's lucywrubel.com. Follow her on Instagram at Lucy Wrubel and check out her playlist "This" on Spotify. You can find all these links on our show notes as well. [00:44:21][57.7]
Tricia: [00:44:43] If you haven't had a chance to download the No Time to be Timid manifesto yet, make sure to visit my website triciaroseburt.com. And while you're there, please reach out and give us some feedback about the show. We'd love to hear your thoughts. And if you feel like this is no time to be timid in your own life, then maybe I can help you with that. In my private coaching practice, I help my clients to tell and live better stories. Some of them are artists and creatives who want to express themselves in a new medium. Others are leaders who want to motivate groups to take action. And many of them are business professionals who want to better communicate with their customers and employees. You can reach out to me at triciaroseburt.com. Join us for our next episode, where our guest will be David Crabb, a Los Angeles based author, performer and storyteller. David's the author of Bad Kid, his acclaimed memoir about growing up gay and goth in San Antonio, Texas, which he wrote after performing it as a hit solo show. You don't want to miss our conversation. And be on the lookout for a bonus episode, too. No Time to Be Timid is written and produced by me, Tricia Rose Burt. Our episodes are produced and scored by Adam Arnone of Echo Finch, and our theme music is Twists and Turns by the Paul Dunlea Group. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show, spread the word, and review us on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you listen. No Time to be Timid is a presentation of I Will Be Good Productions. [00:44:43][0.0]