Welcome back to ‘Stadium DJ Of The Week’, where in each issue we put 10 serious and not so serious quick-fire questions to a stadium DJ from the world of sport! This week we sat down for a chat with Pittsburgh Steelers’ DJ Digital Dave.
- Name: DJ Digital Dave
- Occupation: Stadium DJ
- Club: Pittsburgh Steelers
- Club Website
- Arena: Acrisure Stadium
- Capacity: 68,400
The Interview
SM: When did you begin DJ’ing for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
DD: 2016, my first game was Ravens vs. Steelers Christmas Day. We clinched the AFC North for the season that day, it was a great game.
SM: How did you initially get into the role?
DD: I was DJing for the Pitt Panthers (college team) that shares the stadium with the Steelers and the Steelers reached out to me and said they needed a fill-in for Christmas day and asked if I wanted to work the game. I jumped at the opportunity. What they didn’t tell me was that it was a try out. I guess they figured if they didn’t like me there’d be no hard feelings as I thought I was just filling in. They reached out that Monday or Tuesday and asked if I was available the following Sunday and 7 years later here I am.
SM: Can you remember your first NFL game/stadium experience as a kid?
DD: I remember going to a Steelers game with my dad in the old Three Rivers Stadium, I think my first game was against the Broncos but I can’t recall with certainty. We were on the upper deck and while that stadium was not near as aesthetically attractive as Acrisure Stadium it was a closed bowl and man was it loud.
SM: In your time with the Steelers, who’s the best player you’ve seen play for the team?
DD: This one is so hard. I just missed the end of Troy Polamalu’s tenure, who was one of my all-time favorite Steelers. It’s definitely gotta be a toss-up between Ben Roethlisberger and TJ Watt. Ben was backyard football at its finest, that’s what made him so fun to watch, so many plays where he’d just run around for 6 seconds which is an eternity in football and throw a dime to a receiver who broke off their route 4 seconds ago. No matter what the score was, we always had a chance with Ben in the game. TJ Watt is incredible, I remember his first home game as a rookie, I believe it was against the Vikings and I don’t think he got a sack that game, but it was clear as day that he was on another level, I remember saying to myself after that game, this guy is gonna be in the Hall Of Fame someday. I’ve never said that before or since watching a player’s first game and I think I’m going to be proven right on that.
SM: Who is your favourite artist/band of all time?
DD: This is hard. If you’d have asked me in college it would’ve been Dave Matthews Band, but I don’t listen to them much anymore. I absolutely love Chromeo, I’ve probably seen them more in concert in recent history than anyone else. I love early-era Calvin Harris, like when he was doing his own vocals in the 2000’s, but I’m probably gonna have to go with the N-O, T-O, R-I-O…U-S…my man Biggie Smalls, still the greatest rapper of all-time for my money. Also, while Kanye has gone into a tragically dark place as of recent there’s no denying his artistic genius and he’s another long-time favorite of mine as an artist and producer.
SM: Which piece of music do you think is the ultimate track for motivating a football team?
DD: I don’t know if there’s any clear-cut across the board answer. “Renegade” by Styx gets our fans the most pumped. T.J. Watt loves hard rock, like Metallica, but a lot of the players are more into hip-hop. In college at the University Of Pittsburgh by far my biggest song for the students and players is easily “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes. I will say this, I’m not sure if anything is as universally responded in stadiums as much as “Kernkraft 400” by Zombie Nation, even 20+ years after it’s release.
SM: Do you have an all-time favourite track that you play at Steelers games?
DD: This is a tough one. I’m gonna go with “Party Up” by DMX, because it’s become the song I play when we shut down the opposing offense late in the 4th quarter and are getting the ball back and just have to kneel out the clock, so if I’m playing “Party Up” it’s always a great moment for our team. My favorite songs in a specific moment were easily after Ben Roethlisberger’s final home game when I played “My Hero” by Foo Fighters and “Home Sweet Home” by Motley Crue as the fans chanted “Thank You Ben” while he walked the stadium one last time high fiving fans in the front row. I had a feeling something like that might occur after the game so I prepped music in advance to play when it inevitably did.
SM: What are the main songs used week in, week out in your sets?
DD: In addition to the songs we already discussed, some staples you’ll hear at most games include “Black & Yellow” by Wiz Khalifa, “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” by DMX, “Never Scared” by Bone Crusher, “Paint It Black” by the Stones and “Stand Up & Shout” by Steel Dragon.
SM: On a final note, are there any funny mishaps/cock-ups that have taken place that come to mind when you think about your career so far?
DD: So for college games at the University Of Pittsburgh we have a loud recording of a ship horn that we play for touchdowns. One day I accidentally bumped the cue for it mid-drive after a play while players were heading back to their respective huddles. It definitely woke up the stadium. I moved that button after that game so that it was far away from anything else I ever press.
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