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 Chicago Fire’s DJ Step.
- Name: DJ Step
- Occupation: Stadium DJ
- Club: Chicago Fire FC
- Club Website
- Arena: Soldier Field
- Capacity: 61,500
The Interview
SM: When did you begin DJ’ing for Chicago Fire?
BS: Summer of 2015 was my first season for the team. Just finished my 9th with the club. On the USMNT Side I did fan activations starting in 2017 and have recently started doing in-game productions this year as well as DJIng their roster reveal party in Brooklyn for the most recent world cup.
SM: How did you initially get into the role?
BS: Initially I was given season tickets to the 2015 season from my brother. I had already been DJIng in clubs and bar circuit in Chicago for a period of time, so mixing was just the natural way I like to celebrate my passion for the city and team. As a way to commemorate my first season as a season ticket holder, I created this video mix with the help from some really talented friends. The video combined heat samples and trick mixing that I incorporate into my normal sets, and then cherry-picked goal highlights from the previous season. I released it on the internet and slid it to a couple of footy-centric blogs and eventually the club saw it. They asked me if I could do this at every game, and the rest is history. Following that release of the celebratory “Hot Mix” in 2015, we made another version in 2016 celebrating the teams return to their iconic red kits. and then I made a final one in 2017 as a celebration of the clubs 20th anniversary.
SM: Can you remember your first soccer game/stadium experience as a kid?
BS: I was born in Hartford, Connecticut – so in the 90s we didn’t have a pro-soccer experience in the same context of major cities in the US or in Europe. My first experience was likely tagging along to my older brother Justin’s club games and then on a semi-pro level we always went to the Connecticut Wolves matches in New Britain, Connecticut. It was real low budget stuff pre-MLS and pre-NASL they played in a 19 team league called the USISL. The most iconic team from that league was likely the Rochester Rhinos – one of the only non-league sides to win a US Open Cup. It was one of the first places as a kid where my dad would let me literally run wild in the stadium. It was a really grassroots way to understand the game. It was a really traditional US Sport experience. cheesy music, hot dogs, and fresh popcorn on weekends cheering on your local club. It set the tone for how I would interact with the game for the rest of my life.
SM: In your time with Fire, who’s the best player you’ve seen play for the team?
BS: That’s an easy one – It’s definitely Bastian Schweinsteiger. While he was in the twilight of his career, his class as a player isn’t really attached to his age. His game IQ, touches on the ball, and rhythm as a player just separated him as a clear frontrunner. I also get excited about the next generation of talent. With my work at the USMNT, I get to see players like Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Weston Mckennie, and Yunus Musah.
SM: Who is your favourite artist/band of all time?
BS: Not sure I have a specific band – but more an era of music. Mid-2000’s to 2010’s Chicago Hip Hop is home base to me. As a kid living in Connecticut and traversing a childhood that would go from pre-internet to the fever pitch of torrents, downloading albums, and full-fledge digital downloads via iTunes – that arena of Chicago Hip Hop, from Common, to Lupe, Twista and Kanye West’s early projects and production. That music, the production, the stories, the samples – all helped educate me as a listener and helped set me on a journey of eventually moving to Chicago and starting my experience as a DJ and to what I do now.
SM: Which piece of music do you think is the ultimate track for motivating a soccer team?
BS: I truly believe context is everything, a record could have a special meeting in the locker room or to a player’s heritage and journey to that club or moment in their career – but truly the biggest deciding factor is fans or supporters. If fan’s get behind a record and sing a song or incorporate it into their culture – that’s when you have something special. My goal is to have a constant dialogue with supporters, learning from their experience, going on away trips and understanding what additional records pay homage to that experience as an avid supporter of a club. For American soccer the biggest example of this is White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” to me however as time progresses and clubs continue to culturally grow in their markets, more provincial or localized versions of that experience have begun to spring up.
SM: Do you have an all-time favourite track that you play at Chicago Fire games?
BS: Depeche Mode’s “I Just Can’t Get Enough” is it and it’s not even close haha. Reason being is it’s the record we play every time the team wins, so if that record is being played in the stadium it means everyone is going home happy. Part of sport is that you can’t win every game, but ending a day with that record and hi-fiving fans on the way out is one of my favorite experiences in the world. I have other favorite records, but a win is a WIN!
SM: What are the main songs used week in, week out in your sets?
BS: It changes over the course of the year – I like to be reactionary to hot records or things that are bubbling on the charts or on dance-floors in the city. My favorite record last season was the Tiesto Remix of “Pump it Louder” – which is a remix or reconceptualizing of the Black Eyed Peas “Pump it Harder” which samples Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” – It’s a great stadium record that grounds itself in something familiar for a casual fan, and then takes it to the next level. Outside of that my sets are a dialogue with stadium-goers – they incorporate cultural touchpoints of our diverse fanbase, popular records from the dancefloor, Chicago classics, and nostalgia from the soccer world (your favorite FIFA soundtrack record or epic movies that celebrate the game). The game is growing rapidly here in the states and my goal is to not only present an exciting atmosphere for fans, supporters, staff and players – but also lean in and have a private dialogue thru music about the dynamic records that have propelled the culture of this game to where it is today. That’s what makes my sets special, and that’s why I am here today.
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?
BS: Not necessarily a mistake but the idea of music and DJing in a soccer context is really new. Other sports that have had it in the states but it makes a lot of sense with the matchday experience for footy. Early on I got a LOT of really weird negative feedback from opposing supporters online for what I do, because a perceived notion is that it’s a gimmick or just a bell/whistle to an overall matchday. Surface level assumptions about an actual artform isn’t really surprising, DJing has crossed over to the mainstream over the last few decades so I think most folks don’t understand the skill, level of planning and strategy that goes into making a good DJ. That’s ok though, part of that skill or preparation is making the experience look effortless and that’s the level of profiency that I chance every gig, every match and every season. It’s what I love about music and sport together.
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