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A podcast focusing on the perspectives, lives, and stories of Kansans to provide greater insight into the state we all call home.
AAK_Ep57
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Radio Shoutout
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[00:00:00]
Gus Applequist: So we wanted to start the episode today by recognizing someone that's been doing something important for the podcast.
Sydney Collins: Yeah, so, we are on the radio.
Gus Applequist: Da, da, da,
Sydney Collins: da. Da, da, da. It makes us seem a lot cooler than we actually are. But, Oak Grove Radio 98, so they're out of Minneapolis. 98.5. It's just a small, like, low-power station that plays every Sunday at 9:00.
And so, in the morning. So they, they just replay the episode that week on the radio, and helps reach more audience for us, and so.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. We're thrilled. Thank you very much- Yeah ... for making that happen. And, and yeah, it's, it's... You know, there's obviously people in the world that listen to podcasts, but there's also people that don't know what a podcast is, and so this helps us reach some of those folks.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: If, if, uh, there's any other broadcasters in the state, that might be interested in helping us further what we're doing here at Ask a Kansan, we'd love to chat with you. Yeah. So yeah, reach out.
Sydney Collins: Just, [00:01:00] uh, call or email us. Email's probably the best, info@askakansan.com.
Gus Applequist: We will surf the airwaves.
Show Intro and Tease
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Gus Applequist: Welcome to Ask a Kansan.
Sydney Collins: A podcast where we're amplifying, connecting, and uncovering stories across Kansas.
Gus Applequist: Well, that sounded so official.
Sydney Collins: Well, we say the same thing each episode. I need to start changing it up. Today, uh,
Gus Applequist: we've got a great interview and, uh, and a, a segment about state parks in Kansas coming up later.
But our... I'm trying to look- I'm
Sydney Collins: already terrified of whatever that segment is.
Gus Applequist: But no, we, we we got a, another tremendous guest, through a previous guest, actually. Yeah. Cash Hollistah. Thanks for, for bringing, [00:02:00] DJ Carbon to us today.
Sydney Collins: Yeah, so DJ Carbon is out of Wichita. He will tell you more about his story, 'cause it is a fascinating one.
And he's just so upbeat about it, and you're like, "Oh yeah, it's not that big of a deal." But when, like, you mull over what he's telling you, you're like, "That is actually kind of a big deal, dude."
Gus Applequist: Mm-hmm. And I'm gonna go ahead and say it, I think top 10 Kansas mustaches, um-
Sydney Collins: Oh, easily.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. ~Yeah. ~
Sydney Collins: ~I did, ~I did forget to ask him, uh, one of the questions I wanna know, is if he had the mustache when he was working his corporate job.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. So. That is a good question.
Sydney Collins: But, uh- Yeah ... you'll learn more about him- So,
Gus Applequist: I mean, if you're listening- ... so ... to this episode, you might just, you might just check in on the video side. Take a good, just a quick Google. Just gander. Yeah.
Sydney Collins: Just gander.
Gus Applequist: Without any further ado, here's our interview with DJ Carbon.
Meet DJ Carbon
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Sydney Collins: Hello. Hello. Welcome. Welcome, welcome.
Gus Applequist: How we doing?
Sydney Collins: Great
Gus Applequist: Doing well Awesome You have one epic mustache
DJ Carbon: Years of training I
Sydney Collins: have
DJ Carbon: nothing else to upkeep in the morning- ... so I
Sydney Collins: gotta
DJ Carbon: do something right,
Gus Applequist: you know? Love it. Love [00:03:00] it, yes
Sydney Collins: How's it going?
DJ Carbon: Not bad at all. Not bad. Just, you know, up and at it on a- ~Yeah~
~on a, on a Tue- ~Tuesday, yeah. I don't-
Sydney Collins: It is Tuesday Yeah, is it Tuesday? No, Wednesday
DJ Carbon: Wednesday. It's Wednesday. Wednesday.
Gus Applequist: Wow. It's okay- Yes ...
DJ Carbon: we're all in the same, we're
Gus Applequist: all
DJ Carbon: in the same- The day early in the week runs together when you live a DJ life. Uh-huh. It's like, wait, what? What
Gus Applequist: is-
Sydney Collins: I can imagine.
DJ Carbon: Well, I was...
When I was in the green room, it was like my alarm goes off, I'm like, "What's that?" I'm like, "Oh, this is when I normally wake up." Yeah, this is, this is way too early for DJ hours. So
Sydney Collins: sorry. So sorry. Well, thank you for being here. So for our audience, can you introduce yourself for
DJ Carbon: us? Yes. Uh, I am James Mlavsky, most- known to most as DJ Carbon.
Uh, in- Okay ... freaking coming out of Wichita, Kansas.
Sydney Collins: Brilliant. Sorry, I'm being real particular here.
DJ Carbon: Yeah, no- My crew- ... I'm like, where do, where... I, I don't-
Sydney Collins: My crew is like, "It's too-" I don't have the headphones ... it's not f- There you go. Perfect ... it's not close enough. Now it's too close. Now it's in front of his face.
Okay, we're good.
DJ Carbon: I'm used to hearing, so I'm like, "Where am I at?" Like, I know- I... Trust me, I'm very aware of mic positioning. I'm like, "Oh, he's holding it in his belly. I gotta crank this." I'm used to that, so I'm like, "I gotta do this right." And when I can't hear it, I'm like, [00:04:00] "How directional is it?
Omnidirectional?" You, you- Yeah. I don't- You don't know, so.
Life as a Full-Time DJ
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Sydney Collins: So you say DJ. Give us the full kinda rundown.
DJ Carbon: Oh, my goodness. What do I do?
Sydney Collins: What is your da- what's your daily?
DJ Carbon: Oh, man. So I I have been a full-time DJ for the past seven years. What does that mean? Although it's kinda comical. I feel like, playing music is one of the least things on my list these days, but no, um, full-time DJ doing, events, corporate, weddings.
Also a big supporter of culture in any way, shape, and form that I can be. Mm. I've been blessed to kinda run intersections for so many events, for so many locations and scenes and things like that, that I just love bringing that together. So in addition to that, I've also just leaned really heavily into being a supporter.
I, I hate the term influencer, but- Yeah ... sharing information on whatever I can for the scenes that I love, and discovering ones that I didn't know and communicating about them as well. But day to day, what does that look like? A lot of downloading and listening to music, a lot of creative time, but also these days, you know, unless you post [00:05:00] about it, is it happening?
And, uh- Yeah ... kind of leaning into that and, just really trying to be a part of as many different events. Uh, that gets into event planning, full coordination- Mm-hmm ... also hosting events. Being a part of openings, being a part of a number of groups, not, not sitting on boards, but being in the rooms with them all the time and just trying to help out- Mm
and provide direction and, and resources and just being a, uh, someone that can help push things in the right direction, whichever- Mm-hmm ... through any means necessary, you know? Just- Yeah. Yeah ... what do I love? Okay, how can we make this cooler? How can we make this better? And, being a part of that, which is a, a blessing.
Music Roots and Influences
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Sydney Collins: What got you into your love of music?
DJ Carbon: Oh, gosh. I mean, growing up, Dad was, always had vinyl. Had a, had a killer- Mm. I still have the amplifier, an old Sansui amplifier with the tower speakers. I remember him playing the opening of my, my jam that would get me r- I didn't care where in the house I was.
Christopher Cross, Ride Like the Wind. Oh, yeah. The opening notes, the wind swirling. Mm-hmm. Dun, dun, dun. And didn't matter where I was, [00:06:00] and we would, like, run laps. It would be like kitchen, goes into the dining room, cross the front door hallway into the living room, which is the big, which is where the sound's...
And we would just, I would just- Yeah ... motor. Still have my first 45, which was Styx, Mr. Roboto. That was the first- Not including probably, like, a Disney song. Nice. But first 45- Oh ... I ever owned. Um, and then, you know, I was born and raised on Long Island, New York. Grew up around hip-hop, which I had a lot of access to that.
Mm. And, from there, really got embedded with that scene, and then really developed a real appreciation for where the music came from. And became a huge funk and soul fan as, well, all the samples of '90s hip-hop. And then a big record collector, finding obscure things and, you know, uh, I, I found as it...
Then I got into DJ-ing, and I found my love for not just playing what people knew, but sharing musical experiences and, like, finding how far you could push people. And, like- the, the best compliment ever is when someone comes up and says, "What's that song?" Now they can Shazam it quietly, and I'm like, "Ah, I liked it when you had to ask me."
Like, they let me know. But when [00:07:00] you look up and you see someone Shazam and something, you're like, "Oh, you're doing it right." Like, you know- you see that on their screen, you're like, "Yeah, that's the way." But yeah, it was just always constantly immersed. I was big in, you know, punk and ska and rock scenes when I was growing up.
I was kind of a little punk skateboarder, and most of my memories have a song associated with them. I think back on those times very fondly. And now to be in a position where I kinda create a lot of those for other people is just something I, I have fallen in love with and just appreciate to this day.
Sydney Collins: So you basically create soundtracks for people's life.
DJ Carbon: That's exactly, that, that's the slogan. Mm-hmm. Creating the soundtrack to the be- to, to your favorite memories. Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. I mean, that's-
Sydney Collins: Yeah ...
DJ Carbon: that's the goal, is, um... And it's such a blessing to do that. I mean, I I just thought this was something I did.
Now that I do it full-time, I'm like, "Wait, what? I, I didn't think you could make a living doing this." Like, this is just a hobby. Like, I did it on the side- Mm-hmm ... it was a little side cash, and now I do it full time and I've realized just how far you could take it. Mm-hmm ... I mean, growing up, DJing was something, okay, you did it in your 20s, [00:08:00] but th- there was no...
It wasn't like a rock band. Like, we didn't have, like, a Mick Jagger who's so old- Mm-hmm ... and still doing it. Like, hip-hop was so, I mean, hip-hop is not much older than I am, and so we didn't see that growth. And now to see DJs well into their 50s and 60s still- Mm-hmm ... touring and actively being a part of these scenes and communities is a, is a different thing.
I, I thought this had a shelf life. I mean, like, after 30, you can't DJ in a nightclub. Like, and well, maybe you can. And- Mm-hmm ... proved to be very different than what I thought it was gonna be. So, yeah, God bless. And, you know, at 40 years old is when I made the leap to go full-time doing this. Like, it's, it's crazy.
New York to Wichita
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Sydney Collins: How'd you go from New York to Kansas?
DJ Carbon: Karma. I was bad in a past life. No, I'm just ki- I'm just joking. Joking, joking, joking, joking. Um, uh, my dad's job moved me out here when I was- Okay ... a senior in high school. So, Grumman, military- Yeah ... used to be big on Long Island had all the feeder companies and things.
Mm-hmm. When they left, uh, so there was a lot of aviation around that. Yeah. So when they left, all those feeder companies [00:09:00] dried up. Well, my dad worked at one of those. Previous boss- Mm-hmm ... was out in Wichita, aviation capital. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, he got the offer to come out here. I moved here the day before my 17th birthday.
I was like, that is- Wow ... so cruel. Yeah. It was tough. But, uh, hated it for a while. Now I'm like- It's okay ... I could not have had it any other way. It is, it has been the best thing ever. I mean, I've fully immersed. And to see the growth around here over that time, I mean- Mm-hmm ... I remember when I moved here and I was just like, it was very much a one-horse town.
There was no culture, let alone- Yeah ... counterculture. And to see these things develop and these niche, markets and hobbyists that have grown from something that you might have done in your backyard that no one knew to, there's a thriving community around that. And to see those grow, in a market that just was very, very vanilla and generic- Mm-hmm
and not much going on, and now to see where it is, I'm like, "Oh my gosh." So, and it, and it's been cool just because I've always, ever since I moved here, I was always like the the host. When I had my day j- I [00:10:00] remember I was working at, Bombardier Learjet, and when someone would come in to visit from out of town would be like, "Where, what are we doing?"
They're like, "Go talk to James." I'm like, "Okay, where are you staying? What are you into?" "Okay, we're gonna eat here, we're gonna catch an acoustic act. I'll take you by this mu- " You know, and I would always be host because I just thought it was so cool to showcase some of the awesome stuff. Mm-hmm. And now that's kind of just led me, you know, step by baby step to where that's kinda what I do for a living now.
I mean, musically based, but also just showcasing as many cool things as, as the market has to display, which is flattering. I mean, there's so much, it's unending, so...
[00:11:00]
Gus Applequist: Okay.
Keeping Up With Music
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Gus Applequist: So I, I don't know much about D- I'm a musician, but I, I, I am just now learning about DJ-ing and all the complexities it involves.
W- one, like, data point in the back of my head is, is I remember hearing Questlove talk years ago about the music he would bring with him to the Today Show every day- Mm-hmm ... on his hard drives- Yep ... that he could pull from, and at that point, you know, it was like seven or eight terabytes- Yes ... worth of music.
Mm-hmm. And what blew my mind then and what blows my mind now in thinking about what you do as a DJ is the need to know your stuff. Sure. Like, to know the music, to know what's coming out, and in this day and age when there is more music being produced, you know- Yes ... just every minute than there ever has been, how do you, how do you do it?
How do you keep up with the trends and the- Mm ... what's popular today?
DJ Carbon: I am so blessed that I came up in the era that I did. I also do, like, lessons for people, and I [00:12:00] teach them, and I coach, and I'm like, "I don't envy you." Trying to come up in this world today every person, for what I used to buy a single album for, they have every song ever at their fingertips.
Yeah. Right? Which
Gus Applequist: sounds like a good thing,
DJ Carbon: but-
Sydney Collins: But it's overwhelming ...
DJ Carbon: I bought an album because I heard one song, and I hoped the rest was good. Like- ... you were just like, "Please don't be terrible. Please don't be ter- " And, and thankfully most of them were. But I've got, you know, there were duds.
But yeah, you have that all at your fingertips. And not only that, but what's old is new and what's new is old. Like, they all access it at the same time, so there's no, there's not the timeline reference, of, oh, this just dropped. Like, even- Mm ... even music coming out doesn't come out the same way.
It used to lead single, lead single- Yep ... album. Like, that, all that stuff has changed with the algorithm. Streams matter, things going viral on TikTok. Mm-hmm. It's such a different world, and it moves so quickly. Mm ... and it's, it, it's very difficult to manage. I have found that as things move faster, slowing down is kind of better.
because things that are [00:13:00] lasting are going to last, and the amount of song requests, like I've d- I've... We're in prom season, right? I've just done a bunch of proms. And I'm like, "I didn't expect, like, Dancing Queen to be the biggest hit of the night." Oh, yeah. Like, I mean, I know it goes, but like- Yeah, that's interesting
but it goes over so well, and some of these throwbacks that you're like- "Wait, they know th-" You know? And, and through how it comes up, it's just or- organically comes up. But it's also very difficult because when you're playing, particularly nightlife, that's the one place I struggle with the most. In a club where someone has that new music taste, and I wanna hear this, you could play a song and five people will enjoy it, but the rest of the room has never heard it.
Even as a DJ, I went through the Billboard 200 or Hot 100. Mm-hmm. I didn't know half the songs. That's my job. Like Yeah. And, but how music is shared is so different now. But the classics last. I ask c- people constantly, "How many songs or artists of the past 10 years will I play at a wedding 10 years from now?"
Like, that's the community gathering point, right? Mm. [00:14:00] And some of the country slow ones, Bruno Mars, maybe some Adele, but like- Mm ... not many of them are timeless. They're hot. They fade away. And then that you always have the nostalgia play of when someone first gets to go to a nightclub age 20, 25 years old, what were their highlight moments, you know?
So some insert Disney theme song or this or that. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's like, "Oh my gosh, nostalgia wave." Um, but the baseline, it doesn't evolve the way it did in the '90s and 2000s. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, even to this day, you hear more cl- Okay, so I guess for the kids now, them hearing '90s and 2000s songs would be the equivalent of me hearing '70s songs in a nightclub.
Mm-hmm. Now it hasn't evolved, and also things are not, are oriented around a dance floor as much. It's more of a social. So there's- Mm ... there's so many ebbs and flows to follow. You have a lot of DJs. DJing has become trendy because now it's not necessarily a nightclub thing, but people wanna be on the festivals and do- Yeah
these huge stages and things. Mm-hmm. And, and that's their goal, and like [00:15:00] that's cool, but you can't do that for four hours at a nightclub when you gotta kinda start slow and build up. Yeah. And, and at a festival, people go there, and it's four, you know, the whole time- Yeah ... full send energy. We gotta dial that back, and some people don't understand that.
Some people do. Mm. They're like, "No, I'm gonna do this anyways." And, it's really interesting to see how that- shift goes. Mm ... I found that always what was my strong suit, I, even when I was grow- coming up as a DJ, you had people that would play the hits that everyone knew, and then, you know, the people that say, "I know what's better, so I'm gonna do this."
Mm-hmm. And I was always like, "All right, play what you know. How far can I get you to my s- oh, went too far. Let me come back." And, you know, walking that line, you expose people to new stuff, and I felt that it was always the DJ's job is to introduce new music, but now my phone does that. For most, most people, they get it on their phone.
So it's a, it's a different- Mm ... my role has shifted a whole lot, I will say that much. It's a, it's a weird evolution and one of constant navigation and trying to see where you fit in, in each given space.
Gus Applequist: Today I have one more question, then
Sydney Collins: I'm gonna let you go. No, no, you're fine. Okay. This is a [00:16:00] j- we are...
Oh, oh. This is fun. You are allowed to ask questions.
Gus Applequist: I'm so sorry.
Know Your Audience
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Gus Applequist: Okay, so I have two phrases I wanna throw at you.
DJ Carbon: Okay.
Gus Applequist: And I want you just to respond, and tell me how these inform the way you, you do your craft.
DJ Carbon: Okay.
Gus Applequist: One is know your audience- Yes ... and two is read the room. Can you, can you help me?
Like, what is it like to be a DJ in those two trains of thought?
DJ Carbon: So knowing your audience, doing your homework, doing your research it's very funny. So I do a number of, corporate events and, you know, weddings, all different backgrounds, all different things. I got asked by one of the clients I do a number of corporate events for, like, "Hey, we're doing this.
We don't need you in the room. It's gonna be a smaller thing. Could you make us a playlist?" Like, I can. What's the age demographic? What's their, where are they from? What's the racial background? Like this, they're like, "Are you racially profiling people?" And I'm like- ... yeah. I, I get... Like, but musically, I need to know- Yeah
what that is 'cause that's such a baseline for this. Like, I will throw curve balls and this and that, and do all these different things. But [00:17:00] reading that, like- Mm-hmm ... in the room I could see when I got a toe tapping or a head nodding. I could kind of see that and acknowledge those moments to build something.
But when I'm going in blind and trying to do it like, it's like- Mm ... oh, this is, this is different. But, understanding your audience is, is so crucial. So when you get asked to do an event, what's, what's the audience? What's the target audience? What is happening? And also understanding the customer's expectations.
I've had a lot of times- Mm ... where they're like, "I want you to be too cool for the room." They want to be like, "Oh, we're edgy, we're fun, we're hipper than what you know," and that's a really t- I'm like- Yeah ... I want them to buy in, but I get it. Mm-hmm. So sometimes you have to push that boundary in, in a lot of people.
And then reading the room is the end all be all. I experience that, not only as a DJ, but also as a host for numerous events, is being able to see the room. And you'll have someone come up, I've had a lot of students, and they're like, "Give me this and let's go." I'm like, "No, no. We'll get there, but it's not ready yet."
You gotta warm it up. You got... [00:18:00] Okay, you know, I, I got a toe tapping. I got a head nodding. Okay, it's cocktail hour. We're just chilling right now. We don't need all that. And then sometimes it's also dial- like, you could feel the room's ready to go, but maybe the gig has a mission first. Like, "Oh, no, we gotta get to the auction," or, or insert- Mm-hmm
"We gotta do our pre..." Don't, don't send them that energy. Okay, let's dial it back and let's pace it. Like, this will blow this room up right now, but we can't do it until after. We gotta wait. So, so knowing the timeline of the event, Mm-hmm ... and seeing where you can be and where you should be are two very different things.
I believe that's what DJing is, is reading the r- Mm ... um, g- DJing, we've got a lot of DJs that are producers that will play their own music, and people follow them and do these things, and I think in the eyes of a lot of people, that's what a DJ is. And I'm like- no, a DJ should respond to the room.
If you go in there with a pre-planned set, that's not DJing to me. There's, that's a DJ performance- but it's not DJing. DJing is seeing what's in front of you and taking that into account and then seeing where you can and should go [00:19:00] and going on that ride as opposed to just presenting your art. There's, there's a, there's a nuance there that I think a lot of people may not understand.
But- and, and, and, and there's people that want the DJ that provides their art. There's a lot of people that go to hear doors be opened and see something different. So that's very much I, I'm doing an hour set. I come in with a preplanned thing, and I, that's a showcasing my DJ abilities. Mm. But if I'm not changing that based on what's happening, that's not DJing to me.
Mm. It's a showcase of DJ skills, but it's not DJing. And sometimes that's the right thing. I mean, you, you... It's like imagine going to a concert and the band plays all their new album and none of the hits you wanted to sing along to, you know?
Sydney Collins: It's- Oh, I hate that. Oh my gosh. I, I remember Blue October came to Wichita and they played in...
Oh, shoot. What is the w- L- l- like, it used to be a roller rink, I think.
DJ Carbon: Okay. Cotillion?
Sydney Collins: Cotillion. Yes. And- No, it's,
DJ Carbon: it's always been the Cotillion ...
Sydney Collins: it has always... I think it looks like a roller- They do have
DJ Carbon: roller derby in there, so that
Sydney Collins: might be why ... I think it looks like a roller rink to me. [00:20:00] Anyway.
DJ Carbon: Legend. The round
Sydney Collins: mound of sound. Sorry, I'm
DJ Carbon: going on a rant now. I love that.
Sydney Collins: But I went and I was so excited because Blue October's one of my favorite bands in high school, and they didn't play, uh, I don't remember what song now, but I was so mad because it was the only reason we went. And I was like, "This is so dumb."
Like, they did a good show. Congratulations. But, oh, sorry.
DJ Carbon: No, I've, I've seen it. I rem- I remember comically, I was, I saw, Cherub, another band. Mm. Um, I saw them at Wave, and their biggest hit was Doses & Mimosas, which a lot of people know and love this song. Mm-hmm. And the whole time people, "Doses &..." And they're like, "Dudes, we'll get to it, but-"
no, like, if that's all you want, like, no, you gotta wait till the end, okay?" Like, "We'll get there, but- Mm-hmm ... on our time." Yeah. "You gotta hear all our other stuff," and show was amazing, but it's amazing the people like, "No, no, no, this is the one thing." So I'm like- ... there's balance. But yeah, you can't avoid the big hit.
Like- Yeah ... you can't avoid the jams. Like-
Gus Applequist: Mm-hmm ... you
Sydney Collins: got to. Sorry. I have a lot of rants on that. It's like we went to I Love the '90s and like their big headliner [00:21:00] was Vanilla Ice. Mm-hmm. And of course, the very last song is Ice Ice Baby. Yeah. I'm like, "I get it. You want me to listen to..." Uh, I think... Who was there?
LL Cool J. Who else was there, Jerry? No, it was not L-
DJ Carbon: LL. Was
Sydney Collins: it- Not LL. It was, I don't know, Coolio maybe. Maybe Coolio. I don't know. They had a couple of really big-
DJ Carbon: Young MC ... really big people. Yeah. Was this the Young MC, Salt-N-Pepa maybe?
Sydney Collins: May- uh, it was here in town. I feel like you guys are
Gus Applequist: speaking a different language right
Sydney Collins: now.
But, like, anyway. Um, but it was a big thing. Anyway, sorry. I digress. It was... Anyway.
DJ Carbon: Did you remember your last que- Yeah, 'cause he, he jumped in, and now- Now I do ... the rant, it's
Sydney Collins: like- I do. I'm so sorry. No, I do remember it.
Going Full-Time After Cancer
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Sydney Collins: How... What made you go into finally going, "Okay, I can do this full time"?
Gus Applequist: Yeah.
DJ Carbon: so I had a large wake-up call.
Okay, so whole life, full-time day job, corporate guy, buttoned up, doing all my thing, 21 years of that. While I was doing that, I had n- for 19 years in a row, I was in a nightclub at least twice a week, at my [00:22:00] peak, five nights a week- Whoa. Wow ... while having a full-time 7:00 AM day job. Um- How did you
Sydney Collins: live? I...
DJ Carbon: With a smile. I, I loved it. So yeah, it was a long run, and then in, gosh, this would've been October, Nov- October 2018, my girlfriend's over at my house. I was like wake up in the middle of the night, "We need to go to the ER." She's like, "You don't go to the doctor." And like I, I just... We go to the ER, they're like, "Oh, you have kidney stones.
Okay." "Go see the specialist. Go to the specialist. Go see the specialist. We're 99% certain that you have cancer."
Sydney Collins: Oh.
DJ Carbon: Mm. "We're gonna go in and cut a part of your kidney off that has cancer, and remove that, and we caught it. We're good. Schedule the surgery three weeks later." Okay. Everyone's freaking out.
I'm like, "We're good. We're good. Positive thoughts, you know?" Mm. I mean, I'm here. God bless kidney stones. I, I, I- Yeah ... never would've found this work not for that. So I'm waiting for the surgery. I was adopted, knew this my whole life. I did a 23andMe like five years [00:23:00] prior- Mm ... just, "What's my genealogy?" I always love it 'cause I go, always just, "Oh, I'm part Asian, I'm part Black, I'm part Hispanic."
I'm, I just got to, I got to mud it up. I'm like- Yeah ... "I'm, I'm everything." I, I love that, but I'm like, "I'm just curious. What am I?" Well, I get a message online 'cause I left my results open. It's like, "You were born on this date in this hospital, given up to this charity. I'm your aunt."
Sydney Collins: Oh, wow ...
DJ Carbon: so call that evening tears, water works, all the things.
It turns out my birth mother passed away in a house fire, but she was one of eight brothers and sisters, had this huge family on Long Island, New York, where I grew up. Mm. Like, I have a cousin that I probably ran into that went to a high school around the corner from me- Oh my gosh ... that was two years away from, two years separate from me.
I'm like, "Wow, okay." One of my aunts saw- They immediately found me on social media, saw a picture of my daughter, and like gut punch drops to a knee, "Oh my God, it's Ellen," her little sister, when they saw pictures of my daughter Brooklyn. Mm. Just, ooh. Sorry, goosebumps. Mm. So we call, we talk. I'm like, "Well, time out.
I have cancer. I have surgery in a week and a half." They're like, "No, no, no. We just found you. Not [00:24:00] allowed." I go in for the surgery. The mass on my kidney had grown 35% in those three weeks. Holy smokes. It was super aggressive. So they put me out. They end up removing my entire kidney. I am now six years removed.
Wait, hold on, I gotta
Sydney Collins: knock on the wood. No, you're good.
DJ Carbon: Yeah. Uh, I am completely free and clear of all cancer. And that was, uh, say life-changing would be an understatement. Two months after that, I had two aunts and an uncle fly out to meet me.
Almost 40 years old, first time in my life I hug blood family.
Sydney Collins: Wow.
DJ Carbon: And two months after that, me and my girl got married.
Sydney Collins: Wow. You had- Wow. That is a year ... that is, that is a
Gus Applequist: lot.
DJ Carbon: I was, that was less than six months. Oh, wow. So, um, I went back to work. I was vice president of operations for a decent company and, um, I was like, "You're miserable."
I'm like, "I know, I gotta provide." I have two kids, she's got two. She does well. She's like, "I got us. Make the leap." Took me quite a bit of time of convincing, but a year later I left my job, November of 2019, left the day job, full-time DJing. And, right before COVID, really bad time- Yeah ... to be a full-time DJ.
Mm-hmm. Hustled and pivoted to get through that. I, like, ended up manu- making my own [00:25:00] lamps that look like robots. I sold like 500 of them- Oh my gosh ... all throughout Wichita and the area. Like, yeah, it was my weird COVID hustle, just to get through. Nice.
Sydney Collins: Robot lamps, I
DJ Carbon: love it. Yeah,
Gus Applequist: I- Limited edition
DJ Carbon: now.
Yeah. So actually it was funny. A couple years ago, I did the Salina Arts Gala. Oh, yeah. And their theme that year, this was two years ago, was like, construction- Yes ... because they were rebu- remodeling. Yeah. So I found one of them and I'm, and it- they're like, "This is per-" So it was part, one of the silent auction items was-
the robot that I built- 'cause it just fit perfectly. So yeah, I, after that, I, and I, I, my thought at that time was I was like, "I will make less money, but my quality of life will be well worth it." And within a year after that, I was making more money. My quality of life is through the roof.
I'm now employing my friends. So yeah, uh, that was my, yep, full send. I, I, I just always enjoyed... I loved it but I never thought you can do that. And- Then I made this leap [00:26:00] of faith, and to say it's been rewarding would be the most horrible i- I'm like, I regret not doing it earlier, but at the same time, like, life perspective, like, I probably wouldn't have been ready for it, but- Mm
but that being said, my message is go for it before you have too many commitments. Like, I was like, I probably would've done it younger, and then, well, kids and life and all these things. Mm-hmm. So, so I always tell people, I'm like, "Don't wait." Like, it's only harder to break away from your routines. Like-
do it now. Like, if you have an e- a dream or an aspiration, try it. If you fail, you fail, but at least you won't have that regret. So- always go for it. Always go for it as soon as you can.
Origin of DJ Carbon
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Gus Applequist: How'd you come up with the name DJ Carbon?
DJ Carbon: Growing up, I was a young kid, that was, going to nightclubs that shouldn't have been, you know-
13, 14 years old. Yeah, thief. Yeah. My cousin was a DJ at nightclubs, and, so they knew me. Like some- the bar staff, someone might slip me a beer, or they'd make me a Shirley Temple, you know. I- I- I was a, I was a delinquent, okay? I did graffiti, did all... I did stuff with my friends. Anyways, the club that he was at ended up closing d- but I [00:27:00] would go...
This is where I fell in love with DJ-ing. I would go carry his crates of records- Mm ... and I would just post up in the booth- Oh ... and just hang out. So- Nice ... I was kinda like a fixture- You were a lackey.
Carbon Kid Origin
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DJ Carbon: Yes, yes. The underage lackey that was just, like, couldn't even see over, you know, but, you know. But I loved it.
That's where I fell in love with it. So that club c- closed down, and he started DJ-ing other places. Well, people would recognize me. The club that had closed down was called Carbon. They're like, "Hey, it's that Carbon kid."
Sydney Collins: Oh.
DJ Carbon: And- There you go ... I mo- after I moved to Kansas, uh, a good friend of mine, James, he, he had the, the great party house, so I would, I'd be hanging out over there.
"Hey, James." "Yeah. No, not you, the other one." I'm like, "It was always the other one." I'm like, uh, Carbon was the closest thing I had to a nickname, and then it stuck. I mean, to this day, if I introduce myself as James, someone over my shoulder, "That's not James. That's Carbon." I'm like- ... "I don't know. Do I introduce myself as Carbon?
Maybe? I, take your... If you say James in a crowded room, I probably will not respond. I'm gonna assume it's somebody else. Wow. That's
Gus Applequist: a great, great, yeah, story behind your name. Yeah.
Aux Cord Versus DJ
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Sydney Collins: How do you feel about people [00:28:00] who do big events, and they're like, "Ah, I'll be fine with just a aux cord and a Bluetooth speaker"?
Gus Applequist: Ugh. Does that make you cringe so
DJ Carbon: bad?
Gus Applequist: Ah,
Sydney Collins: no.
DJ Carbon: Well, uh, what's gonna be really daunting is that's gonna change soon 'cause instead of it just being a playlist, it's gonna be an AI playlist. Oh, yeah. I, I feel like there's a place for that, and I also understand budgets and restrictions and all that.
Mm-hmm. I would say that I feel like the actual DJing, the playing of the music is probably the least important role of what I bring to an event. Mm-hmm. Depending on the event, of course. But I think the ability to read a room and respond to it in real time is what make, takes an event from a baseline to a potentially great event.
So yeah, there, there's fine where you can do a playlist, but even if you have a playlist, having someone mo- A lot of times if I'm doing an event and we've got a main space, but then, oh, we're doing a cocktail hour outside. I might not be able to have my full rig set up for that, but I can make a playlist, but then I can adapt it on the fl- sh- Let's move this song up.
Although [00:29:00] not DJ DJing, it's still reading the room and responding to it. So I think that's something that a lot of people overlook. And I mean, but that being said, I, I'm, I've also been hired to make playlists for businesses w- based on certain things. So having that awareness and being able to create those things because they want a certain vibe, a certain energy, and a certain awareness of what the room sh- I'm, and, and that's the conversations, again, knowing the client.
You know, what, what, what's the expectation? We want toe-tapping energy, but not full send, and this and that. So I think there's a place for it, but there's no way it's not gonna be better with someone reading and responding to that room every time. Mm-hmm. Unless you're in a museum and it's supposed to be fixed, then there's a time that, oh, you watch this video with this song or something.
But outside of that, having that ability is a million times better every time. Mm-hmm. Every time.
Nonprofit DJ Impact
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Sydney Collins: So, uh, you mentioned the Salina Arts Center but you have kind of your toe into all of different kinds of nonprofits. Can you speak to that a little bit?
DJ Carbon: So I, I, it's been happening for so long, and I've gotten [00:30:00] approached by so many over the years that I probably should have a list at this point memorized.
But I've gotten, asked to be a part of so many different events, and it's been a blessing to be able to share and donate my time with Tallgrass Film Festival, Wichita Festivals, American Cancer Society, American Heart Society Wichita's Littlest Heroes Wichita Animal Action League, Humane Society, th- there's a laundry list.
Mm-hmm. And if I can take any bit of my time to help amazing causes, I am all about it. It's, it's really been a blessing that I have the ability to help them. And that could go anywhere from just providing some music to, you know, some of them they ask me to just DJ, and then the next year they're like, "Okay, well, what'd you think?"
I was like, "Oh, you wanna have a full re-" So I'm breaking down the event. And they're like, "Wait, can you be on our planning team? Can we..." You know? Mm-hmm. And really helping them program these things. I've been honored, we just recently had, Wine About Cancer. It's a fundraiser for Blood Cancers United, um- Mm
which used to be Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Mm-hmm. I've been a part of this event for, gosh, I don't, over 10 years. And it [00:31:00] evolved from one thing to another thing, and it keeps on growing. And to be able to be a part of that team and see the opportunities where we could raise more money, we could engage more people and just be a part of helping that growth and to see them achieve their goals, and it, you know, it is now making 10 times what it once did, and it's just really amazing to be a part of that.
And to have those opportunities, just to be in those rooms and know that you're making a difference. I mean, like, it Wichita's Little Heroes, a great, amazing organization. I do their Christmas party where they invite all the families that benefit from the services that they provide, and I'm just there to make sure everyone's aware of what's going on.
I've, I'll have little kids come up. I'm like, "Oh, are you gonna help me DJ?" And, you know- ... have them get up there and chicka, chicka, chicka. And, and it- ... it's just, it's the greatest feeling to be a... It, it, it warms my heart to be able to do those things.
Surgery Gig Dedication
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DJ Carbon: I mean, oh, I, let's reset here. So, I had my surgery on a Monday.
The s- that Saturday I had an event booked. Yeah, and I, they [00:32:00] tore me up. I was not fi- I, um, so I had someone covering the gig. Mm-hmm ... good to go. Going through the surgery, I'm walking through the hospital with, like, I had, like, a, a face of five scars on my side- Oh, yeah, sure ... and this and that.
And the nurses are like, "You can rest whenever you want." And they're like, but I'm, "I'm okay to move around." Yeah. So I'm, like, literally getting my phone out, playing, like, the Rocky theme song, walking the halls. They're
Sydney Collins: like, "
DJ Carbon: The heck are you on?" So that Friday, they're like, "You can't lift over 10 pounds."
So I had my buddy that I had covering the gig. I'm like, "Hey, you're doing the gig, but I'm gonna be there." Like, "What do you mean?" I was like, "Just..." So I DJ'd that event. Like, I was literally gauze, all taped up, kinda leaking on my shirt a little bit. But it was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
Sydney Collins: Oh, yeah, you can't miss that one.
DJ Carbon: And they're like, "What are you doing here?" I'm like, "Making a point." Yeah. Like, I didn't, I know you didn't need me to be, but I personally, I needed to just- Mm-hmm ... yep, I'm here. And, it was just like, yeah, I, uh, so I, I love that. And, to be able to be a part of those things and, and, help fundraise. I mean, I mean, I've been honored, uh, I'm on a podcast [00:33:00] with, uh, Wichita EB, arguably the biggest n- most n...
He's a news resource that out-beats the- Yeah ... the actual news companies- Yeah ... these days. And, He does a lot of charity fundraising and being able to be a part of that and, you know, we recently had a hotdog eating contest. It was terrible. It was a m- don't ever do... The buns- It's not fun. But he-
Sydney Collins: Do you do the whole buns in the water thing?
DJ Carbon: I attempted to. Uh, 'cause they were, like, saltine crackers, and I'm like, "This is..." And then I put it in the water. I'm like, "How is this worse?" It was har- but, but he reached out to some of us, and I'm blessed to be in a position where I'm like, "Oh, I'll put in this amount of money," and whoever won out of the five of us they picked the charity that the money went to.
Oh, cool. So it's just, like, I love being able to do those things and be able to help donate my time and be able to provide, you know? Mm-hmm. And when it makes sense. I mean, as a DJ, that's the other hard part. I'm like, I make 90% of my salary on the 52 Saturdays out of the year. Yep. Everything else is a bonus.
So it's like, "Can you help us on this Saturday?" I'm like, "I can, but I can't discount that." Yeah. Now, you need something on a Tuesday afternoon, I'm in. Like, let me know. But Saturdays, I'm like, [00:34:00] it's a premium. Mm-hmm. I can't, I can't not do that. So I try and make it a point here and there where I can, especially off-peak, say when.
Mm-hmm. I'm here to help. I lo- which I love. I mean... And it's also just a huge part of being a part of the Wichita community.
Branding And Visibility
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DJ Carbon: I've donated my time and energy to non-DJ related things, uh, for many years, but and that's, that's been the other big shift. So once I went full-time I said, you know, "DJing isn't the only responsibility."
It's, there's so much going on and on social media, being present is a huge thing. So, DJing on social media is very difficult because of copyright law.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
DJ Carbon: Can't quite put that out there. So, being that, you know, back in the day when I was the host, I always introduced people to things.
It was like, let me lean into that, and doing the podcast with Wichita EB with Eddie, he covers so much. I'm like, let me lean into that. So- just by staying in front of people through all these other things, I'm a... Most people know me as a DJ, so they're like- Mm-hmm ... I, you don't have to see me DJ to know I'm a DJ a lot of the times.
As long as I stay in front of people, that's the important part. Mm. And and just being able to be a part of really great causes and get in front of people for whatever the [00:35:00] reason may be, and support an amazing city and amazing state that I just love to be a part of. So it's been really fun to lean fully into that and, be well-received and just embrace that fully, 'cause it's, there's so much great culture and great scenes that are coming up and, uh, yeah, I just love being able to showcase and shine a light where people might not see it.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Family Life Balance
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Sydney Collins: How do you balance your family life versus having to do stuff every weekend?
DJ Carbon: Having the most understanding wife on the planet. Um, yeah. [00:36:00] So kids are grown now- Mm ... but, definitely, a tall task in younger years. But, no, me and my wife, we're often ships in the night. Mm ... she works a full-time day job. I'm more likely to wake up when she's getting home from work than I am, you know.
Mm-hmm. So we're very much polar opposites, and her understanding is unparalleled. But I, I also find, you know, even just socially at, at the age that I am now, my friends are like, "Wait, you're doing what, what?" You know. It, it's, it's a different- You're staying up past 10? ... social group, for sure. And trying to find the time, not just for family and those obligations- Mm
but personal time as well. It's, it's difficult when my weekend, my time, my off time is when everyone I know is at their- Yeah ... normal day job. So, Mm ... it's, it's definitely finding a balance of those things and finding peer groups that share interests and you can have that time with. So, which is a tall task, especially getting older the people that share my time off are normally younger.
You know. You get older, you're like, "No, second shift. No, we're first shift. We're first shift people. We do this." Mm-hmm. "And we're off on week..." You know, and service industry. So, I mean, I think that's why for so many [00:37:00] people that are a part of the nightlife industry, it's so hard to get out of. They're like- Mm-hmm
"Wait, you're still bartending at this age?" Well, yeah, like this is my... Not only this, but it's my whole social group. How do I, how do I shift into that? And it's- It's a pivot ... it's a big, it's a life pivot. So it's, it's an interesting balance, but you do it with care and you do it with delicacy, and make sure you're present.
You know, get all the dates in your calendar as far in advance as you can so you don't book anything. You know, all the crit- critical ones. And but yeah. I mean, there's been times where you juggle three things on a Saturday. It's like, "All right, I gotta go to this gig, then I gotta go to my daughter's recital, then I gotta go to the other gig."
And making the time for it is definitely a huge part of it, but, um, you do that to make it work, and it requires a lot of understanding and a lot of clarity and a lot of intention to make it work.
Which is not easy, for sure. It's definitely, there's been hurdles throughout the years, but I think you learn, I've learned from that, that you just have to make... You get your dates early and make those priorities, and say, "No. I know that's a great opportunity, but no, I gotta take care of this first."
Consistency And Corporate Bookings
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DJ Carbon: And making sure you got your priorities right is huge, Also DJing is a [00:38:00] solo endeavor, largely. I mean, you have teams and companies, but- Mm-hmm ... I get hired for a reason. They want my name there, and that's, that's fine. So no flaking, no sick days. You know, I've never, never missed a gig.
I, if I have, it's been scheduled and discussed in advance. Mm-hmm. But that's, that's kind of it. And, and that, you know, a lot of people, "How do you get so many corporate events?" I'm like, "Well, I've been around it for- I
Sydney Collins: show up.
DJ Carbon: I spent, I spent 19 years doing it consistently, and now the people that I used to drink with at the bar now run the HR department at insert company.
And they're like, "DJ Carbon, I got blackout drunk with that guy. He's, he's amazing, and he's still doing it? Yes." And word of mouth has been a blessing, and I, I just get to, I just get to do me and, it's amazing. But yeah, just- Mm-hmm ... consistency is key.
DJ 101 Mentorship
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DJ Carbon: And that's kind of another thing that I've really started doing.
Um, social media, I mentioned how that's been a huge thing, and I've recently started posting- Mm ... thank you to coming to DJ 101 with DJ Carbon. And, uh, and it's been interesting. It's, it's life, life gems, but- Mm ... under the guise of, of, of the DJ business. And, it's been really interesting to get a lot of feedback.
I have had more feedback from [00:39:00] that than I have in anything in recent memory. But I, I love being a res- That's the other thing that I'd spend a lot of time is trying to be a resource for people in this business or parallel businesses and how to be successful in it. It's such a daunting task to be self-employed.
No safety net, no comforts. I love it. It's a thrill, but it's also a challenge. So, I intentionally make myself available on a regular basis, try and do, "Hey, we're going out for lunch here. If anyone wants to come chat," and it's an open door, and just kind of be a guide for younger DJs. Mm-hmm. But also younger business people that are like, "I'm investing in myself.
What would you suggest about this?" And a lot of that, those things are universal. There's like little tidbits of knowledge that I love to share just from my experiences. Um, I was telling this story to someone the other day. Like, oh, I, I called my wife. She went, "Where you at?" I'm, "I'm on my way home from the Y, and I don't get home for like 40 minutes."
She's like, "The Y is 10 minutes away. What took you so long?" I was like, "Oh, I wasn't at the one close to us. I was at the one all the way across town." She's like, "Why?" I'm like, "Every time I go to the Y, I go to a different one." And she's like, "Why?" I'm like, "'Cause I don't need to see the same people this many days a week.
I need different people to [00:40:00] see me, so I'm at the top of their mind whenever they think about a DJ or have a conversation." "Oh, I saw Carbon the other day." She's like, "I never thought about that." I'm like, being present for other people is a huge part of my job, and just being visible and mixing that up.
And that's something that I take in as a DJ, and I shared that story, but it applies to so many independent businesses. And I love being a resource for so many people, as much as I can be, and tapping into the networks that I've been able to connect with. It's the other huge blessing of Kansas.
If you don't know who to talk to- You're one degree away.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
DJ Carbon: Someone has their number. 100%. Someone has the connection.
Sydney Collins: Which, uh, brings me to my next question. Do you have any contact with SB Mowing?
It is my lifelong goal to get him on this podcast.
DJ Carbon: I do not have a direct
Sydney Collins: contact.
DJ Carbon: Okay. Uh-
Sydney Collins: If you know someone- Don't try this, Sydney ... let
Gus Applequist: us know. I tried so hard. I didn't know where you were going. No, I did not
DJ Carbon: see that coming, but yes.
Sydney Collins: If you watch every episode of this podcast, I mention him at least every other [00:41:00] week-
'cause I'm in dear love with that man.
DJ Carbon: To see what he's built and done- Oh, yeah ... I'm just a saint. I'm like, "God bless this man." Yeah.
Sydney Collins: So-
Kansas Soundtrack Picks
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Gus Applequist: So I, I have a- One shot ... a s- a silly question. You're, you're talking about Kansas, and, one of the things I think about DJs is that DJs are, are known for their taste, right?
Sydney Collins: Oh, yeah. Yes.
Gus Applequist: And so, what I'm curious about, are there songs that for you define Kansas? You know?
Sydney Collins: Ooh.
DJ Carbon: Wow.
Gus Applequist: They don't have to be Kansas musicians or anything, but just as your, you know, what is the soundscape of Kansas to you?
DJ Carbon: Oh. That
Sydney Collins: is such a good question, Gus Oh my God.
DJ Carbon: I should've been prepped for this. I need a research team. I'm so sorry. Oh my God. I'm like, I'm like, um ... No, like, as you said, DJs are the tastemakers and they have to identify those things.
So, you know, you mentioned Questlove, impeccable taste. I think Kansas is such an amazing melting pot that there isn't a defined expectation, Like, w- if I had to, like, pick a few art- if, if, if one of [00:42:00] my buddies from New York had s- said, "Hey, here," I'd be like, "Okay. We're gonna give you...
You're gonna go listen to Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy, who's this amazing thrashy, punky bluegrass,"
Sydney Collins: Which makes sense with Carrie Nation.
DJ Carbon: Yes. Thrashy
Gus Applequist: pu- punky bluegrass- They're one of my favorite musical memories in Wichita ever. I was DJing, a birthday party, and I was opening and playing between acts, and I was gonna do a dance party at the end.
DJ Carbon: And it was me and then Ryan Windham, who's a multi-instrumentalist looper, and then Carry Nation. Carry Nation gets up, and they're playing, and I'm just jamming out. They're having a great time. I'm like, "All right, up next we got DJ Carbon." So I go up on the stage and get, like, wiggle between them to get to my- Mm-hmm
equipment, which was pre-mounted, and then they start going into a whole 'nother song. So I'm like, "Awkward." I'm standing here. Like, I don't... I'm like, "You know what? The heck with it. They're a jam band." So I start, like, bringing a little scratch in. Mm-hmm. And, like, the drummer looks over at me, gives me the nod.
The bass player looks over, "Oh, yeah." And then I start just full-on scratch. The v- the lead [00:43:00] singer looks, "Yeah." And then next thing I know, they break into a cover, which I'd never heard them do before, of Wu-Tang Clan while I'm scratching. Oh my gosh. And, like, the audience is diehard f- They're like, "When did they sign up and get a DJ?
Why are they covering Wu?" Like, and this is the era right before... We might've had cameras on our phones, like a terrible Nokia- but no video. So there's, like, no documentation that this moment exists. But everyone in the building is like, "Favorite musical moment." I, since then- we were booked to do some festivals together.
And that, in, as independent acts, and we're like, "All right, put us next to each other so I can get up there for a song." Yeah. Nice. I did a wedding with them in Manhattan one year. Oh, that's cool. The, the couple, she knew me, the groom knew them, so we both showed up, and it was like- Whoa ... "
Gus Applequist: Yes!"
DJ Carbon: So, um, but no, Carry Nation.
I think there's so many amaz- Uh, Rudy Love is just, It's funny, I knew of Rudy Love Sr. from musical samples before I got to know and meet- Mm-hmm ... him and his son, Rudy Love Jr., who I've gotten to collaborate with on numerous things and l- Mm ... and a lotta shows. And then, um, uh, [00:44:00] and my favorite songbird ever, rest in peace, Jenny Wood.
Sh- recently lost her- Mm ... and she is an absolute angel and the sweetest gal I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. So, uh- Mm ... I would say that's your introduction to Kansas soundtrack is- Yeah ... those, those three would, would, would be the baseline of, welcome to Kansas.
Gus Applequist: Well, that's probably a great place to end- Yeah
today's interview. Thank you so much for taking time- I
DJ Carbon: feel, I feel like I could sit here and chat with you just for
Sydney Collins: the record. Oh, I have, I have, like, 20 minutes more of questions. Oh, so yeah. But we are at, we are at
DJ Carbon: time. For professional candidates, it's very comfortable. I'm just saying. If we get the c- come on, it's a good time.
Yes.
Where To Find DJ Carbon
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Gus Applequist: If, uh, if our audience wants to catch you, what, uh... Are there any upcoming public events that-
DJ Carbon: I will be a part of Wichita River Festival, on the closing Friday. Um, we just did a DJ battle, so the winner of that, along with myself and DJ Cadence will be there. Easiest thing is to find me on social media.
Yeah. Yeah. DJ Carbon, on Facebook, and then @carbonDJ on everything else. I try and post a calendar every month. Mm-hmm. These days it's difficult because there's so many private events that- Yeah ... there's not as many public-facing. But yeah, no, I'm hoping to bring [00:45:00] back, um... I recently did a... This was a Labor of...
My daughter's a huge theater kid. Yeah. She found her love and found her community. So we did the Curtain Call dance party-
Sydney Collins: Oh, cool ...
DJ Carbon: which was, like, a nightclub, full lighting, fog machines, nothing but Broadway so- songs.
Oh, my
Sydney Collins: goodness. Oh.
DJ Carbon: So-
Sydney Collins: Alicia, who works here, would absolutely adore that. Yeah. So
DJ Carbon: it was, like, dance party- That's, that's really cool ... singalong, karaoke all mixed toget- like, it was amazing. Oh. So- That'd be so cool ... so I'm working on planning the next one of that. Nice. Um, so many events, like, I feel, I, if I plug one, someone's gonna yell at me that I didn't plug another.
So it's so difficult. Yeah. I'm like... But yes, just follow me on the socials and keep up with all the amazing things. And, and not only my things, but also all the amazing things in Wichita, man. Mm-hmm. There's so... And, and Kansas in general. There's so many cool things. I need to, I need to book something up in Salina.
We'll, we'll figure that out. I need to get back up here soon. It's been too long. Awesome.
Sydney Collins: Yep. Well, brilliant. Thank you. Thank you so
DJ Carbon: much. Absolutely. My absolute pleasure.
[00:46:00]
Hosts Reflect On DJs
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Sydney Collins: Well, thank you for joining us, for that interview.
Gus Applequist: I gained so much respect for DJs that I'm ashamed I didn't have prior to this interview, just in the course of listening to it, and actually recognizing how difficult it is to be a DJ. Mm-hmm. I was at a wedding over the weekend, and, and you know, the DJ did a great job.
There was a few moments there where I thought you know, "This is a musical decision I wouldn't make." But, but I think that's kind of the point, is that DJs have to, like, have a, their own distinct taste and, and bring something unique. And, and DJ Carbon I think certainly told us about that.
Sydney Collins: Yeah. I just love DJs just 'cause they're just so in tune with what's around them.
Gus Applequist: Mm-hmm.
Sydney Collins: 'Cause I was fascinated with this with Cash, too, 'cause,
Gus Applequist: Yeah ...
Sydney Collins: just there's so many different... I don't wanna look ke- like, bring up my wedding, even though it was fabulous. But, ... like, my husband and I are very different people.
Because he grew up with, like, [00:47:00] R&B and like, classics and things that I don't even know the names of, and then I was very, like, Top 40, punk, pop. Like, just- Mm ... very different vibes, and, like, somehow it just worked well because we hired someone to do it well. And that's what matters.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Yeah. So
Sydney Collins: anyway.
Gus Applequist: It's another thing Tanner and I were talking about after the interview is that like, a lot of the sort of Kansas boosters we've had on the podcast fit a certain mold.
Sydney Collins: Oh, yeah.
Gus Applequist: And DJ Carbon is one of these people that has his own mold. He doesn't have one. Like, you, you can throw it out.
And he is, he is passionate about,
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm ...
Gus Applequist: you know, doing good things in this state and, and in his community, through his interests- Mm-hmm ... which is just really cool.
Where In Rectangle Parks
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Gus Applequist: To wrap up the episode, I have a s- a segment for you today, Sydney, another episode of Where in the Rectangle? Our segment where I ask Sydney to guess where things are in our beautiful state. And this is state parks edition. So, Oh, goodness ... here's how this is gonna work. I'm gonna show you a picture, then you're gonna have to guess what park it is, and then we'll figure out where it is [00:48:00] in the state.
Okay? I'm
Sydney Collins: gonna be so bad at this.
Gus Applequist: That's okay. Honestly, I would be, too.
Little Jerusalem Badlands
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Gus Applequist: So okay, so round one, uh, what state park do you think this is?
Sydney Collins: Oh, that is...
Gus Applequist: We're seeing, uh-
Sydney Collins: It's a lot of rock.
Gus Applequist: It's a lot of rock. A lot of rock ... like, limestone sticking
Sydney Collins: up. Um, I don't, I, I don't have a guess.
Gus Applequist: Okay. That's, that is-
Sydney Collins: But I'm gonna guess it's, like, Flint Hill-ish area
Gus Applequist: Okay
Sydney Collins: Maybe
Gus Applequist: Yeah, yeah.
Okay, so this is Little Jerusalem
Sydney Collins: Oh, yeah. I was gonna say Little Jerusalem, but then I forgot- That's okay ... it the minute I thought about it
Gus Applequist: That's quite okay. So where do you think Little Jerusalem is in
Sydney Collins: the state? Oh, then if it, if I know it's Little Jerusalem, then it's, I think s- Southwest Kansas, I think
Gus Applequist: Okay, let's see where it is
Sydney Collins: So-
Gus Applequist: It's in-
Sydney Collins: Oh
Gus Applequist: Logan County. Yeah
Sydney Collins: Logan, okay
Gus Applequist: So I'm just gonna give you a little bit of info about Little Jerusalem. It's [00:49:00] actually only recently became a state park. It is Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park in Logan County, out in northwest Kansas, roughly halfway between Oakley and Scott City
Sydney Collins: Oh,
Gus Applequist: okay And it's about a mile-long stretch of 100-foot-tall chalk spires and cliffs eroded out of a layer of rock called Niobrara Chalk.
Yeah, so yeah, it's, it was only established in 2018, so s- so very recent Oh, wow And it only opened to visitors in 2019. And it, it is actually owned by The Nature Conservancy who was- Oh, yeah ... represented on the podcast- Yeah ... not long ago. And yeah, they, they have been, assembling an, an 18,000 acre adjacent reserve called Smoky Valley Ranch that was mentioned.
Sydney Collins: Yeah
Gus Applequist: But the actual park is about 332 acres, w- of which 220 are badlands. So I also threw this hawk on there. I thought I'd throw an animal in for each of these. This is, and I'm, I'm sorry if I don't- The- It's a hard one to pronounce
Sydney Collins: Fa-
Gus Applequist: Ferrungius. Oh, gosh, that's terrible. I'm so sorry.
Sydney Collins: Ferrugi-
Gus Applequist: Um
Sydney Collins: [00:50:00] ferunginess
Gus Applequist: Yeah, so, so this, this is a hawk, that, that is not all that common, and, and they occur- Hmm ... quite a bit out there Interesting There's also this plant called I have to find it. It is Great Plains wild buckwheat Hmm And it is, this is very close to Little Jerusalem, is the largest population of this plant anywhere in the world.
Sydney Collins: You know what- It's kind of cool ... those would make good? What? Those would make a good ditch
Gus Applequist: flower Uh, I'll refer listeners that don't know what we're talking about there to previous episodes where Sydney has shown her incredible ability to make bouquets- Pick flowers out of
Sydney Collins: ditches
Gus Applequist: Yeah. It's- ... it's quite impressive.
Mushroom Rock Park
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Gus Applequist: Okay, let's go on to our second state park. You should-
Sydney Collins: Oh,
Mushroom
Gus Applequist: Yeah. This is Mushroom State Park. Mushroom State Park Mushroom Rock State Park, I should say. Oh, I think this one- And where do you think this is?
Sydney Collins: Ellsworth
Gus Applequist: Boom. She got one.
Sydney Collins: Almost
Gus Applequist: said-
Sydney Collins: Look at that ... Saline, and then I was like, "No, it's in Kana- it's by Kanopolis."
Gus Applequist: Yeah
Sydney Collins: So it's-
Gus Applequist: So this is our smallest state park. It's only five [00:51:00] acres. And it was dedicated quite a while ago, 1965 And yeah, what you're looking at is sandstone from the Cretaceous Period, which is the same general era as Little Jerusalem so the mushroom shape comes from concretions, which is a harder cap of calcium carbonate cemented sandstone sitting on softer sandstone underneath.
Water and wind erode the soft stuff faster than the hard stuff, and so you end up- Mm-hmm ... with these stone mushrooms. And the largest one in the park is about 27 feet across. So they're quite large.
Sydney Collins: Yeah, they are pretty big.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. One of the things that's kinda neat about this park is it's actually administered by the same people that administer, Konoplis State Park since they're so close.
Mm-hmm.
Sydney Collins: Yep.
Gus Applequist: So I, I was trying to think of an animal to throw in here, and so I threw in a pheasant 'cause I thought you could probably see pheasants there. Pheasant- I love pheasants because I think they're so derpy.
Sydney Collins: So tangent, our senior year of high school we did a senior prank. Mind you, keep in mind I went to-
a boarding school in Missouri.
Gus Applequist: Uh-huh.
Sydney Collins: Class of '41, very small [00:52:00] school.
Gus Applequist: Mm-hmm.
Sydney Collins: Part of our senior prank was to release two pheasants in the school. And we did, and so we kept finding eggs ... around the school the next day.
Gus Applequist: Oh, that's great.
Elk City Park Hike
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Gus Applequist: Okay- ... we'll go on to our third one. This one is a little bit harder. I, I wasn't familiar with this one.
Sydney Collins: Oh.
Gus Applequist: So we're looking at- Yeah ... what appears to be, like, a, a canyon or a crevice.
Sydney Collins: It looks like Konoplis just 'cause Konoplis has those kind of-
Gus Applequist: Rock ...
Sydney Collins: rock things- Mm-hmm ... that you go through. But I don't think we'd have mushroom and then Konoplis right after. I have no idea. Is it Konoplis?
Gus Applequist: It is not. This is Elk City State Park.
Sydney Collins: Oh ...
Gus Applequist: and yeah, now you gotta guess where Elk City State Park
Sydney Collins: is. Oh, no. Elk City. Elk. Oh, is it in Elk County? Which is- You know- ... southeast ...
Gus Applequist: what's funny? Is it's not. No.
Sydney Collins: But
Gus Applequist: it's right next door in Montgomery
Sydney Collins: County. In Montgomery? [00:53:00] That is so cruel.
Gus Applequist: It's actually just five miles west of Independence in southeast Kansas. Mm.
And this is, like, as different an ecosystem as you could get from- what we were just, uh, experiencing in Mushroom- Hmm
and of course, out west at Little Jerusalem. So this is 857 acres, and it is in the Cross Timbers region. This is an area of ancient post rock and blackjack oak woodlands, limestone bluffs, big boulders, and actual hills. So yeah, it- Tanner was saying to me earlier that it almost feels more like something from, like, the Ozarks.
Sydney Collins: Oh, yeah. Um,
Gus Applequist: the pictures we have here are taken sort of in the winter- Mm-hmm ... so there's less foliage, but I can totally see what he's talking about.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: So it, while it's 857 acres, it is attached to a 12,000 acre wildlife area-
Sydney Collins: My gosh ...
Gus Applequist: that's managed along with a fort- 4,500 acre reservoir, by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
So yeah, it's, there's a awesome hiking trail there [00:54:00] that's a 15 mile long national recreation trail.
Sydney Collins: Wow.
Gus Applequist: And it was recognized in 2007 by Backpacker Magazine as the best hike in Kansas.
Sydney Collins: Huh.
Gus Applequist: So there you go. The, the animal I chose to put here, I don't know how I haven't come across this before, but mink are actually fairly common in Kansas.
Really? Did you know that?
Sydney Collins: I- Besides coats, no, I did not.
Gus Applequist: That was my thing as well. Now I don't know how common these are in the actual Elk City State Park, but in the watershed nearby, they are quite common.
Sydney Collins: Really?
Gus Applequist: Kind of a small, like, weasel-like creature. I hate to know how many of them it takes to make a coat.
Be very sad. Yeah.
Final Wrap And Links
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Gus Applequist: So that is it for another episode of, uh- Oh, boy ... We're the Rectangle and State Parks Edition, and that's also it for another episode of Ask a Kansan. Thank you for tuning in again this week.
Sydney Collins: Yeah. Make sure to find us online. On the internet. We are
Gus Applequist: there.
Sydney Collins: The World Wide Web. AskaKansan.com.
Uh, please leave us a review wherever you are [00:55:00] listening or watching from. Uh, feel free to comment, like, share, all those different things.
Gus Applequist: Check out the Curious Kansan newsletter. And yeah, just stay tuned with everything that's going on on our website, like you just said.
Sydney Collins: AskAKansan.com, the
Gus Applequist: World Wide Web.
We're just gonna keep saying it. We'll just keep saying it over and over again. Uh, thank you for tuning in, and have a great day.