Respect the DJ Interview with Dr Cool And Babe @DrCoolandBabe
How did you get into DJing?
We have been more on the side of songwriting, and producing music firstly. With us transforming our music into a full edm project, the DJing part comes with the territory of wanting to put on a live show and share our music and other awesome music we love with an audience in person.
What did you do to advance your skills/knowledge?
(Dr. Cool) So I got into audio production way back in 2005, and I went to the LA recording school in Los Angeles, in 2006. I really learned most of my skills from just pressing buttons and trial and error. I had my biggest breakthroughs from being in the studio working with big producers like Logan Mader, and John Feldmann, just watching and learning their methods. With YouTube being around for so long now, this is my go to when I get stuck on something, or need to find some inspiration or tips and tricks. I swear you can learn anything on YouTube now. I would say I am definitely a Pro Tools wizard, that’s the DAW I’ve used all these years, and I recently moved to Ableton for EDM production, and the biggest challenge is just learning the new shortcut keys, because this is crucial for my time management and speed. I guess for me, I’m always learning and watching how other people do things, to try and pick up on anything I don’t already know, and I’m always finding cool new ways to mix and try new things I wouldn’t normally do. As far as learning to DJ, to be honest, I bought a Udemy course, and just went through that to get a better understanding how its all done, and the rest is just practicing.
(Babe) When I was a kid, I went to a music school and learned about harmony and theory, and started learning how to sing at a young age. I started writing my first songs when I was probably around the age of 15 and I just knew music was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
What did your first setup look like?
(Dr. Cool) I started out with the original Mbox, Pro Tools 6 and a Mac powerbook G4. I had one Schecter C-1 Elite guitar that I’ve had since 2001, that was like my prized possession at the time.
(Babe) My first mic setup was pretty much me in front of a mirror pretending to sing into my hairbrush! haha. For DJ gear we started with a Pioneer XDJ-RX2
What does your current setup look like?
(Dr. Cool) A complete mess, too many guitars! Literally, we have 24 guitars lying around our house, and I’m actually selling some, because I never thought I would say this, but I have too many! We have our own recording studio in our place, with a powerful iMac with all the plugins and virtual instruments you can imagine. We have a double wall vocal booth, keyboards, piano, very expensive microphones. Everything we need to fully track, mix and master our music.
(Babe) Yeah, and then out in our living room we have our own DJ booth setup where we can practice. We have the standard CDJ-2000NXS2's and the DJM-900NXS2. Our whole place is like our music production warehouse. We even have photo / video walls where we do our own photoshoots, and can create professional looking photos or video content. We do a lot of our own photo shoots and I used to be a wedding photographer in Ukraine, so I know how to work really well in Lightroom and Photoshop to edit our pictures and make them pop!
How did you get your DJ/Artist name?
(Babe) We knew we had to come up with something that would be memorable, and when you hear it, you never forget it. We think of Dr. Cool & Babe not just as ourselves, but like some kind of superhero, or even anti hero characters. I have come up with so many ideas, to create our own TV show, cartoons, or comic. We have so many ideas that go beyond just being Dj’s and producing music. We want to create something that is bigger than ourselves. To create a place of belonging for people, and to unite people together.
(Dr. Cool) Really Babe came up with it, I don’t know if it was just on the spot and she blurted it out randomly, but when she did, I was like “YES, that’s it!” It’s the perfect name for our EDM duo, and what we are bringing together. Like Babe said, we want to unite people together, especially in a time where there is so much hate and anger in the world. There is a deeper meaning behind the name. When I was younger, I was definitely not a “cool” kid. I was picked on, made fun of and bullied a lot. I would get physically abused on the bus going to school everyday. It’s a horrible thing to have to deal with at such a young age. The problem now, is with social media, it’s only gotten worse, and you can still be bullied when you aren’t even at school. I got laughed at when I would tell people in school “I’m going to be a rockstar” but I went on to put out 5 albums, toured the world for the last 10 years, and have 3 top 10 Billboard albums. So there is nobody else in this world that can tell you what you are or aren’t capable of. The haters, and bullying never stops, especially when you become a public person. We have people on the internet that make fun of us, and tell us we can’t be DJ’s now. But I will always prove the naysayers wrong. For me the name Dr. Cool is like this, you are very far from Cool when you are setting out to do something big, and achieve your dreams. People will laugh at you and make fun of you because they think you are weird for having some dreams that are unattainable (at least in their minds) but then the second you start to have some success, or they see you are actually going places, all the sudden you become Cool, and everyone wants to be around you. So Dr. Cool is for all the “uncool” people out there, the reality is everyone with a dream no matter how big or how small, it’s cool, and anyone can achieve anything in this life if they want it bad enough!
(Babe) It’s sort of the same for me, when I was younger, I wasn’t a ‘babe” at all. Haha. I had curly hair, and had to wear headgear to move my teeth, I looked like a complete typical nerd!
If you could DJ at any 3 events/festivals what would they be?
Definitely Tomorrowland, EDC, and Ultra
If you could DJ in any 3 cities what would they be?
Red Rocks in Denver, CO, Las Vegas, NV, and we would love to be able to tour in Asia!
If you could be a tour DJ for any artist (dead or alive), who would it be?
Honestly for us, we just want to be our own DJ’s and write and produce our own music. We would love to collaborate with many artists that we love and respect, the list is way too long to even mention, but we hope to do many great songs with upcoming artists, and the producer/DJ’s we look up to.
What is your goal when you play live?
(Dr. Cool) We already have a grand idea of what our show will consist of when we have the budget to make it happen. We want to take the elements everyone loves from EDM shows, like the lazers, and insane light shows, pyrotechnics, but we also want to incorporate live show elements. We want to sing, and play live as well, and I want to play guitar on stage and shoot fire out of my flame throwing guitar, and then get hooked up on a harness, and flown over the crowd while I play! We want to take some of the crazy rock show elements, and bring them into the mix here, and be able to put on a spectacle!
(Babe) My goal is to feel a special connection with people in the crowd. Music is a universal language. You don’t even have to speak the same language to feel the music, and to understand it. I love that we can play music and unite people from all different races, genders, sexual orientation, color, etc. Music doesn’t discriminate and I love that we can have the opportunity to unite so many people together.
What's your go to song right now?
(Dr. Cool) I’m loving the new track Quiet Storm from Dj Snake and Zomboy.
(Babe) Mine is Young & Dangerous the Party Thieves & Tre Sera Remix
What is your dream as a DJ?
(Babe) I want more than anything to make people happy, and to unite people together. To make people feel something from my lyrics. I want to help people through music. It truly can heal, and help people through difficult times. So for me it’s being able to write and produce songs that can connect with people and mean something for them and help them in some way. Then to Dj these songs and connect with people in person, and feel the energy between us and the crowd!
(Dr. Cool) I want to make it into the list of the Top 100 DJ’s and get into the top 10. I won’t put the pressure on us to make it to #1 cause that’s some insane competition, but mark my words, we will make it there, and you’ll see us in the top 10!
What is some advice you would give to someone with a dream to become a DJ?
For anyone out there who wants to be a DJ, or this really goes for anything you dream of doing in life, it doesn’t matter what it is. You have to stay the course, and you have to follow through. You will go through times of self doubt, you’ll think it’s too hard. You’ll have people give you crap and tell you it’s stupid, you shouldn’t do it. We are responsible for everything in our own lives, and it’s easy to blame something or someone else for something not working out, but you only have yourself to blame if you don’t achieve something. Anything is possible, you just have to believe in yourself the most, don’t ever lose that. Don’t ever let anyone else determine what’s right for you, or what you are capable of. Dream it, believe it, and do it!
Where can people find you? (social media, website, etc.)
Website www.drcoolandbabe.com