Tim Wong, better known as DJ Innovate has been tearing up the Los Angelas Scene for the past 11 years. Mixing in an array of hip-hop, house, and dubstep that continuously keeps the party going. He’s been featured on Entertainment TV, as well as Opened up for Stars such as Lil’ Jon.
Holding down not one but numerous residencies at Exchange LA as well as the Colony Hollywood and My Studio Hollywood, some of L.A’s biggest clubs, doesn’t stop Tim from making it down to Vegas to spin at places such as The Palms Hotel Pool, The Palms Place, Marquee and Surrender to name a few.
Now the CDG Crew makes it’s way to New York City, bringing the L.A. and Vegas Party Scene to a City known for partying till the break of dawn. What does DJ Innovate have in stored for the New York Crowd, and can he please the Tough Skinned New Yorkers? Be Sure to catch him March 9th At District 36 in New York City.
We caught up with DJ Innovate to pry into the Mind of a Man about to Debute in a City that Never Sleeps.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DJ INNOVATE
JF: How long have you been DJ’ing in the LA scene?
TW: I’ve been DJing in the LA scene now for about 11 years. I started doing 18+ clubs in LA before I was allowed to party. They used to have security walk me to the DJ booth, and they’d send security towards the end of my set to make sure I left the event after I was done since I was underage. I found that to be pretty funny and kinda sad. haha
JF: What clubs have you DJ’ed at in vegas.
TM: In the past year, I’ve had the pleasure to go to Vegas and rock parties at The Palms Hotel Pool (during EDC weekend), The Palms Place (Palms Luxe Boutique Hotel), Marquee inside the Cosmopolitan, and Surrender inside the Encore Hotel.
JF: What year did you win the Vegas spin off?
TM: From the Vegas Spin off Contest, we won the opportunity to DJ with Grammy Artist Lil Jon as well as trips, cash, prizes, and studio gear valuing close to $20,000.
JF: Who were notable challengers that year?
TM:: There was a lot of good competition on the initial submission and voting phase. We’re blessed to have such good friends and fans to support our work so that we were able to make it to the top 2 in vote submissions. When we were selected as the “Lucky Seven” finalists and flown out to Vegas, we had a chance to meet all the competition at a Press Conference prior to the actual spin off. All the competitors were talented DJs and Producers in their respected markets and fields. Going into it, we knew very little about the competition except for the information I was able to gather on youtube and the internet, so it’s fair to say that they were all equally notable challengers. All the info that we were able to find were mostly from their personal pages and videos, obviously no one wants to put out bad videos or information about themselves, so everything we saw and heard showed them at the top of their game. That’s what we were preparing ourselves for.
JF: What was the segment on Entertainment TV about?
TM: The segment on E TV was about the competition and coverage of the event that we spun with Lil Jon. They featured a brief interview with Lil Jon and then aired clips of us on stage in the mix. They had an audio clip of them asking me about the experience and all they showed me saying was “words can’t even describe”. The segment was literally 15 seconds or so in total. I guess that was my literal 15 seconds of fame….and I want more! ha
JF: What is CDG, why is your click named after it?
TM: CDG is the abbreviation of Coup de grâce. Coup de grâce is a french term often used figuratively to describe the last in a series of events which brings about the end of something. We want to bring an end to the way people perceive DJs as just a human jukebox. With the determination to set a higher standard for DJs all over, to try and push the boundaries of what a DJ brings to a show and how to bring the performance/set to another level. We found it a bit comical as well to use a french term as a name for a group of Asian DJs (Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese) that spin in the USA.
JF: What do you plan to bring to New York for your New York debute?
TM: I’m excited to bring the Hollywood/Vegas style of DJing that we do here and share it with the NYC scene. I know club music in New York is more influenced by Hip Hop, but I’m also aware that there’s a huge emergence of EDM music. I’m planning to fuse the two genres and just rock the crowd for everyone to have an amazing time!
JF: How long have you been trying to spin in New York?
TM: I love New York because it’s such a refreshing break from LA life for me. I try to visit New York on a yearly or bi-yearly basis. My previous trips out have been more for specific reasons, so I wasn’t able to actually squeeze a booking in on those trips. However, I’m now more focused on trying to book gigs in whatever cities I can to break into new markets. So technically, this is my first attempt and I’m fortunate to have been lucky enough to book something. Big thanks to Sherry Yim for helping me land a spot at District 36.
JF: What was your big break?
TM: To be honest, I don’t know if I’ve had a “big break” just yet. I’ve always been a believer that if you want something bad enough and you put hard work into it, one day it’ll pay off. I feel as if things are have been starting to come together the past 2-3 years for me to allow me to do things like play in Vegas, spin in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, win DJ Battles and Competitions locally and globally. Again, I owe a lot of credit to my CDG team and my friends that have motivated me and helped connect me to the right people to give me opportunities that has gotten me to where I am today. I don’t know where this DJ road is taking me, but I’m excited for the ride…
JF: how can other DJ’s aspire to where you are in your career now?
TM: I’m a believer in the quote, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” There has been so many instances when something would come to me last minute such as gigs, battles, events, etc. Without the many years of preparation and “paying my dues” to gain the experience, I would not have been able to take advantage of these opportunities and capitalize off of it. I used to play at venues where there would literally be 5 people and a bunch of bartenders. I’d have to bring my own equipment every night and we’d get shut down at about midnight. On top of all that, I got paid poorly. However, I understood that I was gaining experience and paying my dues, eventually it’d pay off.
Always stay hungry and don’t be afraid to think outside the box to do things a new way.
Meet anyone and everyone you can. You never know when they can help you out or vice versa. Networking is HUGE in this industry. Do it till it’s second nature for you.
Don’t feed into the hype. A lot of people will tell you how awesome you are and how great you are. Don’t let that get to your head or else your ego will destroy you before you ever achieve greatness.
JF: What are influential DJ’s, artist that you draw inspiration from?
TW: As cliche as it is for DJs to say, I’m VERY influenced and inspired by the late great DJ AM. He was the DJ FOR DJs. His impeccable music selection and his flare for creative mash ups was what made him great. Even now, when I listen back to his mixes, I’m inspired to be as creative as he was. His ability to make the DJ more than someone who merely played a song. Other influences include producers like Nujabes, Alesso, R3hab, Skrillex and too many others to name. I’m attracted to good music. Anytime I hear something really good, regardless of who it’s featuring or who it’s made by, I’m instantaneous inspired and I fall in love with the art of DJing all over again.
CDG weekly @ Exchange LA from Coup de Grace on Vimeo.
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