Life & Work with Heath Jones of Lawrenceville, Gwinnett Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heath Jones.

Hi Heath, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have been a music teacher for 30 years. The last 10 of those years has been teaching music production and technology to middle school students. I also have two kids of my own. When my daughter began kindergarten, her elementary school was very close to the school where taught at the time. So she would ride to and from school with me every day. My son came along 6 years later and he would join our car pool once he was old enough to start pre-school. When my daughter began high school, the location and schedule of the school was such that she began riding the bus and later driving herself. I missed her but my son was still with me everyday.

In addition to essentially starting and ending everyday with my kids, they were both very involved in extracurricular activities. My daughter was a musician and we were always driving to and from lessons, rehearsals, or performances. My son was more into sports and I coached his little league baseball teams from the time he was in 1st grade until he began high school.

A few years ago I got into a personal funk and exhibited symptoms of depression and anxiety. I couldn’t quite figure out was was causing this. It finally dawned on me on day and I said to my wife, “for the first time in 14 years I wake up to an empty house. And then I drive to work by myself and come home by myself.” My daughter was well into her college years and my son had started high school. Not only was there no one with me during the day but there were no longer any baseball teams to coach or rehearsals and performances to attend. My kids were growing into the independent adults that every parent hopes for their children to grow into. What I didn’t expect was this overwhelming feeling that I no longer knew what to do with myself! What was my purpose? Literally, an existential crisis.

I spent the next year, or so, trying to figure what would be my next step. Then my daughter got engaged to her high school sweetheart and the day of their wedding eventually arrived. It was a wonderful day for her and our family but it also provided a moment of serendipity for me. We hired a DJ for her ceremony and reception and he was fantastic! During my daughter’s wedding reception, I slipped over to the DJ we had hired and checked out his set up. Everything looked very familiar. I used the same software that he was using and had a DJ controller very similar to what he had. So the thought popped into my head. “I think I could do that!”

I will add here that I am the Music Technology Chair for the Georgia Music Educators Association. This position has allowed me to get to know, not only many music educators around the state, but also many people in the music/entertainment industry in our state. I teach a unit on DJ’ing to my students as part of the curriculum I teach at my school. I spent the next few weeks doing some research, speaking with people I knew in the event DJ space, and finally my wife. I called my daughter’s DJ and asked if I could tag along and observe what a gig looked like for him from set-up to performance to break down (Shout out and thank you to KP, BTW). Finally, I convinced my wife to let me invest some money to buy the lights, sound system, and equipment that I would need to make it happen.

Now, I just had to find some clients and begin building the business!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I remember an early conversation that I had with KP. DJ’ing is a side hustle for him. He has a full time job in marketing (which is very handy when it comes to establishing a new business)! I remember him saying “Once you get into the pipeline you will work as much as you want.” I have discovered that is easier said than done…

The DJ’ing part has been the easiest part for me. Music has been a central part of my life since childhood and I have two degrees in music as an educator and performer. I have always listened to a very wide range of genres and styles and curating a custom playlist to perfectly suit the client and occasion is one of my favorite parts of the job. The difficultly is getting into that pipeline.

I did many of the things that any new business would do. I created a website, established social media accounts and started fishing for clients. I also exhibited at several wedding expos in the area and began to get a few bites. In the first 11 months I have been in business, I have been able to book 9 events and done a few events in the community for free to get some exposure. All of my reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. But getting into that pipeline has been a hard shell to crack.

I’ve discovered that the first thing most brides do is locate and secure a venue. Most venues offer a list of “preferred” vendors to their clients. This is very convenient for the bride to be and you get a first hand recommendation for a vendor that is reliable. Getting your name on those vendor lists is the key to getting into that pipeline. If you do that, you should be able to depend on a fairly steady stream of inquiries. Until then, you have to get out there and hustle for every lead you can find. I have had pretty good success with expos. I have at least earned my money from the cost of exhibiting back from contracts that I have been able to secure.

Of course there are other hiccups along the way. You learn to bring a back up of all of your music on a hard drive in case there are issues getting a reliable WiFi signal, bring more extension cords than you think you will need, and extra XLR cables. things like that. But overall I feel like I am close to getting over that hump of getting steady inquiries.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I spent the first 15 years of my career as a high school band director and I have a masters degree in conducting. I have spent a lot of time standing in front of people and performing. That has come in especially handy as a DJ. You obviously have to be good at understanding your audience and curating a playlist that will appeal to them as well as understanding the performance aspect of remixing and transitioning between songs as a DJ. But it is equally important that you feel comfortable interacting with an audience.

I have also been a leading advocate for incorporating music technology and production programs is public schools, not only in Georgia, but across the country. I had a book published in 2022 called Music Technology 101 (available on Amazon and other booksellers) and I have served on committees that created music technology standards for the Georgia Department of Education. These experiences have led to opportunities to speak at professional learning conferences around the country including Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, San Antonio, South Carolina, and others about establishing these types of programs in those states. I was recognized in 2023 as the TI:ME Music Technology National Teacher of the Year for my work in this area.

I also serve as the Music Technology Division Chair of the Georgia Music Educators Association. Since I began that role, Georgia has seen a rise in the number of music technology programs and students enrolled in those programs of over 200%! That is an accomplishment that I am very proud of.

All of these experiences have sped up the learning curve for me as a DJ exponentially! Whether I am consulting with a client considering my service or interacting with a group on the dance floor, people find me very easy to talk to and engaging. Being familiar with virtually every genre and style of the last 50 years is also a huge help in curating my playlists. I still teach middle school everyday and I have children who are 23 and 17 years old so I am very plugged in to the latest music trends and artists.

Last spring I did a middle school dance on a Friday, a formal wedding ceremony and reception that Saturday, and a corporate employee appreciating luncheon that Sunday. Each one of those events required its own unique playlist and each was a very different crowd of people to interact with and entertain. I am very proud to say that I received 5 Star reviews from all three clients!

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Do your research before jumping into this! What is the market where you live? How much competition is out there? How much will you have to invest to get really great sounding equipment and lighting? Understand that you are going to have to be diligent and patient getting your business established and growing. It takes time and it can be very discouraging at times.

And perhaps most importantly, practice, practice, practice! DJ’ing is a performance art that requires technical skills and creative thinking. If you aren’t working on marketing your business, you should be practicing and listening to as much music as possible. And don’t forget to push yourself into different genres of music that may not be your personal preference but will be critical to know if you want to make your client pool as deep as possible.

Pricing:

• Packages range from $500-$1500.
• Special discounts are available for school groups and non-profit organizations

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.djampt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dj.ampt/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568919601650