A Record Crop of Female DJs Hits the Clubs

One thing is clear from even a cursory tour of Southland nightclubs: The vast majority of DJs are dudes, not ladies. To Clay Young, a DJ who spins records at UC Irvine’s KUCI as well as at parties and small clubs, that was an injustice. In January, he and a group of Orange County women took action and created “The Night of the All-Girl DJ,” a monthly Saturday club at Costa Mesa’s Detroit Bar. “Because every night is an all-male DJ night,” says Young, 33. Society doesn’t “encourage women to do anything but look good.”

Young and company reflect a trend toward DJ gender equality. Collectives such as L.A.’s Chicks in the Mix and the Bay Area’s Sister SF are rocking clubs of late, while DJ/producers such as Sandra Collins, DJ Irene and the Angel have blazed paths in Southern California for more than 10 years.

Early results indicate that diversity at the turntable can be good business. “Night of the All-Girl DJ” usually draws a multiethnic capacity crowd. “It’s a great concept,” says Detroit Bar booking manager Chris Fahey. “It not only appeals to the male desire to see beautiful women DJ’ing, it’s also a great chance to [let] women do their own thing without musical boundaries.”

The group’s aesthetic choices can only be defined as eclectic: Costa Mesa-based Viva Roxx (nee Viva Meyer), 29, spins progressive house and “breaks.” Novice DJ Erin B (a.k.a. Erin Barrow) of Costa Mesa plays experimental and general soundscape weirdness, while others choose goth rock, jazz and African pop music, with a female-fronted rock band often performing between sets.

Unlike other female DJ groups, the All-Girl DJs make no attempt to politicize their art. Nonetheless, women bring a less aggressive, more soulful approach to the DJ booth, says clubgoer Alissa Kueker on a recent Saturday night at Detroit Bar. “But that doesn’t mean it’s pink and has bows on it.”

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Night of the all-girl dj, may 18, detroit bar