REGINA - Caylin Vandenberghe is currently known as 'Saskatchewan’s Most Interactive DJ,' but there was a time when he didn’t even consider DJing as a career.
Vandenberghe had a dream of becoming a teacher and liked English. When he was 19, Vandenberghe wasn’t sure where life would take him next.
However, an ad in a paper would change his entire career path. "About 17 years ago, there was an ad in a newspaper when there was more newspapers looking to train a DJ, and it was with a very well-known company for years, and I figured just give it a try. They trained me, and I just kind of kept it going, and I liked it ever since," said Vandenberghe.
The company he was referring to was well known across Canada and regarded as "the most interactive DJ company because they would teach dances, they would get on the floor they would do bouquet and garter tosses differently. They would just be a creative entity that people have never seen before," said Vandenberghe.
The variety of events he hosted ranged from bars to nightclubs and weddings. One thing Vandenberghe realized about being a DJ is making sure you understand how to grab people and make them happy by playing the right music and reading the crowd so everyone at the event is having fun.
He noted how "some DJs are definitely not interactive, and that's their thing, you know, like they're good with the music. They're good with how they maybe layer the songs and how they play for the crowd."
Vandenberghe has also hosted some big events as a DJ, the largest having a crowd of 8,000 people right here in Regina.
He felt "excited [from doing the event] because out of that amount of people [he was playing music for]. He added, "you're always going to be able to play something that's going to get people excited, and yeah, it's a really good feeling [when] you actually feel on top of the world a little bit."
Through his work of getting everyone in the crowd involved, Vandenberghe received a lot of referrals based on how good of a DJ he was. With his well-known work, Vandenberghe took the title of 'Saskatchewan's Most Interactive DJ.'
Currently, Vandenberghe runs his own business, Longhorn Music Service.
The name Longhorn came from a contest Vandenberghe was part of years ago. At the time, Vandenberghe was going by his real first name as his DJ name. After a person in the contest came up with Longhorn music, Vandenberghe liked the name and decided to stick with it.
Vandenberghe and other DJs he subcontracts go to events across Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba.
Vandenberghe discussed the challenges of scheduling his work, calling it "the hardest part of the job." He added, "You start hiring people or even finding some contracted people, you have to make sure that it's trustworthy people [that your working with] because when somebody books for their wedding or many events too, it could be six months a year, two years in advance. So I have to know that this guy is available and that there's going to be nothing happening between [the time of the event and the schedule of the DJ]."
Another challenge Vandenberghe faces is telling people about his profession. He feels "a little embarrassed" mentioning that he DJs on the weekends.
He mentioned how there is a certain mentality out there for DJs like it’s a side job or a go-nowhere job. However, Vandenberghe feels he has alot of fun being a DJ, and the money he’s earned has created a successful career.
Vandenberghe has also been an announcer for the Regina Red Sox and the University of Regina hockey teams for years.
He described enjoying "adding excitement to that event [when he does play-by-play or hosting]. I think it's something different to get me a little more excited again."
Even though Vandenberghe originally wanted to choose a different career path, he now believes anyone interested in becoming a DJ can make it a career for themselves.
Vandenberghe is offering help to anyone who wants to become a DJ. "Feel free to reach out to me, and we would take somebody out on a Saturday to see what it's about because some people don't know what it's about. So [I would] enlighten them a little bit, and then maybe they want to get involved. But I would definitely say give it a try."
He also gave advice to people currently DJing. "If it's the night off and nobody's dancing, stick it out, try a different genre, stick it out, it'll happen, those nights happen. If you want to get busier and build on your stuff, social media, you know, word of mouth [helps to build those connections]."
As his career continues, Vandenberghe wants to someday DJ an event in Las Vegas because of the energy. He called the city "the best of the best of the best. And that's how I would feel about that [performing in Las Vegas]."
