Over the past seven years, Scottsdale selector DJ Six 4 has scored plenty of experience dropping vibrant mixes for a slew of cartoonish characters in the always-colorful local club scene. Besides earning the cat, known to his mama and papa as Scott Lane, some serious paydays, it's also helped prepared him for a primo upcoming gig working the dials onboard one of Disney's colorful fleet of cruise ships for a variety of, um, cartoonish characters.
Before Six 4 starts packing and prepping for his high-energy sets on the high seas, however, he took time to speak with Up on the Sun about his career, as well as his feelings about how to create a perfect mix, how opening DJs need to know their role, and how he'll tailor his sets for Mickey Mouse and company.
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Name: Scott Lane
A.K.A.: DJ Six 4
Preferred genres: I am open format but prefer EDM. Mainly house.
Current gigs: I open at Axis/Radius every Saturday for J. Alan. Pick up other gigs at RnR, Sandbar at Desert Ridge . . . I'm there the next two Saturdays during the day . . . and open at Martini Ranch once in a while.
What's the significance of your DJ name? I'm 6-foot-4, I just spell out the six to make it different.
How did you get into the DJ game? I was a regular at a bar and hung out with the crew who invited me to a spot where I met DJ V-ez and linked up with him. He got me into DJing as well as giving me my DJ name.
What do you did about the genres you spin? Since I am mainly open format, I like how each different genre gets a reaction from the crowd when I switch to the genre they like most. For me, house is my favorite and I love how it's reached the majority of people regardless of what their favorite genre is. I can take the crowd on a journey throughout my set with multiple genres.
You used to be a regular at Mill Avenue clubs like Crave. Why the change? I don't DJ on Mill Avenue much anymore because I don't play for cheap and I know my worth as a DJ.
What bygone club do you miss the most? Probably Myst in Scottsdale, since I saw Afrojack there back in 2011.
What's the craziest thing you've seen at a gig? Mainly the stuff people do when their trying to show off (spraying champagne), or buying bottle after bottle to show they're better than the other booth. See it all the time everywhere I gig.
What's the key to a good gig? Have an energetic crowd to play to. I can feed off their energy and go to town with my set.
How do you create energy in your mixes? I haven't gotten into remixing just yet, so I have to use my song selection with the right build-ups to create energy into my sets. Start off chill and then bring the energy throughout the night and get to bangers or heaters to keep the crowds energy up and wanting more. With my opening sets, it's more of a challenge to create the energy as I can't play the heaters in an opening set. Opening is an art form that has been lost. Most the newer DJs don't know how to properly open a night.
What's your favorite track of the moment? "As Your Friend" by Afrojack and Chris Brown
What other artists have been finding their way into your set lately? Dada Life, Calvin Harris, Deadmau5, Martin Solveig, Steve Aoki, and Alvaro, to name a few.
How have you survived and thrived in the local DJ scene? I would say my secret to my success is always staying humble and knowing my place as an opener or headliner. As I said before, most of the newer DJs don't know how to open a night properly. I think that has helped me gain better gigs throughout my career. I would say that my approach is different from rank-and-file DJs due to the fact I don't play the usual tracks all these DJs have access to.
Any big gigs coming up? My next major gig is coming up in April when I will be DJ for the Disney Cruise Lines in the Bahamas
What's that like? This will be my first tour, so I don't know yet. Just got hired last October, and this will be my first time DJing for them. I've been told by the other DJs it's just like a regular club and I will have tons of fun.
Will you have to flip the script with your normal set, since it's, you know, Disney? I only anticipate changing my set for the Disney cruise to include more mainstream music compared to introducing tracks to the clubs here in Scottsdale.
Other than dropping hits for Mickey Mouse and company, what's your dream gig? I would have to say my dream gig as a DJ would be at some big EDM festival. I know that will take a lot more work on my end, but it is my dream.
What's the best thing about being a DJ? Getting paid to play music for others and party with them as well.
And the worst? The politics that come along with getting gigs in these towns. Oh, and those crappy songs requests.
