DJ Matt - The Future of a DJ Dynasty

BY Jackson Cropper When senior Matthew Murrie attended his first ever Jenks homecoming, he didn’t expect to see an older man playing songs that were popular ten years ago, and after the dance, he vowed to do something about changing it. He went home and started playing music right away. After rummaging for new lights and speakers, Matt became a self-diagnosed Disc-Jockey. That same year Murrie hosted his first pep rally and from then on he’s become the official high school DJ at Jenks, but now as he’s nearing graduation, he hopes to find a successor that has the same dedication as him. Under the moniker DJ Matt, Murrie has been in charge of DJing for Student Council meetings, pep rallies, homecomings, and the new well-received weekly event ‘Fridays at the J’ for the past two years, and he’s been doing it all by himself. One of his favorite things about the role is how he gets to interact with Jenks students in a way he wouldn’t normally. “We’ll be playing music and people that we don’t even know will start dancing,” Murrie said. “That’s something great to see because we haven't met these kids. When people you don’t know start interacting with you because of something that didn’t exist a couple of years ago it’s amazing to see.” With Murrie’s new DJ position, Student Council at Jenks has changed quite a bit. Now events are more organized and run smoother than ever, but with the conclusion of his senior year in the near future, he will have to pass the torch on to someone who can lead and entertain as efficiently as he does.  “It puts a lot of responsibility on me,” Murrie mentioned. “I’ve been told for the past two years by Ms. Mullins and Ms. Mahaffey that they don’t know what they’re going to do without me.”  Without a solid replacement, he worries that Student Council will be left in a worse place than it was when he found it. Murrie not only wants someone who will sacrifice their time by playing music, but he also wants someone who has the internal drive to entertain the people well. “It doesn't matter if they have played at parties or clubs, that doesn't matter at all,” Murrie added. “It just matters that they’ll be passionate about what they’re doing.” On October 9th, Murrie met with two potential candidates to fill his role as Stuco DJ, sophomores Ethan Gonzalo and Mithil Ramoutar. They sat in a conference room at the library eager to talk about filling the highly-acclaimed position. Gonzalo had brought his own DJ equipment just for the occasion and, while fiddling with knobs and switches, awaited the anticipated conversation. Gonzalo started his passion for DJing while at the Freshman Academy where he created the school’s first-ever “DJ Club”. Ramoutar sat in his chair with his backpack still on his back, attentive and respectfully quiet. Ramoutar has been DJing since he was seven when he would help his uncle host gigs for a local Caribbean radio show. The three discussed qualifications and prior experience, as well as what the role should look like in the following years.“One thing that happens in Student Council, is that we’ll give a position to someone,” Murrie said during the meeting, “and we’ll soon realize it’s actually something that needs multiple people. Hopefully, we can take my position and make it into a team.” It’s hard to deny his dedication to being DJ. On October 12th, Murrie had to host the homecoming pep rally, Friday’s at the J, and then be ready for homecoming the next day. Preparing for constant events back-to-back has been stressful for him, and he hopes Student Council will benefit from a new team of DJs at their disposal. “Ideally there would be between four and eight people on the team,” Murrie explained to the underclassmen. “There are five people interested but [Gonzalo and Ramoutar] have been the most involved out of those people.” Gonzalo and Ramoutar said that they are prepared to lead the DJ team for the next few years after Murrie has graduated Jenks. Gonzalo was so amped about the future team that he couldn’t hold his excitement. “I love DJing,” Gonzalo proudly stated. “It has been my passion and dream to become one and this is like a dream come true thanks to [DJ Matt and Stuco].” If everything follows through, you can expect a full-fledged DJ team by the end of the school year to provide music for events all across the high school! If you have an interest in being apart of the Student Council’s first ever DJ team, then send a direct message to @matthewmurrie on Instagram!