Student By Day DJ By Night

     You’re at a school dance and jamming out to your favorite songs, or cheering with your friends at pep assembly, as you watch people freak out. Those seamless transitions between songs are created by Jenks’ very own DJ Matthew Murrie. But where did Murrie get his start? Well, his life of music started at a very young age.      “I loved drumming on Guitar Hero,” says Murrie. “I was the worst at drumming, but I was really good at playing guitar. I could beat everyone on guitar, and I could do songs flawlessly on the hardest level.”     His love for music didn’t stop there. At the age of ten Murrie started getting involved into electronic music.      “I would make electronic music on the computer, with free software,” says Murrie. “Then I started collecting things like speakers and lighting. When I started collecting lighting I used it to have mini parties in my room, which was kinda weird since nobody else was there. Every year I would just get bigger and bigger things. Bigger and bigger lighting, bigger and bigger speakers.”      His music began to expand and for his friends’ sweet 16 birthday party, he was asked to DJ his very first gig.      “It was great, even though at first I had no idea what to play, because it was my first time doing it, it was still great,” says Murrie. “They’d given me a list [of songs] and I didn’t like half of them. I learned right then that I would have to adapt to what other people liked more then what I am used to listening to.”     DJing has helped Murrie grow as an individual, and has pushed him past his comfort zone.     “I’ve changed a lot, as a person, through DJing,” says Murrie. “I would’ve considered myself up till high school, maybe even during freshman year, an extremely shy person. Now I’m just extremely comfortable with people.”     DJing has become a part of him, and has given him some pretty amazing moments that he can look back on.      “I had a party at my house, just to have a party,” says Murrie. “I made an excuse saying it was a Memorial Day party, but it wasn’t on Memorial Day, it was two days after. But, I was playing music outside, and I started playing this song, it was like a Dubstep EDM song. So I waited for a perfect moment in that song and I turned on the lights, and as soon as I did the lights just shined everywhere. My heart was just racing with the music, it was just so amazing. And at the moment I knew that I wanted to do this possibly for the rest of my life.”     If you would like to be able to experience these moments and get into contact with Murrie, you can get in touch with him on instagram through @MatthewMurrie or email him at djmatthewmurrie@gmail.com. And lastly, when asked about words of advice for other future career starters, Murrie says,      “This isn’t just because I heard it on a YouTube ad last night, but whenever you have a business idea don’t just wait, start as soon as you have it. If it is your dream to do something then just do it. Don’t worry what you’ll need to learn, because you’ll learn it along the way. When you learn it as you go, you learn how you want to do it, and the way you feel comfortable doing it, no matter what it is.”      “I was extremely lucky to have the life that I had when I was younger. And extremely lucky to be raised the way that I was, in the household that I had, with the parents that I had,” says Murrie. “Without my parents I would not be the person I am today, based on how I act or my drive to serve God. I would not have the same mind set and happiness that I see in my life without my parents raising me the way that they did. I hope that I can help people, who don’t have the parents I have, see what I see.”     His love for music and the way his parents raised him helped create him into the person he is today. Now Murrie DJ’s for a bunch of different crowds. By Ashley Johnsen