ABOUT
🎵 We've Got the Beat in Oro Valley! 🎵
DJ Matt brings his background as a school principal and professional musician together to offer exceptional MC services and high-quality DJ music entertainment for weddings, birthdays and special events in Tucson and surrounding areas.
Oro Valley's Finest DJ Services - Where Entertainment Meets Excellence! 🎶
Matt, Owner
PURPOSE
Vision
Mission
Mission
Sharing the joy of music with all ages by facilitating an entertaining and memorable experience for (every single guest) each and every guest at private and corporate gatherings.
Mission
Mission
Mission
To create a fun and inviting atmosphere for weddings, special events, parties and family gatherings by providing a customized experience with entertaining music, quality lighting and professional MC services throughout Southern Arizona.
History
Origins
Ever since I was a kid, I have LOVED playing music! I’ll never forget my first drum-set. It was under the tree on Christmas morning. Remember those Alvin and the Chipmunks toy drum-kits in the 80s? Yeah, that’s the one. I was playing the classics, like Wild Thing and Old Time Rock n Roll. I studied under my Uncle Bart, who is a professional drummer in Southern California, where I’m originally from, and I remember a memorial day family camping trip when he showed me some riffs on tambourine. Band started for me when I was in 4th grade, when I picked up my dad’s trumpet; the next year, I switched to snare drum. I was the only drummer/percussionist in the band that year. My parents arranged for one of the drummers on the high school drumline at CDO to give me private lessons. I remember my dad would give Wendy a ride to our house for the drum lesson. I am grateful for those early days on the practice pad. It gave me a solid foundation with rudiments and technique. It wasn’t long until my Uncle Bart set me up with my first drum-set. Being left-handed, I started playing drum-set with my left foot on the kick drum and left hand on the hi-hat. By then, I was getting lessons with Dieter, a percussionist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Dieter was an accomplished percussionist, and he taught me foundations in mallet percussion, drum-set, and snare drum. He prepared me to compete, and succeed, in securing a spot in the honor band.
In the early days of drum-set, I played along to cassette tapes, songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit, Blind and Bulls on Parade. I would jam songs with my cousin Vince, an accomplished blues guitar player, who lived in California, when we would go and visit. This would have been my freshman year of high school. My friend Scott started playing bass and guitar, and we performed at a summer camp talent show. We were prepared with our song repertoire and drum solo. I think I’ve still got the video. Playing drums live was a rush like nothing I had ever experienced! That Summer 1998, sparked a new appreciation for music that has never faded….
Fast forward to summer of 2001, at the same summer camp, and Scott and I were ready to perform again. This time, though, it would be a new act. The talent show director, Vicki, knew that I was a drummer and suggested that we do a trash-can drumming act, similar to the hit group, Stomp. Scott and I were up to the challenge. We put together a series of drum rhythms that had the perfect balance of precision and groove. The act was a hit at the talent show, and somehow we knew that wouldn’t be the last performance. It wasn’t long until Scott and I were sitting in my room, I remember it like it was yesterday, when we talked about going down to the local grocery store and setting up our trash cans to perform our act outside of the store. We didn’t go to the grocery store, but we did go to the mall. We set-up our trash cans inside and attracted a crowd with our drumming! I think we made a few tips, too, and we knew we had something. Our band name didn’t come until a while later, when a fan yelled it at the baseball park, when we were playing at the end of the game, ‘CAN CRUSHERS!’ The Can Crushers became a Tucson phenomenon and transitioned from Matt and Scott (in high school) to Matt and Matt (college years), and eventually to Matt, Matt and Stu (after college). For me, this was the first time that music and business came together as an entrepreneurial enterprise. For once, it was truly living the dream! Although the days of Can Crushers on the streets of Tucson were numbered, my passion for the music business was only beginning.
During my freshman year of college, my friend Stu showed me a few chords on a mandolin, and I learned to play Brown Eyed Girl. I pushed through those to callous my fingers and also learned the song on guitar. I was playing constantly and learning my favorite Beatles and Dave Matthews songs. I was inspired by John Denver and would write simple songs about the beauty of nature. Little did I know that a new genre of music was on the horizon.
I was introduced to contemporary christian music by my colleague, Mike, who asked if I had ever heard Chris Tomlin’s version of Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone). I had not heard the song and wasn’t familiar with any other songs in the genre. When I heard the song, I immediately felt a connection to the music. I remember my first Christian album was WOW Hits 2008. Those tracks by Tomlin, Matthew West, TobyMac and Newsboys became the soundtrack of the season. It was during this period that my childhood church went through a split, and I was faced with some difficult questions about my faith. If it wasn’t for the connection to worship music, I might have walked away completely. The music actually strengthened my faith, and the lyrics taught me about the love and grace of the Father, something I didn’t quite understand in my Sunday school classes, which were more characterized by the counterfeit “gospel” of legalism and self-preservation. The music took me further with praise and worship artists like Hillsong, Passion, Bethel Music and Jesus Culture. I can honestly say that the Hillsong and Bethel conferences that I attended in Los Angeles (during the next few years) were my initiation into a passion and fire for worship leading. In 2012, I began my first Worship Leader assignment at a united methodist church in my town. I was beginning to realize that my talents could be used to build up and edify the body of Christ. I continued worship leading at a few other churches in the next few years, playing drums or guitar, depending on the need. As you can probably tell, my musical tastes were shifting to the contemporary Christian genre, and my appreciation for the “people of God singing the praises of God in the presence of God” never waned.
After a few years being consumed by the role of the principalship, I began to recognize that something was missing. I quickly realized that, although music had always been there, it was being put on the backburner because of the professional responsibilities of my position as a principal. In 2023, I could not wait any longer. I was resolved to find a way to bring back my love of music. That’s when the idea for a new venture, Oro Valley DJ, was formed. This would be my opportunity to use my musical knowledge and talents in a new and fresh way. It would be my opportunity to get outside the walls of my school and make connections with friends, colleagues and neighbors in my community. Although I can only speculate about what the future holds for my newfound entity, I am beyond excited about ‘living the dream’, once again, by sharing my love of music with the community. The next chapter has already begun!
