Spinning and Mixing – Female Celebrity DJ Casey Connor

I was inspired when I read an article about Casey Connor in one of the fashion magazines. The first thing I thought about was that I want to know more about her. So, as a blogger, I contacted her manager and requested to interview her.

So, you might ask: Why was I inspired or why did I want to interview her?

First up, Casey is a sought after DJ in the country. She has toured with Jennifer Lopez and Whitney Houston, and DJ’d for Kanye West, Paris Hilton, Madonna, Snoop Dog, and high profile events like the Golden Globes, MTV Music Video Awards, Sundance Film Festivals and Cannes, to name a few. Casey can bring the house down at any parties, whether for celebrity or corporate events. She has also written songs that have been featured on albums by the Backstreet Boys, Jessica Simpson and Michelle Branch. But what inspired me to write about her was her life before she became successful.

At the age of 16, Connor was an aspiring singer-dancer at the La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts, (it’s the school from the ’80s movie “Fame“) when her mom was diagnosed with cancer and passed away six months later. As Connor and her siblings were still mourning, another family tragedy struck- her father died of a heart attack. To make ends meet, she put her aspirations aside, took care of her younger sister and accelerated her high school education so she can continue running her mother’s daycare in Brooklyn and pay off nearly $80,000 in debt. After a chance meeting with a talent manager, Connor landed some high profile DJ gigs in New York which led to even A-List gigs in Los Angeles. Every week, from Monday to Friday, starting at 8 a.m., Connor ran her mom’s daycare by day, and by night, she spun records and corrected her sister’s homework in the DJ booth. What made her survive and get by in life was the sage advice from her mom – to be fearless. That advice was imbued within her and that gave her strength and perseverance.

Celebrity DJ Casey Connor

Ruchel: You started really young with DJing. Can you tell us when and how it all started?
Casey: I was 18 years old and was discovered by a manager at a music industry party I was attending. I was a singer/dancer and got approached by a manager who was looking for a DJ to replace someone in a big hip hop trio that he was managing so I was trained by that DJ and went on the road with them right away.

Ruchel: You’ve done a lot of corporate, music and entertainment events, what do you like doing most? The most recent ones were the Salesforce event, the Billboard and CAA’s Emmy Party (Corporate, music or Hollywood)
Casey: I love all of the above equally. Anywhere I can perform the music that I love and create that special energy in the room.

Ruchel: I heard you took a holiday break, where and what did you do?  Where are you based at right now?
Casey: I live in Malibu, California right now. It was always a dream to live here since I was a little girl so getting to start my day on the beach is a dream come true. For my holiday I went to spend it with my sister in Ojai, California and went on a ski vacation.

Be passionate about what you do and the success will follow. Always remember the people while climbing up the ladder. – Casey Connor

Ruchel: I saw on your Twitter account that some ladies on Salesforce event took over your turntables. How did you like that?
Casey: That was the best part of the night! I was able to create a memory for my clients that they will never forget and they got to experience that moment through my eyes.

Ruchel: Is it always a tradition for you to do crowd surfing at events?
Casey: Yes it’s actually in my rider 🙂 I love crowd surfing it’s such a natural high and the audience loves it!

Ruchel: I understand you met President Clinton. What event was that and can you describe your whole experience.
Casey: I met President Clinton through my previous agent at CAA. He was in LA doing a speaking engagement. We got to talk a little bit about music as he is a brilliant saxophonist

Ruchel: Any favorite moment with a celeb?
Casey: I was DJing an event for Britney Spears and she was going through a tough time personally. She came up to me and hugged me and said that I completely changed her mood she was in with the music I was playing.

Ruchel: Who is throwing the best parties at the moment?
Casey: LA, NY, Miami, Vegas have always been the center of parties but Austin, Texas is where it’s at as well!

Ruchel: I belong to MTV generation, I can’t help but ask you… do you always include ’80s music on your mix set? And who is your favorite artist of all time?
Casey: Yes I always include ‘80s music in my sets. That decade of music brought us some of the greats like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince and their music transcends all generations! My favorite artists of all time are Michael & Janet Jackson.

Ruchel: How do you see yourself 10 years forward?
Casey: In 10 years I see myself being a mogul in the entertainment industry. I own my entertainment company now and manage 22 DJ’s and artists. I want to also get into film and TV, producing content and bringing people’s life stories to life!

Ruchel: What advice would you give to up and coming DJ’s/MC’s?
Casey: Be passionate about what you do and the success will follow. Always remember the people while climbing up the ladder.

Female Celebrity DJ Casey Connor Entertainment

Special thanks to Brendan McDonald

Follow Casey Connor on Twitter @djcaseyconnor

Instagram @caseyconnorent