Congress, the Potency Problem, and How To!

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Gist

Episode: Congress, the Potency Problem, and How To!
Date: February 18, 2026
Host: Mike Pesca (Peach Fish Productions)
Featured Segment: How To Be a DJ, Not a Playlist

---

Episode Overview

This episode begins with Mike Pesca’s signature incisive take on the stagnation of Congress and the outsized nature of executive power in U.S. politics. However, the main focus is a special presentation of Pesca’s new podcast project, “How To,” specifically the episode “How To Be a DJ, Not a Playlist.”

The segment explores what it truly means to be a DJ versus simply creating playlists and confronts the hurdles—real and perceived—facing aspiring DJs. Pesca brings together Tom Nash (a celebrated Australian DJ known as DJ Hooky, who DJs using prosthetic hooks) and Stu (an aspiring DJ and human rights lawyer) to discuss the pathway from musical enthusiast to actual DJ, and how to navigate the associated technical, psychological, and business challenges.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Nature of Congressional Power & Political Potency (00:52–10:00)

• Pesca examines political stories about failed attempts at legislative change in Congress, concluding that despite its constitutional primacy, Congress today exerts minimal real power, especially compared to executive action.
• He critiques the political media’s focus on the presidency over Congress, arguing for greater attention to state houses, governors, and the “first branch” of government.

2. Introducing “How To”: From Playlist to DJ (11:12)

• Transition into “How To Be a DJ, Not a Playlist.”
• Pesca recalls a viral social media debate: Can anyone be a DJ, or are most people simply selectors of music?
• Introduces Stu, an aspiring DJ currently working as a lawyer, and the ways his love of music—and dissatisfaction with local club scenes—inspired him to want to create the experiences he missed.

3. From Aspiration to Action: Stu’s Journey (12:47–16:24)

• Stu:
  • Background in music journalism and artist management.
  • Thrilled by transformative DJ nights in Ottawa—misses the magic in Montreal.
  • Has curated playlists for events and weddings but sees a gap between that and “real DJing.”
  • Barriers: learning the technical skills, getting a foot in the door at venues, and distinguishing himself in a crowded field.

4. The Realities of DJing: Tom Nash’s Perspective (17:04–19:18, 21:58–23:40)

• Tom Nash/DJ Hooky:
  • Lost his arms and legs to illness as a teen; DJs with prosthetic hooks.
  • First DJ set was in front of 500 people with no technical knowledge: “I found that was the best place to learn was in the deep end... I made a whole bunch of mistakes... and most of the crowd didn’t even look twice.” (19:18)
  • Asserts that DJing is not about being the center of attention, but a piece of the vibe; the crowd cares more about the experience than technical perfection.
  • Most people romanticize DJing without reckoning with the marketing, business logistics, and hustle needed.
  • “Technical ability, I think it’s...a distraction in the beginning. The real way that you’re going to get good enough is going out and doing it...Get out of the bedroom.” (20:46)

5. Is DJing a Meritocracy? (23:59)

• Tom Nash on DJing vs. Other Arts:
  • “No, in fact, it’s the complete opposite. There’s more daylight between a very good DJ and unwielding failure than there is within something like a guitarist...” (23:59)
  • Recognition comes more from understanding what the crowd wants than from technical virtuosity.

6. Defining the DJ: What Matters? (25:42–28:45)

• Addresses the misconception that technology or lack of traditional hand-based skills disqualify someone as a “real DJ.”
  • Tom Nash: “If you can’t respond in real time, you’re not a good DJ.” (25:48)
  • On beat-matching and syncing: “If somebody’s enjoying...using a particular technology, who cares?...It doesn’t matter how you get there.” (26:38)
  • On disability and technique: “I use four prosthetics to navigate the world...so I DJ as well...But really not that much of a hurdle.” (27:49)

7. Skill vs. Show: The Crowd Connection (31:28–35:05)

• Stu asks about the balance between song selection and entertainment/charisma.
• Tom Nash: “Your job is kind of to rev up the crowd a little bit, to have that kind of charisma...There’s a bias towards thinking that the more technically adept you are, the better experience you’ll provide. And I don’t think that’s always the case...” (32:16)
  • Suggests a strategy: play two crowd favorites for every new song you want to introduce.

8. The Business of DJing and Building a Brand (35:49–38:48)

• Tom Nash demystifies entry into the DJ world:
  • “Just pick a name and put it on a poster and then go. This is a completely unregulated industry.”
  • Advice: build community first, perhaps by bringing in established DJs and sliding yourself in as support, or develop an online following before launching events.

9. Marketing, Mindset, and Overcoming Self-Doubt (39:38–45:53)

• On confidence and regret:
  • Tom: “Regret is not something you could really avoid. It’s something that you choose. So you’re choosing between the regret of having tried but failing, or...never having tried. Which one could you live with more?” (42:36)
  • “Nobody cares about your life as much as you do...all of the suffering...is happening in your head.” (44:36)
  • Encourages embracing risk, but advises against “burning your boats”; keeping a day job allows for more upside and less downside risk.

10. War Stories & Pitfalls (46:40–49:40)

• Tom recounts nightmare gigs, including security brawls and technical flubs, illustrating that resilience and error-correction are key.

11. Mistakes and Practical Tips (48:32–50:54)

• Biggest mistakes: forgetting to listen to what the crowd actually wants.
• Practical marketing ideas: start a YouTube channel documenting the journey of organizing and playing your first event.

12. Social Scenes & Authenticity (51:11–52:45)

• Tom rejects the stereotype of DJs as “douchey”: “I find it a really weak attribute to have in common with somebody—oh, we both stand in front of DJ decks and press buttons, we should hang out...No, I relate to people on completely different levels.” (51:34)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tom Nash: “Technical ability, I think it’s...a distraction in the beginning...You learn better from being in the situation than...in your bedroom.” (20:46)
• Tom Nash: “There’s more daylight between a very good DJ and unwielding failure than...a guitarist...What people really regard or love about a DJ often has very little to do with their skill and talent.” (23:59)
• Tom Nash: “If somebody’s enjoying...using a particular technology, who cares?...It doesn’t matter how you get there.” (26:38)
• Tom Nash: “Just pick a name and put it on a poster and then go. This is a completely unregulated fucking industry.” (35:42)
• Tom Nash on regret: “You’re choosing between the regret of having tried but failing or the regret of never having tried. Which one could you live with more?” (42:36)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:52 – Congressional power, political inertia, and executive action
• 11:12 – What separates a playlist from a DJ set? Introducing Stu and Tom Nash
• 19:18 – Tom Nash’s first DJ gig and approach to learning by doing
• 23:59 – Discussion: Is DJing a meritocracy?
• 25:42 – Technology, disability, and authenticity in modern DJing
• 31:28 – Choosing music vs. showmanship: What actually matters?
• 35:49 – Creating a DJ persona and brand; community-building advice
• 42:36 – On regret and the mindset needed to take risks
• 46:40 – Nightmarish DJ experiences and surviving them
• 48:32 – Mistakes to avoid, and listener/crowd engagement
• 51:34 – The DJ scene, friendships, and authenticity

---

Conclusion

The episode blends thoughtful commentary on political gridlock with an engaging, practical, and deeply human conversation about aspiration, creativity, and overcoming perceived barriers. With generous advice from Tom Nash and honest questions from Stu, listeners are treated to a smart deconstruction of what it really means to be a DJ in the modern era—talent, showmanship, branding, and, above all, the willingness to just get out there and try.

Takeaway:
Being a DJ is less about the gear, or even the skill, and more about taking initiative, reading the room, making mistakes, and learning in real-time. If you want to DJ, “pick a name and put it on a poster and then go.” (35:42)

---

Transcript

[Mike Pesca]

The gist is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses. Monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.

[Sponsor/Ad Narrator]

It feels like AI can do everything. Write the code, analyze the data. It can even suggest your next move. The but there's one thing AI can't do. Think for your people. With AI, the real advantage isn't the tools. Anyone can do that. The real advantage is human readiness. That's why the smartest companies aren't asking, do we have AI? They're asking, can our people keep up to build a learning program that keeps your people ahead. Learn with docebo. Docebo Never Stop learning.

[Mike Pesca]

It's Wednesday, February 18, 2026. From Peach Fish Productions, it's the Gist. I'm Mike Pe the New York Times front page had an interesting story today. I have it right here. Wasn't a real front page. It wouldn't sound like this. Budget cuts from Trump were stymied. He wanted $163 billion in deep spending cuts, but this was not a priority or even a possibility to even its most loyal House members. Representatives who would never utter a bad word about Trump in public, but who, under the quasi cover of bureaucracy, did not go forward with the 54% cut to the EPA, the 40, 44% cut to HUD, the 41% cut to the CDC. Maybe you could tell yourself a story of oh, this is the legislative branch asserting itself, if not regular order than normal values. But then I read another story in Politico about the short lived lived Republican effort to get something going on health care spending. What a story. Why Congress failed to reach an Obamacare deal. I mean, maybe because Obama is right there in the name, but it was about mostly moderate Republican Brian Fitzpatrick and he looked at the evaporation of subsidies for 24 million people, including many of his Pennsylvania constituents, and say, well, that's bad policy and certainly bad politics for someone in a swing district like me. And so he had a bipartisan bill and it went nowhere. The theme is that things do not change in Congress. They do not change toward a momentum filled right wing budgetary push symbolized by Elon Musk and a chainsaw. They do not change via the most moderate and sensible worrying of vulnerable members of a Republican district. They just do not change. What does change is through executive action. Here I point you to other stories which don't sound like this because I don't have the paper in front of me. But you've read all the stories about Trump and and the administration effectively gutting environmental protections. Congress doesn't have to defund the EPA by half. The administration can defang the EPA by more of that. Don't believe me? Look at the mileage values on the next cars you're going to buy. There are none. Just however they work, they work or not Brings me to an upcoming conversation I'm going to have about the midterms. The Democrats. They're likely to take back the House. There may be within striking distance of the Senate. I'm skeptical. And then what? Impeachments that cannot lead to conviction hearings with as much lasting effect as the ballyhooed and well produced January 6th commission. So I've always said that we spend way too much time in politics focusing on obsessing over the presidency. And I do mean that in terms of state houses and governors mansions. But in national politics, I have not seen one example of the first branch spoken of in Article 1 of the Constitution having not just primacy but any degree of real potency on the show today, you are in for a treat. I don't do this all the time, but I am giving my show over to another podcast entirely. Now, to be fair, it is also my podcast. It is called How To. It will not be appearing in the Gist feed regularly. You know how I do that with not even mad and funny you should mention. No, that's not how it's going to work with How To, But I do want to prime the pump on this new project I'm excited about. The first episode is how to Be a dj, not a playlist. That's what I'm playing for you here. I got the idea from the Subway Takes guy. Someone said most deejays are really just playlists. And then I found a wannabe deejay and an actual dj and they both disagree in an interesting, exciting way. And even if you don't care about being a dj, this really is an episode about overcoming, if not hurdles, perceptions of hurdles, the things we put in our way and skills we think we have to acquire and reasons that we tell ourselves, don't do it, you can't do it. I have Tom Nash, an actual dj, really successful Australian DJ who happens not to have hands. He has hooks, prosthetic limbs. He has prosthetic limbs on his legs. And he's had a whole life achieving amazing things. And on the show you're going to hear he talks a bit about that life and his time as part of a DJ tandem called Starfuckers that lit the Australia club scene on fire. Or at least the roof was on fire, which from my limited DJ understanding is mandatory. That's the mandatory part of the domicile that must go on fire if you're a good dj. So this is the whole of the show of how to if you go over to the how to feed, this upcoming show is all of what you'll hear, but that's it. No more. I might mention it because, you know, it informs my life and my experience, but I'm not playing it in the just feed. It'll just be its own feed. And the next episode they will air every Tuesday. It's Dan Savage who shares his desire to emigrate to the Netherlands as part of a throuple. We have a Dutch lawyer totally, totally fine with that. Really talking us through it. And then we have a great episode on ghost busting. I don't know how many practical pieces of advice, but a lot of good history is there. And then I think we get to some of the deeper things of what why we think we see ghosts or if you listen to both my guests, why we definitely have ghosts. And then upcoming episodes can't talk about them all, but one's a good episode on people who say guys who say girls who say the us among us. I interview a lot of people and is often said I sometimes say what are you going to do about it? I'll tell you. We have a whole episode with a really good guest who's a really smart guy, Nate Silver. He does say when he does some interviews. And now after you hear our how to that's coming up, you'll say, oh, that was before Nate learned not to say. But now listen to how to the newest show from Peach Fish Projects. Let me tell you what hims can and can't do. It can't do the very difficult task in the bedroom of folding a fitted sheet. No one can. Science can't. Math can't. But what it can do is provide a solution to Ed. Ed doesn't mean your love life is over. It could mean you're just getting started. If you get personalized treatments through hims. And you could access personalized prescription treatments if prescribed. They offer access to options ranging from personalized products to trusted generics that cost 95% less than brand names it prescribed. It's not a one size fits all thing. It doesn't forget you in the waiting room. It's your health and goals put first with real medical providers. Think of HIMS as a digital front door that gets you back to your old self. To get simple online access to personalized, affordable care for ed, hair loss, weight loss and more, visit hims.com theg that's hims.com the gist for your free online visit hims.com the gist featured products include compounded drug products which the FDA does not approve or verify for safety, effectiveness or quality. Prescription required. See website for details, restrictions and important safety information. Actual price will depend on product and subscription plan. So let me tell you about Claude. It is a miracle in your on your associated with your computer but also affiliated with you. So as you know, I do the Gist list where I scan the web for stories and I use Claude to build a tool that doesn't do it for me. There is discernment but it puts choices from all these leading magazines and all these not leading but like trailing magazines where I find the best stories. And this was an amazing achievement that I could couldn't have done without Claude. Claude is the AI for minds that don't stop at good enough. It's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks with you. Whether you're debugging code at midnight or strategizing your next business move, Claude extends your thinking to tackle the problems that matter. Claude code is great if you're a developer or you're really good at what they call Vibe coding, Claude code will vibe with you. Truly Agentic coding this is Claude code. It's not just another coding assistant. The frontier of agentic code handles product wide refactors while preserving your coding style and showing its work. It's really important to know why it did what it did. Ready to tackle bigger problems? Get started with Claude today at claw AI/the gist. That's Claude AI/the gist and and check out Claude Pro, which includes access to all of the features mentioned in today's episode. Claude AI the Gist you are the.

[Sponsor/Ad Narrator]

Most important relationship before you swipe, text or worry about being too much, start with you grow. Therapy helps you build self worth, set boundaries and show up as your full self. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th. Grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. They connect you with thousands of independent licensed therapists across the US offering both virtual and in person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters like insurance, specialty, identity or availability and get started in as little as two days. And if something comes up, you can Cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost. There are no subscriptions, no long term commitments. You just pay per session. GROW helps you find therapy on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, Grow Therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0, depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com booknow to get started. That's growththerapy.com booknow growththerapy.com booknow availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

[Tom Nash]

Once I got to the point where I was DJing in front of thousands of people, you then begin to enjoy the solace of not around any of them. And what that is is the moment that you're actually DJing, because it's the only moment that nobody can talk to you.

[Mike Pesca]

Welcome to how to. I'm Mike Pesca. Everyone's a critic, and Most people are DJs. Craig Finn of the Hold Steady said that. Well, kind of sang it. He sings as and that was back in 2003. But was he right? Well, I'll tell you, Craig Finn's a smart guy, but no, he wasn't right. And by that, I'm not saying that he was being dismissive or insulting to DJs. I'm saying most people are in fact not DJs, even if they think they are. And I came across this idea in a more recent piece of media than an alt rock album from 23 years ago. It was an addition of that TikTok YouTube ish series Subway Takes, where a guy interviews someone on the subway and then says if he agrees or disagrees.

[Sponsor/Ad Narrator]

There are not enough DJs in the world.

[Mike Pesca]

100%. Everyone's gonna get mad at me. Disagree. There are a lot of people who play music.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

It doesn't mean they're DJs.

[Tom Nash]

Oh.

[Mike Pesca]

Huh. Interesting. And it's not often that the subway take guy is pushed off his thesis so easily, but I thought a really compelling point was being made. And I also thought there had to be someone out there who was sort of a human playlist at this point and yet yearned to be a dj. And indeed there was.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Hey, I'm Stuart. My friends call me Stu. Not a dj. Don't have a DJ name yet. Trying to work on that. You know, I was thinking DJ S2STU. That looks good on the sticker on the back of a laptop. So maybe that can work. Down the road or something like that.

[Mike Pesca]

Stu, you should know, while an aspiring DJ is an actual lawyer. He worked as a music journalist for 10 years, managed bands for about five, and now he's in the process of starting an entertainment law firm and also doing some international human rights work. Sure, why not? But just when you thought he'd gone all respectable, like earning some money. Well, you know, except the human rights part, that's not gonna pay anything. But just when you thought he'd settle down, maybe set aside his dreams. Nope, that's it. He feels the pull of the DJ booth. Stu thinks back to a time when he was studying law.

[Stuart (Stu)]

So back when I was doing my masters, I was doing it in Ottawa, and there were these two incredible DJ nights every month. There was one that was really focused on Motown, soul, funk. And then at the end of the month, there was one called Friday I'm in Love after the Cure song, which was more like post punk, you know, some Cure, Clash, Strokes, basically all my favorite music. And so I couldn't believe that there was this place where I could go and dance to, you know, start of the month, go, go and dance to the Supremes or like. But it's basically the big chill soundtrack. And then at the end of the month, something where it's all my favorite more, more modern bands. So then I moved back home to Montreal and I couldn't find anything at all like that. And I realized, you know what? I need to do something like that over here.

[Mike Pesca]

Yeah, I don't know that much about Canadian culture, but that's what everyone says. Montreal doesn't have anything culturally on Ottawa.

[Stuart (Stu)]

That's no chance of that.

[Mike Pesca]

But now Stu's back in Montreal and he misses those DJ fueled Ottawa acoustic orgies. And Stu says he wants to be the one DJing those nights.

[Stuart (Stu)]

So I've done a couple friends weddings in the past. They've asked me to put together mixes for the dance part, the dinner part. Then one of my best friends, he started. They're like a country rock joke band, very Canadian, making fun of Alberta in a way. And they had some reasonable success here. The thing is, they found out that if they start DJing, they can make a lot more money DJing than actually playing instruments today. So they switched over to be deejays at Montreal Country Bar. And I've gone there and helped them out a couple of times. And it's incredible to see how much more people come for one of those nights than an actual real instrument show.

[Mike Pesca]

Really. The. The appetite for putting Edmonton in its place isn't as much as listening to songs that you know. Is that what you're saying?

[Stuart (Stu)]

Exactly.

[Mike Pesca]

When you put together a playlist, do you tell yourself you are deejaying or do you know you're not really DJing in the sense of controlling the sound beyond what's already pre recorded on the tracks?

[Stuart (Stu)]

So that's the next step I want to get to. So far it's been like, you know, you press space bar and you step backwards and you watch people smile and have a good time. But to me, that's, that's not DJing. That's. That's a guy who has a good taste in music. So I want to go for the next level. And when I've been at my friend's DJ nights a couple of times, it's been fun to see their console, see what they're doing.

[Mike Pesca]

What's the obstacle so far of actually going beyond the playlist?

[Stuart (Stu)]

I would say trying to find reach, booking a time that works, you know, in the city because there's so many clubs and bars right now in Montreal and they have events going on every single night. They often have contracts with a lot of current DJs who are there and they already have their gigs in their spot. So I think starting off just trying to get a name for myself before moving on to approaching a place and trying to host my own night.

[Mike Pesca]

But what about skill acquisition? I mean, do you know how to do it now?

[Stuart (Stu)]

No. That is something which I got to learn.

[Mike Pesca]

So what's your plan other than being contacted by a how to show?

[Stuart (Stu)]

So I've been apprenticing with with my friends a couple of times and I've gone over to their place to see how they're doing it. And like I said, these are guys who discovered you can make a lot more money by pressing the Shania Twain song and watching people go crazy than it is actually playing guitar.

[Mike Pesca]

It's so funny. Shania Twain, obviously Canadian. Do they have to in the clubs? Is there that CBC rule that where a certain percentage of music has to be Canadian?

[Stuart (Stu)]

It hasn't reached there yet, but I'm sure that it's coming soon.

[Mike Pesca]

And coming soon on our show. The solution to Stu's conundrum. If there ever was an odd and inspiring intermediary on the question of spinning discs, it's this guy.

[Tom Nash]

So my name is Tom Nash, but my DJ name used to be Hooky and that's because I have two hooks and decided that it was a good idea to have a career as a DJ with no hands. That actually worked out surprisingly well considering the circumstances.

[Mike Pesca]

After the break, Tom takes Stu under his wing, or hook, as it were. Come back. I know you will because.

[Sponsor/Ad Narrator]

This is a Monday.com ad. The same Monday.com helping people worldwide, getting work done faster and better. The same Monday.com designed for every team and every industry. The samemonday.com with built in AI, scaling your work from day one. The same Monday.com that your team will actually love using the samemonday.com with an easy and intuitive setup. Go to Monday.com and try it for free. Yes, the same Monday.com from unsolved mysteries.

[Tom Nash]

To unexplained phenomena, from comedy goal to relationship fails.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Amazon Music's got the most ad free top podcasts included with prime. Because the only thing that should interrupt.

[Tom Nash]

Your listening is, well, nothing.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Download the Amazon music app today.

[Mike Pesca]

Hello and welcome back to how to Today. How to be a dj, not just a Playlist. So Tom Nash, who we just met, is an amazing guy. If you saw him, you would notice that he has prosthetic hooks for hands and, and his legs are also prosthetic. As a teenager, he survived a very nearly fatal bout with a meningitis type virus. Was in the hospital for a year and a half. It changed him, physically reshaped his outlook on life. And we'll get into that. These days he hosts Last Meal with Tom Nash, where he shares a guest's final meal choice while diving into life's big questions. Before that, he was one of Sydney, Australia's top club DJs, hosting a night called Star Fuckers that led him to play crowds of tens of thousands of people.

[Tom Nash]

So the first time I ever djed was in front of 500 people at a nightclub that I started. I had never actually DJed before. Before I got up, I got my friend to tell me where the play button was and I just took it from there. I found that that was the best place to learn was in the deep end, right, because it is totally sync or swim. What I didn't anticipate was how little people cared about my technical ability. I made a whole bunch of mistakes while I was up there and most of the crowd didn't even look twice. And there was a realization in that, which was they're not there for me. They're there for the club. They're there to, you know, meet up with their friends or to be seen there or to, you know, have drinks or to hit on the opposite sex or, you know, take drugs or whatever they're doing. Like, you are a complete afterthought. And I think the problem that most DJs fall into is thinking that they're the center of the whole club and they're completely not. You're just one part of a multifunctioning system. And so I think what we did was we. We became more context creators. So when we started our nightclub, we made sure that we paid attention to all of the little details of it. Trying to get the decorations right. We would do a theme. We would have people to greet you at the door that were friends that you knew. We would have the bar menu sorted out. You know, we would sort of decide on who else was DJing, things like that. So you take everything as a whole to get people to a nightclub, and then you realize how little they care about all of the other shit. And what happens is you keep doing that every week, and then eventually you actually get better. So when we started this club, I couldn't DJ at all. Within, I think, six months, we were being asked to DJ at other nightclubs, which was insane, right? Because we're like, why would anyone pay us to do this at another place? And then eventually you just get better and better because you get thrown in the deep end. So technical ability, I think it's. Honestly, in the beginning, it's a bit of a. It's a distraction, you know what I mean? Because those things can be learned on the job. And you could spend your entire life in your bedroom learning technical skills and constantly thinking to yourself, I'm not good enough yet. I'm not good enough yet. But the real way that you're going to get good enough is going out and doing it right. You learn better from being in this situation than you do being in your bedroom. So my one recommendation would be just get out of the bedroom. Because nobody knows that you're DJing in the bedroom unless they're watching this podcast, which is even more reason to get out and do it.

[Mike Pesca]

Which brings us exactly to Stu and his dreams. So, Tom, I wanted to ask you to react to what you hear Stu saying. Is deejaying a really common aspiration for you to hear? Does it remind you of when you were in the contemplation stage of deejaying?

[Tom Nash]

People tend to get into deejaying, I think, because they like the idea of what they see other DJs doing, and it is a hell of a lot of fun. What I guess you don't see when you first see a DJ and you're not a dj is all of the mechanics that go into the background of a career being a dj. And unfortunately, very little of it has to do with actual DJing. A lot of it, like most creative fields, you know, has to do with marketing, administrative problems, positioning and stuff like that, logistics, etc. Politics, whatever it is. And so, yeah, the unfortunate news is there's a shitload of that in front of you. But if you can learn how to sort of embrace the idea of that and leverage it to your advantage, I think it's a really fun career. And you'll eventually get to the point where there's this really interesting phenomenon that I used to experience, which is like, once I got to the point where I was DJing in front of thousands of people, you then begin to enjoy the solace of not being around any of them. And what that is is the moment that you're actually DJing, because it's the only moment that nobody can fucking talk to you. And so you begin to find solace in this moment where it's just you and the music. And there comes a time in which you realize that you had that at home before you started.

[Mike Pesca]

So there are a lot of burning questions that I have by extension, I know that Stu has about the role of luck and making it big. Maybe in Stu's case of making it medium as a DJ. So 1. Like all creative arts or endeavors, I'm sure that the acquisition of a high level of skill doesn't guarantee success. But Tom, what about deejaying? Is it more of a meritocracy than other arts?

[Tom Nash]

No, in fact, it's the complete opposite. I think there's more daylight between a very good DJ and unwielding failure than there is within something like a guitarist. And speaking from experience, because I'm also a guitarist, I know I've met some of the world. I. What I think of the world's best guitarists when I used to play in bands, their technical ability far surpasses the amount of fame that they've achieved. And I think it's more pronounced in DJing. The reason for that being, you know what. What people really regard or love about a DJ often has very little to do with their skill and talent. I mean, if you take someone like a track, an incredibly talented technical DJ from age of, I think 11, and you can look at these YouTube videos when he was a kid and he had quite a bit of success, you know, in sort of events where it would be. People would come together and. And look at the skill of DJing. And this kid was incredible when he was very young, But nothing compared to when he remixed the. Yeah, yeah, yes. So if you give people what they want and you have a number one hit, that's what, that's what means you're playing at Tomorrowland or something like that. I think it's much easier to fake not being the best in class as a DJ technically than it is if you're a musician.

[Mike Pesca]

So let's do a couple definitions of terms. And I've taken my cue from that. Subway Takes Provocateur. Provocateur, who says a few things. She defines what being a deejay is. So the first thing she says is.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

If you can't respond to a crowd.

[Sponsor/Ad Narrator]

In real time, you're a playlist.

[Mike Pesca]

Do you agree with that, Tom?

[Tom Nash]

No. Well, yes and no. I think my. My response would be if you can't respond in real time, you're not a good dj.

[Mike Pesca]

She also says if you can't use.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

Your ear to beat, match and sync music, you're not a dj.

[Tom Nash]

Not necessarily.

[Mike Pesca]

There are good deejays who can't really match music.

[Tom Nash]

Sure. Because, I mean, I think we need to work out, like, you know, what is a good dj. For many people's perspective that might go to a club. A good deejay is somebody who selects the right music for the mood and is able to take them on a journey. If that person, for some reason, is just really bad at beat matching, but there's software that enables them to do that, that doesn't mean they're not a dj.

[Mike Pesca]

Right. And that is, I think, a new debate or trend within the world of DJs. Right. This beat matching technology, it's a like the auto tuning of the DJ world, as I understand it.

[Tom Nash]

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's exactly right. But I mean, look, everybody always has these battles with technology. You know, what's authentic, what's inauthentic. Why do you give a. Like, if somebody's enjoying, like, having a good time using a particular technology? Who cares? I mean, I've never used synchronicity functions on. On. I don't really DJ with software. I DJ on. On the sort of Pioneer DJ deck. I don't use records because I scratch them. And not in, like, the secret way.

[Mike Pesca]

Not in the cool way.

[Tom Nash]

Yeah, yeah, that's right. But from the very beginning, I was using Pioneer CDJS for move from CDs to USBs. I've never used the sync function, but I've never looked down on a DJ that uses them because who cares? Like, it's not affecting my life. Like, as long as you can actually create a great environment for people to enjoy themselves, that's the job, you know, like, it doesn't matter how you get there.

[Mike Pesca]

Now, I have one leading question. She then goes on to say, if.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

You can't use your hands to drop the track on the platter and you.

[Sponsor/Ad Narrator]

Have to push buttons, you're not a dj.

[Tom Nash]

I disagree.

[Mike Pesca]

Yes, you would. You would think maybe we are conducting this and we have a video version of this, but most people listening will be listening. Describe your hands, Tom.

[Tom Nash]

My hands are hooks. So I lost both of my legs below the knee and both of my arms at the elbow. So I use four prosthetics to navigate the world. And my choice of prehensile upper limb prosthetic is a hook. Kind of like a pirate hook, although it's a little bit more sophisticated. They can open and close, so there's two hooks. But since losing my arms about 25 years ago, I decided on using the prosthetic hooks rather than electronic hands for a multitude of reasons, but primarily because they're more functional, because they're lightweight, and I can do more with them than most people can with prosthetic hands. And so I've always just used hooks, and that's how I DJ as well. So, you know, buttons, knobs, things like that are a little bit more challenging for me than people with fine motor skills, but really not that much of a hurdle.

[Mike Pesca]

And before we get to Stuart, I just wanted to ask, is asking you if there are any limitations from your hooks, Is that little like asking Ray Charles, would you be better at piano if you weren't blind?

[Tom Nash]

That's a really great question. I'd have to think about that a little bit more deeply. Yeah, I don't know what Ray Charles has experienced. I mean, he's pretty fucking good anyway. I wouldn't in any way compare myself to being the ray Charles of DJing, if that. If that's kind of more to put a finer point on your question. But no, I mean, feel free to ask me about any limitations of my hooks. I'm an open book.

[Mike Pesca]

An open book says DJ hooky in a minute. A mentoring lesson between human rights lawyer and former star fucker. See how DJing brings people together back in two spins of a 45.

[Sponsor/Ad Narrator]

This is a Monday.com ad, the same Monday.com helping people worldwide, getting work done faster and better. The samemonday.com designed for every team and every industry. The samemonday.com with built in AI scaling your work from day one the same Monday.com that your team will actually love using the samemonday.com with an easy and intuitive setup. Go to Monday.com and try it for free. Yes the same Monday.com did you know.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

Data brokers are making billions selling your personal information, usually without your consent. That's how your information lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where Aura comes in. Aura actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. With one app you get a vpn, antivirus, password manager, spam, call protection, dark web monitoring and up to $5 million in identity theft insur all backed by 24. 7 US based support. Other companies might just sell credit monitoring or just a vpn. Aura gives you all of it at the same price competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial today at aura.com hidden protect yourself now at aura.com/hidden.

[Mike Pesca]

We're back with how to this episode is how to Be a dj, not just a Playlist. Though I am getting from Tom Nash, our expert, that if the crowd just wants a great playlist, then give them a playlist. You're there for them. So Stu, our aspirant, you want to be a dj. You've been hearing all of this. What strikes you? What jumps out?

[Stuart (Stu)]

I think just the vast openness of it. You know, there are just so many different styles, so many different techniques. I guess I had like the preconceived notion that if somebody is there using beat matching technology or, you know, stepping back, letting the computer do the rest of the work for them. I kind of looked down on that before. But at the same time, they're in front of people, people are having a good time. I think the other part of it, which I want to learn more from, Tom, is like, how much value do you put in somebody who's actually like choosing the songs and making the music versus the entertainment factor? Because sometimes you go out and you see these two DJs behind the booth and you're like, what is that other guy doing? One person's touching the console, there's another guy there just either just looking really bold or waving his arms or something. Is there a point to this? And then it turns out those DJs tend to do really well on the circuit as well. So I'm curious to Know more about the entertainment factor versus the music factor.

[Tom Nash]

Yeah. Okay, so your question, what is the other person doing? The answer is nothing. Well, in some scenarios, right. So I play quite regularly as a. As a duo with my closest friend. Him and I started our nightclub together and we, because we play as a duo, kind of like as a band almost, we play back to back. So when he's mixing a track, I'm waiting. That's literally all I'm doing. But when you're in the, in the instance that you're waiting, your job is kind of to rev up the crowd a little bit, to have that, that kind of charisma. And then you go back and forth. There can be some times where, you know, he's mixing from one track to another and I'm playing like an acapella or something over what's happening, or vice versa. But more often than not, we find a lot of these techniques for our style of DJing a little bit distracting. And that kind of brings me to another point, which is you. I think there's a bias towards thinking that the more technically adept you are, the better experience you'll provide people. And I don't think that's always the case because I see DJs that have learned to be extremely technically adept and they are able to do a bunch of like, loop stacks and effects and all sorts of bullshit like this. And they get so in their head about what they're doing that the crowd doesn't care and all they're hearing is like a really great technical loop and an acapella over that and blah, blah, blah. So they're not, they're not utilizing the balance between what you can do and what the crowd actually wants. At the end of the day, it's a supply and demand question, right? Like in. In so much as it would be the same thing as going into a nightclub and prescribing a set of songs that nobody knows and nobody likes, but you think they should like, in that sort of didactic or prescriptive manner and just playing one after the other. Other people are going to leave or they're not going to show up, right? So if your job is to sort of introduce people to new music, the best way I always think of it is you play two songs that people want to hear and you play one that you think that they would like in between it, right? Such that two thirds of your set is what you know people want to hear, and you pepper in new music as you go, and then you just watch their reactions and if they really enjoy something after hearing it for the first time, that's a big plus. If they enjoy it after hearing it the second time, you know you're onto something good, and then you just kind of craft your set as you go along. And so I've always thought about it, like, imagine you're driving a car, but you're holding one side of the wheel and the crowd is holding the other side of the wheel. The direction in which the car goes is kind of decided by both of you. And it's a bit of a push and pull, but, like, understanding the relationship between the audience and you is the most important thing. And if you're doing a whole bunch of technical bullshit that they don't really care about, stop doing it. Just play the music. That's what they're there for.

[Mike Pesca]

Stuart, is that. I'm sure that resonates, but how practical is that in the crowded Montreal scene that you're describing?

[Stuart (Stu)]

It's quite practical. But I'm wondering, how soon did you go from, you know, like you said, your first night showing up there, plugging in to actually using the Pioneer decks? And, like, how soon did you go from Tom Nash has great taste in music to DJ Hooky? Like, what. When did you finally call yourself? Say, now I am a dj and now I have the equipment. And you invested in the equipment.

[Tom Nash]

Oh, I called myself a DJ before I got up. It was on the poster.

[Mike Pesca]

There is no. There is no licensing body. From what I understand, even in Canada.

[Tom Nash]

This is a completely unregulated fucking industry.

[Mike Pesca]

Right?

[Stuart (Stu)]

Just.

[Tom Nash]

Just call you. It doesn't matter. Just pick a name and put it on a poster and then go. What I would recommend to you, by the way, Stuart, if you were going to. You have a very specific idea in mind of the kind of night that you would want to do, and I really love that. There's a couple of ways to go about it, I would think. One, trying to create a community, like, outside of clubs, and having people that share the same interests before you start your own night is a really important thing. So you actually have a network of people that you physically know that would come to it. The second thing I would do is go to another city and find someone who does a similar thing and fly one of those DJs out that would command good attention in your own city. Book them for the opening night of your show and then just slide yourself in there like a musical Trojan horse as, like, the support dj, and you will have your first gig. You're going to have, like, 500 people.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Yeah, that's a great idea.

[Mike Pesca]

That's the meta version of what you were saying with the new stuff in between the old tried and true stuff. In this case, Stewart's the new stuff.

[Tom Nash]

Sure, yeah. But it's the same principle. I mean, just identify false assumptions that people think. Like, you know, I always say that when people wanted to become DJs back in 2006 when I started, everybody thought that you had to acquire all of this equipment and annoying hats and learn how to DJ for years and you know, have contacts with club bookers and stuff like that. We just remove all of that shit and just start your own brand. You don't even actually these days with technology you don't really have to invest in any. So the best thing that we ever did was we never bought a club, right. We had nights at clubs where we would take the door and they would take the bar. Right. So your downside is very low. But you're, as Nassim Taleb would put it, exposure to positive upside optionality is higher. Right? So you've got more to gain than you do to lose out of the scenario, right? And then it's all about branding. What you could do these days, what I always thought would be a great idea is actually create that community online and then start some sort of a waiting list and say, you know, we've got, we've got DJ Fuck Face, you know, coming over from Toronto, Great brand. In the next few months, we're going to do a first release of tickets that are going to be half price. If you would like to jump on board for this, please give us your email. Right? And then once you get a critical mass of people, let's say 500 emails or something like that, then, then start the night because you know, you've got a guaranteed maybe 100 sales or something like that. Because not everybody that joins the waiting list is going to buy a ticket because they might not be able to go, but you might get one in five, right? If you can sell 100 tickets to a club, then choose the venue accordingly. You, you can already approach them and say, Look, I've sold 100 or 200 tickets. This is how many people were guaranteeing. They're usually about 20, $30 ahead on spend on average. This is how much you can expect behind the bar. I would like the whole door, please go market, become DJ now.

[Mike Pesca]

Stuart, is that landing with you as great advice for you someday or great advice for you right now?

[Stuart (Stu)]

No, I'm ready to get started next week. So it's actually really, really good advice. And I'll follow up with you guys after that.

[Tom Nash]

By the way, do you remember at the top of this conversation where I said most of it is about business and marketing, admin and not dj?

[Mike Pesca]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You decried that. That was not a positive development. Yeah, yeah. We're, we're, we're asking this great DJ how to be a, a manager of DJs, I guess. But Stuart, what about the confidence to do it? These are, these are really good ideas and tips for setting out a path. But once you're there and once you're in the booth, do you think you could do it? Do you need anything? Do you need Dumbo's feather to make sure that you're able to do it to the effect that you want to?

[Stuart (Stu)]

I think it's really all about, like, how you fill the room. Who are the people who are there? Because I think, like Tom said before, they're not there for you. They're there to be with each other. They're there to have a good night. So as long as I think I could frame it as, you know, before we discuss certain themes and themes of the night. So if somebody's coming in there right off the bat buying a ticket because they want that theme, then I think I'd feel confident going in there being like, I'll provide some good music, which I think will fit with what you're coming here and all your expectations. It's really about the framing. I think that like, if I went to some, one of the clubs where like, you know, the 18 year olds are going to listen to the newest top 40 and I show up there wanting to play the cure. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong music for those, for those kids.

[Mike Pesca]

Yeah. And what about skills? Where are you, what are you thinking about the necessity of acquiring skills, when to fill in like, as per Tom's example, you fill in the skills and get better at it as you're playing bigger and bigger rooms. What's your thought process as far as that goes?

[Stuart (Stu)]

I think I was always intimidated seeing videos of like Mixmaster Mike or Alicia hid Mohammad from Tribe Called Quest and just seeing like the technical ability across the board and realizing like, whoa, I'm getting in way too late in the game to get to that level. But at the same time, you know, you don't have to play like Jimmy Page to be a good guitar player in front of, in front of everybody else. So what I'm hearing now today is that just, just go for it, you know, maybe Go for some of the lower end equipment to start with, see how it goes.

[Mike Pesca]

And yeah, so maybe this, maybe the entire conceit. Oh, Most people aren't DJs, they're playlist. It gets in the way of aspiration, maybe. I mean, are you. When you go out, if you take. Take these bulls by the horns, are you. I want. I want to have a good Canadian version of that metaphor. If you take the beaver by the buck teeth.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Take the moose by the antlers.

[Mike Pesca]

Take the moose by the antlers. You get out there and you do it. Do you worry you're going to be disappointed that it wasn't? Not even technically, but you just didn't have enough of a foundation to deliver as much as you wanted?

[Stuart (Stu)]

I don't think so. I think it all depends, you know, when you go into this, you have to have some level of confidence that the music you like and your taste is going to resonate across the board. Like I said before, I've managed bands for a while. I've been music journalists for a long time. There are certain DJ sets I've gone to in my life that really stayed with me over all these years. And I look back on those and realize, like, you know what? I could take a bit from this. You know, I think the best one I've ever seen was James Murphy from LCD Sound System did a great DJ set here in Montreal with Wynn Butler of Arcade Fire together. And I guess it goes to what we were saying before, that you don't really need two people behind the booth at the same time, but I'll say that they're both trading off each other. And it was really, really inspiring to hear the eclectic mix of music there. Those things blew me away. And I want to try to get bits and pieces of all these inspirations and put them together.

[Mike Pesca]

This is good that you have so much knowledge of this. And I'm getting that it's mostly inspirational. It's not intimidating. So that's a great mindset. But Tom, you were going to say.

[Tom Nash]

I was just going to make a quick note on regret, which was something that you kind of touched on, Mike, like, you know, would you regret not having had the skills when you, you know, once you get up there, or whatever it is. And I think the important distinction is that regret is not something you could really avoid. It's something that you choose. And so you're choosing between either the regret of having tried but failing or the regret of never having tried. Which one could you live with more?

[Mike Pesca]

Yeah. Yeah. And how could Someone argue with you? Right, with all. With all. You know, I try to make that.

[Tom Nash]

A very intimidating proposition.

[Mike Pesca]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So how could someone argue with you as you menace them with your hooks? No, that's not what I meant. Do you think that this appetite, this bold, aggressive attitude, are you in the top 1% of those who possess that and you have to be just to navigate life, or did you have to learn that?

[Tom Nash]

That's a very peculiar question. I wouldn't say. Well, I have no idea if I'm in the 1% of anything, really. I mean, look, there are definitely lessons that I've learned along the course of my life that have led me to believe particular concepts more than I would have if I hadn't gone through what I have. Yeah, yeah, definitely that. What I was going to say to you before, Stuart, is that if there's any reservation that you have about not being prepared or ready enough to DJ in front of people, you know, always remember that nobody cares about your life as much as you do. That sounds extremely pessimistic, but it's not. It's actually optimistic because all of the suffering that is going on is happening in your head. All the reservations that you have about not trying, it's all happening in here. It's not happening out. It's not even happening with your family. They didn't even know that you want to do this. You know, even if you've talked to friends about it, they might think to themselves, oh, yeah, go do it. Like, I don't give a shit. I'm going shopping now.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Right.

[Tom Nash]

Everything happens in here and you can just choose to not have that. You can choose to not have that tomorrow and just try something. I think me coming to conclusions like that, more to your question mark, is probably the idea that, you know, your life can be whisked away at any point.

[Mike Pesca]

Would the fundamental personality of Tom at 18 be much different from Tom at 20, before and after the illness and the prosthetics?

[Tom Nash]

Yes, but it's also difficult to say what I would have been at 20 if I hadn't gone through it.

[Mike Pesca]

Yeah, very formative years. Right?

[Tom Nash]

Yeah, exactly. So it's. It's difficult to say, but I don't necessarily find the reflection on that particular point useful. All I find useful is. Is how I've grown despite what's happened to me. And I think a lot of those just little framings of, like, people don't care about you as much as you think that they do in your head. Actually useful thought processes to go through because they might be the difference with Stuart sitting in his bedroom and lamenting on how he's not ready enough to start a club or start DJing in front of people and actually doing it. And the earlier that he does that, you know, the compound effect, just like in compound interest, the compound effect of skills, he can get exponentially better and actually reach his goal quicker that way.

[Mike Pesca]

Now it sounds like Stewart has a really good job that he's worked very hard to attain a base, a, a fallback plan. Should he give that up just for the life of the dj, do you think, Tom?

[Tom Nash]

No, not at all. In fact, it's really interesting you said that because I think it's really good to have that security because it allows you to actually have a, a proper exposure to risk. Like what we're talking about with the, with the club idea of like having the maximum positive upside up optionality, you want to have more exposure, exposure to upside than you do to downside. So if he were to quit his job and go all in on DJing, he's got a huge exposure to downside, right? But he can absolutely do this with his current career that he's worked really hard for. It's not that hard to start a nightclub. I did it. Anyone can do it.

[Mike Pesca]

That's it.

[Stuart (Stu)]

And Tom, to jump in here, what was. Did you have any nightmare DJ sets did you ever have early on, like one night, what's like the worst night you ever had in your day starting off? And I know we're talking about anti fragility, but did you ever in that moment think like, you know what, this is fun to try once or twice, but I'm putting this aside, I'm going to stop doing this right now.

[Tom Nash]

I've had so many nightmare DJ sets and I think what you're imagining is I was DJing and things kind of went haywire with what I was doing? There have been plenty of those, but at no point did I ever think to myself, I'm going to give this up. In fact, I, you know, if anything, I use them to try and work out what I did wrong. Like, was it music selection, was it technical stuff, was it something that was out of my control that I can't necessarily fix? So constantly, like the error correction, like the self correction is the approach that I like to take with when the shit hits the fan, I guess. But it's funny because immediately when you said, have you had any nightmarish DJ sets? I'm drawn to just really bad experiences I've had that have Nothing to do with the actual DJing itself, but I remember being taken to a place, picked up by this woman in, like, a minivan. And we arrive at the venue, and she turns off the car, and she's like, oh, we can't go in yet. And I was like, well, why can't we go in? She's like, oh, there's about to be a fight. I'm like, how do you know that? And she's like, I can just see it. You know, the security guards are about to punch on with this guy there. Well, like, I don't want to put you in harm's way. So we had to sit in the van and watch this brawl unfold in front of our eyes, and these guys get dragged out to ambulances before we could even walk into the venue. So, yeah, there have been some hairy moments, like, Tell you that.

[Mike Pesca]

All right, so let's go over some last questions.

[Tom Nash]

Yeah.

[Stuart (Stu)]

What were the biggest mistakes you saw from your early days if you could change anything from when you first started DJ into to what you know now?

[Tom Nash]

Yeah. Not being able to tell what people actually want. Thinking, you know, what people want. So we had. Sometimes I found myself in places where I start up a brand or a club night, and we would find that we would play exactly the same music in one place that we play in another, and we'd have almost the same DJs, and one would work and one wouldn't. And the immediate thing is that people are like, are you playing the wrong set or we're promoting it wrong or something like that. It turned out that people just didn't like going to the second venue. So keeping your ear to the ground of things that you don't expect to be the problem but actually are, it's kind of like it's more of an exercise in behavioral science than it is in anything else. Certainly more than music. So I'd say that if you're. If you're starting out in the events industry, you know, try to be really connected with the people that are coming to your venue. So try. Try to judge people's behavior and identify what it is that they like and leverage that.

[Mike Pesca]

Yeah, that seems like good business advice. And what about where Stuart's ready to take it to the next level?

[Tom Nash]

Yeah, I had another idea, actually. Obviously the one that I deployed earlier, about starting an event where you book somebody else and align yourself with that as a brand and actually grow the brand itself with you as the face. Another idea that I thought would be really interesting. You seem like a very Likable character, Stuart, and very intelligent. It would be interesting to see whether you could start up your own YouTube channel, which is about the journey of putting on your first event.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Oh, cool. That's a good idea.

[Tom Nash]

And you can take people through all of the pitfalls. You just started by saying, like, I've never done this before. I'm going to learn along the way, and you're going to learn with me. You know, if you've ever thought, could I. Can someone just put on a night who is basically a nobody? Let's find out. I have a suspicion that that would. Would garner enough interest in and of itself that would actually bring people to Europe.

[Stuart (Stu)]

That's a great idea.

[Tom Nash]

Yeah.

[Mike Pesca]

It's like watching the diving horse. I mean, you want him to do it, but if he doesn't, you were there.

[Tom Nash]

Yeah, that's right. I guess that's my overarching advice. It's like, look at what everyone else is doing and then do the opposite intentionally.

[Mike Pesca]

Stuart, was this helpful to you?

[Stuart (Stu)]

Incredibly. Really, really, really helpful to talk to you. Tom, thanks for everything.

[Tom Nash]

It's amazing to me that I can ever be helpful to anyone. So I really appreciate it.

[Mike Pesca]

And any final questions that you have, we're here to help. And by we, I, of course, mean tomorrow.

[Stuart (Stu)]

I guess the last question I had was, like, yourself and other DJs. What is. You know, I come from more rock bands. I know what it's like hanging out bands. I know that world very well. But for yourself, I'll just say from the outsider perspective, sometimes it could look a little douchey. Sometimes you could see some of what's going on at some of these little clubs. I'm like, oh, gosh, I don't want to hang out in that scene. What was it like for you getting into that scene and meeting other DJs?

[Tom Nash]

Yeah, I mean, I. Historically, I'm really bad at creating networks with people with whom we share something trivial like that in common. Like, we're both DJs, so we should be friends. My closest friend and I, Chris, who we started, is starfuckers together. And we were absolutely, like, ostracized DJs in our. In our particular market or niche. We were never really friends, like good friends with other DJs. And it's not because those, they were not nice people or anything like that. It's just that I find it a really weak attribute to have in common with somebody. Oh, like we both stand in front of DJ decks and press buttons. You know, we should hang out and have Drinks. Get the fuck out of here. No, I relate to people on completely different levels. And so I never really had that problem. And we sort of were very siloed in what we did. And we ran our own event and did our own thing for like 15 years. We would get invited to DJ other places and we were friendly with people when we arrived and everything. But yeah, socially we were never really part of the boys club of DJing, so you don't have to worry about that.

[Mike Pesca]

Okay, so I will say what I've learned and some interesting things. One, there was a lot less judgment on what it means to be a proper dj. And that was interesting from the practitioner and also the aspirant. Two, I found it very interesting that Tom did not have a burn your boat strategy, which is to say, even though having a job at a law firm might seem stodgy and risk averse, it's actually very prudent and allows you to have more risk. And I don't know why I never thought of that before in that way, but it's the correct. It strikes me as the correct insight. That was really good. And two, don't go to the rural parts of New South Wales without someone who could really see when the bar fight's going to break out.

[Tom Nash]

Yeah. The last one was perhaps the most astute observation you've had.

[Mike Pesca]

Yes. All right, thank you so much, Tom.

[Tom Nash]

Thank you.

[Mike Pesca]

And Stuart, thanks so much for being game and having great questions and also having a law degree and enough money to float your dream.

[Stuart (Stu)]

It was so great to meet both of you. Thanks for everything today.

[Tom Nash]

Great to meet you too. Thank you for having a law degree as well. I appreciate it.

[Mike Pesca]

Thanks to Stu for his dream. And I guess we're also thanking people for being lawyers now, so thanks for that, Stu. And thank you to DJ hooky Tom Nash. Watch Last Meal with Tom Nash. If you like what you heard today on how to, please give us a rating, give us a review and tell a friend that helps us reach more people. We need your questions how to@mike pesca.com how to is edited by Jeff Craig. Executive producer Cory Wara overseeing coordinator Michelle Peska is the woman who puts the can do in how to. We had consulting from the podglomerate. Charles Duhigg created the show, but he had to get out after realizing there's.

[Tom Nash]

A limit to the amount of conversations I can have with 20 year olds on ecstasy in nightclubs these days.

[Mike Pesca]

I'm Mike Pesca, back every week answering your questions of How To.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

We're lost I'm gonna pull over and.

[Tom Nash]

Ask that man for directions.

[Sponsor/Ad Narrator]

Hi there.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

We're looking to get to the campground.

[Mike Pesca]

Well, you're gonna take a left at the old oak tree end of this here road. No, I'm just kidding.

[Tom Nash]

Let me get my phone out.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

How are you getting a signal out here?

[Tom Nash]

T mobile and US Cellular decided to.

[Mike Pesca]

Merge, so the network out here is huge.

[Tom Nash]

We're getting the same great signal as.

[Mike Pesca]

The city and saving a boatload with all the benefits. Oh, and a five year price guarantee.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Okay, here's those directions.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

Actually, can you point us in the direction of a T mobile store?

[Stuart (Stu)]

America's best network just got bigger.

[Tom Nash]

Switch to T mobile today and get built into benefits the other guys leave out. Plus our five year price guarantee. And now T mobile is available in U.

[Stuart (Stu)]

S Cellular stores.

[Mike Pesca]

Best mobile network based on analysis by ookle of speed test intelligence data at 2H 2025. Bigger network. The combination of T Mobile's and US.

[Stuart (Stu)]

Cellular network footprints will enhance the T.

[Mike Pesca]

Mobile network's coverage price guarantee on talk text and data exclusions like taxes and fees apply. CT mobile.com for details.

[Aura/T-Mobile Ad Voice]

Are you noticing your car insurance rate creep up? Even without tickets or claims, you're not alone. That's why there's Jerry, your proactive insurance assistant. Jerry handles the legwork by comparing quotes side by side from over 50 top insurers so you can confidently hit buy. No spam calls, no hidden fees. Jerry even tracks rates and alerts you when it's best to shop. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over $1,300 a year. Don't settle for higher rates. Download the Jerry app or visit Jerry AI Libsyn today. That's j e r r Y AI libsync.