SAM LEFEBER Purveyor of Happiness
“ I’m going to
keep the beats bangin’ wherever I go.”
When Sam LeFeber learned about Utilitarianism in a class called “Te Good Life,” it perfectly described what he is trying to do: provide the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. “I don’t think the person who came up with that was thinking about DJs, but it’s a fitting description of what I do,” he said. “I’m trying to maximize happiness for everybody.” His particular way of maximizing happiness is by providing the soundtrack for social occasions such as school dances and sometimes a wedding or private party. He brings the equipment—turntables, speakers, lights—and mixes up a batch of music that makes people want to dance. To do that, he needs to sense the mood of the crowd and pick a song that will move them. Sometimes he remixes a song or does a mashup of two songs to raise the level of excitement. For example, he might combine the musical track from “Stayin’ Alive” with the vocals from a Justin Bieber song. “Tat gets people into the music because they are hearing things they have never heard before, but they know the beat and the lyrics,” he said. “DJ-ing really comes down to making people stop and prick up their ears and say, ‘Tat’s cool!’” Sam got his start in the DJ world using a computer and
iTunes, and just before coming to OES in ninth grade, he got his own Midi controller with two turntables. He became the DJ for dances at OES and now works professionally for Jazz It Up Productions, doing gigs as varied as a 25th wedding anniversary with a 1980s theme and a school dance in cowboy country. Although he has his own favorite genres—he says he
would love to have a weekly disco show and call it “Wayback Wednesdays”—he enjoys researching music from different eras and genres to please crowds of any age and taste. Getting people in the mood to dance is more than just having the right equipment and the right mix. It helps to have a darkened, enclosed space that concentrates the energy of the dancers. “People like to be close together when they are dancing,”
he said. “It reminds me of a school of fish because people on the outside are trying to get in. No one wants to be on the outside. Tey want to be on the inside.” When it all works, the bass pounds, the lights flash, the
crowd moves and swirls, inhibition vanishes, and a magical moment of communion occurs when, he says, “It’s just me, my table, and the group of people.” And happiness reigns supreme.
Sam is looking forward to arriving with his mixer at Colby College next fall.
Summer 2013 23
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