BIO

ABOUT

Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Education: Master’s Degree Counselling, Lesley University

Language: English

What’s it like to work with Carl: Carl is thoughtful, down-to-earth, and deeply passionate about music. Easy to work with and attentive to his clients, he brings an eclectic musical knowledge and calm, steady presence to every event, moving effortlessly between genres and generations while keeping the energy right for the room. Confident and experienced without being intrusive, Carl lets the music take center stage and genuinely enjoys bringing people together through it.

INTERVIEW

Carl Stenzel has been DJing at venues in the Boston area for over 20 years and working in weddings throughout New England for nearly a decade. Ever since he was young, Carl has been an avid music enthusiast and collector—and for him, DJing has always been as much about discovering and sharing music as it is about working a dance floor. 

“What built your music taste, and how has it evolved?”

I grew up as a Generation X person. My parents were from the hippie generation, so I was always listening to lots of diverse styles of music growing up. I kind of grew up surrounded by more rock styles of music, so guitar was an important thing for me growing up.

As I got a little bit older and got more into different styles of music, like hip hop, especially the golden era, as well as various forms of dance music and sample-based music, where you could take snippets of older songs and turn it into something fresh and new. That really appealed to me, and that’s what got me into DJing.

When you’re a young person, it’s natural to experiment with and explore different things. I certainly listen to a lot of the stuff that I grew up with, and I’m always digging for secret treasures from those eras that I never knew about. That way, it sounds fresh to me because I had never heard it before, even if it came out decades ago.

“Can you give me a timeline of your experience DJing?”

When I moved from Hampshire to Boston as a young man, I knew that I wanted to get involved with music in some capacity, and DJing stuck out to me. I started networking with other DJs, learning the craft, exploring music, learning how to engage with the crowd and make sure that people are having a good time. That’s the number one thing: you have to not only be a big fan of music, but also understand what other people are going to respond to, what they grew up with, and what they’re listening to currently–that kind of thing.

I moved back in with my folks and worked a million hours so I could save money to buy equipment, gear, and records to practice. I didn’t know what I was doing in the beginning, but you got to start somewhere, and I had it set in my mind that I definitely wanted to get into DJing. Additionally, I’ve participated in live rock and metal music, and playing bass guitar, all on the side here and there—but DJing has really been my primary musical focus.

“How has your DJing evolved over time?”

I started out collecting records and DJing with friends of mine who were also either DJs or wanting to become DJs. We’d have small parties where we were really just playing for each other and whoever was there. It was a lot of ‘check this out, look what I found!’ and learning about music together, playing really eclectic sets.

This was all vinyl, of course, because there was no digital DJing when I first got into it. It was really just a fun way to meet people and to explore new music. It let me get out there and have a good time, to be a participant in the music, not just a bystander.

At first, I didn’t know what I was doing. I couldn’t beat match. I didn’t know how. I was just playing records: play a song, switch over to the next song. I didn’t know how to like blend or pay attention to tempos in the very beginning, but that would come with practice and learning from other DJs, so I would go out a lot in Boston to where my friends were DJing, or where I knew there would be people whose style and music I liked, and who I had a lot of admiration for. They all helped me out a lot as far as learning little tricks of the trade.

Eventually, I started getting paid gigs, playing more music than just what my friends and I liked, and instead playing what the public at large were into and wanted to hear. You know, you start out slow; you start out working a Wednesday night, and if you can prove yourself over time, you could get booked for a Friday or Saturday night.

I realized this was no longer just a showcase of my personal taste among friends. Now, this had crossed over to wanting to appeal to the masses, and that involved really switching up the format and expanding my repertoire of music. I would play more current and poppier things, sing-along songs, and stuff that really gets people moving on the dance floor. You learn to know when the crowd’s having a good time.

“Can you tell me about the first wedding you DJed?”

One of my first weddings was in Watertown, Massachusetts. I worked at the groom’s bar. I played a ’80s night there, and he asked me to DJ his wedding. I was under a tent, and there was an actual hurricane that evening, but the show must go on. They’re not going to cancel the wedding for some rain, so I’m dealing with my gear and freaking out because there’s raindrops coming through the tent. But it all came together as if it was meant to be. It was meant to happen. Everybody had a good time. My gear did not fizzle out or drown in the hurricane, and I was like: ‘Oof, man! Alright, if I could do this–if I could DJ in a hurricane–then you know, I should be able to play at a wedding on a nice day out.’

“What stands out as the coolest wedding you’ve ever DJed?”

There’s a lot of them, but one that stands out: I was DJing a wedding for two gentlemen approximately my age, and they were huge Madonna fans, right? And they had requested at peak dance time to do a half-hour Madonna mega mix, and so I just was going through lots of Madonna remixes and classics and stuff, and the place couldn’t have been happier. It was in this beautiful barn, really well decorated. There was lots of lighting going on, and everyone was just having–you could tell by the expressions on their faces and the way they were dancing–the best time ever. And I was just feeling like, ‘yes, this rules.’

“What was the coolest experience that you’ve had as a DJ?”

I don’t know that it’s just one. I mean, look, DJing weddings is a lot of work, right? But the phenomenon that I think keeps a lot of us going is that the payoff is so spectacular. I’m not referring to payment in terms of money, but I mean as far as the experience of the event itself. When you see different age groups all getting on the floor at the same time, and being able to kind of bounce around to different genres, generations, and decades of music in a way that keeps things interesting—you see that look on their face when the next song is coming on, and they’re like, “Oh my God! Like I love this song!’. I do it for that moment, for seeing everybody having a great time, and at the end of the night, letting you know ‘Dude, you rocked it! We had a great time. Thank you so much.’ And that’s the fuel that keeps me going. I don’t have a single coolest experience because that right there, that certainty that what I’m doing is working, is always cool.

“How’d you start working with White Label?”

I had been working some bars in the Boston Cambridge area, networking with people. I did a couple of weddings for someone that worked at the bar, or friends of a friend. They’d ask if I did weddings, and I’d say ‘sure’. In the very beginning, you’ve got to start somewhere, and after I had a fair amount of experience under my belt, I thought, ‘why don’t I get a little bit more serious about this?’ A friend of mine had worked for White Label, and she told me I should check it out. So, I went through the process, and I’ve been on board since about 2014. I’m coming up on 12 years with White Label, and it’s been a really great partnership with them.

“You’ve always been an avid music collector. Tell me more about that!”

In my freshman dorm, I had the largest cassette collection, and it was largely bands that no one else had ever heard of, so that was how people knew me as a young college student, and then I just continued collecting music on various formats–still to this day, I never stopped.

“How have you found music and technology to have evolved over time?”

Back in the old days, DJs had to lug crates records to gigs. That’s how I started, and while I still bring turntables to gigs, I use a digital DJ interface, so I have my digital library with me. A lot of modern day DJs will occasionally still lug out their turntables because that’s what they learned on and are still comfortable with. Plus, it provides a nice aesthetic at a wedding. There’s always somebody’s relative who asks, ‘Wow, are those turntables?’ And I love those conversations. Sometimes, you get a little bit of history from them, and you get to hear about how they used to DJ or still have turntables, and I always find that kind of fun.

Music has changed a lot over the years, too. In more current times, I do like to focus on very danceable music. There’s a lot of music coming out that people are into that tends to be more mellow, better suited for relaxing and chilling out. But if you’re out at an event, at the bar, or at the wedding, you want to dance—to have conversations and have the energy level up. So no matter the era, my focus is always on keeping the set danceable.

“Would you say that you have an ideal couple or wedding to DJ for?”

No–everyone’s different, and if you want to be a DJ, you have to be able to relate to different people. You can still be yourself, but you should accept that your personal tastes aren’t going to appeal to everyone. You’re not going to know every style of music or every artist, and that’s okay. But when I’m hired to do a job, I try to cater to what the clients are into. If they want a genre I’m not super familiar with, we work through that. I just ask them to develop some playlists, give me some suggestions and requests, and I can build off of that.

So no, I don’t think there’s an ‘ideal situation’, necessarily. If a client is interested in booking and moving forward with me, they’ve already judged that I’m someone they want to work with, and that’s a two way street. Other times, people might look at me and say ‘He’s cool, but maybe this other guy over here seems to know more about this style of music that we’re really into. Maybe we’ll go with that person because it’s a better match.’ And they’ll go with that person because it’s simply a better match. Everyone has different specialties, music backgrounds, and styles that they’re into. You know, it happens. I’m super adaptable, but when a client chooses me off a roster, it’s because they trust I’m going to be the best fit for them. 

“Is there anything that you see on a client questionnaire that you read and just know you’re going to have a great time?”

I suppose if their taste in music also matches my personal taste in music, it’s kind of a cool bonus. If the client tells me they’re really into classic or alternative rock, or metal or something, it stands out to me, because you don’t often hear those things at weddings. When I see they want something a little bit different from the norms, I have that feeling of ‘alright, this is going to be cool’.

“How would you describe your Emcee style?”

I try to be pretty humble and straightforward on the mic, which I found almost every client prefers. They don’t want someone who’s on the mic a lot, making it about them or making jokes. I try to keep it fun and right to the point. Of course, there are announcements that need to be made at weddings, so there is some microphone work that needs to happen–introductions, toasts, things like that. Just be professional, right to the point, and don’t add a lot of extra nonsense. The people want to dance, and to do that, they need to hear the music. No one wants to dance to some guy who keeps interrupting the set to talk on the mic.

“What gets you excited to do this work?”

I think it’s a combination of things. For one, I know I’m not the top DJ dog on the block, right? But I’ve been doing it for a while, and I receive consistently good reviews and feedback from people. So it fills me with a certain level of confidence to see this and think to myself: ‘Why would I stop?’ I mean, I enjoy it, and the people on the dance floor at the event seem to enjoy it. I’m having a good time. Why stop doing it? You know, some people ask me: ‘What, are you gonna DJ until you’re blah blah years old?’ I don’t know, but I think a lot of the best DJs out there are up there in age.

I can’t foresee myself ever not being into music; that’s never gonna happen. But this gives me a way to be involved in music in some capacity that’s different from being alone in a room trying to make beats or learn a song. With DJing, you’re participating—people are enjoying the stuff that you’re playing and the way that you segue from one thing to another, the way you build the tone and vibe, the way you get to create the feeling of the night.

“Tell me a bit about your life outside of DJing.”

Well, DJing has always been my side hustle, or at least a second job, because I’ve worked in mental health with young people for nearly 30 years. Currently, I work at a therapeutic school with adolescents, so that’s my stable day job.

Something I find funny over all these years is that there are certain people that know me from working with young people and working in mental health, and when they hear that I DJ on the weekends, they’re like, ‘Shut up! No way! You DJ?’ Like, yep. And then in the other world, when I would tell DJ friends about my other work, they’re just as shocked. It’s two different worlds, kinda, and I would joke with my coworkers that my day job is my Bruce Wayne job, whereas when I DJ, that’s my Batman job.

This really does provide me with a good balance. I like having more than one thing going on, because I don’t ever want to burn out on either one of them.

“How do you spend your time outside of work?”

I’ve been with my fiance for four years now, and she has two boys. So I’m kind of stepping into a stepdad role in recent years, which is a life change. Because I was always living in the city and living the DJ life on the weekends, that bachelor kind of a lifestyle has shifted to my enjoying more of a family man lifestyle in recent years. This has meant slowing down a little bit on the DJing, because I’ve got to be around for them. I can’t be out every weekend, unlike my younger days.

“Are there any other ways that art shows up in your life?”

I consider myself as relatively well-rounded as far as my interests. I’ve always been an appreciator of art, literature, film and all that good stuff. Music has just always been my main thing. You know, I still go out to concerts on a regular basis. I really enjoy going out to see live music, especially some of the old rock dinosaurs that are retiring, because you only have so many opportunities to see them before they’re all gone.

“What’s your favorite rock band?”

I would say Black Sabbath. I think they’re the originators of all the forms of heavy music.

“Do you have any pets?”

We have a snake named Mr. Noodles and a tortoise named Broc, because when we first got him, he liked broccoli. One of the kids named him that, if you couldn’t guess, but anyway, he hates broccoli now and only eats green beans. We also have two cats named Lola and Roscoe, who are both super cute and fun.