Conversations with Daniel Hornbeak

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Hornbeak.

Hi Daniel, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My first introduction to djing and music came from seeing actual djs dj at weddings and events, I would attend as a kid. My grandmother owned a big stereo system with the record player, cassette, and tape. I always wanted to play music off of it so I was often messing around with her stuff lol. I remember as a kid my grandmother was having a small get together and I asked if I could bring the music to it. We had this smaller stereo system that took cds, this was around the time mp3 sharing was big and I burned a lot of cds of our computer. So I was able to bring that to the event. I was so excited and nervous because I was a really shy kid! I remember setting it all up and someone asking me if I was going to be the dj and I said yes with a smile but soon the nervousness would hit. After setting up someone came to me and looked at my cd’s and asking if I had anything the crowd could listen to. I soon noticed I honesty didn’t because the music I had was more suited for people my age and not what was in the room my gut clinched I didn’t know what to do. So she told me to hold on and went to the car and got more suitable music. I felt so embarrassed and shy that I let her play and control the music for the entire event. There went my moment. As time went by I was always into music but I didn’t attempt to do anything with it but I would collect songs for listening to for personal use. So around the time I was 17 I got a job in retail and worked my way into the electronics department and over time I became manager of it. There I would handle new music cd releases and inventory music cds. So I got very familiar with music and the artist we carried and would often purchase cds when they came out. One day I’m working and I keep hearing about music games so I purchased the game Guitar Hero while it was fun something still felt like I wanted more then I got introduced to DJ Hero and I was sold! I would play that game so much I was able to master it! Around that time i start watching Jersey Shore and Pauly D is a dj on it and I was like that’s what I wanna be lol! So I saved up and got myself a laptop an I began building my music library over the years until one day I got my first dj controller a numark mixtrack. I would start watching YouTube videos on djing and learning more about it. I would practice in the house and drive everyone insane from the noise ! I had a friend who knew some about djing and we did a small party I wasn’t very good. But I had a good music collection. We attempted to start a duo but it failed. That’s when my mother one day was like if you’re going to do this, you need to meet someone who is one of the best to do it! So one weekend she took me to a spot in Wesport called Port Fonda and introduced me to a family friend named Thomas McIntosh aka DJ Joc Maxx. The conversations we would have were life changing. I got a different understanding of the business and expenses that would come with it and how to get started. He said save your coins up. I realized, I wasn’t ready and the finances weren’t there to support it so I gave up. So I got more into going out to clubs and bars and just hanging out in them. I eventually become a regular at a club called Aura. There I would meet a guy who worked as the light technician named Jillian. He would introduce me to a lot of the djs one being a manger of the club named Shaun. He also introduced me to the resident dj there named Ashton and Glen who went by “DJ Two Heavy” the biggest dj I had seen standing at almost 7 foot tall! Jillian and I would hang out after the club closed with his friends at a spot called Chubby’s, I got to know more nightlife goers there. My routine became Aura and Chubby’s. I went so much to Aura I worked my way to being able to hang in the dj booth when djs played. One particular being Ashton Martin, I even found myself getting the nickname Ashton Martin “security” due to my sizable presence and the fact I was always in the dj booth when he played lol. This continued for a while until I was offered a job at Aura by the owner, I was unsure at first but ended up agreeing to work there. That’s when the Jillian told me he was moving away and he did. So I would need up working at Aura as a doorman, bouncer and busser for the club on the weekends. That’s when I started to really hang out with Glen “DJ Two Heavy” he would invite met to breakfast after we closed. We became really good friends. He would always invite me to gigs and tell me about djs and clubs and introduce me to people he knew. We did a lot of partying despite him being much older than me, I remember him telling me “We are here because we both love the music not because we love the clubs or the drama it’s the music we love!” After hearing that it sparked me into wanting try djing again. So I take a chance and bought a new dj controller a better one than the first and a MacBook . I kept trying to figure this dj mixing thing out and it just frustrated me so once again I wanted to quit and I did sorta. Then suddenly Covid 19 hits in 2020 and I’m stuck at home like everyone else, no jobs, no clubs, only music. That’s when I decided, well you have time. I started practicing and watching streams from djs. I got into a record pool for djs to download music. Then the covid restrictions became relaxed and bars reopened. At the time one of my friends had became one of the owners of a poke bowl restaurant called Pokesan. I inquired about djing there, I wanted people to hear what I had been working on. My friend was actually selling his part of the restaurant but did introduce me to the other owner who wasn’t actually interested and agreed to allow me to dj for free to his customers. I would agree to playing for him and also doing karaoke for his guest with another guy named Lenin. I was very happy to have the opportunity, I wanted my friends to come see me, especially Glen “DJ Two Heavy” I remember telling him how well I did after a while hoping he’d come see. I started entertaining a lot of customers that came in and created a small following with the music I played and I became better every week. We soon started gaining tips and a small payment of 20 dollars for my work . That’s when tragedy stuck late that year in 2020 my friend Glen “DJ Too Heavy” passed away tragically. It was devastating. I kinda didn’t know where to go what to do after it happened. It broke me. But I had to recall some things, he would want me to keep remembering what we love is the music and I did. So I made it my goal to carry on and go forward, keep pushing, a reason to do it even more so now. That’s when things became tight at the restaurant I was djing, people weren’t coming in as much as the owner liked, I wasn’t worth the out of pocket money to him to dj, covid was still around. So I knew my time was running out and I was about to lose again. So I did a last effort. I recorded my self doing a technique called beat juggling and I added to my Facebook story. I didn’t want to stop playing but it looked inevitable . After that gig the owner told me he would no longer be able to pay me to dj at his spot. So decided to leave, I knew that meant possibly never playing again but I was at peace with my decision. I thought well I gave it my all. I woke up the next day to an inbox in my messages from Facebook and a like on my story. I kinda ignored it lol. But soon realized who it was, it was local dj named Kelly “DJ Domensha” at power and light who was reaching out to me asking about my djing! He was highly impressed over the video he saw and asked how fast could I get to mcfaddens for a test run play! And just like that it wasn’t over! That’s when my djing would really kick off! My first time playing was amazing it was one of the busiest Sundays they had had in awhile! I was able to play with my long time friend Ashton from my Aura who I always stood and watched. It was like I was finally seeing it all come together! Kelly “DJ Domensha” would go on to let me co play with him on Sundays at McFaddens and during Chiefs watch parties there. He would really mentor me on what to play and how to to dj! I started creating dj mixes and one got into the hands of a local nightclub club owner named Kahlil who ran Throwback in Westport. He gave me my first club to dj by myself! He really was a fan of my dj mixes and would stream them when the club opened as a warm up! Eventually my djing grew and I was offered to join a dj company called Remix Djs who was run by another DJ, Jon Bartlett ‘DJ Tiberias”. He had many years of experience with touring and djing for rappers like Tech N9ne and many others. He taught me how to dj weddings and I would eventually become the opening dj for him at many events to playing back to back with him. He refers to me as a real student of the game with an excellent ability to read a room! With him I would eventually learn how to dj on turntables which I feel is a lost art! I would go on to play at various clubs, corporate events, proms, schools, dances, hotels even getting to play In the mall for companies like Nordstrom and Oakley and also events in arrowhead stadium. I made my way to playing at my first festival in 2023 at CreepShow Kc in Independence, playing on stage and at the silent disco. I’ve done spin art on vinyl for Monster Energy. Recently playing at Breakaway KC’s silent disco last year in KCK. Which leads me up to now! I’ve branched off, really wanting to grown a name for myself and I’m starting to! Im currently one of the djs at Block 15 in the river market in Kansas City, Missouri. There I hold a monthly residency. I also play multiple spots such as Chicken N Pickle, Mainstreet Tavern and Fox & Hound Overland Park. Throughout this journey I’ve gotten to see my name on posters which has been a true experience! Ive been able to meet amazing djs and artists from big to small, I feel like my journey has been a long one but my story is far from finished. Im still learning and growing everyday every gig ! My experiences have taught me to always bring your A game no matter what and always deliver a product that they won’t forget ! You have to always know your worth and not be timid because the grass may be greener on the other side. Even if you’re not the most talented in the room be the hardest working ! And Always treat people the right way! Just because you fail doesn’t mean you won’t ever succeed !

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Entering a flooded market with lots of competitors and clicks you can alienate your self by wanting to be different which can be a huge obstacle to your growth in the industry despite the talent you may bring you have to be mentality tough when you enter this field. You can easily fall victim to someone else’s vision and not your own. Being your own leader is not easy

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
DJ

creating a vibe and bringing a room together

My attention to detail and the way I study rooms and people and reactions really help me to try and give people a quality experience when I dj we have all felt awkward in a room when the music doesn’t feel appropriate or just doesn’t set the mood I try to really read a room and select the right music while also giving people nostalgia when they hear a record they loved and forgot about. I pride myself in that. Djs tend to only want to give what’s popular when music is timeless.

What does success mean to you?
knowing how to fail, But not giving up, but always finding a way to continue , it may not be the ideal route or even result but giving your all in work and effort, at first you don’t succeed but try try again,

Contact Info:

• Website: djdannykc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamdjdanny/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.hornbeak.9
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/djdannykc