Meet Julian Black | DJ, Promoter, and Nightlife Personality.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julian Black and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julian, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
As a DJ who performs for our local underground social scenes, I feel that music is the common bond. Experiencing it together strengthens our community, and not only do I enjoying playing and mixing what people know and enjoy frequently, but I am always striving to discover the next up-and-coming musical artist (or even an artist who may have faded into obscurity,) and hope that the audience may also discover new music as a result of the risk I take to play what I hope is music that people didn’t know that they wanted to hear. When it comes to being a promoter, I love creating interesting parties that also act as a safe space for the audience who attend, and I am a big believer in creating recognition for all talent and personnel involved, because no matter what, event productions are a collective effort that I feel everyone deserves recognition for.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
First and foremost, my all time favorite genres to spin are Goth & Industrial music, but I also love spinning other genres like EDM, hard dance, and 80s music. Plus, I also dress up for every performance. When it comes to producing events, I love coming up with intriguing event themes, I create recognition for everyone involved in a successful event, and I give DJs, performance artists, and vendors the opportunity to apply for these events. There are always people who want opportunities to be involved, and I want them to express their interests.

I started my DJ career when I spun at my first event in October of 2012, and I also hosted and financed my first event in October of 2013 when I was only 20 years old. Today I have a monthly residency at Tracks Nightclub where I spin for the 2nd Fridays of every month. I am the promoter for the annual Arcane Vampire Ball, and I also produce events at Beacon in Rino and I am a co-host for the annual Gothic Takeover at Lakeside amusement park, which is currently Colorado’s largest alternative subculture gathering. One of my proudest moments was an event I produced recently called the Fae Masquerade at Beacon, where people came dressed as fairies, elves, and other mythical creatures. Beacon is an incredibly beautiful venue to have hosted it at, almost like it was made for this type of event. A lot of people who attended told me that the event was unlike anything they had ever experienced, and that made me incredible proud.

When I first began trying to get my foot through the door as a DJ, it was difficult because of the influx of DJs that were present in the scene many years ago. I’ve had some DJ residencies come and go, and one of the biggest struggles for me was converting to live streaming when the pandemic of 2020 began. When it came to promoting, my first events I ever financed struggled to break even, but that is to be expected and is how we learn to manage events better. Some important lessons I have learned when it came to being an event producer is to have a plan, know your numbers and stick with them, always establish clear communication with those who are involved, recognize your weaknesses and surround yourself with experts when you need help, and know when to fold in case if things are not going as planned.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would start with the sights! Some of my favorite places to take friends out to would be downtown Golden, Mount Evans, Morrison, and I may even take them to places like Rocky Mountain National Park or even make a day trip to Glenwood Springs depending on the time of year. Then for downtown activities, I would take them to shops like FashioNation, Crimson Rose Masquerade, Ritualcravt, Disguises, and many other stores. For places to eat, some of the most important restaurants I feel is worth experiencing is Sherpa House in Golden and The Brutal Poodle on Broadway. For drinking and hang outs, by day I would take them to Gypsy House Cafe and Mutiny Information Cafe, then by night I would take them to The Electric Cure, The Crypt, Slashers on Colfax, and then maybe go out to see a show or dance at HQ on Broadway, depending on what is happening there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give special thanks to my wife, Candace Midnight, who is always encouraging and never a naysayer or doubtful of anything I have ever done. Big thank you to my family who is always reminding me of how proud they are. A huge thank you to my mentor, AJ Ritual of Ritual Noize Entertainment, who has been my guide, giving me advice through my endeavors, has been my idol when I had first dreamed of becoming a DJ, and who has been giving me some amazing opportunities for DJ performances throughout the years. But most of all, thank you to everyone who loves to dance when I am DJing, and thank you to everyone who comes to the events that I produce and always helping me understand how we are doing and what we can do better.

Website: https://www.thejulianblack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejulianblack/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_julianblack

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejulianblack

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thejulianblack

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thejulianblack

Image Credits
All photos were taken by Modified Photo Graphics, aka Jason Greashaber.