EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/111385
102 EW IN OTHER NEWS February 2013 DJing continued from page 101 Dr. Kim pauses while DJing for a Cornea Society event. He and Dr. Aldave have worked together for several years at Cornea Society parties. Source (all): EyeWorld ship simply because he didn���t have time. But after running into Dr. Aldave at a meeting several years ago, he started to think about picking it up again. Dr. Kim said he and Dr. Aldave started to have a casual conversation about DJing and his high school experience came up. He found out that Dr. Aldave had recently acquired some DJ equipment and encouraged him to get back into it. Soon Dr. Kim had downloaded some software and was working at it again. ���Thanks to Tony���s instruction and guidance, I found out it wasn���t as hard as I thought it was going to be and was surprised to see how much DJing technology had evolved from the days of 12-inch vinyl records, turntables, and manual scratching,��� he said. For Dr. Aldave, he started to pick up DJing with the ���transition of music to a digital format.��� Each week he would create playlists of songs that he would purchase online to play in the OR. ���Several of the cornea fellows suggested that I should take the next step and play the music that I played at high volumes in the OR in more appropriate venues,��� he said. His wife bought him some DJ equipment, mentioning it might be something fun when getting together with friends, and he bought speakers as well. ���For someone who loves music but does not have any musical talent, DJing offers the opportunity to move people, quite literally, with music that I am able to assemble in unique and creative ways,��� Dr. Aldave said. ���Creating your own mash-ups and finding ways to weave your way through an hour, two hours, or even an eight hour set with one seamless transition after another to keep the energy high and people dancing is what I enjoy the most about DJing.��� DJing together The DJing duo first started working together in 2010 when they were involved with the Cornea Society hours and nothing is off limits��� at the event. Other gigs Dr. Aldave plays music from his set for a Cornea Society party. Both Dr. Aldave and Dr. Kim do a number of other DJ events throughout the year in addition to collaborating for the Cornea Society. party for the World Cornea Congress in Boston. ���I think that the credit goes to Terry Kim, my DJ nemesis,��� Dr. Aldave said about getting involved with the event. ���After I started DJing in 2008, Terry and I spoke several times about how he used to lug a crate of records to events that he would DJ in high school and how much things have changed now that DJs only carry a lap top or a flash drive to a gig,��� he said. Dr. Aldave said Dr. Kim���s involvement with the Cornea Society helped contribute to their DJing and the idea to move the event to a club. ���Although we had never DJed together, our different musical tastes complemented each other very well, like Donnie and Marie Osmond,��� Dr. Aldave said. The Cornea Society was looking for ways to revitalize and recruit younger members, Dr. Kim said, and the party was a big hit. As he and Dr. Aldave have continued to do the event at the ASCRS and AAO meetings over the past few years, it���s grown exponentially, and they have gotten used to working with the equipment, software, and songs. ���For me personally, it���s been a great way to revitalize a hobby that I used to have when I was in high school. I really enjoy that because it���s gotten me back into music,��� Dr. Kim said. Fitting DJing into the balance In addition to working together, Drs. Kim and Aldave do a number of solo engagements throughout the year. Dr. Kim said he DJs for the graduation celebration that Duke University Eye Center has every summer for residents and fellows of its training program. He has a friend who owns a club in Durham, so in addition to a dinner celebration, the event features his DJing at the club. He also does other occasional parties in town. Dr. Aldave said he has gone on to do other events like weddings, house parties, birthday parties, New Year���s Eve events, and an annual Halloween benefit that his wife organizes for the Visionaries International nonprofit organization. ���The best part of DJing as a hobby rather than as a career is that I play what I want to play and am under no compulsion to take requests,��� he said. Of all his DJing experiences, Dr. Aldave said his favorite event is an annual Midsummer Madness party, hosted by a friend in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Card and craps dealers are staples of the event, and he said the length of the party is what he really enjoys. He gets ���to play for 10 Balancing personal hobbies and work is always a challenge, but Dr. Aldave said he solves this by putting together sets late at night. ���I made a deal with my wife that my DJing would not take away from time with the family and a deal with myself that it would not interfere with my clinical or research obligations,��� he said. Dr. Kim said he often finds himself switching back and forth between working on presentations and working on his music sets, since all of the DJ work can now be done on his laptop computer. He said the DJing experience has been especially refreshing at meetings to help multitask and break up the monotony. ���Everyone who has a job that carries with it significant responsibilities and expectations needs an outlet that allows them to shed these obligations and get lost in emotion, creative expression, or physical exertion,��� Dr. Aldave said. ���For me, music and the creation of my own interpretation of the music that I like fit that bill.��� EW Favorite songs to play While Dr. Aldave and Dr. Kim stressed the importance of giving listeners new music for their sets, they also have some favorite songs they like to play. Dr. Kim said some of his favorite songs to play are Felix da Housecat and Nina Simone���s Verve Remix of ���Sinnerman,��� ���Be Faithful��� by Fatman Scoop, and ���Mr. Saxobeat��� by Alexandra Stan. He also enjoys playing older songs that get people from different generations together on the dance floor, like Neil Diamond���s ���Sweet Caroline.��� ������Sweet Caroline��� is one that I���ve enjoyed playing because people recognize it���whether they���re right out of residency or they���re 60 years old, they���re all singing and dancing together to the same song, and they���re all getting into it,��� Dr. Kim said. One of Dr. Aldave���s favorites is ���As the Rush Comes��� by Motorcycle, which he said reminds him of dancing with his wife on New Year���s Eve in 2004. He also said he likes the Steve Aoki Remix of ���Pursuit of Happiness��� by Kid Cudi for its ���irreverent lyrics and infectious rhythms��� and the Tommy Trash Remix of ���Ladi Dadi.��� Contact information Aldave: aldave@jsei.ucla.edu Kim: terry.kim@duke.edu