Women in Vinyl DJ Shotski profile

Have you read the Women in Vinyl blog? It’s a wonderful online hub of stories that put a spotlight on underrepresented people who have a connection to records. You’ll find profiles of music shop owners, music production pros, press operators, label execs, and DJs.

Just in time for Oktoberfest season, Women in Vinyl featured a story about the origin of DJ Shotski and why I play polka records. It was a great experience to share my feelings and lessons I’ve learned taking on this venture.

Photo by Paulius Musteikis

Imposter syndrome and being really unsure of myself were big barriers to doing this. I thought you needed a lot of technical knowledge (you’ll learn as you go, but first you have to start), or that gear would be too expensive (it can be - but used gear is out there), or that I had to do a bunch of fancy mixing (nope! It’s great to be a DJ like on the radio). I saw men doing what I wanted to do, but I rarely saw women doing it. For a long time, I figured it wasn’t for me.

Then the COVID crisis hit and I found myself at home with a lot of free time, thinking about how life is short and how I’d like to spend my time “when this is all over.” It was a good time to put aside whatever intimidation or imposter syndrome I felt and just go for it.

There is more to the story in the Women in Vinyl profile. I’m really grateful that the website exists. It shows so many examples of people who are making valuable contributions to music and a beloved format. Hopefully these examples can tell more women, “we can do it!”