Mixing a new style
October 11, 2017
Having played in multiple indie bands, Diamond Bar High School teacher Luke Shubin was accustomed to performing as a background bass player. However, realizing his desire for a more inventive style of entertainment, he turned to creating his own music and working as a performing disc jockey.
As a college student in Cal Poly Pomona, Shubin admired watching bands perform, convincing him to join a band.
Having played bass in multiple bands, such as Color Blind Society, The Silver Muller and Morning Glory, Shubin knew this was a “seamless transition into DJ-ing” as he was already an expert with the technology involved.
Not sticking to the norm, Shubin prefers the idea of “mixing music in creative ways,” leading him into producing his own music, unlike the majority of DJs who rely on other artists for their tunes.
As a student in Walnut High School, he gained valuable experience from remixing music from other artists, thus gathering the knowledge to start creating his own music. Using drums, keyboard, bass and Garageband, Shubin incorporates various rhythms and beats to create alternative rock or electronic styles in his music. His hard work and innovation has paid off, resulting in more than 50 of his original tracks uploaded on SoundCloud since 2010.
“Being a DJ has been a big part of my life. I was very shy as a teenager, and DJ-ing helped me break out of my shell and talk with others as I collaborated with them,” Shubin said.
While still playing in a band, Shubin would DJ his original and mixed music during intermissions or while other bands were setting up. Soon, more and more people were admiring his skills as a DJ, and he earned multiple opportunities at established shows.
In 2006, he performed at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney as the opening DJ for the R&B group, Boyz II Men. He played his original recordings with a synthesizer as well as mixed hits from other artists.
This performance led him to being invited to play electronic music on the patio of the House of Blues this summer.
“Usually I would perform with my friends at local places in town, but performing at House of Blues Downtown Disney was an incredible opportunity for me,” Shubin said.
He has also collaborated with such artists as Kevin Durkin, Nick Buck, Justin Vargas and Ben Jovi.
As the new Computer Science teacher on campus, balancing his career as a DJ and his teaching life has been difficult for him.
“I love teaching Computer Science, but it has taken my time away from DJ-ing. Because of this, I can only create music in my spare time and during the summer,” Shubin said. However, Shubin has been trying to find a way to bring his hobby to school. Shubin wants to start a music production class.
“I know many students who want to produce their own music So if we have this program, I can teach kids how to make music with computers and teach them all I know,” Shubin said.
