In 2015, Everett Louie started DJing alone in his dorm room at UCSC. As a fan of EDM shows, he thought it would be cool to make some trap, hip-hop, EDM, house, dubstep, and bass mixes, and upload them to his Soundcloud. Just like that, his DJ moniker Louie The 1st was born.
Then something unexpected happened: his mixes found an audience online far beyond what he had imagined.
“I started getting bigger and bigger,” Louie says. “At one point I was like, ‘Wow, this is blowing up in my face right now. I need to do something about it.”
His first show as Louie The 1st was in June 2018. Later that year, he would play his first Santa Cruz show at the Catalyst, opening for ARMNHMR. On Nov. 2, he’ll play his fourth show at the Catalyst, opening for Elephante. As much as it’s an honor, he recognizes he has a tough role as a local opener.
“You have to be the person to get people engaged. Get them ready for the headliner,” Louie says. “You have to play music that’s entertaining enough the audience doesn’t get bored out of their minds, but you’re not playing songs that would take away from the headliner.”
He’s already got a great feel for the arc of his sets. He opens with songs that invite people to join in, then segways into infectious dance songs and closes with some slower, emotive songs to leave a strong impression.
“Essentially to be a DJ, you really have to tell a story,” Louie says. “How I play my music in my sets, I tell the story.”
8pm. Saturday, Nov. 2. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave. Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. 423-1338.
