Today we’d like to introduce you to Giovanni Silvestre.
Hi Giovanni, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I would say it’s been long journey so far (18 years almost) that has taken a lot of unexpected twists and turns, but nonetheless, I’m grateful to be where I am today and for everything I’ve learned along the way.
I started in high school, as I think many DJs or musicians did. I grew up with cousins who were DJs, and watching them really influenced me to take up music as a career choice. I taught myself the basics by listening to local DJs on the radio during my morning ride to school, and after building up my record collection, I decided it was time to start showcasing myself. I took every opportunity to play at school functions for my AVID class and outside of school, taking on any parties that would hire me or give me the opportunity to play. Eventually, my love for DJing evolved into a love for music production, and I started dabbling at making beats. I have always been more of an introvert and felt that music production suited me better. I started spending more time alone in my room experimenting with music and less time DJing high school parties. This led me to move to North Hollywood and attend The Los Angeles Recording School after I graduated high school. I left the DJ life behind and began down a new path!
As I went deeper down the production rabbit hole, I stared learning more about the history of music. My interest was primarily in Hip Hop music, but being Guatemalan, I was always surrounded by Spanish music and influenced by many Latin genres including Merengue, Cumbia, and at the time a new emerging genre called Reggaeton. I grew to idolize music producers like Dr. Dre, JR Rotem, Scott Storch, and other legendary producers prominent at the time. After graduating from recording school, I applied for an internship at multiple recording studios in LA but unfortunately did not receive any opportunities. I was determined to land an internship, and sometimes I would stand outside studios waiting for someone to walk out so I can hand them my resume. But, after multiple failed attempts, I decided that it would be best to go back home for a while and continue making music to sharpen up the skills I had learned in school. I spent almost every day making music while I was back and began writing and recording songs with my friends. Eventually, I grew impatient, recording music was great, but I felt I was making little progress towards my true goal to become a music producer and work with the artists and producers I looked up to. My ambition led me to give LA another shot.
Now living in West LA, I decided I would look into meeting like-minded people that shared the same passions in order to learn and hopefully create the opportunities that I was looking for. I worked at a local Boys and Girls Club in Santa Monica and with my music background was given a position working as the Music Director for their recording studio. I would work with the kids during the day and record my own music projects at night. I did this for another 2 years and managed to get some of my music placed on TV shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashian and Best Ink. I was also able to be a part of other cool music projects but still felt like I was not reaching my true goal. Eventually, LA spit me out, and back to Escondido it was.
Things get better from here. I decided that I would pursue music full-time, so I reconnected with my DJ roots and went looking for someone who could hire me. This time I focused on bars and nightclubs and was able to find some gigs through an old high school friend (shoutout DJ Johnny Stylez). It was here in the San Diego where I started meeting a lot of DJs that pushed me forward and helped get me get to where I am today. I have to give a special shoutout and thanks to a few people including DJ Nawtee, DJ Nez, and Martin Kache. All well-known and respected DJs here in San Diego. Through them, I was given so many opportunities to showcase myself throughout San Diego and various clubs in the US. In 2015 I landed a residency at Onyx Nightclub in downtown San Diego, and I’ve been DJing there for the past 7 years. At the same time, all of this was happening, I kept on making music, and I met a DJ duo named The Muzik Junkies. Jorge from Muzik Junkies helped me get a job producing remixes and edits for a digital record pool (which is like an iTunes but for DJs). It was here, making remixes, that I was finally able to put everything I had learned about music production for the past 6 years into use. And through the record pools, had my remixes actually played at nightclubs, bars, festivals, and other venues. I started hearing my edits and remixes being played at parties and clubs and decided to really give it everything I had.
Through the edits and remixes that I’ve produced, I’ve been able to travel across the country and play at various nightclubs as well as attend various events like the Latin Billboards and Latin Grammys. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing talented artists and release my music through labels. Most recently I released a remix through Pitbull’s label Mr. 305 Inc. Also, I’ve had the opportunity to work with multiple record pools and currently work with one of the largest record pools in the US, BPM Music (shoutout to them and everybody over there) In 2017 I started a mix show called The Pan Dulce Life as a side project. I would make mixes and release them weekly on Mixcloud (an online DJ mix platform). I’m super grateful to everyone that has supported this show, fast forward 6 years and we have now grown to be a syndicated radio show at noon on 5 different radio stations in the US. We expanded from a Mixcloud to Apple and Google Podcasts to reach a broader audience with a team of DJs and hosts. Most recently we started producing our own events, and my goal is to take it even further from here. We have truly grown from just a DJ show to a cultural brand.
Looking back, I never thought that I would end up taking the road I have, but I’m grateful for it and for everything I’ve learned along the way. The ups and downs, the growing up I’ve had to do, and that I’m still doing if I’m being honest. It’s been a crazy roller coaster ride, but now I see that my true goal all along has really been to make an impact on people’s lives through music. At the end of the day, it’s the little moments of seeing people enjoy something you create or do that make it all worth it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
So many struggles for sure, especially in the beginning. Trying to connect with people in the industry can be challenging. I wouldn’t consider myself a people person or super social so getting out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there was a struggle for me. Luckily, I was able to connect with other DJs through my edits and remixes. That really was my voice when I didn’t know what to say or how to approach people, instead, I would just send them a bunch of my edits.
Another significant challenge has been overcoming myself as my biggest critic. With social media these days you’re constantly given a look at other people’s lives, personal and professional. This industry is competitive by nature, and so you tend to compare yourself to others and what others are doing better. But at the end of the day, the only person that puts this idea of what or where you should be is you. This has been a constant struggle for me and something I deal with to this day. It’s good to have vision of where you want to be, but sometimes the path isn’t clear, and it’s ok if you’re unsure of what direction to go. The Pan Dulce Life show had no clear direction in the beginning, and I never thought it would reach as many people as it has. In that particular case, I focused on what I knew I was good at and the rest sort of fell into place. Things are more structured now but I definitely questioned myself a lot about what to do with it. The important thing was to get started and just do it!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m probably best known for my production. My edits and remixes, but specifically I’d say my Cumbias. Another one of those things that I never thought I would be doing coming from a Hip Hop background, but I would say Cumbias are a speciality of mine. I’ve been told that they have a specific sound and style, which to be honest, I have no clue how they got there. I couldn’t tell you how I’ve come up with the sounds I’ve created, I just keep working until it sounds good to me no matter how much time I need to spend working on it. I think that’s one of the things that has set my work apart, taking my time when I create. One of my favorite producers once said “Deadlines are the enemy to all creativity” and if I’m working on something I’ll try my best not to release it unless I feel like I’ve given it my best effort. I believe that when you take the time to make something out of love, it will sort of make itself if that makes sense. I also try to approach my projects from a DJ and a Producer’s point of view. I use my producer side when choosing sounds and adding my own musical touch to a song and my DJ side when I’m making the arrangement. It has to makes sense for people dancing at clubs at the end of day. I try to keep it basic and easy enough for people to move to it but also interesting at the same time with my sound selection.
Looking back, there’s so many little moments and songs I’m proud of, but the biggest thing I’m proud of is the fact that I get to do what I love every day and that I’m able to support my family doing it. It’s a huge blessing; I’m so grateful for it and proud of myself for getting to this point. Lots of all-nighters for sure!
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Yes! Risks are huge part of this industry. I feel that every big decision has been a risk for me or has at least felt like one. For one, I don’t have a back plan to any of this, so if music doesn’t work out, I’ll have to look for an entry-level job somewhere. However, when I think about that, it reminds me that I need to work harder! I believe if you view risks from a certain perspective, they can be very motivating and push you in the direction you need to go. Risks are scary, and of course, that’s what holds most people back, that fear. More specifically the fear of failing but I try to see it as just another learning lesson, you’ll either learn from your success or you’ll learn from your failure. Losses are just another part life you will eventually come across so you just have to use them to your advantage.
I’d say one of my most recent risks was putting together a Pan Dulce Life party. We had never done anything like that, and I have little to no experience in events. Luckily, I have a great team, and we have been able to pull off 4 successful events so far and are planning on doing more. Each one is a risk, and yes it does get stressful, but you can’t really grow if you don’t take some risks every now and then.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/djrefreshsd
- Other: www.mixcloud.com/thepandulcelife
Image Credits
Vivo Dallas
BPM Music
Cielo SLC
Onyx Nightclub
