Some of today's legendary djs started by getting a gift of "the deck" at a young age. As my family was povo, we only had belt drive turntables as well as "Readers Digest Solid Gold 80s Hits" that used to get a thrashing! Today, the records are so scratched that you'd think A-Trak was in the house if we played "Eye of the Tiger"!!

My older brother bought me dual CD players when I turned 21 and since then I've used them to learn how to mix and then put on parties as well as dj for other friends. That's not to say that I started at the age of 21. Before that I used to trade tapes with friends in high school. The only problem was that I used to have to hold the tape recorder to the radio speakers for long hours.

In actual fact, I dj'd my first house party in 1998! The fact that the guy who turned 21 passed out could be an indication that the party was so good for him, or my music selection was really bad. But since then I've done the whole suburban DJ thing, playing in backyards, community halls and then some swanky places like the Star City Casino, the Burdekin and the World Bar, Kings Cross. I've also put on a few parties myself, since no one really wants to book me because they see me as a risk. But if you've ever been to those parties, you'd know to expect the unexpected when it came to the dancefloor!

One day I'd like to do this every weekend or combine my love of travelling to go places and play music to people. But DJs dont get rockstar styled riders, so I'll stick to being a suburban dj for now. 

Gavin Laing is following