This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)
This week in the MY FIRST GIG series: Dutch Joost Veerman a.k.a. DJ/producer Joost Toast. We first met when he was still the manager of techno legend Tom Hades. Nowadays, he resides in Ibiza and focuses on hearing protection in the dance industry. About his first gig, he says: “Instead of confetti cannons, tissues would have been a better idea.”
“The second weekend of June in the summer of 2007 remains a memorable day. A packed festival ground, friends and family at the front of the stage, and me behind the decks with my best friend Wim Paul. There we were, playing for an audience as Duocopy for the very first time. We came up with that name while compiling and sharing tracks for our home sessions. We practiced for hours, and then came that booking at ADF (Aaltjesdagen Dance Festival) in Harderwijk.”
Happy Faces
“With a healthy dose of nerves, we started our one-and-a-half-hour set. Back then, we loved a solid tempo. At around 128 BPM, we blasted out our first tracks. Playing over a PA with monitors on both sides was definitely different from mixing at home with our little KRK monitors. But it was amazing. So many happy faces, people who had come especially to see and hear us play. Parents, Wim Paul’s kids, partners, friends, grandparents – they were all there. Wim Paul and I looked at each other, satisfied, enjoying our drinks and mentally making every minute feel like two.”
Rough Mixing
“Track for track – that’s what we called our structure: WP played a track, then I played a track. This gave us both time to mentally prepare for the next mix. We used Time Code Vinyl, which worked perfectly at home but less so when dancing along on stage. Since I tend to move my hips a lot while DJing, we noticed that I sometimes made the needle slip a little. This resulted in some, let’s say, rough mixing. The set was far from flawless, but nobody seemed to care. Meanwhile, with sweaty palms, we kept pushing the buttons.”
Confetti Cannons
“The set flew by, and we moved toward our closing track: Paul Kalkbrenner’s “Sky and Sand“. Instead of confetti cannons, tissues would have been a better idea. The track touched everyone dear to us while we stood shoulder to shoulder, taking it all in. From that day on, Sky and Sand became a collective memory. I still play it regularly, and despite its simplicity, it remains a magical track.”
“ADF 2007 marked the start of a solid ten years as a DJ, artist manager, and booker. From Harderwijk with Sticky Green to Amsterdam, Utrecht, illegal cave parties in Maastricht, Lithuania, and ultimately as a radio host with my own show Ibiza Loves Ears on Ibiza’s 107.6 LocaFM. The tinnitus I developed (a hearing condition, editor’s note) unfortunately can’t be reversed, but with my ACS Custom PRO 17’s, I can still enjoy performing!”
This interview with Joost Toast was originally published in December 2018 on This Is Our House.
Who is Joost Toast?
“We can only connect the dots looking backward” – Having Tinnitus for over 17 years organically lead Joost Toast on the road to raise awareness about music/noise-induced hearing damage while providing world’s best solution.
From being a music enthusiast to DJ & event organizer to an international operating artist manager with a bachelor in Art & Economics, Joost Toast now fulfilling life as the director of ACS Custom España, Founder of Ibiza Loves Ears and Radio Host on LocaFM Ibiza during the summer.
It has become a life’s mission for Joost Toast to create a better understanding of the importance of hearing protection. Education is the only way to generate a higher form of our collective well-being. Operating within different industries where loud sounds are produced. I feel privileged to be able to help and support HSE managers to prevent others from what has happened to Joost Toast himself.
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More First Gigs? Check them all here!
