Deejay Panic

There are but a few instances when the concept of panic doesn’t imply a complete and total loss of control. Panic is, by definition, an inability to process events going on around us. Panic is feeling overwhelmed and in some cases, downright helpless. When you need to get something done, or as in most cases, some things done, panic is the last thing you want. Unless of course you’re in the music business, in which case Panic might be exactly what you need.

Since the late 90’s, Indiana’s own DJ Panic has been on a mission far more comprehensive than simply shutting down parties around the globe (which he’s done plenty of times), with some of the most exclusive and inventive mixes today (which he has plenty more of). “When I first meet somebody they’re always like, so DJ Panic, what do you do?” he says. “And my response is always…Well, everything.” In this case, Panic is referring to everything an artist, music label or even someone just trying to get their business off the ground could need to blow up their brand. His abilities include the hands-on aspects of party rocking, mixtapes and artist production, the digital aspects of web design, animation, motion graphics and video editing, and the social aspects of event promotion and marketing, all areas in which DJ Panic has a wealth of professional experience.

As a prodigious DJ coming up in Indianapolis, Indiana, Panic would learn quickly that his city just wasn’t yet prepared to accommodate his unique business ambition. It wasn’t long into his career, however, before he’d take it upon himself to help them along. Making his name as a party DJ just as hip hop mixtapes were finally being acknowledged as a viable industry asset, Panic attempted to jump in the game headfirst but was soon grounded by his naiveté. “I had hustler’s spirit without the know-how,” he says. “I thought I could draw the cover, but what from there?” Receiving little to no help from peers, he worked from the ground up, pressing his CDs up by the hundred, hand labeling them with marker, and more importantly, teaching himself the design software to create presentable cover art. “Nobody knew how to do it and other people were stuck in the same position I was, but without the creativity,” he says. “And at that point I had actually gotten better at the graphics than the person I was trynna get a hold of.”

The knowledge couldn’t have come at a better time as Panic would use this expertise to design MySpace layouts