Todd Everett began DJing at 15 years old. While he has always loved to write and rap, stage fright took him from the spotlight to the turntables.
“I think I always liked doing music, but it evolved into DJing because I didn’t want to perform to crowds. I kind of stumbled into DJing by mistake,” says the New York native.
When Todd moved to Detroit, a family member got him a gig playing a Sweet 16 party.
“At the end of the night when the owner paid me, I said to myself, ‘oh, I can make money at this,’ ” Everett says.
From there, the idea for turning his hobby into a full-time gig was born. He and his business partner, James Osteen, founded the Todd Everett Experience and the rest is history.
Today, Everett and Osteen entertain crowds of all kinds across the city of Detroit and beyond, spinning every genre of music. They also provide lighting and special effects for the events they work. Together, they embrace the opportunity to share their knowledge and passion for music with the next generation of DJ’s.
As resident DJ for Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, Everett will be piloting DJing and production programming along with his partner at the soon-to-come Sean Anderson Production Studio at the Dauch Campus.
Funded with a $100k donation from the Sean Anderson Foundation (SAF) as part of a multi-year effort to reimagine Club spaces, the new studio will provide kids an opportunity to learn television production, podcasting, and a host of other skills in broadcasting.
“My moonshot for the Boys and Girls Club is to have a music studio, a TV studio, and a production area to help students with their entrepreneurial thinking,” said Myra Anderson, Executive Director of the Sean Anderson Foundation.
Cortnie Squirewell, Executive Director of Innovation & Stakeholder Engagement for Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan has lead the coordination of the #ReimagineBGCSM initiative and will be working closely with The Todd Everett Experience to design production programming that is engaging and practical for BGCSM youth.
The opportunity to design this exciting new program at such a pivotal moment in the 93-year history of BGCSM is not lost on either DJ.
“We are appreciative of this opportunity to combine our love of music and our passion for youth. We’re excited for the opportunity to pay it forward with such a positive organization,” Everett said.
Once the Sean Anderson Studio is complete, Club members who learn how to DJ will be given special opportunities to work as apprentices within his company. From there, Club Members will be given an opportunity to work for The Todd Everett Experience as real DJs themselves.
“A lot of DJs will only teach kids how to spin, but we want to go on a wider spectrum,” Everett says. Students of the program will learn professionalism, how to play to diverse audiences, branding and entrepreneurship.
Everett and Osteen are no strangers to teaching kids their skills. “We met this one young lady at a corporate event for Baskin Robbins and she walked right up and told us she wanted to learn how to DJ.
“We gave her training on-the-spot and from there she became an apprentice of The Todd Everette Experience” Everett said. She is now known as DJ Rock, a regular co-anchor at Todd Everett Experience events.
Todd’s four-year-old son, The Prince of Harlem, has also gotten in on the act. He’s an accomplished DJ in circles in and out of the sandbox. Soon, BGCSM members will be learning those skills too!
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