The mash-up life

The ®eal Steven, real name Steven Weber, is the 29-year-old DJ who makes the mix so Velcro sticks. The Wednesday night indie rock dance party Velcro has been popular at Spanish Moon for a year now, doling out solace in music and dance.

One girl wears sneakers and dances in jeans. I wonder what she can tell me.

“When this first started,” she says, “it was a revolution!” Turns out her name is Molly, and she would know. She has Velcro-ed her shoes for four straight months. But so do others. As we talk, the floor comes alive.

The music is everyone’s: acid house, rap, pop, funk. So I ask the DJ, “How would you describe your style?” The ®eal Steven knows only one way.

“‘Whatever,” he says. With a smile, of course, as the music pounds away. He means that his music has no limit. “We call it a mash-up. I’ll mix indie rock with hip-hop vocals. We just try our best to create.”

And that is what The ®eal Steven does best. His playlist is a passion en route to profession. On top of Velcro, The ®eal Steven can be seen and heard at local art shows. “It’s not just about dancing,” he says. “I like to collaborate with artists to help communicate the mood.”

Weber has also done more conventional gigs. He laughs as he says, “I played a couple of weddings. It worked out well for ‘the kids!’” So maybe your wedding is not Steven’s thing, but everything else can be.

From freelance writing to serving as program director at KLSU-FM and caring for a 6-year-old son, Weber’s life has been as much of a mash-up as the music and the crowd he creates every Wednesday night. But he does have some advice for younger DJs. “Do it because you love it, and not to meet women.”