DIRTY SOUTH JOSH
Still Spinning.
My life changed. The music didn't. I'm still a DJ — just doing it from wherever life puts me, including the hospital bed.
THE DJ DIDN'T DIE
I started spinning in 1996 in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Over the years, the music took me through Janesville, Chicago, Rockford, Madison, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Gulfport.
For about 30 years, I've been doing one thing: Drum & Bass.
Jungle. Techstep. Neurofunk. Rollers. Heavy bass. Aggressive breaks. All of it.
Techstep is probably my favorite, but I don't limit myself to one subgenre. If it's Drum & Bass and it hits hard, I'm interested.
My life eventually changed dramatically.
I have severe complications from Type 1 diabetes, including severe vagus nerve damage and autonomic dysfunction.
My gastrointestinal system is severely impaired and does not properly process or absorb nutrition. I depend on IV nutrition and tube feeding to keep my body going.
I'm currently living in the hospital while I wait for safe placement — either a nursing facility or the possibility of getting into my own low-income apartment with home health support.
The life I used to have isn't available to me anymore.
But the music is still here. And so am I.
THE TECHNICAL SELECTOR
I don't need to know what the track is called. I need to see it.
I'm autistic and music is one of the areas where my brain works differently.
When I'm DJing, I can look at the waveform in my Rekordbox playlist and immediately recognize whether something is going to be a banger or whether it will blend with what I'm already playing.
I often don't even know the name of the track I'm about to play. I see the waveform, recognize the structure, and make the decision.
I've often been described as a technical selector.
That's probably the simplest explanation of how my brain and the music work together.
THE HOSPITAL BED SESSIONS
If I can't get to the DJ booth, I'll bring the DJ booth to me.
I'm currently living in a hospital while I wait for safe placement.
Tomorrow, I'm taking the DJ setup into the hospital room and starting the Hospital Bed Sessions.
The setup is deliberately small. A laptop. Headphones. Wi-Fi. And a Hercules DJControl Inpulse 200 MK3 controller that I specifically got because it fits on the smaller table available in my room.
I'm still attached to my medical equipment. I'm still dealing with IV nutrition, tube feeding and everything else that comes with my condition.
But when I put the headphones on and start mixing, I'm a DJ again.
That's what these sessions are about.
THE STREAM
This is where I keep doing the thing I've done for three decades: playing Drum & Bass.
I don't have a traditional schedule because my health can change from day to day. When I'm feeling well enough to spin, I go live.
TWITCH ONLY
I stream exclusively on Twitch.
NO FIXED SCHEDULE
My health determines when I can play. I typically try for two sessions a day when I'm feeling well enough.
FOLLOW ME
Follow the channel so Twitch can let you know when I go live.
SUPPORT THE STREAM
I'm not trying to become famous. I'm trying to get a place to live.
I've been approved for a low-income apartment. That gives me a chance to live independently instead of going into a nursing home, with home health support to help me manage my medical needs.
The apartment is approved. The problem is the security deposit.
The security deposit is $850.
So far, I've raised $150.
That leaves $700 remaining.
Every dollar goes toward that deposit. The goal is simple: get through the front door of that apartment and have a place of my own.
I'm keeping DJing because I genuinely love this music. But I'm also trying to create some form of income, no matter how small, while I'm dealing with everything else.
And a big part of why I keep pushing is my son. He lives with his mother and I don't get to see him as much as I'd like. I want to be able to give him a good life.
HELP WITH THE $700 REMAININGIf you can't donate, that's completely okay. Watching the stream, following the channel, sharing the stream or simply hanging out while I spin still means something.
THE MUSIC GIVES ME PURPOSE
I don't care about fame. I don't care about fortune. I don't need thousands of viewers.
I'm autistic. My brain is heavily driven by logic, patterns and systems.
Music is different.
The music stimulates my brain in a way that helps keep me calm. It gives me something to focus on. It gives me a reason to get up and do something.
When everything else in my life feels like it has been taken away, I can still put headphones on, look at a waveform and make a mix.
For me, that's not just entertainment. That's purpose.
ONE HELL OF A THANK YOU
If I manage to raise the money and get into that apartment, I already know exactly what I want to do.
I'm going to throw a massive 4-hour Drum & Bass thank-you set.
Not because I owe anybody a performance. Because I want to.
Everyone who helped me get from a hospital bed to having my own place deserves to know that I appreciate what they did.
I'M STILL HERE.
The circumstances changed.
The equipment changed.
The location changed.
My life changed.
The music didn't.
See you in the stream.