Welcome to another edition of Disovery Sessions as we bring you the local upon coming talent that surrounds all the clubs and festivals you attend! This week we have Ducky D on the helm, a regular at Avalon we are happy to have his as our sixth guest to this weekly segment so sick back, read and start your weekend off with some good music! Cheers!

So Cal Edm Events (SCEE): Thank you for taking the time to answer this interview let’s start off simple what is your name? What do you go by? Are you from southern California? If not where are you from? And what genre of electronic music do you play?

Ducky D (DD): My name is Donald Smithmeyer and I go by the name Ducky D, I am from  Southern California and I play don’t stick to any particular kind of electronic music but play all kinds.

SCEE: How long have you been producing/Djing? What inspired you to become a producer? Who is your biggest inspiration? Do you have any residencies locally?

DD: I have been producing/Djing for 2 and a half years. What inspired me to become a producer and a Dj was attending EDC 2012, it was there that I discovered the good vibes and happiness that come from listening to great music with great people and I wanted to be able to spread and be apart of all of that.

My Residencies:

Avalon, Hollywood: Mayhem Events

Neon Play Ground

SCEE: What has been the biggest festival/Club you’ve played at? How was that experience? Was it memorable? What would you change?

DD: The biggest club that I have played so far would be Avalon Hollywood and the experience could not have been better. I was given the chance to headline the stage that I was playing on and the crowd could not have been crazier. The crowd was chanting Ducky and dancing all over the place! Thanks to all the friends that came out to support!

SCEE:  Where do you plan on being in five years career wise?

DD: I hope on being a staple name that would be seen on flyers and line ups across the world, signed to Owsla or Mad Decent and doing collaborations with as many people as I can. I want to be making and playing music that makes people dance and to feel happiness.

SCEE: A lot of people will be reading this article, if you could tell them something about yourself to maybe support you what would you say?

D: I would tell them that I do this because I love to do it and to bring good vibes and happiness to anyone willing to listen, I just want the chance to play for as many people as I can and to be heard by as many people as I can so that my mixes make people feel the happiness I get from the music.

SCEE: We have a great deal of followers following us, what would you tell the people who are going to hear this to expect from your mini mix? What do you want to them to take note of?

DD: When you listen to this mix I want you to not try and expect anything, this mix has a variety of different genres and bpms in it. I never really paid attention to genres but paid more attention to good beats and rhythm. I like my mixes to make you want to dance or sing the whole time and this mix is no different. This is 30 minutes of great music to dance to!

SCEE: What do you do outside of music?

DD: Outside of music I live a pretty normal life of school and work

SCEE:  What do you think of the current scene? Do you think new people need to freshen up the scene?

DD: I think the current scene is great, it is growing and becoming bigger and bigger bringing in new talent and influencers everyday. EDM is becoming main stream but is also still in the underground and can be enjoyed in many ways. I feel that some Djs and Producers are becoming bland and making songs that sound the same and are bland but there are others who are pushing the envelope and bringing new sounds and styles into the light. EDM is growing and changing in new ways everyday.

SCEE: Finish this sentence… Music is

DD: Life, Everthing

SCEE: Lastly we’d like to thank you for participating, for anyone interested in following you more where can they do so? 

DD: Thank you for listening and if anyone would like to follow me you can find me at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DJDuckyD

Instagram: @DjduckyD

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/duckied 

EDC Las Vegas tickets are NOW on sale! Follow the link down below to purchase your tickets now!

Click HERE to buy EDC Las Vegas Tickets!

Sign up for our newsletter HERE

Listen to our latest Discovery Sessions HERE

-Mario #SCEE

It’s 11:55pm on a Friday night and Exchange LA is already teeming with people, I am looking for Mario the mastermind behind So Cal Edm Events and the man who has invited me to join his table for the evening. Although I’m short and the club is packed, it is easy to spot him; his phone looms high above the crowd with the familiar snapchat screen open and recording. He is now 300 seconds into what will become a 1000 second story (translation: over 16 minutes of video recorded 10 seconds at a time). The club is hot and as he dabs at the beads of sweat off his brow, he hands me a cup and yells “DRINK” over the booming bass. Before I have a chance to thank him he is back to recording, lost in the crowd his arm extended high over his head. Watching him is enough to tire you out, his phone lighting up with varying notifications ranging from Instagram, to Facebook, and text messages from the many people who call him a friend, and all of whom are trying to meet up with him tonight. Every video taken and some photos will eventually end up posted to his Instagram and Facebook because, whether you love it or hate it, SCEE is going to do everything it can to bring the party to you via social media.

At its inception SCEE was just a place for Mario to post about the next event he and his close knit group of friends would be attending, then over time posts shifted to covering more than just club events and festivals. After spending several months working to build a solid community of followers, Mario was approached by Shmitty, a Team Manager for Create Nightclub, about joining their promotions team. The decision to accept this partnership would forever change the future of SCEE. The page is now close to hitting the 30k followers mark and has a slew of clubs on their promotions roster including Exchange LA, Avalon, Sutra OC, Ruby Skye, Foxtail in Vegas and growing. If you ask him what his motivation was when he started this journey two years ago he will casually shrug his shoulders and say “for fun?” The quizzical tone is punctuated by a loud laugh and then an explanation that in the end he just wanted to help people. If he heard of a show happening first, he figured why not post about it and help spread the word. Over time people began to trust his page as a reliable source for on sale dates and show announcements, seemingly always being the first to post and in turn helping his followers score the earliest and often lowest priced tier of tickets. What was once only for fun is now a full time job (which is technically his second given that he does have a 9-5) with posts being added hourly and with the first appearing only an hour after he wakes up in the morning and the last a half hour before he goes to sleep. This totals to more than 12 hours spent on the daily upkeep of the page and website. Given that he seems to live a pretty busy life as is, one might wonder why Mario would continue to add to his already full plate, but watching him seamlessly transition from Mario regular music fan to Mr. SCEE and back it’s easy to see that this is exactly how he likes his life; constantly moving and constantly growing. And it has been this same mantra that has seen So Cal Edm Events grow so exponentially in the last two years.

Since he didn’t start SCEE with any clear intention Mario has spent the last year working on all the finer details of his creation. His most recent venture is Discovery Sessions, where he highlights unknown or lesser known DJ’s. He explains that he wants to keep building the community by investing in all of its members, known or unknown. Additionally earlier this year he started a weekly Monday fan spotlight he titled Social Monday’s. His aim is to highlight his followers and what makes them happy. He doesn’t limit the posts to the past weekends events but instead to whatever his followers feel like sharing. He looks at it as building a deeper connection with a community of people he loves so much. So as SCEE rolls up to its two year anniversary, I asked Mario what the future holds for not only himself, but also SCEE. His response was simple, “Life is short; do what you love, laugh, and always move forward.” I ask him to be more specific and he smiles that almost trademark smile and explains that there isn’t a set plan for SCEE, he is following its growth organically and isn’t trying to box himself in just yet. As the night comes to a close, someone taps him on the shoulder and asks, “You’re SoCal right?”, Mario seems surprised to be recognized but answers affirmatively and smiles. The gentlemen comes closer and says over the music, “Dope man, I follow you good job!” And in the end this is what matters most to Mario, and he best sums it up by saying, “SCEE exists to make life easier for its followers, to find information easier and to share the memories they make with others. I find that very rewarding and I suppose in the end that is my motivation.”

Photography and words by Helen (@Gotophotography)