DJ Spotlight: The Dingus Hour
Name: Justin Pioletti
Year: 2nd
Major: Graphic Communications
KCPR Schedule: Friday 7-10pm
What is the name of your show?
The Dingus Hour
How did you select/create this name?
I stressed over it like crazy. Having a good DJ name is so critical for me and nothing immediately came to mind. I sat on the couch with all my roommates and we brainstormed forever – I’m genuinely not kidding.
What was your DJ name last year?
Last year I was Sunny Delight. I wanted more of a personal vision and branding with the name. I did like Sunny Delight but it came from Sunny D, the orange juice, and I don’t drink it very much because it’s really sugary.
Obviously, being a disc jockey is massively different than it was quarters before and I needed a name change for all that was changing around me as well.
Justin then proceeded to show me a sketchbook filled with a wide array of potential DJ names, including the following: Frozen Pizza, Good Posture, Beef, Cactus Coolest, Racebar Bed, and Wet Paint.
So, how did Dingus become the final choice?
It didn’t come immediately … I wanted a name that was easy to enunciate. I wanted a name that was short – that I could say really fast. I didn’t want a super professional name. I wanted something that was fluid, flexible, authentic – a bean bag chair almost.
For someone who’s never listened to your show before, what would you tell them in order to entice them? Give me your pitch!
“Hello, friend, if you’re hearing me right now that means you have ears and if you have ears you can listen to noise. Fridays [7] to 10 pm I play a plentitude of noise and it doesn’t necessarily matter if you’re doing anything or not. The noise that I give off of the airwaves can either completely encapsulate your brain or you could listen while you’re studying or while you’re pregaming for that sick rager that will never happen.”
What is your favorite album released in 2020 and why?
The Gorillaz have been keeping my 2020 fresh because they’ve been doing this thing called “Song Machine.” They’ve been releasing all of these tracks throughout the year with various artists – Elton John, slowthai, 6LACK – their whole song machine thing has just been really cool and it’s going to end with the release of all the various tracks as a fully fleshed album.
Gorillaz have also been an experimental group and just seeing them continue to push the barriers so many years after “Plastic Beach” is super cool. I’m glad they’re still trying. Thanks Gorillaz.
If you could go on a date/outing with any artist, who would it be and what would you do?
I would go on a hot air balloon ride with Tierra Whack. Tierra’s lyrics have always been super ‘wow’ to me, super outside of the lines, super weirdo. I just want to be able to have a conversation with her about what goes into her lyrics, kind of pick at her weirdo brain.
Why is being high up in the air the best environment for that?
I definitely know that if I was on a date with Tierra Whack I would be super nervous, probably very sweaty, and I need that air. I guess with a hot air balloon it’s capturing the hot air, but the air around me would be helpful.
Describe your show/music taste with a season/mood:
Noise with a ‘z’.
Is there an ‘e’ on the end, or no?
Yeah. I describe it as ‘noize’ because I never want to have to limit myself – what I want to put on air. People’s tastes’ change and I want to expel that boundary.
Do you notice your own taste changing a lot?
Absolutely. I still like the stuff I’ve always liked, but it’s almost like developing a taste palette with food. I know that I didn’t used to like certain salmon, trout or fish in general, but the more I eat it, I think ‘okay, I can try some of this fish.’ That’s kind of how my ears have transitioned over time. Now that I’ve been listening to more noise, I’ve been able to find my noize… with the z.
“I was returning something out in Morro Bay and I noticed this guy had a really cool button on his jean jacket and I was like ‘oh! You like Run the Jewels?’ We got to talking and he told me about Thou and Wasted Shirt – which is Ty Segall’s punk rock project. You can really dig yourself into whatever rabbit hole, the question is whether you’re willing to put your nose to the test. “
How has Covid-19 changed the way in which your show is run? Can you tell me a bit about your at-home set-up and any challenges you may be facing?
There have been huge, huge, huge changes. It’s been a really weird thing to go from recording in a very professional set-up, at the university – Building 26 – to a garage. The acoustics of the garage have been something I’ve had to deal with.
What have you done to accommodate that?
I’ve gotten in touch with my audio engineering buddies. They’ve got me all set-up with the right bells and whistles and I’ve got all my little dials set super duper precisely… figuring out the software.
Were you using CDs and records a lot for your show pre-COVID-19?
Yeah. All of our hard copies are now no longer available, so we are restricted to everything we have in the software. I know there are some specific artists that are for sure in the software, but I really have to find the two circles of artists I like and artists in the software.
It can be a challenge because, throughout the week, I may think to myself ‘ooh, I really want to play this one artist’ and that may be because they are doing something timely and relevant, or I re-listen to a track of theirs. So, my fingers are crossed when I discover a new artist.
Do your career goals include radio and/or music?
I want to be flexible. I am the bean bag chair – the stuff that I really want is always changing – and I want to give myself the freedom to adapt.
For example, that’s why I don’t want to get tattoos. I want to give myself the career freedom of potentially becoming an astronaut or applying for a job where having tattoos may reduce my chance of that. I don’t look at it as a career. I see it as what I’m going to allow myself to do for however many years.
