Meet Tina Berger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Berger.

Hi Tina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Last year was my 20 year anniversary of DJing professionally. I had wanted to have a big party and event to celebrate… but sadly that couldn’t happen with the pandemic going on. Maybe next year I can have one 22nd Anniversary event instead. But anyway… I had flown out to LA the weekend of Mar 14th 2020 and my gig was suddenly cancelled due to pandemic rules being enforced the day of my DJ gig. We flew home to Denver and I knew I had to figure out something to sustain me since clubs here had closed as well. I knew of Twitch but had never used it… I threw myself into a crash course education for three straight days… reading every article and watching every instruction/tip video I could find. My fiancé and I called stores online till we found an audio interface and web camera we could use to stream my DJ gigs online at Twitch. We seriously threw it together so quickly we didn’t even really have time to test properly. I had a friend who streamed gaming on Twitch and she helped me with a lot of questions and getting an overlay setup. Then boom, that Wed night March 18th I went live for my first stream.

It was a bit crazy… I’m a very introverted person and all of a sudden I was going to put myself online under the critical eye of an unknown amount of people. I was shy, scared, unsure of myself and nervous as hell! I decided to just play the format I normally play at Milk Bar on Wed nights. I tried to look at the camera. I wasn’t sure if I should talk on the mic or not. It was all brand new to me! Still, the crowd was so friendly and understanding. They gave me confidence and made me smile. I felt like they were right there with me! I ended up having an average of about 60 people all night which is awesome for a first time stream! I decided that I would do this stream on all my normally scheduled gig nights. So every Wed I’d do Dark Electronics, every Sat I’d do MIXTAPE Alternative ’80s and every Sunday I’d do Disintegration Dark Alternative, I was a little hesitant to do my DEVIANT 2nd Fridays since that night in normal club life also relies heavily on performances and decoration but decided I would try it anyway and it was VERY successful!

My 2nd stream was even better, we went to an average of 105 viewers over the five hours. And each stream after that got bigger and bigger. I quickly made it to Affiliate on Twitch and got my own custom emotes. I have a Depeche Mode Violator rose emote as an homage to my favorite band. It quickly became the most used emote across the Alternative music scene streams on Twitch. No matter whose stream you’d be on, you’d see my channel’s DM rose spammed all over! That is so neat! My follower and sub count started to skyrocket… for the past year I have become the most followed and watched Dark Alternative DJ streamer on Twitch worldwide!!! That is quite the accomplishment and it still blows me away! All of a sudden I have friends and contacts in almost every country on the planet. The amount of networking and exposure is something none of us could have anticipated, and we appreciate it so much!

I am so humbled and thankful for the Twitch community and family that has come out of this. I feel I have made true lifelong friends… people who get to see into my life and experience music with me. We share such fun conversations and provide a much needed emotional support system for each other. My channel is known for how accepting, non-judgmental, caring, and friendly we are. It a place where you can feel safe, let your hair down and make new friends. The community has brought me to tears on quite a few occasions with their outpouring of love… not just for me but for each other. They give me so much faith in humanity and made me realize how much of a difference I can make in people’s lives by bringing them music and a safe space. I have never taken a night off and try always to be as punctual as possible… I know people count on me and look forward to this time we get to spend together. It makes me place priority on being accountable, reliable and consistent. While we may be gathering to hear music, I still think the most important things are the interaction between the viewers and their enjoyment… so even if I have to miss a mix or pause a song to be able to talk to our crew… that’s ok!!!

That’s definitely a difference between streaming and DJing live at a club. I wonder how the transition will be once clubs reopen. Ideally, I’d like to be able to stream still while I DJ at the club. I feel these streams are super important and not everyone will feel safe going back to clubs yet… or even ever. So to have this outlet to still be able to bring the music and the club to people who are staying at home is crucial. If I cannot find a reasonable and practical way to stream from the club, I may cut my club DJ sets down and alternate from week to week.

While I love dancefloors and nothing beats the energy of DJing to people who actually see dancing and exchanging that live energy with you… I think I prefer live streaming over DJing at a club. There are several reasons… first being the obvious convenience of not having to travel anywhere. I have my setup that is ready to go whenever I choose to stream I don’t have to pack anything up so there’s no extra wear & tear on my equipment. I am safe at home with my own bathroom and easy and cheap access to drinks… hehehe… and if I have a wardrobe or makeup malfunction I can change easily and quickly. But the biggest reason is almost NO drama or politics. I call the shots; it’s my channel and I don’t allow negativity or sh*t-talking. I am treated fairly because I am my own boss. I get to showcase my talents and people can judge quite easily for themselves if they want to support me. The nightlife industry is VERY heavily male-dominated and sexism is far too rampant… with Twitch it’s been nice for people to treat me as a DJ & performer plain and simple… not based on my gender or by how a promoter allows me to be seen. This has been such a blessing for females, LGBTQ, and other people who tend to be discriminated against in this industry. We are excelling on Twitch and letting our true talents and personalities shine!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Hard to find streaming gear at beginning of pandemic. Most things were sold out so lots of researching, backordering and making due. If you were to see the “behind the scenes” view of my streaming set-up, it’s pretty funny. Lots of things taped, balanced, rigged precariously… Also order from Amazon almost every day for and & every cable you could ever imagine. A crash course in technology for me for sure. I never knew how much I’d have to learn… and am still learning to this day about streaming.

Promoting. Twitch is a very hard website to gain recognition and exposure internally. So I have had to triple my normal promoting efforts to get the word out about my channel. Even then, the majority of my viewers are from outside Colorado. Most my local fans don’t watch my streams because either they haven’t figured Twitch out or they don’t want to experience “clubs” online and would prefer to wait for the physical venues to open. Twitch can be confusing or intimidating… there are subscriptions, cheers, etc. that some people don’t even want to try and go through the effort for. I wish I could make it easier for people to tune in and show them it’s actually quite simple but it’s a hurdle I haven’t figured out yet.

Competition. In normal pre-covid club life… there were our designated club nights. Most people tried not to do things on competing nights because it’s smart to try and not fight for the same crowd. Now with online streaming, we have DJs from all over the world trying to keep their career going and survive. So there’s only seven days in a week which means LOTS of competition. And that’s just considering professional DJ’S! Now we have to add to the mix hobby DJ’s who have decided to try their hand at the art and play around online. That’s a lot of choices and competition so as a DJ you really have to stay ahead of your game and keep it fresh.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have been a professional club DJ for 21 years. I started as a resident at Club Onyx back in 2000. I DJ’d there for about four years I think then started my own night that ran for about five years. From there I have had residencies at almost every club in town at some point. I am one of the only Dark Alternative DJs in our scene that has at least one weekly residency consistently for 21 years with no time off. Before Covid I had 6 residencies… five in Denver and one in LA California. Once clubs reopen I hope to continue to have those but also would love to continue my streams as well.

I am known for my hard work. It’s pretty common for me to hear from people “She’s the hardest worker in the DJ business”. I am absolutely known for my work ethic and always caring about our patrons since I always first and foremost consider myself a patron as well… so believe in treating people the way you’d like to be treated. I am honest, reliable, motivated and strive to conduct myself in a professional manner while always trying to find the positive in everything. My goal is to give our community a safe space to express themselves, enjoy music and make friends. If I can make people smile, I know I am successful and proud of what I am doing.

The type of music I specialize in is pretty diverse… Genre’s would be Industrial, EBM, EBSM, DarkWave, PostPunk, Alternative ’80s New Wave, Synthwave, DarkTechno, DarkElectro, EDM and more! Above all… very dancey beats!!! I DJ primarily at clubs… but also open for bands at concerts, and DJ parties, conventions, premieres, weddings, holidays and other special events. I also travel to DJ and that is always the most fun!

I think the thing that sets me apart from others is my passion. I often hear people remarking about how much I smile and dance while I DJ. I truly feel the music and play songs I really love. It’s rare I play a song I dislike unless it’s an important request. I also really try and push new music. I spend a large chuck of my week researching music and trying to help our scene grow. While I do play a fair share of recognizable hits during a night, I try and balance that with new or newer music helping people discover it and hoping it will catch on. I love when people tell me it’s because of me that they discovered a band. That is part of my job I truly think, so then I know I am successful. Also, I LOVE dancing as a patron, so I really try and find songs that make me want to dance!!!! I love to associate songs with specific people too, so when they show up at the club I can cater songs to them to keep them smiling and dancing. That personal touch is such a joy for me and the patrons too!!!

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
After the seriousness of this pandemic, I see nightlife changing IMMENSELY. I cannot even imagine packed clubs/concerts ever again. I know I personally do not want to be anywhere where I’m crammed next to another person. As a DJ, hopefully I will be provided safety in my booth and enforced guidelines for people keeping 6 ft of distance in public areas like at the bar, in halls, dancefloor, bathroom etc.

Because of this, I hope we can have more access to streaming from these venues. I would love if all clubs incorporated streaming gear and technology for DJs & bands to hook into so they can stream as well.

I also think fewer people overall will be going out. This virus is not going to just vanish. It’s mutating and I think even more viruses will start showing up. I hope we’ve learned we can’t have crowded spaces and need to really take cleaning and sanitation a million times more seriously. Prices at venues will probably increase due to being able to have less ticket sales/capacity. People will have to pay a premium to attend events in person. Also as an employee, I would like to be paid more to afford insurance and more precautions I’ll have to take to putting myself at risk at public venues. I think if clubs allowed us to stream and take in that additional income from streams while we’re also being paid to DJ, I’d be willing to DJ there.

Contact Info:

• Email: djslaveone@gmail.com
• Website: www.twitch.tv/djslave1
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djslave1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DJSlaveone
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/djslave1

Image Credits
Heidi Strawbridge Joel Harris Logan Wayne Corin Nguyen Sam Nguyen