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![True Stories Can Be Stranger Than Fiction [Extra Extra ]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2009/01/nightskyline-thumb-110x110-53663.jpg)
True Stories Can Be Stranger Than Fiction [Extra Extra ]
A teenage boy walks into DJ Dojo, a small record store in South Austin, and asks, "How much are your turntables?"
Manuel "DJ Manny" Muniz greets him with a smile and tells him the turntables aren't for sale - but, he says, there's a studio with turntables in the back of the store. Manny and his coworker, Javier "DJ Bigface" Arrendondo, both teach one-on-one turntable lessons and produce demo CDs for a modest fee of $30 an hour.
The boy runs out of the store and returns with his younger brother, a braces-faced kid with huge basketball sneakers. The next thing you know, the little kid is in the lime-green vocal room, spitting freestyle rap lyrics into the mic ("I like white rice with sugar in it..."). He raps for about two minutes, right on tempo to the beats provided by Manny. Apparently, he's been rapping since he was four years old - and he and his brother have six songs they've been working on.
The boys leave with huge grins on their faces. "We'll be back," they say. After all, DJ Dojo is the only place in Austin that has one-on-one lessons for prospective DJs, and provides students access to the recording studio.
A "dojo," says Manny, is a place where martial artists harness their skills. And DJ Dojo is a place where people can be creative. The younger "employees" of the store are actually apprentices who volunteer in exchange for access to the studio, turntables and other equipment.
"It provides a community awareness that you don't have to work at McDonalds or the big mall," Manny says. "You can harness your artistic skills. If you can connect with the community, the community will help you."
Many and Javier taught themselves how to disk jockey by hanging out with other DJs. They've been part of the local hip-hop scene for about a decade, and they started DJ Dojo two years ago. One of the ways they could differentiate themselves from other records stores was by having a studio in the back.
"It's one of the reasons we've survived," Manny says. The store carries a limited selection of quality records, but today's technology makes them a harder sell.
So far, the DJs have taught 25 students (of all ages) the art of beat-matching and harmonizing on two turntables since they've opened. Out of that, four or five students continued and are starting to gig.
Prospective students should call DJ Dojo to arrange lessons. Lessons are $30 an hour and include learning techinical skills, as well as using the recording studio.
DJ Dojo
2210 S 1st St # A
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 447-3656
Photo by Annie Ray
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