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DJ Bill Bara - Pittsburgh Wedding DJ and Nightclub DJ

Pittsburgh DJ Bill Bara - The Early Years

Hi! I'm Bill Bara. Born and raised in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I knew that I wanted to work in the music industry from the earliest days I can remember. Thanks to my mom and older sisters, top 40 radio and MTV was always on! Remember when MTV played videos? Fast forward to the 90s and that's when I discovered DJs, nightclubs, and the art of mixing. I quickly became intrigued with the way the DJs were mixing the beats of the songs together. This lead to me buying a pair of used turntables from a friend. I went and bought some vinyl records and a mixer, hooked it all up and began to mess around with the beats. My mom quickly bought me a pair of headphones to replace the speakers in my room, lol, and I continued to practice everyday. This is where my nerdiness began to pay off. I scoured the internet and found how-to-dj manuels and learned them to perfection. I would also use the internet to find when the next bigtime DJ was coming into town for a show and I would go to study his style. This is when I realized it was time to start playing for a crowd. During the summer of 2000, I went back to that original nightclub that I first discovered DJs mixing beats and got hired as their new DJ! I played there for 3 months and ended up having to leave due to college being almost 2 hours away.

College Days at IUP

When I got to college I quickly gained popularity from being the DJ on campus. From makeshift nightclubs in the basements of an old houses to the nightclubs uptown, I played for college kids 5 days a week. This lead to me refining my DJ skills and really learning how to read and work a crowd. In 2002, I stuck an ad to my bedroom door for a new nightclub opening in Pittsburgh called "Matrix Nightclub." I told everyone that it was going to be the #1 nightclub in Pittsburgh and one day I was going to DJ there. That's when I left school to pursue my dream of being a fulltime DJ.

Full Time DJ and Radio Intern

When I returned home I went back to DJ for that first night club I worked at originally and also started booking all kinds of private events. From birthday parties to weddings, I was trying my hardest to make it. That's when something changed forever. The local top 40 radio station that my mom has been listening to my entire life was getting ready to pick their new intern for the morning show... John, Dave, Bubby, & Shelly. So I called the station and they told me that they already picked their finalists. Of course I continued to talk and after a few minutes they changed their mind and asked me to come in for the final interview. So I went in for the final interview and they end up keeping me and another girl. I later found out that they only wanted a female intern, but liked me so much they kept me around. That lead to me to doing all kinds of crazy stuff all over Pittsburgh on the B94 morning show. That experience made me decide to pursue being a fulltime professional DJ for life.

Back to college

I decided I needed my college degree in order to be in charge of my own destiny so I returned to college and changed my major to communications media. Over the following 2 years I refined my skills at digital photography, videography, web design, animation, and most importantly audio production! At the same time I continued to DJ 5 nights a week and distribute over 100 DJ demos each and every week. One of these demos reached the hands of a kid whose dad owned Matrix Night Club. He liked the mix so much that he convinced his dad to hire me! For those who don't know, Matrix Nightclub consisted of 4 huge rooms, each of which were considered their own nightclub. Combine all 4 rooms and you get all the ultimate nightclub experience! The four rooms were top 40, tribal house, trance, and salsa. They didn't quite have a room to put me in so I bounced from room to room and learned from the top nightclub DJs in Pittsburgh. After a few months I ended up in the tribal house room. But after another 4 months I was ready to quit because no one even liked tribal house. Most nights ended with meI playing for an empty dancefloor and the bartenders. So I talked to the general manager about it and he said I could mix a couple 80s songs in each hour. I quickly noticed each time those songs came on, my room would get busier. 6 months later I was playing all 80s and party favorites from the past. My room, known as "Club Exit", quickly became one of the wildest parties in Pittsburgh every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. And so it happened, I created the 80s room at Matrix! :-)

The Pursuit of Perfection

After 4 years at Matrix and helping them win multiple awards for being the best dance club in the city, I left to pursue new opportunities. I started to work a different nightclub each night of the week and even got the chance to DJ the grandopening for Prive Ultralounge and Krobar Club & Ultralounge. As my popularity grew, so did the amount of places I DJ'd at. At the same time I did another internship in radio, except this time for 102.5 DVE and 105.9 The X. In 2006 I graduated from IUP and got hired by 105.9 The X as a production assistant. So after that long ride, I finally made it as fulltime DJ working 6 to 7 events each week and getting my voice on the radio. In 2008 I won best nightclub DJ in Pittsburgh, voted on by the readers of the Pittsburgh City Paper. It was a goal I wanted to achieve since the day I started out as a DJ and it felt great to achieve it! That's when I decided it was time for a new challenge, and that was to bring the best DJ entertainment in the city to the private consumer. While Pittsburgh is full of some of the most talented DJ's in the USA, not many work outside of big time venues. I'm standing up to change that. I currently DJ over 50 weddings and 75 night club events each year and am working with local radio/nightclub DJ talent to bring them into the private market as well. I also started a DJ school where I am developing training tools and programs to ensure that Pittsburgh has enough talented and professionally trained DJs to accomodate the local communities. We will continue to expand everyday and into the future. From remixing the hottest hits for your Ipod, to rocking crowds in the thousands... Each time I step up to my turntables, I get that same excited feeling as the day I first discovered the DJ.

Thank you for reading through all of this and I hope one day I get to perform for you. Until then, you can always find me on facebook!

-DJ Bill Bara


 

Did you know?

  • I've been an avid runner my entire life and just completed my first marathon. I ran the 2010 Pittsburgh marathon's 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 54 minutes. On November 21st I will be heading to Philadelphia to run my 2nd marathon in 1 year!

DJ Bill Bara at the 2010 Pittsburgh Marathon

  • I live with the love of my life Denise and a wild crazy puppy doos!
  • I was voted Pittsburgh's #1 nightclub DJ by the readers of the City Paper!

Voted Best Club DJ in Pittsburgh for 2007 by the readers if the City Paper!