Tonight, Ackerman Union will transform into a multiple concert arena. The Student Committee for the Arts (SCA) presents Arts in the Union, which will feature artists playing on four different stages around Ackerman Union, beginning at 6 p.m. The night will conclude with a dance held in Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
Artists include student-formed groups The Internship, UCLA female a capella group Random Voices, psychedelic rock band Owl Fly South and electronic musician headliner MiMOSA.
DJs Victor Tapia and Jeremy Berger, who play under the monikers DJ Goshfather and Jinco, respectively, are some of the larger names displayed on the poster promoting the event. DJ Goshfather was a former student with the UCLA Opera Program but has taken a break to pursue his DJ career. The pair has performed around Los Angeles with the Bruin Party Network.
Daily Bruin’s Brittany Taylor spoke with Tapia and Berger about their stage name origins, band chemistry and personal sound.
Daily Bruin: How did you come up with your stage name?
Victor Tapia: We are still trying to figure out a duo name. My name Goshfather is an inside joke that I’ve used for a long time and it stuck with me because I thought it was kind of ballsy. When I spun by myself I really sucked at first and I wanted to play five different genres in my set. My favorite DJs were the guys who played everything and took a Nirvana song and dropped it in a Dre song and then (went) back into a big house track. So people kind of go “oh my gosh” and combined (that) with (the) Godfather.
Jeremy Berger: It’s been my nickname since I’ve been 10 years old. My eldest brother used to wear Jinco jeans, so when I was little I always wanted a pair, but I was so small that they didn’t make them in my size. So finally when they did (make them in my size), I got a pair, and I wore them every single day for like six months. The moment my brother stopped wearing them, I did.
DB: How did you guys get together?
*VT: *Jeremy has this really awesome studio. We finished a whole track in our first meeting, and it went so smoothly and we bounced ideas off each other so well. So we’ve been DJing together ever since.
*JB: *I started DJing as a hobby about two years ago and one of my buddies worked at Playhouse, and he knew one of the employees for the Bruin Party Network and basically asked if I could DJ at one of their nights at Playhouse. I went to DJ and Victor invited me to his house to teach me how to DJ and (I) learned a lot “¦ (We) found out we complemented each other’s skills.
DB: How does it work DJing as a pair?
VT: We plan a set ahead. When the gig is big like (Arts in the Union), we really want to … do something the people really haven’t heard yet. We are both on either side of the table one person does their set and then another does their set. It’s a lot of different ways to go around it.
JB: It’s basically a back and forth between us. We just switch off. Victor will say he has a great song he wants to play and vice versa. One person is doing a set and the other is doing transitions. In a duo, you kind of have to be able to read that person’s mind in sets. You have to be in sync. When we are DJing and feeling it, we are so in sync. It’s perfection.
DB: What kind of music do you play/produce?
VT: I don’t think we make the track Skrillex is making. We listen to a lot of Clockwork and Luke the Furry. They are forward-thinking and have tracks that stand out. We will still play a Rihanna mash-up (with) stuff we like.
JB: In a grander scheme of things, we produce electro house. What we are really trying to do is find a sound that is unique but also appeals to a large audience. We are finding our niche and allowing it to appeal to a large audience.
Compiled by Lynn Chu, Bruin senior staff