"I ALMOST QUIT DJING": Bijou's Brutal Career Reset | EF EP 115

0:45 Welcome to your weekly elevation, your dose of real strategies for real results in dance music. I'm Olivia and today we are diving in deep with Bijou, ADJ and producer who has cracked the code on something most artists struggle with building the life systems that actually support your artistry because look, you can be the most talented producer in the world, the most skilled DJ behind the decks, but if the life that surrounds your music isn't in order, you're not reaching your full potential. Bijou is a living proof of what happens when you treat your body right, your mind right, and you create routines that fuel your creativity instead of drain it. We're talking about 13 years of sobriety, waking up at 6:00 AM everyday, yes, even sometimes as a touring DJ, cold plunges, meditation, and how he's completely transformed his sound and career by getting his life together first.

1:36 If you've ever wondered whether discipline actually translates to creative success, this conversation has your answer. So, OK, so you're here. You didn't play in Chicago last night, but you're here because you're going to Milwaukee for your tour. Let's let's start with that. Let's talk about your tour. Mind Eraser tour right now, I think we have 20 dates announced. We're announcing phase two, the 26th of this month, which coincides with the release of the song, which is my first release on Fisher's label. That's incredible. And I saw that he's been rinsing some of your tracks in Ibiza, right? Is that crazy to see, like your music travel that far? I can't imagine that feeling because I'm not a DJ. And that's been like the dream for me. And we got to go see it in person. So I was there in June.

2:24 We did like a whole Europe trip, me and my team and like Switzerland, Italy, and then we finished in Ibiza just for the Fisher Show. That's so cool. Almost didn't make it, which would have sucked, and then almost didn't even see the track. I was in the bathroom when he started playing it and heard it and we like, ran out. You in bathrooms have a thing that's really cool. And I was I was looking through your content the other day and I love that you are like posting in this like Swiss Alps, like on a gondola. And you are the same person no matter where you are in the world. Like you're just this guy with this phone shooting cool content. Like I love that. Like it's not pretentious.

3:07 Like you have a lot of artists who like start kind of like they do their tour thing or whatever and they get their, you know, cool dude, douchey shots like, but you, you're just, you like wherever you go. I don't really like the too cool vibe. Yeah, there's nothing wrong with it, right? But it's not me. So I can't really resonate it with it. But for me, it's like, I'm kind of, if you were to make me like a character, I'm like, I guess like the superhero guy, you know? Whereas it's like I'm trying to show everyone that what I'm doing is available and anyone can do it. It's funny because we were in Vegas last weekend for Marquee and afterwards we were hanging out with a bunch of people and someone goes, well, you're just this cool DJ and I'm just an accountant.

3:52 And I looked at it and I go, you could do what I do. And she was like, what? And kind of just stopped. I was like, yeah, if you worked hard enough and, like, figured it out, you can do it. It's like a puzzle. I was just funny. I was thinking about this last night, laying in bed, going to sleep. I was like, music and life is kind of the same. It's all a puzzle, right? So the way you want your life to be, you find all these pieces of the puzzle that work for you. And it's the same thing with music and growing your, like, career in the music industry. It's like, what pieces of the puzzle work for me so that I can go where I want to be? That makes sense. It does make sense. I think where a lot of artists get stuck and any creative is that they feel like they need to have all the puzzle pieces together, like the puzzle needs to be made in order for them to take that first step. And they're not willing to kind of just build as they go, make mistakes, iterate.

4:43 I talk about that a lot like on on social media. It's like you just, you just got to start, like you got to start with one puzzle piece, right? And and figure it out. And I'm sure there's like, is there anything that you did in the beginning of your career that you're like, wow, that was a mistake, but I learned from it or I wouldn't do that again. Yeah, I went through that. So my sound has changed over the last year and a half. I've always been the G House guy. Yeah, that's what we talked about the first time we did this. And I don't remember if we talked about like, was I at a point then where I was kind of shifting? Do you remember I? Don't think so. OK, so five years ago when this whole house thing came together and was like huge, my manager who can like see the future, right? And me being stubborn, he was like, yo, I know you love G House, but I think your career is going to be better off if you shift this in a way in this realm. And I was like, no, I'm not doing that. I'm going to go harder on G House, right? Looking back, we talked about this and looking back, I should have listened, but I'm so stubborn. I have to like figure it out on my own, right? And the LAT, that was one mistake where I was like, hey, I think I should have probably done that because the next couple years were really good.

5:58 And then I did the tour with Martin Horror in 22 and I got complacent and kind of comfortable and was like, I just had this insane tour with Martin. It's like 30 dates. We sold out like 20 of them. And we were playing big rooms and I was like, I'm good, like I'm good for a while, which is not the case. So I started, I kind of started getting lazy in the studio, kind of wasn't as focused on the things that I needed to be focused on and it hurt my career for probably. So 23 was good. I played, I think I played more shows than ever in 23. That's when we talked.

6:39 Yeah. So I was like crazy busy. Yeah. Because that tour was huge. So it LED into a lot of things, right, that were already set up for the year. But then 24, like the end of 23, I was in a place where I hated G House. I hated touring. I didn't love or enjoy what I was doing anymore. And I wanted to quit and just be done. And we had a whole team call our member. I was in Detroit before a show and we're they're like, hey, we really think you should try this. Just try it. If you're not happy, make a change, Yeah? Meaning switching to more traditional house. Yeah, change your sound just and also G house had plateaued hit a peak. It's like, what do you do now?

7:24 I had kind of done everything you can do with it and I was like all right, I'll try it. So then 24 I'm going through the motions of trying to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing. Can we swear? Yes, of course, I'm just making sure. I'm just making sure. So I'm like, what the fuck do I do now? And I'm going, I'm making all this different music. It's like there's stuff that's more melodic, stuff that's more housey, more stuff that's this. And I'm just like throwing darts at the wall, like what do I do? And no one signed any music. I think I signed one song that year or maybe 2. There's one with Marion and then one on Confession. OK, but you're still running DND at the time. Yeah. So I'm putting stuff out independently, right?

8:06 Yeah. So that's happening, right? I think that was the year we released one of your brother's first records. Too was that? Year and I and it's hard because I had all these people coming at me like we want to collab with you, we want to do this. And it's like my friends and I'm telling them no and they don't know this, but it's because I didn't know where I was going and I had no idea. And I don't want to write music with them, put it out and have it do absolutely nothing for either of us, especially them, because it's like, it's going to hurt you. But I didn't know how to communicate that, right? So I was just like, not right now. So time goes on, time goes on, Nobody's signing anything. Now I'm like deep in the hole, like, what do I do, right? And I wrote this song.

8:57 It's one of the ones Fisher's been playing, but it's a new version, and it's the Mamacita record. So good. And there's a totally different version of it and I sent it to, I found out my friend was the ANR for them, who I had done a remix for a label he was working with years before. And I wrote the original version. I didn't think it was good. I was like, whatever, it's cool. It wasn't even done. It was like a rough mix master. I sent it to him and he's like, this is incredible. I'm sending it to fish right away. And I was like what? Like, this song's garbage, in my opinion, right? And he played it at Art Basel the next week. And that's kind of when it all clicked. And I was like, OK, maybe this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Do you think that you thought it was garbage because you were just in this like perpetual state of doubt about your identity?

9:49 Yeah, I had no idea who I was as a person. I was going through relationship issues, breakup stuff. I was going through that. I was going through dumping everything I had left in my savings into my projects. So it's like, OK, financially, what's going on here too, right? Hoping that it comes back. I literally said at the start of that year, I'm going to put everything I have left into it and see what happens. Wow. And that year was crazy because I toured quite a bit then too. Like I went to Europe, I did a whole bunch of stuff, but we didn't do any branded tour that year. So for two years we didn't do a branded tour. And when that clicked, I was like, OK, maybe I am kind of good at this. I think I might know what I'm doing. And then it just kind of went from there. I was like, OK, forget all this melodic stuff. I was like, that's not me, right? It was just like, what might do?

10:47 Well, I didn't know what to do. Literally was lost. And then I kept writing. I kept writing. They said no to a bunch of stuff. And then I think it was March because then we'd be in 25 March of this year. I sent them Mind Eraser and it's funny because have you heard of Know Me? I did chit chat with her. OK. She did a big record with disco lines that was on experts only. She has this other project called Dottie. She did stuff at Shipwreck. She's. I've heard. Yeah, she's amazing, right? She's one of my closest friends. And and right before that I was in the Dominican Republic for a show and then had to fly same day to LA for another show that night at Exchange, which was crazy. And I had to connect in the Charlotte airport and I hadn't really prepared a lot of stuff for the session we had on the Sunday after the show.

11:44 I like 2 songs. I'm like, oh, they're cool. But I was like, dude, these aren't good enough. And somehow got to the lounge and in a couple hours wrote Mind Eraser from scratch and then played the show. Next morning work, got up early, worked on it more, went to the session. And thank God I did that because the first two, she's like, yeah, they're OK. And then she heard that one and she's like, that's the one. Wow. And then we all, it was me, her and the engineer, we all wrote the vocal in probably 20 minutes, recorded, and I finished the song in like the next hour, isn't. That crazy, it's just the overthinking right you, but then you just you just go with your gut and like your like your creative flow and the product ends up being so much better. Whenever I overthink things, it's always my most garbage content strategy.

12:41 You know what I mean? And like I'll look back at it like, you know that like meme of like the math equation, like the like the woman with all the math equations above her head like that. I'm like, what did I just put together? It's like trash, you know what I mean? But then when I just, I'm like, I like, I follow a simple idea and I, I don't know if you feel this way too, like even with social media, the content you put out, it's the stuff that's just like you being yourself, funny, simple, always performs the best. 100% and it's like it's funny how that happened because I sent it to the ANR on Monday and he goes or no, no, no, it was like a week later. I Rd. tested it a little bit first was like, how is this? And got the master back? Because before that, I should know this already because I've been doing it for a while.

13:26 But like I can get, I don't mix and master my songs. I can openly say that because I like to get another ear on them. I can do it, but I also I love to write. So I'm like, all right, cool, this technical shit's great. I can do it. But let me just pass this off because I want to write the next song. And the couple songs before that I sent them, I had not gotten them fully mixed and mastered and they're like, doesn't sound right here. Doesn't sound right here. I was like, I'm not doing that anymore. Got it mixed and mastered, sent it and they're like yo this is insane. And then he played it at was it Sacramento? There's a crazy video that came out like a few days after in Sacramento. I think it was Sacramento like 15,000 people.

14:10 I was like yo this is crazy. It's amazing what a moment like that can do for a career, even just like, giving you the internal validation that like, yeah, like, I'm on the right track and I need to keep doing more of this. 100% And it's been interesting for me because it's been 10 years now, so I'm in an interesting place in my career where it's like usually at 10 years you're good, right? But I had that low because of the choices I made. And now it's like, OK, what do I have? It almost feels like 20/15/2016 when I was coming up, it's like I had to start over.

14:51 Yeah. And it's like, OK, things are getting exciting again. Yeah. So would you take it any of it back or would you do it the exact same way? I do the same way, you know, because 1, you can't take it back, but two, I learned so much about myself as a person and as a producer and I learned I did this when I played baseball. I got comfortable, but I was way younger, right? I was like 18 when I played College in Probase. I was like 18 to 23 and I was like, I already made it here. Like how much harder can it be to make it to the next point? It's really hard. And that's the same thing with this because you can get, I was listening to an odd mob interview the other day and you made a great point. He goes, I think it's easier to breakthrough than ever right now.

15:38 And at first I was like, I want to see where he's going with this. And he was saying how everyone just writes to what the trends are, right? So if you're doing something different, it's a lot easier to stand out, which I totally agree with. And I if you're doing something different is the hard part too. And I mean, I think that's a testament to what you were doing with G House though, like, because that was very like we talked about that in our first interview. It was very true to who you are and like your roots of like the music that you listen to growing up. And that's not to say like you are like selling out or not, because I know that you love house music too, but it's you tried that, it worked and you evolved.

16:28 And I think that's another thing a lot of artists have fear around is like, what if, what if this isn't like fulfilling me like it used to? Like how how do I maintain like was did you, what was your thought process around like the community and the audience that you had built that knew you for G House and how'd you get through that? So for me it's been fine because my fans, I've created a community where I think they feel very connected to me which I think is very important because without me feeling connected to them I don't feel like I have anything. And at one point I had someone running my socials on Instagram and I think I did it for like 3 months and I was like no fuck this because I felt so disconnected.

17:16 And I have had to find a fine line where I can feel connected and still have my space and live. So they've like rode with me through all of it, through like the melodic stuff and this and that. And I think now, because the music is so much, it sounds so much like me, they're like, oh, this is just him in a different era, right? This is the evolution of what he's doing where maybe sometimes I get people being like, oh, this is cool. It doesn't sound like you, but like, I like it and this and that. And I think because I'm transparent online about a lot of things, right? So I think they were able to see he's changing, right? But he's changing because he's growing and evolving as a person.

18:02 And I think that's the biggest point for me is like, they feel connected to me. And the music is just extra. Yeah, which is to me is great. Yeah, yeah. That's those are the types of fans that any artist should aim to build that will roll with you through, you know, genre exploration, life stuff, you know, because a lot of people forget that art artists are real people and like go through things that can impact your output. Like I just saw there was Ben Sterling who couldn't make it to it to an afters or something because he was like in LA. Yeah. And, you know, there's a lot of people supporting him, but there's a lot of people dogging him too. And it's like, you don't, people don't give. And it's not just artists.

18:47 It's like influencers, anyone like people expect so much of you, like they want you to comment on socio political issues. They want you to like show up. You know what I mean? They want you to like show up to everything and like give it your all. And it's just like your real fans know that you're human and they they're obsessed with the all parts of you, not just like what you can give to them, like what they can get out of you. That's huge. And it's to me, it's cool because I was talking to someone about this the other day and it's like the biggest thing for me out of all of it is being able to connect with people. And we kind of went back to like, where did I come from? And this. And then we talked about like my coming up days and it was like Jaws, IO before he was IO, when he was Fox, Ryan Collins, Drezo, like Ghastly, all these people in LA and everyone was hanging out and everyone was so connected and it was so fun.

19:43 I can't forget about Tony Fresh. He was there, obviously, but everyone hung out, everyone was connected, everybody was supporting each other. Then one dude, we hit it big and they're like, all right, he's gone, right? We don't see him as much. Then the next one and then the next one. And then at some point all of us started touring separately and it was like, yo, where did all my friends go? And it felt so different. So it's like, OK, how do I feel connected again? And you have to connect with the people at the shows and with your fans. And I feel like that's how, like you were saying, that's how they ride with you forever. Yeah, because they won't. They won't forget how you made them feel. Exactly, Yeah. Exactly. That's a big one. I know that I feel that way about guests that come on the show. Like you and I have stayed in touch and there's been plenty of other artists and I'm just like, just as you know, naturally vibe or whatever, but I'm like very appreciative of artists giving me the time of day.

20:38 I think you were one of the like, really one of the first, I think it was episode like 30. So that was before I had even proven that I know what the fuck I'm talking about. You know what I mean? Like you, so you really like you put trust in me and that's huge. And, and it's something that you don't forget, you know, I don't. And again, it's like, it's all about the feeling. Like it's not specifics, maybe something you said or whatever, but like if someone makes you feel like heard, validated, whatever. Like you matter. Yeah, it's massive. Which is, I mean, I was raised to treat everyone equally. So to me, it's a simple concept. Yeah. And I don't ever understand how that's like difficult for people. Well, you know this.

21:20 Everyone's raised different. Yeah, everyone's raised different and the entertainment industry attracts a lot of egos. And you know, I, I'm, I'm grateful that like, I feel like the artists that come on this show, I've always kind of had the same ethos of, of being community driven because it's not just the right thing to do, but it is good for business too, right? Like if you give back in whatever way that you know you can by interacting with your fans, whatever it is, mentoring new artists, putting new art, like that's just like going to come back to you too. And those who understand that are the ones that that thrive and. Get it? But that also says something about you, that the artists of the same ethos come on your show.

22:02 So like, look what you've built. Thank you. Yeah, yeah. Then it makes me, it makes me really, really happy like that. Like when I get comments on the, you know, episodes or whatever, people are like, Oh my God, I met so and so before. They're the nicest person. And I'm like, OK, good. I brought, you know, I brought another good one on the show. I'm sure my day will come where I someone tries to cancel me for something but. Like we all have those days. I haven't had that day. You haven't. That's great. No, I'm pretty. I'm also on because I don't fucking care. You know what I mean? Like go ahead and try like I you cannot, you cannot like use your mob mentality against me because I just don't care. Yeah, I just laugh. Yeah, Like, yeah, good luck.

22:43 Yeah, a burner tried to do that on Twitter, like recently tried to started discourse about me and was was shut down, which was very cool. Telling your brother about this yesterday. There's this one I'd never get hated on, Right. Which I'm like, they always say if you're getting hated on, you're doing something right. And I've always thought about that, like, am I not doing something right? Like, where are the haters? Yeah, right. And one time I posted something about having a bunch of haters and Henry from space. Yet it was like, you literally don't have any. I was like, OK, but I was talking to your brother because this dude all of a sudden started hating on me about the music. Yeah. And I was like, I think we're doing something right. Yeah, it is true. Like it is true because in my opinion, it means that you are like inspiring something, like you're holding up a mirror and you're like, oh, this person has something that I want but can't do because I don't believe in myself or like, whatever, you know what I'm saying?

23:37 So that's where I see haters coming from. It's like I. Want to help those people? That's very noble. Because it's like one, I want to know why you're so upset. Where does it stem from? Yeah, I like the psychology aspect of. It. Yeah, I know you're a big psychology guy. Yeah. Yeah. So like, where, where is this stemming from? Why do you feel it's necessary to do it to me? Yeah, when I didn't do anything to you. I'm just living my life. It's it's all jealousy and projection. Could be, yeah, yeah. Or maybe they're just upset. It could be someone who's like, I don't like the music you're making anymore. It could totally be that. Yeah. But. Like. Which is fine. Genuinely would take the time to communicate that.

24:17 That's when you know it's like you. That's why they also say you never be hated on by someone who's doing more than you or better than you because they don't have the time. This is true. I did comment on Twitter about something or X whatever it is now the other day because like, as you know, I'm a huge Bills fan. Yeah. My entire feed, it's like 20% dance music, 80% sports. It's like Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Pirates, mainly Buffalo Bills, right? And there's one account that they're always bitching about something. And so you know what Hard Knocks is the football show, Yes. So the Bills are preseason on Hard Knocks this year, right? Which is epic. Like the coolest thing to me. Yeah, OK, sure. Yeah.

24:59 I could not tell you a single thing about football. I believe you. OK, so in the first episode, which aired this week, they all go to this specific ice cream place because they do camp in Rochester. And Trey White, who's like long time Buffalo Bill was away for a year, is now back. Everyone's excited. He went in there. He was like buying Sundays for people and doing all this cool stuff and helping people out. And they're like, we should have our own trade day Sunday, right? And they actually put it in there and they posted it. Someone posted it and they put the price up there. It was like 1250 for this giant sundae with like, a cookie, a bunch of ice cream. And I'm like, that seems all right. Like, that's OK. Like, shout out to the business. Like they're doing something cool and people are bitching about the price.

25:43 And I literally responded, I go, yo, this shit would be like $20 on the West Coast. Yeah, literally stop. Crying. That's people always, I mean, you never see the positive comments and stuff like that, you know, And I'm sure it was a small business too. It's a gold bitch to Amazon. Like why small businesses get the heat of everything of like prices and stuff. And I feel like. What costs more? It costs more to small businesses. I feel like that's kind of like been my MO for the past couple years. I used to work in nonprofits, but I'm not going to go down that tangent of what I think's wrong with the nonprofit world. But like, I'm a big proponent of small business and almost everything in this studio except for this carpet is second hand or small business.

26:30 And that's really important to me to like give to give back, like give back, like supporting. And it's just crazy. It's just like artists too, like especially artists who are like, like, you know, you have a label, you have whatever. Like it just opens you up to so much criticism that like you're never going to see like the Amazons, sure, they get criticized, but like it just it's just not the same energy, you know? And that also goes back to like, again, I, I feel like fans are starting to demand so much of artists that they want you to comment on everything. They want you to be part of discourse. It's just, it's mind blowing to me, I think. A lot of it is not to is I think fans feel more connected than ever. Yeah, because artists are more accessible than. They've ever.

27:17 So it's like a double edged sword. Yeah. And it's like, OK, so can you deal with that? It doesn't bother me. I don't care, but like, think about it at like, the Summit Damdala level, right? How do they stay connected? But I feel like they're so big that people just feel connected to them because they're so big. They're so sick and everything's amazing. And like, I've met them both and they're both super nice people. And I'm like, I understand why people can relate to them. They're just normal dudes that blew up and are huge. Yep. And sell more tickets than anyone else. Just what it is. Yeah. It's to me, it's like a simple concept. It's like the brand is great, the music is great, the person is relatable. Like it all makes sense totally.

28:02 But it's like you have to have the discourse that goes with it and everything that aligns with like what's going on. And that's the hard part. It is, it is. It's like the double edged sort of becoming more well known and becoming famous is, you know, it's like champagne problems. So I saw you posted on Instagram like last week, I think about like your 13 year sobriety journey, which is amazing. You just told me like you don't even smoke weed like. Yeah, I quit weed this year. You have no Well, we talked about sugar. Sugar is a vice, but what so? Like I've been on a crazy fitness thing lately too.

28:42 So like I've been like cutting out sugar hard. Like hard. Fruit becomes really tasty when you like, take an actual break from sugar and like kind of recalibrate your brain. I feel like fruit becomes even like more enjoyable because it tastes like super sweet. Yeah, so like my snack right now is, which is like, I love it. Plain Greek yogurt, honey and blueberries. That's it. I'll eat it like 3 * a day. That's amazing. It's good. You got to mix the Greek yogurt with the I can't have. Do you have you ever have Greek yogurt just like as is? Yeah, Really. Yeah. I like it as like Zeki or but like I just have stuff in it. If I put the blueberries in there or sometimes I'll cut up mango and put in there so then it's sweet.

29:25 But like plain Greek yogurt? Like Nah. Yeah. That's not it for me. No, no, I can't do that. That's like the next level of fitness that I'm never going to. Yeah, I'm down with that. I'm like because I when I stopped being vegan I've put on like 25 lbs in the last year and a half. You were vegan before? I was vegan for four years. I stopped two years ago. That hard? I don't think I've ever publicly said that, actually. You heard of your first? That's really I can imagine on the road especially that was probably. It was crazy fucking impossible. Yeah. My best friend was like, he goes, I was looking at pictures of you from back then. He goes, you look like a cancer patient. I'm like, thanks dude. Well, you're tall too, so it's like, hard.

30:05 It's already hard to put on weight when you're that tall, Yeah. And I did look back at pictures. I was like, oh, it didn't look very great. I was looked sick. Yeah. What? So what inspired you to be vegan? You worked at Jersey Mike's. You were eating Subs for a living. It was, I was having health issues, OK. I was having like, it's funny because I was on the road and I just didn't feel good. I felt horrible and I was like, I need to make a change. I had like stomach issues and all this cured everything. I'm good now, I can eat whatever I want. OK, so veganism helped. For me, yes, yeah, I'm not saying it's for everyone, but I utilize it as a tool for what I needed and it's. Amazing the discipline required with that.

30:48 Never broke it either. That's really amazing. That's really amazing. I I've been like having gut health issues for the past 2 1/2 years and I found out it was from mold exposure and for a while I had like 40 foods that I couldn't eat that were in everything. Lemon pepper, blueberries, eggs, yeast, wheat, just random shit. So what'd you? Eat So thankfully, like I grew up in a family of chefs, my husband's a chef and so we were, but like it didn't allow me to go to restaurants for like 2 years. I just took another allergy test and the list has been shrunk. So I'm really excited to like go back out and whatever. But so like I can relate to the struggle of finding something that also has tastes good, right? Like when you're on the road or whatever and everyone around you is eating things like the level of control sometimes you have to have.

31:50 I imagine the food noise probably went away after a while of being vegan, but it I and I still I look at people who just eat whatever. I'm just like fuck you. I wish, I wish I could do that. I went four years without it, so I can relate. Yeah. And it's funny because to me, eating is a social thing. It is for most people. And like my best friend, he's like, I'm not doing that. I didn't eat out with him for like a year and a half. It's a bummer. You realize you lose a lot of connect. Like I feel like I lost touch with a lot of people and I like was in the thick of being sick because of that. Because dinner is just like a communal thing, going out to dinner or whatever. Yeah. I. Feel like your friend should be there more if you're sick. They were, they were, it was me.

32:33 It's like I don't want to have to pick a restaurant based on the two things I can eat. So I like kind of self isolated and then we would cook for people, but I was like I just felt so bad. Like I so like, and this was very recent like up until like I just started to get better like the past month. But in June, I went on a little trip with my husband and his family just to like Michigan. Just quick trip and I didn't eat breakfast yet and we were just out like grabbing coffee. But there was like a waffle stand. And I'm not going to like say no, don't get, you know, of course. So they all get these like amazing waffles. And I'm sitting there with them and I start I started crying because I was frustrated. I was so hangry.

33:15 So. Bad. I wanted what it smelled so good and I was just like, I can't and I was just so I was more frustrated that I was allowing myself to get like rattled by the fact. But anyway, so yeah, it's it requires a lot of discipline. So you did veganism. Are you back? You're just eating everything now, obviously healthy, but like you're eating animal protein and. I'm on like meal prep stuff during the week, like a very strict regimen during the week. Yeah. All right. We'll have to share some meal prep recipes. I have, I had to get so creative, right? So I have, I have some bangers that are like healthy. What's your favorite? So I found this. There's a nutrition store. I don't have time to cook straight up.

33:55 That's true. I love cooking, but I don't. I think about it. I'm like, I could be cooking for an hour, hour and a half, or I could be in the studio for an. Hour, I know. So I found this nutrition store that's 10 minutes from my house, OK. And they have 7 different chefs that bring in like some are three are organic and four or four organic, three aren't or something. And they're all super clean. This is in Arizona. It's in Arizona, Yeah, we have two locations. I'll shout him out. DS Nutrition. DS Nutrition. DS Nutrition. The guy who works there is amazing nice. And there's seven different chefs bringing different food, like every day. OK. And so like you pick it up locally. I just go pick it up.

34:36 I'll go, I'll go pick up for like 3 days. Yeah. But then also they have baked goods there. So like he has like all this these protein desserts with no sugar. That's amazing. Like some stuff is sweetened with monk. Fruit. Yeah, right. Different. Things of that. And I'm just like, he has this old Italian woman who's a Baker and she brings on like real Italian sourdough. It's insane. OK, this sounds amazing. It's so good and it's very, to me it's cost effective. The meals like $12.00 a piece. OK, I think like a lot of artists need to hear this because I talk about habits and what habits you have outside of the music world and how and you're like the perfect person talked about this and how they impact your output and just, you know, what you're doing with your career.

35:19 And I feel like people, you know, artists always opt for convenience, right? What's quick and easy? And $12.00 a meal is very, very. For today's society. Yeah, Oh my God, that's a very reasonable and so like I'm glad that they know the option is out there. I've I haven't found anything in but I also haven't looked hard enough to find something similar. But either that we're just learning how to cook basic shit if you really don't care about it being fancy. Like meal prepping is such a hack to unlock more time doing the things you need to do. And you can do it all in one day? Yeah, you're like over 3 or 4 hours, and then you're set for the week.

36:01 Yeah, you really want to do it? That's what I do. I just don't want to do it. Yeah, which, but you've earned that right. I mean, like you, you are touring like there's so many other things, but like I feel like if an, if someone is not there yet where they, you know, $12.00 a meal is still too pricey. Like you can just go buy rice and chicken and bulk and. And cook it with veggies and. You're good, yeah. Which every now and then I'll do that, yeah. But it's like I'm so regimented. I was talking, I was talking to your brother about it. Yes. I was like my routine in the morning is like I'm up at the latest by 6. I stretch, I have foam roll, I meditate, I go in the cold plunge and I go to the gym every day and I'm at the gym by 7:00 AM.

36:41 Amazing. And it's like, because The thing is too, if you think about it, in the music industry, no one's really up working until 9:00, right? Unless they're on the East Coast, West Coast. I mean, my team is up early, right? I'll be on the phone sometimes with Thomas at like 6:30 in the morning, right? Daniel and Josh I probably won't talk to until like 830 or 9. But like that time from 6:00 to 9:00 AM is the time that I get just for me, yes, and it's so. Important. Oh my God, it's the best. The morning hours are the best. I try. I'm glad 'cause I actually have not. And I know there's more of you out there, but I haven't talked to one-on-one another artist that like gets up really early 'cause that's always the pushback that I get.

37:26 Like I made it a thread once and I was like, just to let you know, like going to bed early, waking up early will make your life infinitely better. And a bunch of DJ's were like, well, I can't, I got this. And that you are, and you're touring and playing late, and you're still doing that. It's just that the schedule flips on the weekend. That's it. And then what I do is which I'm a psychopath, right? In the sense that on Sunday, wherever I'm at, I'll usually take the 6:00 AM flight home, sleep on the plane. I'll get home, work through the day, go to bed at like. 9. Yeah, because most people will go nap. And then they'll work, and then they'll stay up late because they napped. Yep. So nap, you got to power through it. Yeah, but you know who got?

38:07 Well, I've always gotten up early from sports, right? But I was on a 5:00 AM thing for a while and Martin Horger got me on that. He was like, you got to read this book, the 5:00 AM club. I was like, all right, dudes like, whatever, I'll read it. He literally ordered me the book, gave me the book, and I read it. And I think during that tour, because it was probably the first month of the tour and it was like over four months. I think for the next two months during the tour, I was getting up at 5:00 and I was like, you get up at 5:00 during the tour, right? And he's like, no, like, I was like, oh. That's all right, but. You told me to do this, so I just started doing it and I read the because when I find a book I like I read it front to back till I'm done and I won't do anything else.

38:50 That's amazing. In the studio? Well, nothing. I'll just read and I think I read that book in like 2 days. That's amazing. That's so much better though, because then you're just focused on it. You're locked in on it. You're locked in. It's so much better to just do one thing. And so instead of like fragmenting your time and everyone's so fucked with that now with like technology and whatever. So if you have the ability to lock in on something you you absorb it better too. I have this weird. I don't know, actually, it's not weird to me. It's like a superpower. Where I can go like I could be in the studio working on something for two hours and be like, got to do this. I can stop, go handle that, go back in and like pick up right where I left off. Where I know that not everyone can do that because a lot of people will be in the studio. Like, well, if you're flowing like you don't stop, right? I'm like, maybe you don't, but I can. That's amazing to me.

39:43 It's like now I got to go do this and go do this and go do this. It's weird because I can focus on that one thing, then go to the next item and go to the next item. Yeah, I think it's because I'm so clear headed. Yeah, right. From not drinking, not doing anything for the. I mean, it really is such a game changer. Sleep the basics of life. Pretty simple. That make the biggest difference and like to close on the waking up early thing. I get so much done between 6:00 and 9:00 because no one's up to bother. That's also why I work on weekends too. I fucking get a month's worth of work done in one day because nobody's emailing me on a weekend and it's incredible.

40:29 I mean, obviously for you, you are, I mean, maybe you work in between, but you're, that's your job, right? Like you're doing that on the weekends, but it's it's those times that you can find when no one's going to be calling you whatever or just those key put like team members. I want every artist to to at least try. I think they should. I leave my phone on DND 24 hours a day. That why your record labels named DND. No, but it just, it's keeps the peace for me. It does. I had two phones at one point, so my therapist recommended that to me at one time, right? Because I had a hard time. I was a people pleaser for a long time, right?

41:09 And I had a hard time people telling people no or ignoring them to make sure that I was OK and getting the things I needed to be done. She goes get 2 phones. I'm like, it's going to cost me more money. She's like, OK, is the cost of it going to be worth the piece that you have? And I'm like, what do you mean by that? She's like, OK, you have a business phone and you have a personal phone. Leave the business phone in the other room and only check it a few times a day. And anyone that's not a close friend or someone that you work with personally or know really well stays on that phone. And it helped me create the space that I needed to be like, OK, I have to make sure I'm taken care of. Otherwise I'm not going to be able to help these people. It's like the glass half full thing, right? Like if I'm not taken care of I can't help people that I need help. 100%.

42:02 And I did it for like 2 years and then I was like, all right, get rid of the second phone. It worked. I was like, that's the craziest concept ever. Yeah, you've like taken a lot of hypothesis and just put them into practice, like tested them out. That's really cool. I like science experiments. Yeah, that's really cool. They're fun. Yeah. And nothing, nothing has to be permanent, right? You just try it out, see how it works for your life. Like that's the biggest thing is like a lot of people are just afraid, like they, or they just don't have the, the determination to like take that step. And that's what, or, or they do, but they're just, I don't know. I, there's, there's not a lot of people like you like, and I feel like that's also The thing is that the people you surround yourself with have a lot of influence. Where before we, I hit record, I was talking about how when I turned 30, I like dropped like 15 people just gone. I was like, these people aren't good for my growth. They're not even good friends.

43:00 Did you feel like they kind of just dropped themselves? I ghosted them and none of them ever reached out to me. That says it all. The story was was that I had a 30 my 30th birthday party and invited like, you know, they were like local music industry people of people I'm talking about and but people had been friends, friends with for a while. Nothing really that had a lot of depth, but you know, we like I'm Sicilian, like we provide things at parties. I don't like ask people to BYOB. Like we had, you know, all the booze, like we paid for it was at A at a place here called Arbea, which is like one of my favorite spots. They they do vinyl. They'd have regular, you know, they have all kinds of DJ and they have food, good vibe food. We had champagne for everybody.

43:44 Like we did open bar for it for like the first two hours, like we covered and like we had a room and like 15 people, no call, no showed. And I was just like, OK, that's I'm turning 30. This is where I'm at. The like, this is what it is. They've showed me with their actions that they don't really give a shit. And so I just never said anything. I just stopped talking to them. Said fuck them. And that's when I started my business and it started booming. And that's when my life changed. That's when I went low alcohol. Like everything changed. And, you know, like, I don't want to like, sound douchey. Like, yeah, I keep my circle small. But like, I do because it's just like, you know, when you're building something, you can't have distractions and you need to have people that are on the same wavelength. It's like the most important thing I. Had a conversation with one of my best friends about that the other day.

44:39 Similar thing, right? Where when I started this music thing, no one really understood it, right? And it's funny because him and I started DJing kind of together. We weren't a duo, but we would go play parties in Arizona together, right? And I asked him an interesting question the other day, and I was like, hey, I'm doing this to understand more about myself. And he was like, yeah, what's up? I was like, I want to know why you're friends with me today. And I go, there's no ulterior motive. I just want to understand. Yeah, Right. Because sometimes people be like, whoa, whoa. Like, why are you asking me this? Right. None of my friends did that. Actually, one did. And he's just, he's just like that. He's funny because him and I joke around.

45:20 He's like, you're not fucking with me, right? Like, you're actually asking. I was like, yeah, I need a legitimate answer. Yeah. And he was like, he told me why, and I understood it. And then we started talking about, like, the past and things we did together and this and that. He went to the Peace Corps, right? And when he did that, I didn't get it. I was like, why would you want to do that, right? I was so locked into music, right? And he was telling me, he goes, I didn't get it. And then he goes, I remember because he went to Cambodia, right? I didn't know what the Peace Corps was. So obviously I'm not going to get it. And I'm like, cool, you're going to help people. I was like, that's great. Like, I get it. He goes, I remember I was laying in my bed in Cambodia looking up at the mosquito net, watching stuff on my phone, and I saw this video of you playing in a packed club in Albuquerque. And I was like, holy shit, I think he can actually do this. I get it.

46:13 And it's like little things like that where him and I were so separated, right for so long. And because I'm 35 now, he's 36. We we lost touch. We didn't lose touch, but we weren't really close like we were before, right? But like, we could still get together and it was like the old times. The best kind of friendship. Yeah. And now that we've come back, he moved back to Arizona after being in California for a while. So we've been seeing each other more and hanging out. And he's like, that was the moment where I understood what you were doing. And I was like, OK, now I get why he had to sacrifice all of these things to go where he wants to go and do what he wants to do because none of my friends got it. They're like, well, you're not hanging out with us anymore and this and that, and people fall off. That's why I asked that.

47:02 I was like, did they just remove? Themselves, yeah, they just naturally fall off. Yeah, but the real friends stay. Yeah, even if they don't get it. Yeah, and and and you can have all that time pass, but then get together and it's like. Like yesterday. Yeah, which is cool. This has been such a fun conversation. You're the best. Thank you. You too. That is your weekly elevation. Here's what I want you to take away from Biju's story. Those early morning hours when everyone else is sleeping. That is your competitive advantage. While other artists are scrolling their phones at midnight complaining about not having time to work on music, you could be up at 6:00 AM with a fresh brain and 0 distractions getting more done by 9:00 AM than most people do all day. You got to zig while everyone else is zagging. The industry rewards the disciplined, not just the talented.

47:57 And by the way, quick reminder, Chicago Music Nexus tickets are moving fast and this Monday we're announcing all the pre party details, including a contest to win the opening slot, plus a bunch of other incredible prizes. So do not sleep on this one. Remember, success in dance music isn't about luck, it's about strategy. I'll talk to you next week.