Today we’d like to introduce you to Andre Heckstall (DJ Hellar Stellar).
Hi Andre, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Music has always been a huge part of my life – an invisible force whose powerful grip on me has helped to frame some of my most memorable and impactful experiences; intensifying its hold on me during my early days when I frantically battled for notoriety and respect as a zealous street dancer in Atlanta (“the ATL”). Later, my muse enticed me into trying my hand at producing, however, after painfully coming to terms with the fact that this wasn’t my path, “we” decided it would be better if I focused more on amplifying, whenever possible, the more refined and polished arts invented by true artists, and so I’ve been spinning ever since. There is not a day that goes by where music is not on my mind, pumping through my veins and fueling my soul. I live with music in everything and I am blessed that DJ’ing allows me to stay faithful to who and what I love.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Living the #DJLife is by no means easy… In fact, I’m still happily putting in the work every minute of every day, of which a huge part for me has been truly learning how to be more patient and to wait for the right relationships and opportunities to manifest. I strongly believe that passion plays an essential role in achieving true success and being happy once you have it. However, too many bad relationships in both my business and personal life have cost me, as an entrepreneur, one of my most precious commodities… time. So now, I make it a point to hear my own voice and to believe in myself, even when there is no one around to drive me, to help me plan my next move. Experience has taught me it’s better to fail making my own decisions than to desperately pick myself off of the ground after tripping over someone else’s poor judgment. It’s not to say or imply that you won’t need help. In fact, it’s good relationships that are essential, is the point that I’m trying to drive home. For example, I hear often that I’m a fish out of water when I play country music during my sets. Now I know playing the music that’s near and dear to my heart cannot and will not lead me astray.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I enjoy spinning all types of music to a wide variety of audiences both on and offline. Whenever possible, I like to share with my listeners the highly passionate and creative stories that are synonymous with Country music. Many years ago, I literally fell for the musical genius that is Kenny Chesney. For me, there are so few who can both write and perform at such a high level for as long as he has and still be true to the fans and the people that helped to get him there. In fact, I make it my point to work I Go Back into all my sets (yes, even those that are focused on Hip-Hop). Why?… because in its most direct and simplest way possible, the lyrics of I Go Back define how and why I love music. On a broader scale, much of Country music has been able to do a much better job explaining my love for my beautiful wife and amazing daughter, or why and when I like to drink beer, or how to better connect with all people. So, I hope to continue putting in the work and get even deeper into the music of this storytelling genre.
How do you think about luck?
Luck for me is where hard work and preparation meet opportunity. So, I’m doing my best to be dialed into learning how to be a better DJ and then being honest about the areas in my performance where I can get better. It’s through this framework that I can be confident that I’m ready when the opportunities present themselves and look to build upon these experiences until there’s enough of them to one day look back and truly feel blessed and lucky that I was able to live my dream through the love of music.
Contact Info:
- Email: andre@djhellastellar.com
- Website: https://djhellastellar.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djhellastellar
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DJHellaStellar
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dj-hella-stellar-brentwood
