Dave Lander or “DJ Digital Dave” as he’s known, has been running his own DJ company in the Pittsburgh area for 29 years.
By: Danielle Johnson
His array of events varies from nightclubs and bars to professional and collegiate sporting events. Most notably, he currently spins for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and University of Pittsburgh football and men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Lander’s journey into DJing began in 1995 at a roller-skating rink and, since then, he’s created a remarkable reputation in the Pittsburgh DJ scene by combining his love for music with his love for sports. At DJX in Atlantic City, N.J., this August, he’ll be spinning the Aug. 7 “Millennium-Mixtape Party,” where attendees can expect a mix of genres from 1990 to 2010. Here’s his story:
DJ LIFE: How did you get into DJing?
Lander: In 1995, I was working at a roller-skating rink just north of Pittsburgh called Romp N’ Roll as a skate guard. I worked Saturday afternoons and always hung out Saturday nights after my shift with the Saturday-night DJ, Jim McCaan to watch him work. One night, Jim called in sick at the last minute and the manager, David Martin, asked me if I wanted to try DJing for the evening… and the rest is history.
DJ LIFE: Where did you grow up and what got you first interested in music?
Lander: I grew up in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh. My first concert with my dad was the Statler Brothers, Ricky Skaggs, Ronnie Milsap, and Lee Greenwood. I listened to mostly country music until middle school and then I fell in love with the heyday of New Jack Swing… SWV, Jade, En Vogue, Bobby Brown, After 7, etc., and then Golden Era Hip Hop as well as the dance music that was coming out at the time. In 1985, I was at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, with my family and heard a cover of DeBarge’s “Rhythm Of The Night.” I had to have it, so at 6-years old, I made my mother take me out to our local National Record Mart and we found it on 45. That was the first record I ever owned.
DJ LIFE: How many events do you do each year?
Lander: I do around 200-250 annually. I have a crew of local DJs who do weddings and events for me; however, they’re subcontractors and welcome to pick up their own gigs as well. Two of my best friends, Jan Jursa/DJ Jan, and Mark Raich/DJ Hypnotyza, have been doing gigs for me for almost 15 years. I enjoy running a company, but I love music, so I never wanted to grow so big to the point where running a company took me away from my passion for music.
DJ LIFE: What’s your percentage breakdown of events?
Lander: We do about 20-percent weddings, 35-percent sports, 40-percent nightclubs and bars, and 5-percent corporate/private events.
DJ LIFE: What makes your company unique within the market?
Lander: As far as weddings go, our market is unique in that we have lots of gorgeous 100-plus-year-old buildings that house weddings. However, a lot of them have huge rooms full of marble, which are gorgeous, but can make acoustics challenging. I have a great relationship with many of the wedding vendors in the city. It feels like a big family and everyone gets along pretty well. I’d say we all bring our nightclub experience to the table in DJing weddings, which leads to a lot of fun energy during the dancing portion of the evening.
DJ LIFE: How does your company market itself?
Lander: It’s important for me to market my company as diverse, doing nightclubs, sports, and weddings. I make sure they all shine and get love. I’d say, marketing-wise, we get the most engagement on Instagram and Mixcloud. All of my marketing is organic at the moment. I spend money on marketing – design work – but I don’t spend any money on actual advertising.
DJ LIFE: As it relates to spinning for sporting events, what are your responsibilities?
Lander: I’m playing all the music you hear in the stadium/arena… whether it’s a music bed for a presentation, a song to hype up fans in a pivotal moment, or just a fun, poppy tune for fans to dance to during a commercial break. Every day when I come to work I get a 10-plus page script outlining every element that will happen as part of our show. This includes things like player intros, presentations, contests, etc. Throughout the show, I’m on a headset in constant communication with the entire staff that runs the video board as well as our game day producer. It takes a village to put on a show in a major stadium or arena.
DJ LIFE: For a DJ, how do the sporting events differ?
Lander: The vibe is different for each. With baseball, we’re less intense with our music selections sans specific pivotal moments. It’s summertime, a ton of families attend games and our music selection is diverse and light-hearted. Football is much more intense, with a lot of hip-hop and hard rock. In basketball, energy falls somewhere in between the two. I’d say we’re musically heaviest on hip-hop, EDM, and pop for basketball.
DJ LIFE: What was the biggest learning curve for you doing these events?
Lander: First, you have to be ready musically at any given moment for almost anything. In football, a play could result in a sack, interception, a short gain, a long gain, or a touchdown, for either team, all of which have their own unique songs we’d play to accompany them. Second, in sports, you’re not controlling the energy of the room, what’s happening on the field is, and you have to respond to it. Usually, as DJs at weddings or nightclubs, we’re used to controlling the vibe, so it’s unique to not have that control. We’re quite literally soundtracking more so than DJing.
DJ LIFE: What do you think are the all-time best walk-up songs for Pirates hitters?
Lander: This season is easily Rowdy Tellez’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Rowdy had a slow start to the season and changed his song to the Shaboozey hit, and since he made the change, he has been having a monster year and become a fan favorite. Easily the best walk-up song on our team for the year.
DJ LIFE: What’s the most fun part of spinning for sporting events?
Lander: As a lifelong sports fan working for my hometown teams, getting to be a part of helping to create an atmosphere that can help my teams win is so incredibly cool. Also, being a part of some historic moments is really special. Last week, the Pirates hit seven home runs, including two grand slams, in one game, which we hadn’t done in over 90 years. I got to work [Steelers’ quarterback] Ben Roethlisberger’s last game at Heinz Field, where he took a 10-minute, post-game victory lap around the field high-fiving fans, while I played Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” and Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home,” which ended as his kids ran out onto the field into his arms. That moment still almost brings me to tears.
DJ LIFE: How has the business changed in the past few years?
Lander: During peak-Covid, business was tough. Then post-Covid, it was almost too much, and now I’d say it’s finally leveling out. My favorite thing about where music is currently is there are fewer obvious bangers than ever, which makes DJ sets more unique. I see that as a great positive, which also allows the DJs with the deepest knowledge and most creativity to shine.
DJ LIFE: What DJ gear set-up do you usually use?
Lander: I use a Pioneer DJ DJM S-11 mixer, Technics 1200s, Shure QLXD Beta 58 wireless systems, Pioneer HFJ-H5 headphones, Astera Titan Tubes for lighting, and a variety of RCF speakers including Evox 8, Evox 12, and ART-932 tops with 8003-AS subs.
DJ LIFE: Where do you see yourself and your company in five years?
Lander: I don’t know, to be honest. As a club DJ first, I never expected to get into weddings. I also never expected to get into education and I never expected to be soundtracking games for four of the five biggest sports teams in my city. I never expected to get to play on Power 106 in LA or play on multiple different Sirius XM stations or at LIV nightclub in Miami. I go to work every day with one goal, which is to do a better job than I did the day before. That was the goal yesterday, that’s the goal today and that’s the goal tomorrow. Most days, I feel I have achieved that goal which, in my mind, is what’s led me to all of the great opportunities that have presented themself over the years.
