Joey Zahn, 2008 alumnus, also known as D.J. Z, does not lack experience when it comes to disc jockeying and beat making. He has prior experience from working parties like the VMAs after party in Las Vegas, so it was not a surprise when his mom let him know about another advanced contest.
“I was hanging out at my girlfriend’s when my mom called me and asked if I had heard of the Bat-Breaking Beat contest through 100.3 the Beat,” Zahn said.
Zahn had then found out that 100.3 the Beat was hosting a contest for Ryan Howard’s walk to bat beat. It wasn’t just some little contest, it was a chance for some beat making and a D.J. to make it big.
Over 30,000 people checked out 100.3’s Web site during the promotion and voting week. Over 8,000 people voted and in the end Zahn was picked to be in the top five out of 150 people. The top five included D.J. Z (Zahn), Matt Dasher, Steve Wright, Matt Griffin and the first-place winner, Dilemma.
Zahn got to meet Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino.
“When it came time to judge everyone’s beat they all lined up like they were American Idol judges. Howard was Randy, Victorino was Paula and Rollins was Simon,” Zahn said.
After Zahn’s beat played, all the players told the audience what they liked and didn’t like.
“Unfortunately, I made a beat for after he hit a home run not for when he walked up to bat,” Zahn said.
“I’m not going to lie, when I heard Dillema won I was upset but the contacts I made were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Zahn said.
“Dilemma was very humble and gave me a rapper’s e-mail and told me my beats would go well with the rapper’s voice, so that kind of calmed my anger,” Zahn said.
Zahn isn’t going to let one contest stop him from what he loves to do. This contest has brought nothing but good opportunities to his career and a lot of people are very excited to see what Zahn’s next project will be.
