Empower Duluth DJs: Support Our Community

Hello, my name is Michael Rittierodt, otherwise known as Milk-Weed. I am a Dubstep DJ and Producer from Duluth, MN with about 9 years of experience under my belt. I also run the Facebook group EDM Duluth as a focal point of all things EDM in the Northland. As the scene in the area continues to grow, we have a growing community with a lot of people wanting to learn how to mix and even produce their own music. I decided to put up this GoFundMe in hopes that we as a community can come together and purchase some top-of-the-line equipment that will be free to use for anyone in the area (with an admin or moderator of the group present to make sure that the equipment isn't damaged or treated poorly). I would love to completely cover the cost myself, but that's just out of the equation entirely as I am a broke, starving artist wanting to help others along their journeys in this industry.

What is it?

2 Pioneer CDJ 3000's and a DJM-AM9 Mixer. These are top-of-the-line CDJ's made for DJs everywhere. They are used in almost every top venue and festival across the globe.

Why do you need them?

When I started out mixing music, it was on a Numark IDJ-3. This is a very rudimentary mixing board compared to the beast that CDJ's are. When I was first introduced to the scene, playing at Skyway Theater in front of the largest crowds I had been in front of, I was learning how to use new equipment at the same time, making my anxiety skyrocket. Getting the top-of-the-line equipment means a better experience for those wanting to play larger scale events, and even just getting more practice down, thus helping in the long run making others more comfortable playing on such equipment.

How will this help others?

I plan on letting any and everyone that would like to try to learn and use this equipment for their own shows and even at-home practice (first come, first serve, i.e., they will only be available at one show a night) as long as there is someone who knows how the equipment should be set up, run, and treated throughout the night.

My ultimate goal with getting this equipment is so that I can help others progress in their careers while simultaneously helping myself with getting more time to learn this equipment. To show those who would like to learn how to DJ how to use said equipment. And lastly, so everyone feels like they're a headliner playing on top-of-the-line equipment (it's an amazing but very scary feeling playing on these for the first time).

I had put the goal at $10,000 as the 2 CDJ 3000's and the AM9 Mixer are just shy of $9,000. This way, we can buy some extra sound equipment, i.e., subwoofers and loudspeakers. This sound equipment will also be available to anyone using the equipment at the price of hauling, setting up, and tearing down the sound equipment at the end of the night or keeping it there if there is another show the next night at the same location.

Any donations are GREATLY appreciated, and I look forward to helping so many along their own paths throughout this career and art field.