DJ AndrewHugh

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Who's who in Newark: DJ spins his way back into the '80s and '90sby Meghan Lobdell Issue date: 3/13/07 SectionAndrew Garchinsky spins at Kate's three nights per week.In his day life, Andy Garchinsky is a self-proclaimed "kinda soft-spoken guy" - but most people know him as the outgoing force behind the energetic nightlife of Klondike Kate's Restaurant & Saloon: DJ Andrew Hugh.Garchinsky, 24, dominates the turntables on Kate's most popular nights: Tuesday's '90s Night, the Friday Night Shakedown and Saturday's Awesomer '80s Show.His DJ name first came about in high school as a joke when his friends found out his middle name was Hugh, after his father."People started calling me Hugh and it flew," he said. "It's unique."Garchinsky, who grew up in nearby Pennsylvania and graduated from St. Mark's High School in Wilmington, got into music years ago."I've always loved music," he said, "so my musical journey started when I was a lot younger."He said he entered the scene with break-dancing during his teens, then bought a cheap turntable set to play at local parties for his friends five years ago."I was just doing it for free," Garchinsky said, "trying to see if I'd be good at it."This evolved into DJing date parties and formal functions for university groups, such as sororities and fraternities. When he turned 21, Garchinsky started talking to management staff at bars about getting the chance to DJ.Soon after, he landed his first official venue "gig" at Timothy's of Newark. Since then, he has played at Kate's and Shaggy's on Main, as well as at various places in Wilmington and Philadelphia.Originally, getting a gig at Kate's was no easy feat."I hounded down the management here," Garchinsky said, "and they finally got me a spot on Thursday nights - actually three years ago this month."The three-year anniversary of what he personally coined as Kate's "Friday Night Shakedown" is in May and he said he hopes to throw a big celebration. Garchinsky just started spinning Saturday's '80s show a few months ago."I was never really an '80s DJ, so I had to increase my collection," he said. "I started listening to all that cheesy '80s stuff."He said he tries not to play all of the "typical" hits, but prefers to mix the old with newer dance remixes."I try to dig a little deeper than 'Jesse's Girl,' " Garchinsky said, and then corrected himself. "Well, I guess I do have to play that. You've gotta play what you've gotta play." He has been testing out new mixes on Fridays over the past few weeks, he said."Lately, I've been mixing Motown into the sets," Garchinsky said. "People are really responding to that."There is certain music, however, he cannot stand to play such as anything by Gwen Stefani and all of the "new" commercial Hip-hop, he said."That really irks me," Garchinsky said. "I don't understand how people like to dance to that - the beat is so slow, you can just kind of bounce to it."He said what he loves most about playing at Kate's is the lively crowd."People are always willing to get down and party," he said. "Even during the week, like on Tuesdays, they'll get wild."Although he said he was on the shy side when he was younger, the nature of his job helped him grow out of it over the years."Some of that shyness still lingers today," he said. "Being a DJ, I have no choice but to talk on the mic. A big part of DJing is talking to the crowd and saying the right thing to get people into 'party mode.' "?? Garchinsky said he enjoys interacting with the crowd and getting a response."It sounds weird, but when you say something like, 'put your hands in the air like you don't care,' and you immediately see everybody put their hands in the air, it's a cool feeling," he said.The hardest part of DJing is getting the dance floor going at the beginning of the night, Garchinsky said."I test 'em out, try to warm 'em up," he said. "I try to build up an energy - you can't really see it or smell it, but you can feel it."I try to make it more of a dance party than a singing and fist-pumping fest."Garchinsky said he never comes in with a set song list."I go by my instincts," he said. "A song just pops into my head and it just mixes in perfect - I don't know how to explain it."Sometimes I'll play a song that really works out and I'll get goose bumps."?It is better to come in with an open mind because DJing is based on the given crowd on the given night, Garchinsky said. "I just go with it, because you never really know what kind of people are gonna be there," he said. "It's really all about feeling the crowd."Garchinsky said his favorite day of the year to DJ is St. Patrick's Day. It is a tradition for his half-Irish family, including his five siblings, to come out and listen.The party is called "Green," another name Garchinsky came up with himself. He said he will be spinning all day for his third St. Patty's Day at Kate's, starting at noon and playing for approximately 13 hours straight."During the day I'll mix in lots of traditional Irish music, and then phase into a dance party," he said.Although he loves his job, he said having an upside-down schedule can sometimes throw him off. During the day he studies business management at Delaware Technical and Community College in Wilmington, where he lives. However, since he works until 2 a.m., he is often exhausted."I take a lot of naps during the day," Garchinsky said, laughing.He said he sometimes feels left out of the social scene since he is working while everyone else is partying."It's annoying that I don't get to go out and do stuff if something's going on," he said, "but at the same time, I'm at a bar - I can partake in the party."Garchinsky likes every kind of music, but his favorite music era is early '90s, "the Golden Age of Hip-hop," he said. He does not listen to mainstream radio, but prefers older, more "random" music."Crusin' 92.1 - that's my station," he said. "People don't realize how good music is from back in the day. I sometimes wish people would open their minds to it."Garchinsky said his goal is to travel around the country and DJ if he could build up a big enough reputation to mix in cities at major venues.He eventually sees himself having a "normal" job, most likely in business and not necessarily related to music, although it would be a plus, he said."I probably want to intermix my career with music, but I'm trying to be realistic, too," Garchinsky said. "I'll do it as far as it takes me."For now, he is having the time of his life."I love DJing," Garchinsky said. "It's just ridiculous how much I love music and mixing it."