DJ Klutch

Andre Waguespack is the man behind the up-and-coming DJ known as Klutch. A New Orleans native and lifetime lover of music and performance, he performed his first musical act at Red Eye Bar & Grill when he was just 10 years old. Now more than a decade later, he's come full circle and regularly appears right next door at The Republic. He already has a prolific portfolio under his belt in only 2 years time. With both original creations and popular remixes, he’s hit he more than 300,000 plays on Soundcloud. And he isn't afraid to break out of the box with Electric Dance Music or EDM. While many DJ's tend to spin remixes of hip-hop, dance or pop songs, Klutch also adds rock music and surprising genres to his repertoire.

WYAT: What got you into making music? Any particular influence or moment?
Klutch: My dad’s been a musician my entire life, and I grew up going to church every Sunday since I was an infant. I’ve been around people playing and making music. He’s the one who showed me the wrong of my ways with pop music. I remember one day we were driving and “Behind Blue Eyes” by Limp Bizkit was playing and he said, “Do you know who originally made this?” and I said, “No, no I don’t.” “It’s The Who.” “The what?” He then bought me Jimi Hendrix’s greatest hits and Who’s Next?

WYAT: I think it’s cool that you don’t just remix hip-hop songs. You also do indie-rock and genres that aren’t usually as included in EDM. Are those songs more difficult to work with, or is there a different process you use for those genres?
Klutch: People think you’re a DJ and you just listen to dance music, and it’s not true. You’d be surprised how much dance music I really don’t listen to. My first love was rock. With those remixes, the percussion and the key is really laid out for you already so it actually is a lot easier remix one of those songs, especially if you know it by heart.

WYAT: What do you think is a common misconception people have about DJ-ing?
Klutch: People think it’s super easy and we just press play, but it gets a lot deeper than that. You’ve got to really know people; got to be able to play a crowd and see their reaction and see how they’re reacting to some songs and see how they’re not reacting to other songs. You’re basically the quarterback of the venue for an hour, and you’ve got to call the right plays.

WYAT: How do you prepare for a show? How do you amp yourself up?
Klutch: I take what I do really seriously and, even though we’re at a club and people are enjoying themselves, I’m still there to work. It’s still a job for me — a job that I love, but still a job. I play pretty much all my shows sober. I like to be alone about 30 minutes before my shows. I have some of the worst stage fright in the world, but it keeps me on my toes. And all that anxiety, when I get up there, I get to release it.

WYAT: So what’s next for you?
Klutch: I would love to play BUKU or Voodoo. I would love to do that: just play a local festival. I would love to go on tour and play out of state more. I just want to grow and expand, you know? I really look forward to being able to share my feelings that come out in my music with thousands and millions of people.

I want to get out more. I want to expand my brand. I want to expand myself. I want to expand my music. I want to collaborate with a lot more people — two minds are better than one. Just all the stereotypical dreams of a musician.

WYAT: Anything else you’d like to add?
Klutch: Thank you to everyone who continues to support me. I’ve been given a very blessed opportunity that a lot of people dream of having, and I cherish it everyday. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone.