Grant Smillie
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Grant Smillie

With a venue in LA, his own record label, a brewing company among many others, somehow DJ Grant Smillie managed to make some time to chat to Forte magazine and for a show this New Year’s at the Pier in Geelong.
Hi Grant, thanks for taking the time out to chat to Forte, how are you and what are you up to right now? 
I’m great – sipping on a glass of red and sitting on a plane from LA and, via the wonders of email and wifi, will be sending this questionnaire back to you!
So you’ve spent a lot of time recently over in America, how are things going for you over there? 
Everything is great thanks. I’m opening a venue in LA in West Hollywood called E.P. and it has a rooftop called L.P. it’s due to open in February next year and I do a bunch of travel through there for music and hospitality. One of my business partners is Axwell, of Swedish House Mafia fame, so we have a strong musical undercurrent throughout
Is that somewhere you can see yourself calling your new home? 
Absolutely, but I will always be back to Australia.
This New Years you’ll actually be doing a gig down in Geelong, is it nice to be closer to home for the New Year’s celebrations?
It is. I love being in Australia for NYE – we have the climate to do it so well and for the past five years I have been tied to the same event, so this year it’s great to be able to come to Geelong and do something different. I’m very much looking forward to it.
It must be a pretty great moment helping people celebrate the New Year, what’s your favourite thing about performing these events?
You know what, people are all very excited and in a positive frame of mind, thinking about the new year ahead. I love it and a lot of thought goes into the music around that time
Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?  
None that won’t be broken! I think it’s just a great time to reflect and distil a vision for the year. My 2015 is clear in my head – I just want to make sure then I deliver upon it.
We saw a picture you shared on Facebook and you were performing to a crowd of thousands. Do you still have those pinch-yourself-moments when you do a gig like that? 
Of course – that’s natural. I mean, I have played gigs for more than 100,000 – it’s crazy to see the explosion in dance music popularity. There’s no greater feeling than having a crowd sing back to you a song you’ve written.
Your production outfit, TV ROCK, is just as successful as your DJing, how do you balance the two?
With great difficulty! You just need to work in blocks of time and when you work on either one of them you give it 100 per cent of your attention
Do you ever get much down time in between touring, performing and recording? 
Never. I have a record label Neon in Sydney and LA, and last year we had some breakthrough acts in Milky Chance & Jubel to name a few. Plus my DJ Agency 360 whom we look after Timmy Trumpet, Stafford Brothers, Havana Brown and many more. Add to this my Bar Ponyfish Island, my brewing company MCBC, which produces Ponyfish Lager, and then my PR firm iDCollective on top of US commitments… there’s not an inch of time left in my schedule.
Thanks again for taking the time out to chat with us, is there anything you’d like to add before we finish up? 
Bring your dancing shoes NYE… it’s going to be killer.
When&Where: The Pier, Geelong – December 31 / Tickets for New Year on the Pier are available from oztix.com.au.