Four Color Zack: An Interview with Twitch’s New King of the Stream

Four Color ZackFour Color Zack

Photo credit: Jordan Nicholson

Blending whimsy with world-class skill, Seattle-based DJ Four Color Zack is a breakout entertainer of the global COVID-19 quarantine. His digital festival sets at Flosstradamus and Mad Decent’s HDY 420 Fest, and Brownies & Lemonade’s Digital Mirage put his left-of-center antics and sitcom humor on the spotlight with biting irreverence, tone and wordplay, trap edits, grooving breaks, and more. 

Twice a week via Twitch, he broadens and deepens the concept of the “coronavirus turn up.” In this conversation for Festival Insider, we break down the tips and tricks of the digital-era DJ trade, plus gain a sense of what drives his creative excellence. Even more exciting are the new tricks Zack has up his sleeve.

How are you maintaining now, at roughly the four-plus month point of being a “leading DJ, humorist, and digital content creator” of the COVID era?

This is a perfect scenario for me. In short, I’m just leaning into jokes until they’re not funny anymore. It’s a lot of work. Every week is a panic! I have the Thursday set, which is an episodic-style and heavily-segmented show with guests and skits. On Saturday, I’m just playing open-format sets of clubbier music and hanging out with the chatroom. This is a way I’ve always wanted to present what I do. I am nowhere near the peak. I’m not taking my foot off the gas anytime soon.

Take us back to March, when it felt like every DJ worldwide adapted their talents to the streaming environment. What were the initial benefits for you to this unexpected development?

We had no idea what a DJ career would become in an all-virtual world. For the first few months, we all sort of scrambled. Instagram and Facebook Live, plus YouTube streams, were popular. DJs were doing the same sets that we had been doing, pre-COVID, on those platforms. I’m glad that I’ve been able to add the visual component. Creating compelling mixes where I’m using tone play, wordplay, and other tricks is all audio. However, this is a newly-captive audience, both watching and listening to everything I’m doing. In this new environment, it’s important to remember that the sky’s the limit. 

I noticed that you were a little bit behind the trend. You didn’t pop up until the end of April, and by that point, I felt like I had seen everything. What do you think was the secret “thing” you leaned in on that allowed you to stand out?

I took the first few months of the quarantine off and didn’t do any DJing. I didn’t like the interaction that was going on, say, on Instagram. It didn’t feel valuable to me. The chats felt one-sided and inconsequential. It got dark and depressing when everything initially shut down. However, deep inside, I started getting excited, because I knew that quarantine would provide everyone with the opportunity to be themselves, and we’d see if people could lean into their uniqueness to succeed. 

It was refreshing to see the first thing that hit be D-Nice’s Sunday night sets. These were ultimately just very well-done open format sets, but it felt like something cool was going to be part of the “new normal,” and that a high bar had been set for the cool new thing, too. Thoughts?

Essentially, live DJ culture started back at zero. We were all at the same level, again. Anything could’ve happened. However, it was good to see D-Nice emerge as the initial tastemaker of this culture. He has such a history in DJ culture and music history, in general. 

As far as you finally getting online, it felt like you took to it like the proverbial duck to water. Were you already online-capable, or did this require some effort?

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I had been using Twitch already. I kind of knew what I wanted to do for my sets, so I focused on the technical side. I come from a design and advertising background, so I already had some skills. However, I used YouTube tutorials to teach myself about open broadcaster software (OBS) streaming, video technology. I have friends who know about these things, but I didn’t want to bother them. There was a lot of trial and error, but by April, I prerecorded the HDY 420 Fest set for Flosstradamus and Mad Decent. 

So, you had an existing idea for the HDY 420 set? Wow. Do tell.

I’ve made a career out of pushing standards and expectations. Trying something new isn’t necessarily out of character for me. The HDY 420 Fest set sprang out of a scripted, 30-minute “DJ stand-up comedy” concept that I had been working on two-to-three years prior. I have been working with a video and writing team out of New York City, and, pre-pandemic, I had tickets booked to shoot a pilot that we were going to shop to sponsors. Instead of shooting that professionally, what you saw was the do-it-yourself test version. 

Amazing. And the tech? Could you walk me through your stream set up? 

I shot the HDY Fest 420 set in one take on my iPhone, and I added the camera motion, cuts and angles in post-production. Now, I have an OBS camera app that a guy I found on Twitter had created to trigger using a Stream Deck setup. However, I’m still balling on a budget with these and still using my iPhone camera. Related, I spent months trying to track down two Logitech C920 cameras. Everyone else uses those for their streaming sets. I finally caved and paid a reseller triple the cost for them. Ironically, I’m still shooting with my iPhone. 

Moreso than a DJ set, this feels like a compelling left-field, Adult Swim-style TV show. How does this all come together? Is it all you? Is there a team? 

This is all from the same voice and humor. I’m partnering with Bird Peterson, a fellow longtime DJ and creative. We have a set of DJ tricks and general humor that we’re always considering. Plus, Bird’s special. Every time I think I’ve seen it all, I’m not even remotely close to seeing all he can comedically offer. The way that he visually and sonically delivers a joke is so impressive. He says it’s like South Park. We’ve got six days to “turn and burn” a new episode.

You guys are the new [South Park creators] Trey Parker and Matt Stone?

Ha! Well, maybe. We’re a team, for sure. 

What else can we expect from the sets and concepts? What’s next for you?

Working with Bird is the first time that I’ve handed over my creative reins a little bit. It’s been a great partnership. In the future, we might want to pitch this as a TV show, or tour this type of set as a live performance. We’d love to blow this out as much as possible eventually, but for now, we’re just setting up fence posts, as far as expectations are concerned.

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Label Insider

Building Community Through Music With Good Society [Interview]

Aug 31, 2022

6 min read

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Hailing from sunny Los Angeles, California, Good Society embodies the feelings of warm weather, endless days, and good vibes. The record label and event promoter is renowned for their incredible line-ups, careful curation, and stacked compilations. Their latest project Good Society Volume 3 pushes the future beats sound with standout artists like oshi, capshun, Laxcity, whereisalex, DECAP, Chromonicci, and more. They're a mainstay in LA and have been expanding their shows out of state to Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Austin, for SXSW. 

With Good Society's constant growth we felt it would be the perfect time to connect with Josh Yamini, the brand's founder to get an inside look at what makes them so good. We discuss their origins, the fusion of hip-hop and electronic music, fostering relationships, creating a unique live experience, and much more. 

Starting at the beginning, Josh explains what sparked the birth of his platform saying, "I started Good Society as an expression of my love for the underground and bringing people together. My taste in music was largely influenced by SoundCloud at the time of launch and all of my experiences at Insomniac festivals made me want to put that love of music and people into action." 

One of the core facets of what makes Good Society so special is their ability to bring together the worlds of hip-hop and electronic music. Whether it's future beats, chilled-out lo-fi, or experimental hip-hop and trap, this fusion is central to Good Society's platform.

"My love for these genres initially stemmed from ripping gems off of YouTube and Adult Swim bumps. I listened to lots of Nujabes, Flying Lotus, and Erykah Badu at the time which then evolved into listing to artists like Mr. Carmack, Sam Gellaitry, and Smino. Oftentimes I’ll bring my knowledge of the beat scene together with vocalists that I’m newly discovering to create a blend of genres that’s totally unique. Other times I might just be working with the artists who’ve coined a sound in between the two and are perfectly representing the medium with us," Josh elaborates about bringing together the two sonic worlds. 

In addition to uniting unique sounds, Good Society strives to bring people together. This applies to fans, through the music and events, as well artists. Josh expands on this outlook, "Our goal is to create a space where people can express themselves and find common ground through music. Ultimately we’d like to bring that to scale and create immersive experiences that go beyond traditional club settings while incorporating the songs and artists we’re releasing on our label. We want to create an ecosystem."

The genuine love for connection is what makes the brand so good. While some platforms focus more on numbers, social media following, or ticket sales, Good Society is all about creating an intangible vibe through human connection. Whether it's friendships, business relationships, or something even deeper.

"The good in Good Society stems from all of the constructive relationships this brand has built with artists, fans, and listeners alike. Many of our work relationships extend into personal ones. We’ve seen countless people having become close friends or start dating after having met at Good Society events. One couple is even getting married!"

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Relationships are the cornerstone of any great business, but authenticity is what seems to separate Good Society from your typical promoter and label. Their connections are longstanding with many artists and come out of genuine respect and appreciation for their work. The brand is an extension of its founder's life. The friendships and connections along the way aren't just to the benefit of the label but are also about enriching his personal life.

"Much of our early outreach was done through Instagram and led to us doing things like flying out chromonicci for our second show ever, when we were really just learning the ropes and how to refine our events process. I’ve done everything very personally with this brand to the point of hosting artists at my apartment for the week of our shows, such as chromonicci, capshun, zotti, J Kuch, Malik Eliah, and more. Running Good Society is just as much a means to expand on my own life as it is for that of the audience that I curate for. So these relationships I’ve formed with everyone involved are directly tied to my own happiness," Josh tells us.

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While Josh is the driving force behind Good Society, he's not doing it alone. Roto and MadBliss serve as the brand's resident DJs. In addition, they have their own videographer, Gavin Banksy, and Arielle Lana LeJarde serves as their publicist and advisor (editors note: Arielle is a writer for Festival Inside but did not take part in writing this feature). Josh handles the majority of the bookings, label releases, promotion, content, and social media while collaborating with different partners on a per-project basis. 

Matching the quality of their label releases, the Good Society events series looks to raise the bar. Josh explains what makes the series special saying, "The vision behind our concerts was initially to throw them in nature. Being that we’re in a big city, it felt natural to build up the foundation of our brand with solidly curated lineups, and uniquely unforgettable nights. More recently we’ve pivoted into renegade shows, different experiences such as the boat party, and are slowly gearing up to diversify the setting of our parties to better fit our initial dream of Good Society. What makes our events special is the fluidity of it all. You might get a live band 420 show with seemingly infinite free cannabis, a massive warehouse party with Alexander Lewis, or cruise on a boat across the ocean with Josh Pan & Luca Lush. We’ve even done insane live shows at a mansion and in a tunnel on the beach. Our diversity of curation and experiences is one of our strongest points."

Good Society has a lot of exciting prospects on the horizon. They will be expanding their events series, working towards an outdoor indie festival, and releasing more thematic compilations pushing the sounds they love. Josh closes our interview fittingly with an invitation to all, "I hope you get to attend one of our shows in the future or are positively charged by the music we release! Moreover, I hope we get to meet someday. Don’t be a stranger!"

Good Society Volume 3

"I curated this project to affirm the belonging of hip-hop & electronic music in a single space. Otherwise known as future beats, this project brings together soulful and jazzy boom bap production riddled with soulful rap vocals and electronic sound design."- Josh Yamini

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