The more you do, the more you can do.
That’s me, San Antonio DJ Forrest Gabitsch, owner of Southbound Tracks: The Party Time Professionals. I’m a DJ, music producer, and voice artist from San Antonio, Texas. I’ve been at it for a few decades, from DJing weddings, bars, and special events, to producing my own techno and hip-hop tracks, to narrating audiobooks.
For as long as I’ve been conscious, I’ve been using music and audio to bring people together. I grew up making mixtapes for friends, using cassettes, records and CDs from my collection, as well as songs recorded directly off the radio. I always liked an eclectic format, so if you got one of my tapes, you’d hear pop, rock, hip-hop, comedy, and even snippets of movies and TV shows. The approach was simple: keep them listening.
By my sophomore year of high school, I was manager of the first ever student radio station at Highlands High. By my junior year, I was writing professional movie reviews for the San Antonio Express-News. In college, I worked in student news, radio, theater, television, and campus activities. I got to host a midnight metal radio show, start a student film festival, do color commentary for Extreme Texas Wrestling, and play Eddie in a live production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I also sang for White Rabbit punk regulars the X-Greats, and began to make my first electronic music tracks. In 2002, I received a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, Electronic Media Emphasis, from Texas State University.
I became an English teacher, but kept writing, producing music, and making videos. I wrote listicles for WhatCulture and other outlets, and crime fiction for Heater and Shotgun Honey, under the name Greg Forrest. Best of all, I got to produce I Am Television! for San Antonio Public Access TV, along with my late brother, Eric.
The most infamous thing I ever did was probably “Glenn Danzig Grocery Shopping List.” Yeah, that’s my voice. No, I didn’t take the kitty litter photo.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work as a DJ in a variety of settings, mostly wedding receptions, bars, and restaurants. I got to play such lovely locales as the Hoffman Ranch in Castroville, San Antonio’s historic Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, and the Hard Rock Cafe by the Riverwalk. Whether I was spinning “Tennessee Whiskey” for a wedding party, “Take On Me” for a bar full of howling college students, or “The Wobble” for a ballroom of line dancing school nutrition workers, I always approached the gig with the same philosophy: tonight comes only once. Every beautiful individual on that dancefloor is living their own movie. It’s my job to provide the soundtrack. I have to be John Williams. I have to be the best. I have to notice everything and react accordingly.
DJing is always an adventure, but it’s not my only interest. I’ve been recording my own music for over twenty years, as well as the occasional spot of production work for friends and family. You can check out the blog for more specific information, but the bottom line is that I play what I love and love what I play. That means pop, hip-hop, Latin, country, rock, metal, punk, goth, jazz, blues. I can make you a beat, record your band, mix, master, whatever you need. I use analog and digital tools, and I’m always learning more. I’ll even narrate your audiobook. And I’m good.
It’s time to get moving, good people. With Southbound Tracks, you’ve got the Party Time Professionals. Call or text me at 210-350-7111. Let them hear you!