Interview with DJ Tarryk of GridStream Productions

Interview with DJ Tarryk of GridStream Productions
Joshua Hardcharger Mandrake

Hey, folks. Ever wonder what it’s like to be the brains behind one of Rubi-Ka’s premiere audio entertainment organizations? Well, after you read this interview, you will have much less to wonder about!

I personally interviewed DJ Tarryk, mastermind and creator of GridStream Productions. I took the opportunity to speak with Tarryk at the recent ARK Expo party. Without further adieu, here’s the interview.

Hardcharger: A guy like you has probably been interviewed on multiple occasions, so I'll try to make this pretty good.
Tarryk: Couple times I guess. And trust me, it's not like it 'got old'. I'll enjoy it, I'm sure.
Hardcharger: So how'd you get tied up assisting the ARKs with this gathering?
Tarryk: Actually, I was initially approached by Xnemth, who expressed interest in throwing a rather large party that would span a couple days or more. Naturally, that's an offer I can't turn down. Well, that and I didn't have much going on for the weekend anyway. *grins*
Hardcharger: How'd it come about that you had AgtOrange as a co-announcer?
Tarryk: He originally contacted me as a coordinator for the event itself, and was my primary contact for setting up this party. After a couple relayed messages, it sorta fell onto the table that it would be a great idea to have an ARK help out on the air. Again, an offer I cannot turn down, and when we discovered how easy it would be to arrange, we both leapt at the opportunity.
Tarryk: I'm still not sure if there were any ulterior motives on his end. *laughs*
Hardcharger: Have you assisted ARK before in any parties?
Tarryk: *finishes handing a prize out* Actually, I can't say that I've ever helped with a pre-planned ARK party before. There were a few instances where myself and other GSP DJ's have had a party that happened to simul-cast with an ARK event, and they've sorta merged by luck before, but this is our first coordinated real "event".
Hardcharger: About how many events do you run a week? I mean, total events as GSP.
Hardcharger: And what kind of events are they?
Tarryk: Hold on a second, I actually have to do math here...
Tarryk: *laughs*
Tarryk: *looks up after a moment of thought* I think the math is futile. We have an event every single day of the week, and on some days multiple DJ's and events. So it's fair to say that we average about 9 events each week.
Hardcharger: How many total DJ's do you all have?
Tarryk: Okay, math was tough, since we've recently hired a couple. But right now the count of active DJ's is 11, with up to 14 when all are active.
Hardcharger: That's an amazing number of DJ's. Must be one heck of a setup you have for your DJ equipment.
Hardcharger: How many other members does GSP have? I mean those that take care of some of the logistics, and things of non-DJ'ing nature, for lack of a simpler word.
Tarryk: *laughs* Can I plead the fifth on that one? Our setup varies between the DJ's. Some are great setups naturally, others are not-so-great setups, improvised to become good equipment. There, that was close enough.
Tarryk: Actually, almost every single member is a DJ, with only a couple exceptions. Some were hired without the intent of becoming a DJ, Xtrophic and Lauri for example. X runs the web page, and Lauri was hired for event coordination. Both turned out to be excellent DJ's as well after a time.
Tarryk: Except for Anake. She's our personal moral support expert. She's a great addition to the group, but not an on-air DJ.
Hardcharger: How long has GSP been running and how many people were there when it started up?
Tarryk: Gridstream has closed in on--and passed, I think--2 years of running. When we started, there were just three DJ's who wanted to work together with a single shared broadcast. It grew quickly from there.
Hardcharger: I'd assume you were one of the original DJ's? And the other two originals, are they still around?
Tarryk: I was one of the three founders, yes. Unfortunately, the other two had to separate from the project for different reasons, fairly early on in the evolution of GSP. I do miss them both.
Tarryk: But our current members are quite the team. I love what GSP has become. *smiles widely*
Hardcharger: So how many other organizations claim to be major entertainers on Rubi-Ka, as in how many serious competitors do you think you have?
Tarryk: I personally know of several other entertainment orgs on Rubi-Ka. A couple of whom are unrelated in presentation (not primarily audio entertainment). Those who do focus on audio entertainment I do not consider competitors, and would actually think to work with them one day. Unfortunately, I don't know them that well, and have no idea how they view GSP...I certainly hope not as competition. We're just busy having more fun than we deserve on Rubi-Ka. *grins*
Hardcharger: Have you ever actually teamed up with another one of these organization on any projects?
Tarryk: I have, but it's hard to say how many, specifically. In days past, we've teamed up with other entertainment organizations to throw massively awesome parties, and some organization that I'm really not sure if their focus is entertainment or not...too many to count, overall, but all of them have turned out fantastic that I remember.
Hardcharger: Is this the biggest party you've ever been involved in?
Tarryk: Saying yes would do it no justice. This is easily at least four times bigger than any event we've ever been involved in, and easily twice or three times as long.
Hardcharger: So I suppose it'd be a dumb question if I asked if you'd ever team up with ARK again for an ARK related event.
Tarryk: *laughs* You would not be able to DRAG me away from another opportunity to work with ARK. If it were to happen, though, I hope they give me enough time to recover first. This project has been very taxing in the preparation. But worth it, of course.
Hardcharger: So what are some of the best prizes you have ever given out on any event you've done as GSP?
Tarryk: Wow, that's a tough question. With all the DJ's and events we have all the time, finding that "one ultimate" giveaway would be impossible. The average prize for a contest is 1 million credits, with quite a few of those given out each week. I've seen prizes such as grid armor mk1 or 20 million credits given away at some events before.
Tarryk: I'm still waiting to find some seriously massive loot to give away. On a previous example, I'd love to get my hands on a grid armor mk 4 to give out. A man can dream... *grins*
Hardcharger: Guessing you've never given away something as big as say...GA MKIV...Nullity Sphere. Ahhh, I see.
Hardcharger: I guess you still have to find the right sponsors for that loot.
Tarryk: *laughs!* Indeed. I wish.
Hardcharger: Still some awesome gifts and contests though.
Tarryk: Yeah. The loot exists, but if it's one of those items that sells on the market for tens or hundreds of millions of credits, it's not something that a lowly little entertainment organization can get their hands on easily. We're not rich in any way; all of our contests are sponsored by people who like to support our work with donations.
Hardcharger: What's the weirdest contest you've ever done? Think weird...
Tarryk: Wierd...hm...
Tarryk: I think at one point during a party I...while quite inebriated I think...gave out an entire bag full of regular thongs in a "surprise package" giveaway. Needless to say, the atrox who won it was more than thrilled. I'm sure other DJ's in GSP would have some wilder stories than that, though. *laughs*
Hardcharger: Me personally I shy away from any bikini, thong, or dress wearing atroxes. No offense to them, but perhaps I just see some of that as wrong.
Tarryk: Depends on your definition of wrong, I guess. Working as a GSP DJ, one sees more atrox in thongs than anyone would care to. You get used to it. *smiles*
Tarryk: It's when they run up with the intentions of getting intimate with your leg that things get a little out of hand.
Hardcharger: Along that same line...what is most messed up, screwed up thing you have seen during your time in GSP?
Tarryk: Hm....
Tarryk: I've seen to many strange things to put a cap on the strangest...but I did see an ARK just change his title to "The Fruit Guy" about 30 seconds ago....that's pretty wierd...*shudders*
Hardcharger: Let me guess AgtOrange had something to do with that...
Hardcharger: Ahem, excuse me, back on track now.
Tarryk: On grounds of future incrimination, I'll skip that one. *laughs*
Hardcharger: Do you consider GSP to be the largest of the entertainment organizations? Or do you just do a lot with a smaller amount of people?
Tarryk: Hm...I consider GSP to be the most active that I have personally seen, but with less members than any others that I have seen. Mind you, my focus is always on GSP, therefore what I've seen might not be all there is out there.
Hardcharger: With a party like this it certainly shows that GSP is probably the premier organization when it comes to audio entertainment of Rubi-Ka.
Hardcharger: I think I've listened to GSP on one other occasion...if I knew it was this good I'd be listening to it whenever I'm around.
Tarryk: GridStream is the first ever team of talented DJ's to form an organization with the sole purpose of audio entertainment, but I cannot fairly say we are the first to do this...we're just the first to do it as a full team. Again, that's with the "to my knowledge" disclaimer. But I've been around a while, and I'm pretty sure. *smiles*
Tarryk: *laughs* Thank you very much!
Hardcharger: So which one of your DJ's has been around the longest besides you?
Tarryk: Now that's the hardest question you could have asked me...worse still because I'm afraid I'll get in trouble if I get this one wrong. *laughs*
Hardcharger: Worse yet, are they one of the ones DJ'ing today.
Tarryk: That's currently employed in GSP, I THINK Gridfan has been with us the longest, and yes he is still a member. My memory is spotty about the order of hiring, but I feel pretty confident about that one.
Hardcharger: What's the most unusual place you've ever done a party?
Tarryk: Easy one. In the ladies bathroom in Baboons Night Club in Omni Entertainment. *laughs* Don't ask.
Tarryk: Although I'm sure there are a few out there who remember that, some who might read this article. *makes a rawk sign* It ruled.
Hardcharger: Yes, that is pretty funny.
Tarryk: I apologize for the delay...we just has some serious problems on the stream that we had to fix.
Hardcharger: Understood.
Hardcharger: Well, that about does it for this interview. It's been a pleasure interviewing you.
Tarryk: Thank you!

Apparently there was an issue with the stream while this interview was going on, so we had to cut it short a bit while Tarryk worked his magic. However folks, I hope you enjoyed this interview and I look forward to you reading it!

Joshua “Hardcharger” Mandrake
Novice Reporter
Independent Reporters of Rubi-Ka