LA MESA, Calif. — A blind deejay in La Mesa isn't letting vision impairment stop her from rocking the club. In this Zevely Zone, I met DJ Hey.
Blind since birth, Heather Nyblade is professionally known as DJ Hey. The 35-year-old deejay is well-known for playing 'Trance Music'. DJ Hey is a miracle at the turn tables because in 1988, doctors gave her and her twin sister Alicia a one percent chance of survival on the day they were born.
"They were born at 24 weeks," said their mother, Libby. "So, I was expecting to give birth and have the babies handed to me and have them pass, and so Alicia was born first."
Alicia then added, "Apparently, I came out flailing like 'Hey doc a little help here'. I weighed one pound four ounces, and my sister weighed one pound six ounces."
Alicia was born with vision. Heather was not.
"I am just thankful that I am here today because like my mom said earlier, I wasn't even expected to survive at birth and here I am doing what I love," said Heather.
In 2013, Heather met the famous Dutch DJ Ferry Corsten. His music moved her. "The community is just incredible. Everybody is there to be family," said Heather.
DJ Hey was born and at one point, she was mentored by Casey Kasem.
"He was the most amazing person I have ever met," said DJ Hey. Kasem would call the house often to check in on her.
"He'd be like hello it's Casey is Heather there?" said DJ Hey. Her mother Libby would get star struck every time, "Inside, I'm like 'oh my god Casey Kasem is calling,'" said Libby.
"Alright let's get this laced up here too," said DJ Hey's longtime deejay coach Taylor Michael.
"She is probably one of the most influential people I've ever met in my life," said Taylor. Using muscle memory and screen reading software, Heather found her groove. As a blind DJ, she utilizes special equipment in order to perform.
"It's truly gratifying to see somebody get put on this earth and then finally discover what they are meant to be here for," said Taylor.
DJ Hey was the first blind DJ to perform at the Belly Up and was recently repeatedly recognized at a large music festival.
"Boom, boom, boom, they coming up to me out of nowhere and saying hey excuse me are you that DJ that I follow that is blind and plays that trance music? I just said yes that's me. It was great I loved it," said DJ Hey.
She is breaking barriers with a type of house music called trance that is very melodic. DJ Hey offers this advice to anyone facing a challenge.
"Never let anybody tell you oh, you can't do whatever it is you want to do, don't let them bring you down," said DJ Hey. If anything, DJ Hey takes the crowd up, higher and higher until they scream her name.
"If I hear someone say yeah DJ Hey then I know they are digging it. They are loving it," said DJ Hey.
Within a short time, she has performed at nightclubs, music festivals, special events, and premier parties in Southern California. She has been featured at Exchange LA. She continues to build her fanbase and audience through her “Trance By Touch” mix via her Twitch channel and official Mixcloud page.
She was also a resident DJ on the “Trance Invasion” show with Craig Gordon and has been a guest DJ on shows such as “Onstage Radio,” “Trance Forever,” “Trip To Emotional Land,” “Trance Vibez,“ “Trance Women of the World", and “Tranceform Radio“. "So proud," said Libby. "Cloud Nine right now you guys," said Taylor. "Whew!! Go sis," said Alicia as DJ Hey did her thing seamlessly mixing the music.
Her goal as a DJ is to travel the world breaking the stigmas towards the blind and people with disabilities. It is important for her to show that anyone can do anything they set their mind to, despite any limitations they might have in life.
DJ Hey lives by the quote from the great Casey Kasem, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. You can listen to DJ Hey perform at twitch.tv/DJHeyofficial. You can also buy her merchandise and follow her career at trancebytouchproductions.com.
DJ Hey will be performing at the AC Lounge in North Park on August 9. The doors opens at 8 pm. DJ Hey's set starts at 9:00 pm.