College DJ competition aims to remake Jake's as party house

The future of Jake’s Nightclub will include turntables, dancing and a completely revitalized social scene, at least if senior Derrick Cowit has anything to say about it.

Cowit plans to revitalize the scene at Jake’s with The Best College DJ Competition, where DJs from all over IU’s campus will showcase their talents and compete for a Spring Break getaway.

“It has all developed off the premise of re-branding the image of Jake’s Nightclub,” Cowit said. “A few years ago it was my favorite bar. It was better than any of the frat parties I had been to. But it just slowly went downhill.”

DJs for the competition will come from all different walks of life at IU.

Cowit has already heard from DJs in fraternities, students in the Jacobs School of Music and a number of international students.

“There are all these DJs at our school, but they have no place to showcase their talents,” Cowit’s partner in planning the event, senior Jon Stein said.

Freshman Adam Howaniec, also known as DJ Portside, said he hopes to compete in the competition.

“I feel like this is a good opportunity for DJs to have their music heard, especially with it being on the Internet,” Howaniec said. “People will hear our music just because they are interested in the competition.”

Cowit said he hopes to see a consistently rising attendance on Friday nights at Jake’s by featuring some of Bloomington’s best DJs every week.

“Knowing that Kilroy’s is one of the most successful bars in the country and just down the road, we’re trying to revamp Jake’s and provide a club dance experience,” Cowit said.

Cowit said he believes there are few places in town to truly enjoy a good dance scene.  
“Not only am I waiting in that long line to get in the bar, once you get to the dance floor it’s packed wall to wall,” Cowit said.

Cowit is no stranger to the music entertainment scene in Bloomington. He was partially responsible for bringing rapper Wiz Khalifa to IU for Little 500, Lil’ Wayne’s after party at Jake’s and several GlowFest events in past semesters.

“Using social media is probably the best way to showcase this,” Cowit said. “It is the easiest way to get your talents out in the open.”

The competition is sponsored by Campus Socialite, a lifestyle blog for college students, and winners will be selected on Oct. 9.

DJs wishing to sign up for the competition must post their mix to the Jake’s Party House fan page on Facebook. A DJ’s work must receive at least 50 likes to be chosen to compete.

“We’ve reached out to so many groups of people,” Stein said. “It’s going to be a truly diversified event.”