It is no surprise that Sam Vogel, aka Jauz, a 22-year-old DJ and producer who has recently surrounded his entire branding around sharks, is going all out for Shark Week. Jauz Tweets, "ITS #SHARKWEEK WHICH MEANS #SHARKTREATZ." He plans to release free originals, and remixes all week, starting with his remix of 'Lil Uzi Vert's "XO TOUR LIF3." Check out the Free Download here. If that isn't enough reason to get into the shark-mood, find out what made Jauz go off the deep end when he was figuring out his branding ideas.
What first comes to mind when thinking of Shark Week, is the socially renowned films from the late 80's Jaws, but Jauz is bringing an entirely new perspective to the sharp-toothed terror from the past. While some of his biggest fans have associated his name with the legendary man-eating monster, that was not his plan from the start. So where did it all stem from: an urban slang created by students a grade lower than him!
Reluctant to use the word in his own vocabulary, Jauz found the term to be short and catchy. "I hated it so much," he stated. Yet, the branding idea was planting roots in his brain. According to an interview with Dancing Astronaut, he states:
Jauz’ was like a slang word for bullshit or being a liar. So for example, if a kid was like, ‘Yo, I got so drunk last weekend and I didn’t study for my test and I aced it,’ and then someone else was like, ‘Jauz! I saw the grade on your test, you failed.
While Vogel was not fond of the term, he decided that the branding idea, along with the inside joke from his hometown, and the irony of him disliking the term were reason enough for him to use it as his alter-ego.
Vogel has created an entire branding label for himself called "Off The Deep End", which includes a series of live performances in renowned clubs around the World, including his launching point; a residency at Hakaasan in Las Vegas. The main concept behind the idea is that Jauz will now be able to go "one-deeper" and play some of the music that has inspired his future house sounds, found at most of the festivals he plays. According to his Interview with Dancing Astronaut, he states,
wherever it is would be the Off the Deep End party where it’s totally different than the main Jauz show. Whether that means that it’s off the deep end in the literal sense, like me playing a lot of the deeper stuff that inspired me, or I’m playing an open format – like hip hop or whatever – set, it’s just a way to differentiate [between] a Jauz set and Off the Deep End show.
While it has been said that Jauz, has "no boundaries', and Shark week has rightfully proved that with how quickly he has climbed the ladder of success in the last couple of years.
