CINCINNATI — With the coronavirus having canceled just about every event in Cincinnati, many of our social lives are taking a huge hit right now.
That means no sporting events, no gathering with friends, no school, no parties.
But there is still music, and -- thanks to two local DJs determined to spin hope back into the city -- there is still dancing.
DJ ETrayn is the official DJ for the Cincinnati Reds, Bengals and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Eddie Traynor is missing his favorite teams right now.
“I’ve found myself creating different types of content to stay connected with my following and other Cincinnatians and people across the country,” Traynor said. He has been teaming up with the Bearcats and mixing tunes on UC's Instagram Live page @gobearcats for anyone to dance along to. The next event is coming up on May 1.
Traynor is also a host, emcee, content creator, business developer and a newlywed. Having just gone through the stress of wedding planning last year, he said he can relate to the stress that couples are going through.
“My wife and I got married about a year ago.” Traynor said. “We know how tough it can be to get everything set in stone and there wasn't even a pandemic last year.”
Traynor is asking brides-to-be to share their stories and is holding a drawing to give to one bride a party to remember when things get back to normal.
“A lot of people wrote in,” Traynor said. “Great stories, touchy-feely stories. It's going to be tough because it is at random.”
Another local DJ giving back is DJ Bandcamp, the official DJ for Xavier University, the Indiana Pacers and the Purdue University football program. He's hosting a virtual and charitable pizza party with Donatos April 27 at 7 p.m. on his Instagram page @djbandcamp.
“When you think pizza and pizza party, I think of teachers having pizza parties because everyone is doing amazing," DJ Bandcamp said. "This is just trying to let people know that we are still thinking about them during this.”
Not only can you get a coupon code for free Donatos pizza, DJ Bandcamp is also working with local businesses, including sneaker and clothing shop Corporate, to donate pizza to first responders.
“We wanted to make sure that we look out for these brave men and women who are risking it all everyday to make sure that we stay safe,” DJ Bandcamp said.
He said it’s important to him to give back to the Cincinnati community, which -- as a UC graduate -- he considers his second home.
“Without Cincinnati, I wouldn’t even be DJ Bandcamp; so it was only right for me to look out for the city because they supported me so much,” he said.
