The Stafford Brothers, Matt and Chris Stafford, are the epitome of the words ‘party boy’. Ranked as the #1 DJs in Australia for 2011 by inthemix.com, the brothers play clubs and festivals around the world, rub shoulders with the biggest names in dance and electronic music, and by the looks of their FOX8 reality show The Stafford Brothers, have crazy amounts of fun whilst doing so. Not to mention, they’re two of our country’s hardest working DJs, with a schedule that would make anyone’s head spin.
Season 2 of their reality show airs January 21 on FOX8 (I’ve seen the first two episodes, and it’s well worth watching) and chronicles the brothers’ foray into producing their own material and finally cracking the US and Asian market. It’s hard to believe that the two brothers, who seem like natural fits for a life of DJing, dance music and decadence, began as professional rugby players.
‘We were always into music, always playing instruments throughout school’, Matt reveals. ‘We started DJing at this club that our rugby club hung out at. It wasn’t a traditional sort of start. I got to a crossroads personally where I had a lot of rugby contract offers with Queensland, Western Force. And we also got a record deal offered at that exact same time. It was literally like a crossroad, ‘Which path do we take?’ and we decided to go with music. We were enjoying it, it was the both of us doing it, we were getting some amazing offers. It really snowballed after that’
Chris says: ‘Some nights if Matt was playing rugby, I would DJ, just as a ‘Stafford Brother’ [laughs] but it definitely worked better with the two of us’
Matt and Chris did venture into solo careers in their early days, but ultimately found working as a duo infinitely better.
‘That’s like anything, really’, says Matt. ‘You have someone to hang out with. Someone to go to the bar for you [laughs]. Everyone began talking about the ‘Stafford brothers’ and at that time we didn’t have a name, so it just came to us’
‘We were playing gigs and splitting $25 an hour. Less than the bar staff, but we were having more fun’ laughs Chris.
I asked if the presence of cameras and having their every waking moment filmed for thee reality show had become a hindrance. ‘Definately not’, say the brothers. And what do you know, they even filmed this very interview!
‘It’s fine, except when they annoys us, like right now’ laughs Matt, staring at the cameraman circling around us, adjusting the lighting.
‘Everything for us, we’ve been doing already’, says Chris. ‘We’ve been DJing around the around already, it was just the additional thing of having a camera crew coming along with us. It’s been a great experience, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it to be honest.’
‘But the sleep deprivation… We’re used to sleeping in after a gig and now, sometimes we’ll have to be up early to film something!’ Chris later says.
Joining Matt and Chris on the show is Matt’s long time girlfriend, model and Zoo Weekly editor Brooke Evers, and the brothers’ fiery and oft outspoken manager Joey. All in all, the places, faces and larger-than-life personalities make The Stafford Brothers second season some seriously good watching. My favourite parts so far? The hilarious airport welcome the brothers gave to fellow Australian DJ Timmy Trumpet in Thailand, and Brooke’s venture into DJing under Joey’s tutelage, much to Matt’s dismay. Some tension arises in episode 2, but I won’t spoil it for you.
With the remainder of season 2 still being filmed, the brothers are working hard on their first album, scouting vocalists and producers whilst hunting for their first #1 hit too, and planning the big move to LA in the next 6 months. As for being voted the #1 DJs in Australia by inthemix.com, Matt and Chris both agree that it’s the result of a lot of hard work finally paying off.
‘We’ve been top 5 the last 5 years in a row, so it’s nice to say we finally made it! We can always say we made it to #1’ says Chris.
‘We’re not talking about #2 here, we want to be #1’ says Matt.
Amen to that.
The Stafford Brothers season 2 premieres on January 21 on FOX8. The Stafford Brothers will be playing at Adelaide’s HQ Complex this Saturday, January 14, with FOX8 filming for the reality show. Doors open from 9:00pm.
Photos by Brent Leideritz (www.twentyfourb.com)
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