Fort Lauderdale's club culture gets a bad rap.
With Foster behind the decks, YOLO and Vibe nightclubs have become the hottest dance floors in Broward County, making the two sister clubs worthy, raucous options outside of SoBe.
Back in 2008, Foster, a recent Philadelphia transplant, was a barista at
Brew when he struck up a fortuitous conversation with one of his
regulars, an owner of the Restaurant People (proprietors of not only
YOLO and Vibe, but also O Lounge, Tarpon Bend Fort Lauderdale, and
Tarpon Bend Coral Gables). A few lattes later, and Foster was offered the
DJ gig at YOLO.
At the time, YOLO was just a concept. South
Florida was knee-deep in the recession, and there was no tug of war
over which backpack rapper coined the term. Foster took the position
with a grain of salt. Nights spent slaving over turntables and mixers in
his studio apartment paid dividends for Foster though. In the dwindling
street of vacant retail stores and defunct restaurant remnants of Ponzi
schemes that was Las Olas, YOLO thrived. The well-to-do party people
flocked in droves to rage at the restaurant and Foster provided the libidinous soundtrack.
Instead of relying on played out house tracks like Kenny Bomb's "The Bomb," Foster chose instead to challenge the palette of his audience and spun deep house tech tracks, rare nu-disco mixes, and propulsive electro-pop. It's miles removed from anything one hears in lounges and mainstream clubs in Fort Lauderdale.
For Foster, winning the crowd's delight is much more complex than just spinning the right tune however. "I want to provide a visceral experience," explains Foster. "When people spread the word about what a great party something was, really the music is only part of the equation." Foster takes other variables such as the sound, lighting, the day of the week, and the crowd size all into account. "Ideally, I want people to love music the way I do, and my goal is to give them an escape for their day-to-day routine."
