Bentley Montes’ path to DJing taught him value of preparation

Bentley Montes said he’s using the opportunity to perform at tonight’s Bruin Bash concert to begin leaving his mark as the next big DJ on the UCLA campus.

Montes, a second-year music student, is one of two winners of the Cultural Affairs Commission’s 2013 Bruin Bash DJ Competition, giving him a shot to open for the much-anticipated Bruin Bash concert. Montes said this event is only the beginning for the budding producer, whose career began almost five years ago at the age of 19.

Montes began DJing while a fraternity member at Zeta Beta Tau during his first year at UCLA, playing miscellaneous parties and events. However, because of affordability and a digression in academics, Montes decided to take some time off from school.

“I grew up in a private Christian school so I was fairly sheltered,” Montes said. “When I came to UCLA, really all I wanted to do at first was party every night. I didn’t really have my priorities straight.”

After leaving UCLA, Montes moved to Orange County for a few years, where he continued to pursue other paths aside from music, including acting and modeling. It wasn’t until he moved back to Hollywood that he decided to put everything else aside entirely and focus completely on music.

“I’ve had a pretty solid music background, but at the end of the day it’s about how much work you put in,” Montes said. “I read this book called ‘Outliers,’ which essentially prescribes the 10,000 hour law, saying that anyone can have talent, but the people that truly become successful have always put in those 10,000 hours.”

Montes said this motivation drove him to forge his own place in the Hollywood music scene. After moving back from Orange County, Montes began going door-to-door at small clubs in Los Angeles, anywhere that would give him a shot. During this time, he landed his first major gig playing at the Hollywood club Bagatelle.

“I started out as a busser there, but they had a French DJ who spun there, Tony Mendez, and he eventually started getting out to other gigs in Hollywood,” Montes said. “So, I was able to get in there and play on the days that he was gone. But, on top of that, all the time spent listening and learning, I felt like his apprentice. I learned a lot.”

Tony Minter, Montes’ manager, says, during the short time he’s known him, Montes has created some innovative approaches toward his musical presentation.

“Bentley’s developed his own concepts in terms of his mixes,” Minter said. “He’s created festival mixes where he plays music from each performer at the event. He’s also taken his music into new directions by incorporating throwback classics like Journey into his electronic music. He’s really starting to come into his own.”

Montes continues to DJ at Bagatelle on days that he doesn’t have other events. Now, having returned to school to complete his education, Montes said he also wants to begin making an impression on the UCLA campus.

It wasn’t until the last minute, however, that he decided to apply for Bruin Bash. And at the time, winning the contest was the last thing on his mind.

“One of my buddies sent me the message saying I should enter and I didn’t really think too much about it at the time,” Montes said. “So, I just sort of whipped up a mix and sent it in. But then, as the days got closer and closer, it hit me. I didn’t realize I wanted this so badly. The day they posted the results I was spinning at Bagatelle, just clicking refresh over and over.”

Montes said he knows that Bruin Bash is a big payoff for the countless hours devoted to his craft. Yet, despite his desire to eventually play at larger festivals and events, Montes said that he doesn’t set too many specific aims for himself, noting his constantly changing mentality toward his work.

“It’s hard to really have an ideal situation in mind,” Montes said. “I set goals for myself, but really I just keep working, hoping for the right place and the right time, because I feel like success is when preparation meets opportunity.”

Bruin Bash might just be that very meeting.