Megan Murphy Feature

20-year-old Grant Kwiecinski, known as DJ GK, got into DJing when he was 14. "I was in a band with some of my friends, and we saw this music making program on someone's computer. We started messing around, and I discovered that I could make whatever sound I wanted to, which was awesome." Grant has a musical background in alto sax, piano, guitar and music production.

Grant DJs at Mac's Bar on Neon Tuesdays three times a month. Kwiecinski said it is difficult to balance school and DJing. "Either I do this and procrastinate in school, or I study and procrastinate at this. It's tough, but I manage."

In 2009, Grant was inducted into LEAK, along with five other DJs, which is the Lansing Electronic Artist Kollective. Grant put out his first EP, "Little Learners," in October 2010. "I got my first paycheck from my first EP in the mail, and it was like wow, all this from my first time making music without playing it live, this is great."

Grant shows off an application on his iPhone 4 that allows him to mix music. He can connect the application to his Mac, and by the touch of a finger he can mix a track. "I haven't done it at a show yet, I need to work out some kinks first. But once I get the hang of it I'm going to bust it out."

Grant will be putting out his second EP, "Curious Beings," next month on a Japanese label, and it won't be available for download. "It's going to have eight tracks, including songs from October 2009 to now," said Kwiecinski. "I have such a passion for this. I'll never stop, no matter if I make it or not."