Meet Heath Jones | aka DJ AMPt, Event DJ & MC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heath Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heath, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have been a music teacher for 30 years. The last 10 of those years has been teaching music production and technology to middle school students. I also have two kids of my own. When my daughter began kindergarten, her elementary school was very close to the school where taught at the time. So she would ride to and from school with me every day. My son came along 6 years later and he would join our car pool to and from school. When my daughter began high school, the location and schedule of the school was such that she began riding the bus and later driving herself. I missed her but my son was still with me everyday.

In addition to essentially starting and ending everyday with my kids, they were both very involved in extracurricular activities. My daughter was a musician and we were always driving to and from lessons, rehearsals, or performances. My son was more into sports and I coached his little league baseball teams from the time he was in 1st grade until he began high school.

A few years ago I got into a personal funk and exhibited symptoms of depression and anxiety. I couldn’t quite figure out was was causing this. It finally dawned on me on day and I said to my wife, “for the first time in 14 years I wake up to an empty house. And then I drive to work by myself and come home by myself.” My daughter was well into her college years and my son had started high school. Not only was there no one with me during the day but there were no longer any baseball teams to coach or rehearsals and performances to attend. My kids were growing into the independent adults that every parent hopes for their children to grow into. What I didn’t expect was this overwhelming feeling that I no longer knew what to do with myself. What was my purpose? Literally, an existential crisis.

I muddled along for another year, or so, trying to figure all of this out. Then my daughter got engaged to her high school sweetheart and the day of their wedding eventually arrived. It was a wonderful day for her and our family but it also provided a moment of serendipity for me. We hired a DJ for her ceremony and reception and he was fantastic. I will also add here that I am the Music Technology Chair for the Georgia Music Educators Association. This position has allowed me to get to know, not only many music educators around the state, but also many people in the post-secondary education and music/entertainment industry in our state. I actually teach a unit on DJ’ing to my students as part of the curriculum that I teach at my school.

During my daughter’s wedding reception, I slipped over to the DJ we had hired and checked out his set up. Everything looked very familiar. I used the same software that he was using and had a DJ controller very similar to what he had. So the thought popped into my head. “I think I could do that!” I spent the next few weeks doing some research, speaking with people I knew in the event DJ space, and finally my wife. I called my daughter’s DJ and asked if I could tag along and observe what a gig looked like for him from set-up to performance to break down (Shout out and thank you to KP, BTW). Finally, I convinced my wife to let me invest some money to buy the lights, sound system, and equipment that I would need to make it happen.

Now, I just had to find some clients and begin building the business!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Life can really be an amazing journey. I consider myself very fortunate to have lived a lot of life so far. A 54 year old, silver-haired white dude doesn’t exactly fit the profile of someone looking to start a career as an event DJ! And no one is more shocked than I am to find myself where I am today.

I was surrounded by music growing up in South Carolina. As most true South Carolinians of her generation, my mother was a huge fan of what is known as “Beach Music” and its ubiquitous dance “The Shag.” I can remember her teaching me how to Shag while listening to the music by bands such as The Drifters, The Tams, The Swingin’ Medallions, and others. I would eventually join the school band and learn to play the saxophone and tuba. That would lead me to go to college to get my music education degree and eventually to become a high school band director. After 15 years of teaching high school band, I made a move to a middle school to be the band director. Through a strange and unexpected sequence of events, I eventually found myself teaching a new course at my middle school called Music Technology. I would eventually help to create and share the new curriculum at my school. Then for my school system. Then for the Georgia Department of Education. Within a few years I was traveling around the country speaking at music education conferences about music technology curricula. I would eventually write a book (Music Technology 101) and was recognized in 2023 as the Technology In Music Educations National Teacher of the Year.

The hilarious thing about all of this it that I am not a “techie” person and I had very little experience with music production. But I love music. I love interacting with people, I love learning. And I love a new challenge. None of this was ever in my “plan”. But these last 10 years, being involved in the music production, technology, and performance space, prepared me for answering the question “what do I do now?” after my own kids began growing up and left me with this space to fill in my life. It even inspired my DJ name. AMPt stands for Audio, Media, Production, and technology.

I am still relatively new to the business, but I bring a wealth of life experiences with me. Working with students keeps me in the loop with all of the current artists and trends in music. Students will often ask me what is my favorite music to listen to and my answer is always the same. I believe that there are only 2 kinds of music. Good and bad. And I like good music. When Spotify generates recommended music for me it seems to be the most random list you could imagine because I listen to music ranging from the 1960s up to today’s newest releases and every genre from country to R&B to Metal to Hip Hop to Regaeton! This makes me very flexible and knowledgeable in meeting clients’ preferences and creating custom curated playlists for their event. At one point last spring I DJ’d a middle school dance on Friday, a wedding ceremony and reception on Saturday, and a corporate employee appreciate luncheon on Monday. The playlists for each of those events was totally different! And I loved the challenge of crafting a playlist that would be just right for each client. I am happy to say that I received 3 5-star Google reviews from each of those clients!

Music has such a powerful connection to humans. Most people can relate to hearing a song that suddenly brings back a memory of a time, place, or person that made an impact on their lives. Many of our memories become attached to a song and that is one of the important ways that our brains retain the information and memories that are truly a part of who we are. Playing some part in providing music for people that will imprint those memories into their brains is something that I take very seriously and brings me a great deal of personal satisfaction.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Obviously, my itinerary would include a lot of music! Georgia has an incredibly diverse and rich history of amazing musicians and performers. As much as I love listening to music on the radio or my favorite streaming service, nothing can replace the experience of going to a live concert and experiencing it with other people. So much of the media and entertainment that we experience in today’s society is in isolation. We have our eyes and ears buried in our personal devices. We can pull up whatever song we want to hear or movie we want to watch when we want to. There are actually very few places where a large group of people can all experience the same thing at the same time. Live music is certainly one of those things.

I live in between Atlanta and Athens, Ga. There are so many amazing and iconic venues to experience live music. Places like The Masquerade, Center Stage, The Eastern, Variety Playhouse in Atlanta or the 40 Watt, Georgia Theater, or The Foundry in Athens. Of course there are larger venues but nothing beats live music in a more intimate setting.

Atlanta also has a rich history in R&B and Hip Hop music. We would definitely check out the Trap Museum in Atlanta. Since Andre 3000 of Outkast famously announced that “The South got something to say.” Atlanta Hip Hop has become the third leg of Hip Hop in America along with LA and NYC.

Tongue & Groove or Havana Club ATL always have great DJs performing and there is no shortage of things to do in the ATL from the College Football Hall of Fame to Centennial Park.

As far as food goes, Atlanta has an amazing food scene. You can find anything from traditional southern and soul cuisine to cutting edge fusion restaurants influenced by all corners of the globe! There is no question that your ears will be ringing and your tummy will be full at the end of the week!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have been so fortunate in my life to have met, worked with, learned from, and supported by so many amazing teachers, performers, and leaders in the education, technology, and music industries. But the person who really deserves all of the credit for this is my wife Jeanine. Not only has she been incredibly patient and supportive as I struggled with my mental and emotional health issues, but she is the one that green-lighted this new endeavor! In addition, she accompanied me on my first few gigs. Helping me with the setup, trouble-shooting, and taking videos and photos for marketing and publicity purposes. Without her encouragement and support, I don’t know that I would have had the courage alone to take the leap without her. Thanks J9!!

Website: www.djampt.com

Instagram: @djampt

Facebook: @djampt

Other: email: info@djampt.com