I have always loved music and it has always been a huge part of my life, but I am definitely not as “plugged in” with the San Luis Obispo (SLO) music community as I would have liked to be. When my partner, Annie Murphy, suggested that we interview SubSessions DJ MacKenzie Fell, I was all in. SubSessions is a music collective created and run by Cal Poly students in SLO. It was funny, I had heard of MacKenzie prior to meeting her through this project only I knew her by the name of DJ Felly Fell. She is well known in the Cal Poly community for being a top DJ for SubSessions. I was more than excited to get to know her and the music community she helps mold.
“I really do love the music community in SLO and miss the motivation and inspiration this close-knit community brings me,” said Fell.
Murphy and I were able to start collecting information for our story by talking with Fell over FaceTime. It really just gave us a slight overview of an area we were somewhat familiar with, but this virtual conversation led us to the angle we wanted to take. We decided to focus on Fell, her relationship with SubSessions and how music fuels her.
“It was really cool to get to know more about my roommate than I ever would have, and all through a school project,” said journalism senior Annie Murphy.
After our initial FaceTime, we did a video interview with Fell where we were both able to ask her all sorts of questions about music, SubSessions and how she is surviving quarantine. This was a great opportunity for us to dig into an industry in SLO and across the country that has been completely put on hold.
“I was able to learn so much about SubSessions and the events I had been going to for years without even realizing it,” said journalism senior Megan Deegan. “I can’t believe what these students are able to do for such a large audience.”
MacKenzie Fell has a true passion for music and DJing. She was so easy to work with and is always open to answer any questions people have about the music industry. She will make it through quarantine and so can you, especially if you listen to her quarantine mixes.