Not many people get to go a party every week, but Stuart Drake is usually the first to arrive and the last to leave. It's not that Stuart is a party animal. He's actually the DJ behind the long-established disco outfit, Duck Rock Mobile Disco. For 25 years, Stuart has been providing the music for discos, parties, weddings and school dances throughout the Western District. Now 37, Stuart still loves DJ-ing as much as he did when he first started out as a 12-year-old, playing for a couple of girl guide functions on his Dad's cassette player. "I love doing it. I get such a buzz out of it. You can have 250 kids and to watch their reactions, it's just great. "Every weekend is a different party and a different crowd".
Stuart and his wife have an extensive music library which they update every fortnight. Titles span 1950s rock 'n' roll to the latest top 40 hits, in an assortment of CDs, tapes and vinyl records. Regardless of such an enormous choice, Stuart says there are a couple of songs which are perennial crowd favourites. "Nutbush and Eagle rock - you just can't kill them. The Grease megamix is also popular", he said.
For Stuart - a traditional DJ at heart - there is nothing quite like vinyl on a turntable. With many Melbourne DJs still using vinyl, Stuart is optimistic about the possibility of a resurgence. "I would still be using records if I could. It was 1992 when I bought my first CD player. But I only went to CD because it was hard to get records. Records have a better sound. CDs wear out and record players never break down, unlike CD players", Stuart explained. If I can get the vinyl I'll definitely start buying it again. There's nothing like being able to touch it and move it around".
It was Stuart's father who initially gave him the idea of starting up a mobile disco. His father had been playing taped music at cabarets, so when the local girl guide group needed a fund-raiser, Stuart updated the music, packed up the cassette player, speakers and amp and tried his hand as a DJ. With his mum driving him around the district to gigs, Stuart became a regular schoolboy DJ. Stuart left school to work on the family farm at Cudgee, but the demand for his mobile disco continued to grow.
Duck rock mobile disco - so named after an 80s album Duck Rock and the association with Stuart's surname, Drake - expanded to three mobile units, often playing Wednesday through Saturday nights at functions throughout the district. A decision had to be made between going full time or staying as a part time business. Changing circumstances and difficulty keeping staff influenced Stuart's decision to keep the business as a sideline. These days Stuart has a day job driving a fertiliser spreader, but still plays the DJ on a weekly basis with 2 mobile units.
Discos remain the main component of the business, but Stuart and Eve have diversified into hiring out party equipment such as lighting, small PA systems, juke boxes, smoke machines, mirror balls and night club effects. And Stuart says he'll be happy to play the DJ as long as there's a crowd.