Actress, comedian, writer and DJ, a woman that does it all, meet Nina Tarr.  Nina has been an all vinyl DJ for 14 years.  She started her career in LA then moved to NYC a few years ago and is out and about spinning where possible.  Nina is a the music curator and all vinyl DJ at Soho Grand Hotel, the Roxy Hotel in Tribeca, and Superfrico at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. She is also the co-founder of the collective, All Girls, All Vinyl.

When not behind the decks, she is a a stand-up comedian and actress for almost 10 years. You can see her on the HBOMax series Hacks and was one of the New Faces of Comedy at Just for Laughs in 2018. You can see Nina’s acting chops in the critically acclaimed independent feature film, Adventures in Success, distributed by Utopia Films and wrote for a few Adult Swims shows including the latest season of The Eric Andre Show.

How did you get into your industry / What motivated you?

I started by booking punk bands and djing records in between the acts because I had a large punk vinyl collection and wanted to get an opportunity to play it out.

What is a day in the life like?

Wake up and listen to music, make coffee and send a buttload of emails and curate playlists then usually walk around my neighborhood with headphones on listening to tunes and then go home and pack up a crate of records and go DJ somewhere that evening.

In your opinion what has been your favorite / the coolest thing you’ve worked on?

I got to interview the legendary producer and musician Nile Rodgers of CHIC and Paul Banks of Interpol for a podcast series I did for Dries Van Noten.

What has been / is the most difficult part of your job?

Probably coming up in a male dominated scene and feeling like I had to prove myself and my value ten times harder than my male peers. I started djing really young and all my gatekeepers were men. Being 19 at the time and navigating nightlife and the male gaze while still trying to maintain professionalism and “be chill and fun” felt topsy-turvey.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to get into pursuing what you’re doing?

Start with a home vinyl collection and start building. Buy from local record stores and start djing small dive bars and shows, whatever you can do. Support others in your scene and show up to their gigs too.

Are you a vinyl collector yourself? What drew you to it?

Yes! I started collecting records when I was 13 and slowly but surely it grew. I loved the tangible aspect of vinyl. All I had then was the radio, MP3s and CDs, this was before streaming so it felt cool to have large collectable media with high fidelity.

What types of things are happening in your industry / with vinyl that you’re excited or worried about? i.e. innovation, or trends you’re seeing.

I think great things are happening in the vinyl world. It seems to be a medium that keeps on growing. I see more vinyl listening bars and spots popping up all over, and more record stores and even bigger pop artist pressing their album to vinyl. Vinyl is here to stay!

Who has been influential to you and your growth as a professional in this industry?

My friend and amazing DJ Ana Calderon! She really helped me get my foot in the door djing when I was new to the LA nightlife.

Anything else you’d like to add; if not tell us what you’re listening to: 

I love Italo disco and I adore anything by Pino D’Angio.

Find Nina: 

Instagram: @pizzaparty69

Facebook: @NervousJerk

Soundcloud: @ninatarr

Website: www.ninatarr.com