Whether it’s music for seven hours of dodgeball at a philanthropy event or dancing the night away at a function, juniors Sean Brennecke and Matthew Boehmer hand select the correct songs to play for each crucial moment.
Many students find time to balance work and school, but for these two University of Oregon students, their day job is more than just a source of income — it’s a passion.
Sean Brennecke and Matt Boehmer started their DJ business over the past year or so and it has blossomed into more than they could have imagined.
“I always wanted to be a DJ and then when Sean got the gear it required and I found out how talented and into music he was, it was such a great parallel that we decided to come together and create Sauce,” Boehmer said.
The duo calls themselves Sauce — a name they came up with earlier this year.
“In reference to food, everything is better with Sauce,” Brennecke said. “It’s a funny way that we use to describe the way that we bring that extra experience to the party. We’re that little level that is going to make everyone have that much better of a time.”
Brennecke started the idea by shelling out $3,000 on a sub the size of a dishwasher, two speakers and a mixing board about a year ago. The pair began to book gigs almost immediately. They’ve become especially popular among UO Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Since then, they have appeared at fraternity and sorority functions since their debut this past fall at Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Bid Day. They have DJed almost all of Kappa’s events this year.
“They interact with people and truly feed off of each other,” Sam Wellington said, social chair of Kappa Kappa Gamma. “They are so much fun to have and I’ve gotten great feedback from all the girls in the house so I continue to use them for all of our events.”
The pair have also worked with Gamma Phi Beta and have many events lined up for spring term including a five way function at the Veteran’s Center with Alpha Phi, Fiji, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Lambda Chi Alpha. Plus, they have spring plans with Delta Sigma Phi.
It’s their unique image and sound that Brennecke and Boehmer believe sets them apart from other DJs.
“We don’t just stand up there and play songs. We are dancing just as hard as anyone else,” Brennecke said. “We’re yelling in the mic, getting everyone hyped up and it’s all in those critical moments.”
One other critical element that makes Sauce unique is their choice of attire. The men wear suits and ties with long black wigs and sunglasses.
“When we were first getting together, we were thinking about our personalities. We’re not super serious guys and wanted to find a way to personify that,” Brennecke said. “We did it and people had no idea who the hell we were, we were just those guys with the wigs and it’s kind of stuck from there.”
It’s very clear that the two friends are in fact, feeding off of each other at all times and having a good time doing it.
“We’d love to play the Catalina Wine Mixer,” Brennecke joked. “No, but in all seriousness we have our own professional ambitions. It’s just something that we love to do on the side.”
In addition, the pair is motivated by a desire to give back to the community. At the recent dodgeball event, the men gave 25 percent of their earnings back to the philanthropy.
“We are extremely grateful for the opportunity that Kappa (Kappa Gamma) has given us to DJ and it just reinforces the idea that we’re not doing it for the money,” Boehmer said. “We want everyone to have a great experience and the ability to give back to the philanthropy was a great opportunity for both of us.”
Music is not their only tie to the UO Greek community — Brennecke himself is a member of Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) and Boehmer is the UO brand manager for The Social Life, a custom Greek life apparel company doing business with eleven different Oregon houses at this point.
For these reasons, Fraternity and Sorority Life events have a special place in their business, but overall they simply love sharing their gift with others.
“Music is so powerful because it has so much control over the environment so it’s such a large responsibility,” Brennecke said. “It’s just like, an addiction. Feeding off that energy, it’s fun to help other create those memorable experiences.”