When Lucas Wade Harris left his rural hometown of Franklin, N.C., bound for the sunny skies of the Southeast Coast, he had a few ideas, limited money and no solid plan. Little did he know that that three years later he’d be rising through the ranks of people to know in the Holy City.
     After graduating college with a useless degree in finance and eyes set for anywhere south of Appalachia, Harris took a quick inventory of his life thus far. He’d been in what some people may call a band, worked on a tech crew at his alma mater and had a PA system he’d somehow managed to purchase between all the cheap beer and chipotle that constitute many an undergrad’s diet. After little to no deliberation, Harris came to a decision: “You know what I’m going to do? I’m gonna be a DJ.”
     The first step in accomplishing his carefully designed master plan? Moving to Charleston, because he’d known a guy who had done the same thing. (What more of a reason could one need?) Harris packed up his red Chevy, and five hours later arrived to his new house in West Ashley, complete with a washer and dryer, two females he’d found on Craigslist and not much else. Immediately, he started trying to book shows. He made cold calls to party venues and event planners and did anything he could to get his name out there.
     Notice anything missing? Unlike many aspiring DJs, Lucas never wanted to perform at clubs. “I wanted to make a living,” he says. “When you work clubs you don’t get paid, you have a narrow demographic and you get harassed by people who only want to hear the ‘Wobble’ all night.” 
     So instead of dropping his tracks in the crazed, hazy club scene, Harris focused on the more profitable side of DJing—events, parties and weddings. “At first I was very anti-wedding,” he admits. “I thought they were dumb. Now I know for a fact that they aren’t, and I know for a fact that clubs are.”
     He says he doesn’t miss creating the heavy dub-step beats resounding throughout the bass-pounding darkness—you know, the ones that could easily be mistaken for a computer dial-up modem tone from the ’90s. “I’m not an art DJ, I’m a fun DJ. If someone wants to hear a song 10 times in a row, I will play it for them. Here you go! If they like it, then that’s fantastic,” he says. “I’m not going to play some underground thing you’ve never heard. I’m going to play something that you’ve definitely heard, and that you definitely like.”
     So, along with his newly formed brand, his ambition and his spontaneity, Harris started Charleston Audio in 2010. Of course, as with any newly formed small business, money was one of his biggest challenges. Harris didn’t know anybody in town, and to make matters worse, he had an HP computer (rare in the music industry). “That was a disaster,” he says, laughing. In between sleepless nights, sweaty-palm stress, a few years and a learning curve, he fine-tuned Charleston Audio and rechristened it Creative Sound.
     In fall 2012, Creative sound partnered with Eklipse, another DJ service, to put on one of the biggest New Year’s bashes in town. Charleston Unmasked was the first full event Harris hosted. Normally, he gets paid to be at parties, but this time he was the one not only hiring others but also marketing the entire event. “No one’s coming unless they come because of how we advertised it,” he says. “Balls are on the table completely. I thought, ‘I hope somebody comes, because if they don’t I’m going to be out of business.’”
     The Memminger Auditorium downtown set the scene, as Harris brought in acrobatic acts, Cirque-de-Soleil-like performers, a live ice carver and, of course, premium bar service. The event was sold out, and at $125 a ticket, it’s safe to say Creative Sound made a pretty penny or two. The people Harris was hoping for really did show up, and they brought their friends, so it looks like he’ll get to keep his job.
     For Harris and Creative Sound, the next steps are continuing to get better and staying on the edge of what he does. “I’m not just some kid pretending to be a professional like when I first started. I actually am a professional now, and I love what I do.”