MEET: D.J. SHANE STIEL, All Of Us Events
D.J. and events promoter, Shane Stiel. | Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
Shane Stiel, the founder of All Of Us events, talks Jess King, Chubby’s burritos, the healing frequency of sound, and why clubs are not dead.
Interview : Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing + provided by Shane Stiel.
The Dishing talks with tastemakers in the hospitality industry + trailblazers at the intersection of food, culture + art. In this tastemaker interview, we talk with events promoter, Shane Stiel, a proudly gay, military veteran, holistic wellness advocate, fitness model, athlete, and internationally-renowned DJ.
Stiel’s passion for dance music as both a DJ and producer has woven throughout a varied career. Growing up in Red Rocks, Colorado, Stiel started DJ-ing at raves in the 1990s and earned a following for his fusion of hip hop, 80s pop, hard rock and EDM. After 9/11, he entered the U.S. Navy, kickstarting a fitness journey. In 2012, he founded Haus of Stiel as a DJ and producer while still training celebrities at Gold's Gym in Hollywood, California. Stiel met his husband, Stephen, in 2017 while DJ-ing a music event in Disney, Orlando, and they relocated to his hometown of Saratoga Springs. Music has been the constant thread.
Thanks for talking with The Dishing, Shane. Your Instagram posts always address readers as “Dancers” before you share details of an upcoming event. I feel like I need to say, “Dancers, what's coming up next?”
Yeah, we are bringing Masquerave back to Universal Preservation Hall on October 25. It's so exciting. You know, it’ll be full bar, all night long, so it’ll be different than last time. I can't tell you who we're bringing in yet, but it’s going to be a really big name – and I'm very thankful to be back. And, I’m excited to announce our exclusive residency at UPH! So for our residency we'll look at doing three to four events a year at UPH to start.
You're sitting in front of me wearing your Marcel the Shell shirt. I already know how much you love him and honestly this wasn’t one of my questions, but I need to ask how you became such a huge Marcel fan?
My husband watched the movie during a flight to to Chicago or LA, or wherever we were going, and when we landed he was like, "You have to watch this now, it's totally you. You're gonna cry the whole time.” Sure enough, we watched it, and it hit me in my heart and I cried the whole time. [laughs] There were just so many inspirational life quotes and meanings and things – I don't know, I just really resonated with the little guy. [Ed. note: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is a 2021 movie.]
Since talked about your vision for large scale All Of Us events a few months ago, you have brought in some big names for events at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs. Who were you excited to work with + who are you hoping to bring in next?
I was really excited to bring some really old school names that I kind of grew up with. Namely David Tort, Harry Romero, and a really good friend of mine, JayTech from Anjunabeats who’s played here a few times. I feel so thankful to have grown a great relationship with him. And also Karsten Sollers, another incredible artist and good friend. Watching his career blow up has been amazing. I always wanted to work with him and when I brought him in, he brought the house down. For the future, we really want to expand and I'd like to bring in names like Noizu, Tony Romera, Mark Knight – some of the bigger names as we grow.
It's been a journey for you to launch All Of Us events; a vision slowed, like so many things, by the pandemic. How did it finally come to fruition?
The pandemic actually kind of changed everything for me because I was touring a lot — I was a DJ and obviously lost all my gigs for the rest of the year. So that kind of started the spark to do this. I had some doubts initially, whether to do it or not, and once things started kind of coming back and we could go out, that's when I started checking on the scene a little bit, doing my own research and seeing how things were and what was happening. One night, it just came to me that I wanted to bring something here that really said community, that said everybody's welcome. Something that puts out good vibes. That’s what I want to put into the world, you know?
Shane Stiel. | Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
Yes, for sure. So, if we can turn to you personally, you have been very open and vulnerable about your mental health journey as a survivor of sexual assault and how this led you onto a holistic healing path with spiritual guides this summer. Can you talk about your decision and how it helped your healing?
So this decision didn't come lightly. There was a lot of growth involved; I've been working with my life coach, Bodhi Calagna for probably 15 years. When I started to be really honest about my trauma and trying to figure out how to get past this, I focused on finding the right type of healing, because I didn't want to just go to the hospital and get medication. I wanted to find something more holistic, something that fits more of who I am.
Bodhi really helped me with that and they have a course called CIJ, Creative Introspective Journey. I actually took that course three times which really helped me to expand on my inner demons, how and why they're there and, really, my own purpose. So that really helped, but then it came to a point where Bodhi told me that they thought that I was ready for the next step which was the psilocybin journey, ketamine therapeutic massage and the 5-MeO-DMT therapy. I took a couple of introductory courses with Bodhi about it, did my own research, talked with my husband and made sure he was okay with it, and then decided to do it this summer. Honestly… let me back up just a little bit. In December, I had started the Peloton bike and it was after I started that I began to really feel the courage to fight back against my own PTSD.
Amazing. I want to connect to something here. There's a lot of literature about the healing frequency of electronic dance music and benefits of dancing as community. So this is really in two parts: What's your approach to a work/life balance and is there a connection for you to the healing property of sound?
I have music going from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. So it is constantly healing me. But creating a really solid work/life balance, I believe, comes through taking care of yourself in a healthy way: eating healthy, staying fit or exercising, meditating. I meditate every morning. If I don't meditate, I don't feel right. But also being good to yourself, treating yourself. You're allowed to go get a mani/pedi. You're allowed to go get a massage. You're allowed to go do something that makes you feel good about yourself, you know? I feel like those things are so important to make you feel good and bring that goodness to whatever you’re trying to do in, sometimes, the worst space, right? There are different genres I play based on different moods I'm in, so music is always therapeutic to me.
You have traveled internationally as a DJ, including, was it The Boiler room in London?
London, yes! But it was Roast in London last year.
Where else have you DJ’d internationally and do you have plans to head overseas anytime soon?
I've played in every major city in Canada, every major city in the United States, Melbourne, Sydney, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and London. I'm going back to London next year, we just don't have a set date yet. Same venue.
You mentioned Peloton, and fitness is obviously very important to you, judging by your physique! [Laughs] I've also seen your excitement as you got into Peloton cycling. I know you have a favorite instructor and you just went to the Peloton Studios for a live class. Who was it with and did it meet your expectations?
It was with Jess King! She's incredible. I love her energy. I just love everything about her! But that whole trip was me giving back to myself and rewarding myself. I was so thankful that I got up with Jess because she's been through this whole journey. I've been watching and listening to her and trying to take action on the things she says to keep going. So when I got to go… I mean the studios are beautiful. I had a milestone ride that day…and my friend DJ John Michael works for Peloton and he texted Jess… so I got to meet her afterwards, to tell her about my PTSD and how Peloton's really helped me. I talked to her about plant therapy… and she locked me eye-to-eye, grabbed onto me, and we had a 10 minute discussion. It was wonderful; it was everything I needed. And then somehow I got upgraded to a first class cabin on the train back. It was the universe saying, “Hey, here you go.”
I'm a firm believer in music as an integral component of the dining experience. Since the pandemic, we’ve seen restaurants and bars struggle and clubs closing at an alarming rate. What’s the future of clubs? Or, is it true that clubs are dead?
No, first of all, that's a big no. I think there needs to be a shift, because the younger generation is not drinking as much. I think maybe the government needs to allow bars and restaurants to serve THC cocktails as that's what a lot of the young people are into, and that could really help the industry. For clubs, a big issue is also that a lot of people want to go to festivals, like Mirage-type size clubs, you know? That's the big thing now. I was reading an Instagram post the other day about why people are going to clubs less and one of the points was it's become so influencer-based that it's lost its underground feel. People don't want to stand next to people holding up their phones for two hours. That has really pulled the energy out of the clubs. Now, there are a lot of promoters doing no phones which is great because it helps bring your attention back to the music, to the moment, to the connection we get with people. Also, it's a known fact that in times of turmoil, people seek out dancing, letting go and letting loose as a type of release. So I think we're gonna see a good shift back towards clubbing.
You mentioned that you listen to music all the time. What are you listening to at home these days? Are you mostly looking for music for your sets or listening for pleasure?
I listen mostly for pleasure. Right now, it's gonna be completely off of EDM, but I'm loving Laura Anglade. She's a jazz singer and she's just got this beautiful, like, soulful twenties voice that just really resonates and hits me in the heart. We're actually going to see her next month – I've been a huge fan and she's just now starting to blow up..
You grew up in Colorado. What are some of your childhood food memories from growing up in Red Rocks?
So, anybody who's from Denver, from Colorado, knows Chubby’s, okay? It is the best burrito you're ever gonna have. It's a huge, fat, smothered burrito. I think when I was a teenager, I probably got one about five to seven days a week. Any moment you could go to Chubby's we went to Chubby's. That's kind of what Colorado is known for – their smothered burritos with green chili… Oh, God. If I could have a Chubby's right now. [Ed. note: Original Chubby's, a historic Denver Mexican restaurant known for its smothered fries and burritos, founded in 1967 by Stella Cordova.] But on the flip side, everybody knows about Casa Bonita and that it’s the most terrible food ever. My parents took us there all the time, even though they also knew the food was terrible because it was an experience. It was a good place for kids to go run around and stuff. I just watched the Casa Bonita documentary and that's the first thing they started talking about: how terrible the food is. You have to watch it. [laughs]
You’re always really well turned out. How would you describe your fashion style at home, on the road, or behind the decks DJing? Do you have any preferred brands? Does your husband dress you?
No, My husband's not allowed to dress me! I dress him. [Laughs.] I would say my style is very hip, comfortable, vibey, kind of more festival wear. My husband always says, "No matter what time of the day, you do not walk out of that bathroom not looking good." Even in my pajamas, it's matchy, like, something's coordinating, you know? I mean, I'm a gay so it's gotta coordinate all the time! For brands, I typically like to find off-brands like small business brands. I love Coach, though, as far as bags and stuff. I have my anniversary bag with me. And my Coach sunglasses. Other than that, maybe my Born Primitive shorts which everyone gives me a hard time about because they’re short like Daisy Duke. I wear them. I fucking love it. Oh, and my Carrera sunglasses.
If you and Stephen have guests coming to stay, or you're just going out together, where are three favorite spots you might go to for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
For breakfast, we go to this little diner that is close to us called Compadres, and it's owned by the sweetest Latino family, but they make the best breakfast food. It is just so delicious.I am somebody who lived in So Cal for 15 years, so my burritos are very important to me. That's something I miss very much. So when they opened and had burritos that tasted just like Southern California, they sold me. That place is really special to me right now.
Solevo, downtown, is another place that we love. They're a great family, very good to us. We go to Wishing Well a lot because it’s close to our house. There are some new places we’ve tried recently: Cleome in Glen's Falls was very good, and the new chef at Siro’s, Noah Frese. He's been doing really well over there, and of course, he's opening Noah's Italian on Phila. Oh - we're going to be trying out Standard Fare on Sunday.
Yes. Coffee or tea? Tea. What's your order?
I like peach green tea.
What's your go-to cocktail?
A martini. Espresso, of course.
And do you have either a favorite coffee shop or bar in town?
We love Hamlet & Ghost — they make delicious cocktails. And, yeah, I don't really hang out at coffee shops. [Laughs]
Imagine it's your day off. Reservations are not an issue. You can get anywhere in the world. Where would you go and how would your day or night unfold?
I would go somewhere where I could get a cocktail and lay out of the pool all day. Ideally, Ibiza or somewhere really cool. But specifically for food, I really love Dishoom so maybe I’d be in London and after dinner I would go to the Boiler Room.
I’ll join you! We've talked about your plans for upcoming events, but where do you see yourself and All Of Us in the next five years?
In five years, I see myself as somebody who is well respected in the community bringing people together. And I see myself standing on a main stage with one of my favorite artists playing, and a sea of people enjoying it. I’ll be crying my eyes out with my family and friends. I can see that moment is going to happen.
Shane, thank you for talking with The Dishing. We're looking forward to seeing All Of Us expand and continue to cross promote your events. What you're doing is amazing for the community. We’re all about getting people out to restaurants and you're all about getting them out to dance – it feels very aligned.