A few weeks ago Dimitri Fostinis reached out to me with a new single he was releasing. The new single titled “I’ll Be There” featuring Josh Culture and was looking for some support. I asked him for an interview before I realized I had already interviewed him. But I interviewed DJ Meetch, not Dimitri Fostinis. Granted, Dimitri Fostinis is DJ Meetch… But this interview is new and improved. I really enjoyed the single he did with Josh and have always been a big fan of his music. It was time we touched base and scheduled a second interview. You’ve met him before, but that was 4 years ago. It is my pleasure to reintroduce you to Dimitri Fostinis.
We’ve known each other for quite some time. Why has it taken me this long to interview you? Regardless, do you remember how we first met?
It’s good to be back Ricky! Well, we did have an interview about 4 years ago, but that actually ties into how we first met. When I first was getting involved with composing and producing my own music, you were one of the first blogs I found online when I came across a post of yours about a fellow DJ that I liked as well. I wish I could remember who it was, but sadly I cannot. Then when I searched around on your page, I realized you seemed like a genuine person! There’s all those selfish blog owners that are very picky or specific about what they want but I definitely felt different coming across yours. You were the first blog I think I ever emailed when I released my first EP, Pulses. And of course you were the first to get back to me as well! Ever since then, I’ve always kept you in mind and we’ve been friends on Facebook since. I appreciate you!
You are an Advertisement Moderator at TaskUs. That sounds fun. What do you do there and ho w long have you been with the company?
I’ve been with TaskUs for a little over 3 months now and I freaking love it. I overlook ads on an extremely well known social media app that just about everyone uses. (Can’t say it to the public.) Let’s just say it’s not Instagram, but close! I got placed in this campaign and I look at different companies that submit creatives to advertise to people worldwide. I have to make sure they pass the rules to be approved or rejected. It’s an awesome environment and there are dogs that run around everywhere here. Can’t get enough of them!
Should this interview be with Dimitri Fostinis or with Meetch? Tell us more about Meetch and what that persona is all about.
Well, Meetch has became my all around name basically. Nickname/musician name or whatever it is, it is me. All my music has been through that name and I continue it to be that way. But I just got verified on two apps Triller and Vero and it’s funny because it’s both of my names and I am now verified under both. I guess I can have two official names. I literally go by anything, but as I continue to build my brand, Meetch is my selling point and it’s way simpler than Dimitri.
You recently released a banger titled “I’ll Be There” featuring Josh Culture. Tell me more about that release and your relationship with Josh.
This was our first song we made together. He isn’t really a feature because we both have equal amounts of effort we put into making this a hit. That’s why it can be found on the web under both of our names. We met when we started working with a live stream app called iGO.Live. We met in Beverly Hills at theiGO.Live office and it wasn’t until the first time we hung out months later, where we realized our talents combined is exactly what we needed. I see so much potential in the music we make. His guitar and singing skills matched with my production skills, turns out that we make fantastic music really fast and really good. “I’ll Be There” is available all over for purchase! And we have another song just about finished and ready for our second release! We believe in continuing to push out amazing quality and our energies combined will get us to where we want to be. Josh has an amazing personality and it 100% fits him as the singer/rapper/musician he is. (Man of 100 talents over here.) Though we don’t fully want to make mainstream pop music, the song just has that poppy vibe. Everyone seems to absolutely love it! It’s truly an amazing feeling to hear people sing along to our music. I still get people snapchatting me them jamming in the car with the song on all the time. More music is on the way and you’ll definitely be the first to receive the new press release!
With a full time job, how do you find time to produce music? What about touring?
I always make room for music! I work actually about 5 jobs right now. I love to hustle and LA is the place for me. Most of jobs are mobile so I can work on the go all the time. Including my Instagram marketing business I own, as well as the apps I live stream for and make video content for too. I haven’t had the chance to tour but if I were too, I would still be able to do just about every job on the go! That’s what I love about what I do, I’m a complete workaholic and I love every bit of working. I’ve going to Iceland for a solo trip in May and I’ll be working on the go and when I’m in the mountains! If there’s cell service, of course.
You live in Los Angeles. What is the live music scene like there?
It’s pretty amazing over here. Dance music is everywhere as Las Vegas is only a 3 and a half hour drive from here so all the BillBoards are promoting Tiesto and Kaskade and all that. There are shows all the time but the only thing that sucks is they stop serving alcohol at 2AM here so everything is shut down at that time. Unlike when I lived near NYC and you can literally go all night till about 8AM. So many people are trying to be big over here so it makes it harder to succeed but that does not stop me. I absolutely love a challenge and I love working. So I will work my hardest as I already see things working out in the long run.
There are a ton of great music venues and nightclubs in LA. What are some of your favorite places to visit?
I love Exchange LA and The Belasco. I saw Kill Frenzy at Exchange LA and I don’t recall who I saw at The Belasco but it is just a really sweet venue. I’ve been to other spots like the AVALON Hollywood, but it’s always packed and still cool but not my favorite. Relating to the last question, I go to Las Vegas a lot and the really awesome spots are there.
You recently went skydiving. What was that like? Were you nervous your parachute wouldn’t work?
Skydiving was a spur of the moment thing I always wanted to do. A coworker of mine does it professionally so I said whenever she was gonna go next to let me know. Then on Friday, she said she was going the next day and I agreed immediately. I wasn’t nervous one bit. It was the most exciting experience ever. The free fall is over a minute long so it’s just full speed falling through the clouds. I’m going again on May 5 with my buddy who never did it before! I didn’t even think about the chute not working to be honest.
There are a lot of great restaurants in that city, too. Where do you like to eat?
I love food so I eat everywhere. Trejos Tacos is a fantastic spot! I can’t even list the places I love. Founders Ale House has amazing food, too. I go to this Korean BBQ place also and you get to cook your own food it’s fantastic. But for me the main thing I get ALL the time, is sushi burritos. I find those everywhere and they are so damn good. I like to look up all the trending food videos on Facebook because a lot of those are around here. So I make it a goal of mine to go to as many of those places as I can. I eat too much maybe.
Where can folks learn more about you?
I seriously post my entire life on Instagram. Since it has become my own business to help people on the network, Instagram seriously surrounds my life as crazy as it sounds. It works for me! And I will continue to make it work. I love visually showing people what I do. All my amazing travel photos go on there too!
Should we expect more releases from you and Josh in the near future?
Most definitely! We have another song just about finished and a full beat done that we have to record vocals on. We’re going to continue to push out only the greatest of songs and you will definitely be number one on the list to know!
You have a few tattoos on your left arm. Is that a full sleeve? How many tattoos do you have?
I actually have a ton of tattoos. My left arm has been forming a sleeve for quite some time now. It’s just about fully covered but I have some stuff I’m working on and going over. I can’t count the tattoos I have I would say. I have a bunch on my right arm as well as that’s been forming a sleeve too. I have a few on my chest as well and also on my ankle. My best idea I have is once I’ve traveled across the world and my passport has every stamp filling up the entire book, (I have until 2025 to fill it and right now about 5 pages are full) I will have a full leg sleeve incorporating all of the stamps for everywhere I’ve went to so far in my life.
Where do you come up with ideas for new songs? Also, you produce a lot of great videos. Where are you finding inspiration for those?
Recently I’ve only made music with Josh and will continue to. He just comes over and starts playing guitar and I hop on my drum box and he starts singing then we land something great. That’s the best way to come up with songs is to just jam out for an hour. The videos that have been coming out have been filmed by my buddy Zurisaddai. He’s a NYC cinematographer and he has been staying with me in LA and filming with me in his spare time. He mainly does big dance videos but we are such good friends that he does stuff for me too. The inspiration comes from the music. The song will come first then we just close our eyes and visualize how we can turn a sound into a picture.
I see you are a scuba diver. Are you PADI or SDI?
I actually don’t have a certification. I plan on getting my PADI ASAP. Everywhere I go I try to get scuba experience in. I always bring my GoPro so I love to get underwater footage it’s unbelievable. I’m going to Iceland soon and the water is so clear but you need at least a PADI anywhere over there. I fell in love with the waters it’s beautiful.
Where do you go when you just want to get away? LA is a busy place, but have you found any secret spots where you can relax?
Because I travel so much, I don’t really get away in the US. I try to go to different islands or countries. I went to London, Amsterdam and Italy all in one trip in October to November. I mentioned before I love to build my passport stamps so I only try to travel internationally. Iceland is soon and I cannot wait for it! As for LA, maybe I’ll drive to the hills or go for a hike to get away. There are some amazing waterfalls and views around here so I try to experience them as much as I can. I don’t really ever relax though, I work so much that my mind is always going.
What’s next for DJ Meetch?
I just want to succeed. I’m pushing my talents as far as they can go and I will do it with pride. Music is music and if I love what I make than that’s good enough for me. Things definitely will happen for me. I don’t know when, but they will. I love performing and playing music live. The passion I have for making a crown move is explainable. So much has been going for me since I moved to LA. The people I meet and the experiences I have are everything I dreamed for. I’ve been traveling the world for a few years now and that’s a huge part of me.
Thank you so much for doing this. In all of the interviews I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.
This is the hardest part. (Sounds like I’m breaking up with someone.) I appreciate you, Ricky. It’s actually crazy, but you’ve been there since I really started taking music seriously. I can’t thank you enough for all of the features and help you’ve done for me. (Now I really sound like I’m breaking up with someone!) I know that which ever way my path goes, you will be a supporter of mine. This was a great interview and I love all of the questions!
