Everything you need to know about The Union Bar’s DJ Paimon

This past week, The Tab Iowa got to interview an Iowa City favorite, The Union Bar’s very own DJ Paimon. Paimon Alipour, 33, opened up about his passion for music, career and his never ending love for Iowa City and the Hawkeyes.

Everyone knows you as DJ Paimon, but tell us about life before the music – when you were just Paimon Alipour.

I grew up in Iowa City, born and raised, went to high school at West High and then The University of Iowa. Always have been always will be a Hawkeye. Going to the university I actually got my degree in economics, so something completely different from what I’m doing now, but having that as my background has definitely helped out with the business side of my career since I manage myself. Goes to show you can still pursue your dream job without having a degree for it.

What got you into music and DJing then?

As a kid I was always into music. My dad had really nice sound systems that he worked with, so growing up I was always around sound equipment. I was always interested in playing music too. I had a little keyboard when I was five that I would play all the time. When I was in fourth and fifth grade I begged my parents to get me a guitar and let me take drum lessons, I was always about music.

I got into DJing in high school. When I was 15 or 16 was when I became interested in DJing. When I asked my parents for my first set of turn tables they told me I had to buy them myself, so I got my first job working at Burger King just so I could save up for them. I started getting into it then, practicing in my bedroom and my basement, and when I got better with it was when I really knew it was something I wanted to do, so I worked to turn my passion into a career and here I am now.

Obviously you’re the big DJ at The Union Bar, but before that was there somewhere else you started playing at?

There used to be this place called Vito’s in downtown Iowa City. Back when I was in college it was the place to be. I was there a lot so of course I noticed their ads about an opening for a DJing position. It was my best friend at the time who really pushed me to go for it. He kind of nudged me and said “You can do that.” I auditioned and got the job right away, and I ended up DJing there for two years. That was my first residency at a bar in Iowa City.

It was funny that just two days after I left Vito’s, Union hired me as their resident DJ. I had no problem finding another place to DJ at, and what was even better was my fan base from Vito’s followed me to Union, and that’s kind of how my big Union crowd started up. They were just good fans who loved my music.

I’ve been the resident DJ with Union for about eight years now, and that’s including the time when I moved from Iowa City to Los Angeles a while back to further my career as a DJ… And moving out to the west coast did help, there were quite a few people out there who were able to help me work on my music and get some of my remixes on the radio.

I also did a lot of traveling and played at other cities all over the country. I’ve played in Chicago, New York, Miami, pretty much every major market for clubs and DJing, and smaller spots all over the midwest. My goal was to play in a different city every weekend, whether it be a small town in Nebraska, one of my residencies, or a popular club in a big city. I did as much as I could to get my name out there.

All during this time, like I said, I still had my residency at Union. I would come back and DJ for football games and big weekends. Even though I was in L.A. and got to play at the big clubs out there, I still missed my city. I’ve got more love for the Iowa City bar scene than L.A., this is home and nothing compares to it.

So I’ve moved back here and cut down on the traveling, and now I’m at Union every Thursday through Saturday. I love everything about Union, the crowd is amazing, the venue itself is amazing, I honestly don’t think there’s another place in the midwest that even comes close to Union. I have friends that regularly DJ across the country and even internationally, and they all love Union. They’re always asking me, “Yo when can I come back and play at The U?”

So what’s the plan for the future? Anything big you’ve got in store for us?

I’m currently working on an album. It’ll be my debut album as DJ Paimon with all original music… I want to put something out there that’s completely my own, music aside from my remixes that I might be able to tour off of one day. My plan is to release the album by next September, and it will feature local talent and artists from Iowa City. I’m really trying to put on for this city.

I also have a documentary in the works. It’s going to really coincide with the album and show a lot of behind the scenes, studio footage, and the making of the album itself. I find that people tend to connect with an artist better when they know exactly what he’s doing and get to see all the hard work and devotion that goes into making music. I want to give people an inside look at what I do and what it really means to be a DJ. I want to have a better connection with my fans that way, and that’s why I decided I wanted to film a documentary.

Attached is a link to DJ Paimon’s Soundcloud. Check it out or come see him live at The Union Bar Thursday through Saturday at 10PM! From The Tab Iowa and all of Iowa City, we wish you the best, Paimon, as you work on the upcoming release of your album and documentary, and as you continue your career as a DJ. Forever a Hawkeye!