Imagine: A fairly big room with colorful lights, loud music blaring. There is a sort of electrifying energy in the air where the overwhelming bass can be felt in your chest with every drum beat.

You look up to the front of the crowd and see the person controlling it all behind two vinyl platters and a laptop littered with tour stickers.

This is no club or concert venue. This is the mess decks aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). The host, Staff Sgt. Rajon Goolsby of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), which is on a scheduled deployment with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group in the 5th Fleet Area of Operations.

During the day, the Birmingham, Alabama native, husband and father of three works in the ship's S6 divisional office as an aviation supply specialist, tracking aircraft parts and crunching numbers for the MEU.

"[I joined the Marine Corps because] I didn't want to be a financial burden to my mom," said Goolsby. "As soon as I turned 17, I signed up for the delayed entry program. I knew I didn't want a combat [job]. Since I had a love for numbers and problem solving, I chose accounting and supply."

According to Goolsby, before there were turntables, there were musical instruments. He learned to play piano around the age of four, and in elementary school learned to play the flute and cello, then eventually moved on to percussion. By the time he was in high school, his claim to fame was being able to play almost every instrument in the band room.

"I just have a love for music, its composition, the way it speaks to people and the way it moves them," he said. "I love to impact a room especially when it comes to setting the ambiance of a certain setting."

The 14-year Marine vet began his journey as a DJ in 2007, in San Diego with a few friends. As a budding music producer himself, he'd carry his beat-making equipment around, and once in a while record demo mixes for his DJ friend, who would in turn show him the tricks of the DJ trade. From there, Goolsby explains, the rest was history.

"I actually started off as a music producer. I recorded my friend mixing and made demos for him," said the 2003 Huffman Magnet High School graduate. "Every once in a while if he had a DJ set at a club, he would let me get a little action. It was a blast!"

When not on deployment, Goolsby DJs at clubs around eastern North Carolina, and is also frequently booked at private events.

Presently, Goolsby can be found at most morale, welfare and recreation events onboard the ship and in port spinning a melodic array of songs from almost every genre, keeping the Bataan crew entertained during deployment.

"Could you imagine going to a concert and everything was acapella?" he asked. "That's how most of the events would be without a good DJ. I love it. The heads bobbing up and down, the vibes, the smiles, the [faces]... yeah."

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