When we were kids, our dads made us listen to a lot of classic rock and heavy metal. Of course, electronic producer Eats Everything of the Dirtybird crew has his own priorities.
"I'd been playing techno into my wife's belly all the way through the pregnancy," says the proud father of a 1-month-old son. "If he listens to Metallica or One Direction or any of that nonsense, I'll just throw them out. There's a massive window of music he's not allowed to like, and there's only a very small window of music he's allowed to like."
The big boy from Bristol has been very busy. Aside from becoming a new dad, he also designed his own burger for his hometown's Love Inn (an eight-ounce Wagyu beef patty with pickles, onion rings, Leerdammer cheese, and other delicious toppings), began the process of refurbishing his home studio, and has continued to travel the world to play club gigs despite being severely rest-deprived.
The whirlwind continues as he leaves a festival in Iceland to head straight to South Beach's Story for a set with Justin Martin this weekend. Then it's right off again to Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas, followed by a trip to Ibiza.
"When I finish, I'll probably curl up into a ball and die," he jokes. "But you just get used to it. And I'd rather do that than wallow in self-pity in an office like I have done, or working on a building site. I am very lucky to get out of the country."
With all of those work hours at the club and a new baby, the busy papa has been struggling to find time to bang out new, original material in the studio.
"I don't get so much time to make my own music anymore," he admits. "I find myself editing a lot of other people's music a lot."
So these days the majority of his downtime is spent sifting the internet for new music, sometimes just searching for clips worth reworking.
"Anytime I'm not doing anything, that's what I'm doing," he says. "I make a lot of edits that no one else has. I edit pretty much all the tunes I buy."
And because he doesn't have time to make his own fresh cuts, it's these personal remixes of every track he plays that keep Eats on top of the party-starting game.
"At the end of the day, if I'm playing all the same records as everyone else, what have I got to offer that they haven't?"
Luckily, Dirtybird fans are some of the most loyal on the dance music scene, and the ass-clap-inducing tech-house boys have been getting a lot of love in our backyard.
"I've played Miami a lot, obviously because of WMC," he says. "It's probably the place I've played the most in the world, other than Bristol. I've played maybe 20 or 30 times. I can't think of anywhere else I've played more than that, but I've never played Story."
Eats is hyped. And he predicts the upcoming SoBe show will be one for the books.
"I love playing back-to-back with Justin!" he exclaims. "Story is going to be ace. I'm really, really excited. I love those guys who run the party, the Miami Rebels guys — they're brilliant. It's going to be very, very, very fun indeed."
Not that he's overthinking his set.
"We just feel it out," he explains. "I've never planned a DJ set in my life. I think if you plan something, then there's more room for error. And then what do you do if you mess it up? Carry on? Or do you completely scrap the plan? And if you completely scrap the plan, then what's the point of the plan in the first place?
"Never plan anything. That's my motto."
