Lust List 2016: Jonathan: Bartender, Whiskey Blue

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Job: Bartender, Whiskey Blue
Age: 27
Relationship Status: Single

Jonathan holds comfortable eye contact, quietly absorbing conversation the way a natural people person does. His eyes are a warm chocolate brown, lined with thick, dark lashes — an ensnaring quality he attributes to his Mexican and Cuban heritage, or “Cubican” as he calls it. He further puts folks at ease by also getting drinks in their hands as a bartender at Whiskey Blue and tunes in their ears while DJing at Mother. The dude also gets down in the studio, working on his own production he describes as a mix of electronic and hip-hop. The Atlanta area native keeps busy so it makes sense he’s into cutting to the chase ... with both work and women. — Beca Grimm

 





MUSIC MAN


I started producing before I started DJing. And then I realized to be a better producer, you should be a good DJ first. You know, no one wants to go to a show and just hear songs, especially with dance music, just back-to-back-to-back without them flowing into each other.

I guess you could call it dance music. I mean I like dance music, but I just try to make good music. So that’s the goal in mind. Each song that I approach is a little bit different.

 


What do you like best about working at Whiskey Blue?


The view, the money, and the freedom to have a lot of different alcohol at my disposal.

What band were you obsessed with when you were 14?


Probably like Blink 182, you know, that kind of stuff.

Any specific album?


I’m sorry; it’s hard for me to remember exactly what I was doing when I was 14, but if I remember correctly, during that time, it was a lot of punk bands, like Rufio.

Some Thursday in there too, maybe?


Yeah, of course. All that, you know, “the tip of emo,” as people would call it back then.

Did you go to the Masquerade for shows as a teen?


Oh yeah. My first actual show was at Masquerade. It was to see Rise Against.

Who was your first crush?


I think it was a Spanish teacher I had. I was hot for teacher ... Topanga from “Boy Meets World.”

She’s so great. She’s such a caring girlfriend.


I know, exactly. I was like, “I want this out of a girlfriend.”

What was your most gruesome childhood injury?


This one time I was in a wagon with my sister. My dad was pulling us with a rope attached, and for some reason, he thought it’d be smart to go down a hill, which — you know — the wagon sped up past it and we ended up tumbling. I have a scar on my elbow. I remember crying and it being a whole thing.

What comic book character would you most like to be?


Batman, for sure.

Why?


Well, he’s human. He can kill anyone in the Justice League.

How many dates before you go all the way?


Very situational. I’m a very modern guy, so ...

What’s your credit rating?


Probably not good.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?


I love romance movies. ... I like The Notebook and stuff like that, so I watch those by myself. I go to the theater by myself a lot.

Do you ever throw down on Nicholas Sparks? Do you read it before the movie? Can’t wait to figure out what happens?


Maybe. Maybe I write some essays. Maybe I have a secret blog that nobody knows about. I have romance novels that are from a secret author.

What’s your favorite curse word?


I’m personally trying to bring back “cunt” because I think it’s so tabooed in America, so if we could do that, that’d be awesome. (Laughs)

What’s your craziest traveling experience?


I have a lot of those. ... I went to Colorado and I had what I thought was a regular chocolate. We went to a beer tasting — I completely didn’t think about the higher elevation. So, a mixture of getting drunk a lot faster and the chocolate being an edible ended with me eating myself into a coma and making a bunch of friends that I don’t remember making.

Waking up with selfies of you and strangers that you don’t remember taking.


It was fun because I met a group of people that just moved there from Atlanta. They were like, ‘Oh, you’re from Atlanta? I’m from Atlanta, too.’ And it ended up being like this thing where they kept going and I ended up —

Your body’s just like “nope”?

Yeah, basically. A big nope.


Tell me the last time you’ve cried and why.

I think it was probably one of those adopted puppy videos. It always gets me, you know what I mean? I want to save them all.

Do you have any pets?

I have two turtles, Yoshi and Wasabi. I snuck them over here from Chinatown, New York.

How did you pull that off?

I put them in my pocket and then just kind of snuck them on an airplane. ... I have a cat named Waffles and a dog named Sophie — she’s a chocolate lab.

What’s your favorite piece of art at your house?

It’s like a really ’80s-looking photo of this Cuban rum. I really like the way it looks, so I just put it above my couch.

What’s your favorite candy?

Sour Patch Kids

How often do you talk to your mother?

Every day

What’s the best album to make out to?

I feel like I’d be giving away my secrets if I said that. (Laughs) ... I feel like I wouldn’t be a good DJ if I didn’t have, you know, my secret mixes for lightening up the mood.

That’s fair.

If you hear it, then you know you’re special. (Laughs)

What’s the weirdest reoccurring dream you’ve had?

I wish I could remember my dreams. I’ve actually been trying to lucid dream for a while.

How do you do that?

Apparently if you wake up and don’t move or change your sleeping position and then go back to sleep, you’re more likely to go into lucid dreaming.

Have you been successful?

One time.

What happened?

It was more like I realized it, floated to the ceiling to touch it, and woke up. But that was the only conscious lucid dream that I’ve ever had. Now obviously it’s not going to get Inception level, but if I could, that would be awesome.

What’s your least favorite thing about Atlanta?

How roads just automatically change into other roads. We’re not in a grid system. Public transportation. The common things, probably.

How do you like to spend a rainy day?

Producing music or reading a book.

What’s the best way for a customer to hit on you?

Just be straightforward.

FROM THE NOMINATOR: How did you get into DJing? Who is your favorite DJ?

I got into DJing because I love performing live. DJ Khaled — another one.