VMF is a community-based event, with proceeds benefiting charities that help both people and animals in need. With 20 years of experience in the industry, he also hosts his own radio show. Talking about his music influences, he mentioned Depeche Mode, Danny Teneglia, Haddaway, C&C Music Factory, Robin S, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Bel Biv Devoe, Boys II Men and Salt-n-Pepa. His two tracks “BANGING!” and "NRG 4 All" topped at #1 and #3 respectively on Exile Radio in the UK. He recently played at Armani Prive Dubai for Beats By Dre Club event for Gitex.

Here is DJ Drager for the first time exclusively for Arab News.
 

I have been making my living off of music for over a decade now. I always wanted to do this for a living as I love traveling the world and making people happy through music. Music is the one thing in the world that transcends borders, religion, race and political beliefs. Nothing else in the world has the power to bring people together like music does and I am so privileged to be able to share that with the world. When you have a worldly sense of what people want, it allows you to play the music with a worldly feel to make everyone happy. And I make it a point to never stop learning.
 

I walk my six dogs and get them situated for the morning, and then between e-mails about upcoming projects and trying to save animals in need, I listen to new promo music. I might put the top down on my car and take a nice drive in the Florida sun, or go swimming in my pool with my dogs. On weekends, when I am not traveling, I work with kids and teach them how to swim.
 

I have not found that one person to settle down with yet in my life. I think that is a dream we all have in our lives. We all want someone to share our lives with but being a touring DJ makes it hard. Maybe one day, I'll find her out there somewhere.

As far as destinations, I would like to play in Russia and Australia. Those are on my bucket list of places to play that I have not traveled to yet.
 

I just live my life knowing that if I died tomorrow, that I can say that I was happy in everything that I did, lived my life to the fullest and didn’t hesitate to go new places, try new things and meet new people that most others would not want to.
 

Growing up, I had a friend who had a mobile DJ biz and he would invite me to some of his gigs. I would go give him a hand and just watched what he did and thought how neat it was with the vinyl and the response of the crowd. When I joined the military, I had a friend where I was stationed that had turntables, and on weekends, I would go to his house and play around on the turntables. I took to it like a natural and that is how it all started. My chosen style of music varies as to what the crowd responds to. I think too many DJs focus on one style of music and it limits them to what they can do and how they react to the crowds. I prefer electro house, with most of my tracks being vocal. But I will play everything from top 40 remixes to hard dance and rave if that is what the crowd wants to hear. I think the UAE, like most parts of the world, is programmed and steered to like what they hear on the radio. People have a tendency to request and dance to what they know and are, in a lot of ways, afraid of new music. I see that if they are not familiar with it, they don't know what to do, or will walk off the dance floor after a couple of tracks that are unfamiliar to them.
 

ABSOLUTELY!!! I have been so fortunate to see new cultures and meet new people who most of us only get to see on TV or in the movies. I have eaten new foods all over the world and love every minute of it. I have always had an open mind to the world and traveling as much as I do has allowed me to be a cultural ambassador through music to the rest of the world. I can’t count how many times I have educated people on how the Middle East is not full of savages who get around on camels with RPGs strapped to them looking to blow something up or kill someone. And how Africa and other parts of the world that you see on TV actually DO have cable TV, Internet, and a strong infrastructure. It just makes me appreciate the ability to be open-minded and to have a wide diversification of cultural experiences and exposure.
 

I don’t necessarily think that the music itself influences the consciousness of people. But I think that the environment that it is played in can have a role in that influence, whether it is direct or indirect. If you put someone in a negative surrounding to experience the music, you will get a negative result. But the antithesis of that is the large, feel good venues that most places are trying to be these days. And how often do you see problems occurring in them such as mass fights and riots?
 

I just want to keep playing music for the people to dance do, and to do it in a traditional way as I have the entire time I have been. I don’t use any format of computer software to deejay with and I don’t see that changing anytime in the future. I just want to keep traveling the globe and make people feel good as a result of what I do. If it was not for my fans, I could not keep doing this. So as long as they keep listening to my mixes, I have a future.