Jason Schulist’s passion for DJing began in an unlikely venue — a hockey rink during his son’s games.
“During the games, they needed somebody to play music in the rink, so I just started playing little clips between [periods],” says Schulist, a Milwaukee native who has lived in 29 places, but currently calls the Fox Valley home.
The experience gave way to a 20‑year passion. About seven years ago, Schulist debuted DJ DOM — a mysterious alter ego outfitted in a trench coat, dark sunglasses and hat. He doesn’t take requests, framing his sets more like theatrical performances.
“I’m usually pretty quiet; I don’t do all this microphone stuff. I just play the music,” Schulist says. “Someone came up to me and they’re like, ‘This is kind of creepy’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s kind of the point.’”
Schulist’s musical taste is as eclectic as his DJ persona. Chicago house, experimental industrial, Joy Division, Kraftwerk, Gorillaz, Tupac and even Kermit the Frog have all found their way into his sets.
As an electrical engineer, Schulist, who DJs for free for nonprofits, volunteer events and gatherings, sees music‑making as “all math in the end.” His engineering instincts even inspired him to form a concept band called “AB” rooted in his interest in change management and decision theory, where audiences vote on music in real time.
“The idea was you can create a decision tree of an experience,” he says. “You give people choices within the decision tree to allow them to customize the experience.”
Today Schulist is executive director of the Fox Valley Data Exchange, a free community data platform that provides accessible local data on housing, education, public health and poverty. His corporate career included leadership roles at General Motors, Appvion and The Boldt Company, and he served on the United Way Fox Cities board, where he first identified the data gap the exchange was built to fill.
Whether it’s music or data, Schulist is driven by the challenge of mastering something new. After teaching himself to remix music, he released two albums and an EP last year, and now he wants to up his skillset with different sampling techniques.
“I want to build a new challenge and learn another skill and then apply that skill — it’s the same way [with] work and lifelong learning.
“But if I get to play music in a way that creates joy,” he says, “that’s a kicker for me.”
