I'm a DJ in Sydney who plays queer and alternative venues. I like to travel, am interested in Latin cultures a lot at the moment, and about to spent 10 weeks in San Fran, LA, NYC, Mexico, Bogota, Rio, Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires. I'm chilled out and tidy, so low maintenance.

I love to learn about nightlife around the world but I'm not a party animal, more of an observer, and drug of choice is probs booze. I run a punk drag party in Sydney called Dishy. I usually surround myself with the political and creative kinds, but I wouldn't say that I am either of those things.

On Sundays I like to go to my local park in the "hipster" part of Sydney, with friends or with a book, winter or summer (as it's usually sunny year round). I'm looking forward to Dolores Park in SF!

I like disco and funk-influenced electronic music, as well as downtempo and loungey stuff, but grew up on alt rock and indie. I'm looking forward to going to Honey Soundsystem in SF! It's a plus if you're a music person but not a requirement for us to get along.

My soundcloud is here and the mix I'm most proud of is the Dream Baby Dream one: https://soundcloud.com/jamessmithers

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm looking for some places to stay in San Fran, and looking to meet some locals. I'm staying with friends in NYC and LA, but they'll be working 9-5 while there. I don't think I've done enough research for San Fran yet so I will be very open to suggestions.

Interests

Music, queer culture, nightlife, good coffee (like everyone in Sydney), latin cultures, meeting people from around the world, and the different forms of the punk movement.

• animals
• dogs
• culture
• books
• glastonbury
• festivals
• coffee
• running
• nightlife
• partying
• clubbing
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• electronic music
• guitar

Music, Movies, and Books

Top 10 films (no order)
1. I Heart Huckabees
2. Best in Show
3. Brady Bunch Movie
4. Her
5. Moon
6. Beetlejuice
7. C.r.a.z.y
8. Mermaids
9. Closer
10. Lost In Translation

Top 10 musical acts (kinda, no order):
1. Peaches
2. Dirty Projectors
3. Sebastian Tellier
4. Jimmy Edgar
5. Air
6. Tame Impala
7. Robyn
8. The Knife
9. Blondie
10. Scissor Sisters

Not a big reader but currently reading: Holding the Man (Aussie book about HIV crisis, the film just came out), a book on Haruki Murakami's Wind Up Bird Chronical, a trashy exposé about the man who created Rock Hudson.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I DJed at the Glastonbury music festival in 2013 with 20 amazing alternative drag queens and some amazing other DJs from all around the world, which connected me to clubs in so many big cities and gave me a peek into what makes nightlife in their city so exciting. It was an amazing week and am so glad to have met all of the special people I did that week!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you guitar (I taught for 5yrs), teach you to DJ, teach you about Australian culture (especially Aussie slang).

I want to learn about queer culture and latin cultures. But teaching me Spanish or Portugese is like teaching it to a dog.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can probably show you some cool parties I guess.

Countries I’ve Visited

England, Fiji, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, England, Spain