Even
after
being
named
Out
Magazine’s
Hottest
DJ
of
2005,
New
Orleans-born
DJ
Joe
Gauthreaux
isn’t
one
to
talk
about
his
pervasive
good
looks
or
how
they
may
have
helped
him
become
one
of
the
country’s
most
popular
vinyl
stars.
“I
don’t
stand
in
the
mirror
and
say
that
I’m
hot,”
says
Gauthreaux
from
his
current
home
in
Brooklyn.
“I
have
no
idea
if
[my
looks]
have
helped.
I
live
by
the
old
saying
looks
give
you
five
minutes
and
rest
is
up
to
you.
I
wouldn’t
get
asked
back
to
cities
including
Atlanta
if
I
made
it
just
on
looks.”
Gauthreaux
has
become
a
staple
in
local
gay
nightlife,
returning
this
time
for
a
spin
on
the
Piedmont
Pool
decks
for
Joining
Hearts
19,
the
classic
Atlanta
fundraiser
benefiting
Jerusalem
House
and
AID
Atlanta.
“I
think
I’m
doing
what
I’m
meant
to
be
doing,”
he
says.
Modest
almost
to
a
fault,
Gauthreaux
makes
his
10-year
DJ
career
seems
rather
effortless
as
he
looks
back
on
his
days
as
a
struggling
DJ
fresh
to
the
New
Orleans
club
scene.
Surrounded
by
experienced
turntable
prima
donnas
unwilling
to
offer
a
helping
hand,
Gauthreaux,
then
only
20
years
old,
slowly
built
enough
buzz
to
take
up
residency
at
Oz,
one
of
the
Big
Easy’s
most
famous
gay
hotspots.
Barely
sure
that
DJing
was
his
calling
and
toying
with
the
idea
of
becoming
a
writer
or
film
director,
Gauthreaux
says
he
put
on
a
confident
face,
eventually
getting
attention
from
out-of-towners
who
would
later
import
him
for
gigs
at
clubs
around
the
nation.
“I
always
wanted
to
do
something
creative,”
he
says.
“I’m
a
Leo
and
I
enjoy
that
trait
of
wanting
to
be
in
the
spotlight,
but
I
wanted
to
be
in
more
of
the
behind
the
scenes
spotlight.
Being
a
DJ,
I’m
not
on
stage,
but
people
might
know
my
name.”
NOTED
FOR
HIS
diverse
sets
and
far-reaching
musical
tastes,
Gauthreaux,
now
29,
enjoys
New
York
City
life
as
a
thriving
national
DJ,
spending
his
weeks
on
the
streets
of
the
City
that
Never
Sleeps
and
three
weekends
a
month
on
the
road,
playing
everywhere
from
Atlantis
Cruise
Ships,
to
this
year’s
Miami
Winter
Party
and
Mardi
Gras
in
his
Katrina-shaken
hometown.
“The
French
Quarter
were
I
lived
my
adult
life
was
not
affected
that
badly,”
he
says
of
Katrina’s
aftermath.
“It’s
up
and
running
and
looks
great,
but
there
are
some
places
that
look
great
and
literally
go
300
feet
in
another
direction
and
see
catastrophe.”
Despite
his
love
for
the
South,
don’t
count
on
Gauthreaux
to
leave
his
New
York
digs
anytime
soon,
as
he
says
he’s
fallen
madly
in
love
with
his
life
in
the
big
city,
where
he
hopes
to
one
day
have
a
dog-loving
partner
and
even
a
couple
of
kids.
“I’m
totally
looking
forward
to
finding
that
one
person,”
he
says.
“I
don’t
want
to
play
around.
I
want
to
grow
old
with
someone,
and
rock
with
him
on
the
front
porch.
I’ll
cook
dinner
for
him
and
be
there
during
the
week
and
come
Friday
or
Saturday
we
can
run
off
to
my
job
and
he
can
be
my
booth
bitch.”
AS
CHARMING
AS
he
is
talented,
Gauthreaux’s
had
little
trouble
making
friends
in
Atlanta,
where
he
says
he
has
more
personal
friends
than
any
of
his
other
stops
and
where
the
dance
floor
crowds
are
a
little
more
forgiving
as
well.
“I
feel
such
a
warm
atmosphere
when
I
play
down
there,”
he
says.
“I
don’t
know
if
they
just
give
that
to
me
or
if
its
everyone,
but
I
know
that
I
would
be
very
much
disappointed
if
I
never
got
to
play
Atlanta
again.”
