Meet Mikey “Mikeytown” Abat | DJ/Event Promoter & Multi-Modality Radiology Technologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mikey “Mikeytown” Abat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mikey “Mikeytown”, what’s the end goal, career-wise?
Our goal to continue to create a collective of unlimited good vibes, without lines, through the vessel of House Music. When this journey comes to an end, we would like to be able to leave it in the hands of the next generation(s) of Soulful-lites

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What started as an intimate day party has become the Sunday Funday summer hangout in San Diego. Souleil is a soulful mix of house music under the sun powered by resident DJs ALA, Cris Herrera, and Mikeytown. Now entering its tenth season (2020), this weekly celebration begins on Memorial Day weekend and runs through September. Souleil is proud to have previously hosted such talent from around the globe as: Roy Davis Jr., King Britt, Diz, Marques Wyatt, Fred Everything, Lisa Shaw, jojoflores, Alix Alvarez, Sabo, Luca Bucchetti, DJ Heather, Hallex M, Danny Krivit, Colette, Julie McKnight, Lars Behrenroth, and more. It also gets support from hometown heroes Oscar P, Paul Najera, Matthew Brian, Joe Pea, and many more talented DJs that help keep the house music community thriving in San Diego. Serving up pitchers of sangria and a day full of house music, Souleil promises fun under the sun from San Diego to Miami! How did you get to where you are today professionally? Collectively, the 4 of us has had our lengthy journeys to get to what we are as Souleil as a whole. Souleil, I (Mikeytown) can say is and has been a Soulful creative outlet, aside from our “Day Walker” jobs. “We all would love to have Souleil pay the bills, but we all have our pwn paths to make ends meet.” Let’s start with Cris (Cris Herrera)…He is the back bone of his Family restaurant El Comal North Park, running all the day to day activities, wearing all the different hats of each responsibility. Then there’s DJ Ala, aka Arnel L. Aguinaldo, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of the Kinesiology Biomechanics Lab at Point Loma Nazarene University. It must be stated, Dr. DJ Ala earned his Ph.D., while supporting his family of wife and 2 kids and sharing the in and out duties of throwing Souleil events with the collective. Next, there’s Mikey, whose weekly commitments, until recently, had him traveling throughout the US as a medical device educator trainer, with his background in Nuclear Medicine imaging. Lastly, but definitely not the least is Candi Macías. Though she may not share some of the lime light, behind the decks of the DJ booth, she keeps the guys ‘in check” Candi’s sunshine chronicles has her running her own small businesses of home cleaning services & personal physical trainer, while traveling the path towards a Registered Dietician. In the end, each of their paths leads to the Soul Sharing Sessions under the San Diego Sun from Souleil, with House Music as the vessel. Was it easy? “Every successful passage will have trials and tribulations with challenging moments, spaces, & junctures. As they come across our path, we continue to learn & evolve from them. So where we have landed today, definitely has not been easy. How did you overcome the challenges? “I believe treating each other as equals, with all voices heard, before coming to any conclusion and especially without ego getting in the way. What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way? “One of the main things we have all learned is that we wont always come to an agreement on a decision, leading to sacrifices we all had to learn how to “grill up and eat it” What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story? What most people see are the fruits of our successful parties, whenever there is a Souleil event. Down to the 100’s sometimes 1000’s in attendance, to the world class talent that we are able to book to perform at our parties, or to the overall no lines or division karma that is felt, there are many moving parts that have to be precisely aligned for our success. One of most important ingredients is creating revenue to for continued success. So whatever the amount of cover is charged at the door for entrance, it is strategically created to benefit both Souleil and the Souleilers. We invite all to share in the good vibes.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Must eats….one has to find Tacos La Mezcla food truck, depending on what day it is. Francisco Moreno had taken his mexican family recipes to THE next level- Voted top 5 tacos on Yelp in San Diego. https://www.instagram.com/tacos_la_mezcla/

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutouts goes to all who have supported us in our journey since the beginning, before we had even a hint of world recognition, from the house-dancers, to bartenders and security, to the vendors, to the venue owners and to all who have grown with us, WE THANK YOU!!!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/souleilsd/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/souleilSD

Image Credits
Darrell Alonzi alonziphoto@gmail.com