Get to know DJ A-Minor, South Carolina's first gameday DJ

Andre Barden has experienced Charlotte Hornets basketball games, UNC football games, and shows and parties of all sizes.

But few experiences should compare to this Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Barden -- also known as DJ A-Minor -- will debut as South Carolina's first football game DJ Saturday night at the Gamecocks' home opener against Kentucky.

Barden, who is perhaps best known currently as the Hornets' in-house DJ, will look to add a new element to a South Carolina gameday atmosphere that is getting a reboot this season.

"Football fans tend to be a lot more intense," Barden says. "In the game, watching the game at a bar, watching a game at home, it all seems to be magnified by a lot. So I'm really looking forward to just experiencing the atmosphere and feeling the speakers from all four tunnels and the scoreboard and all the fans at the same time for the first time. I'm really amped to see how this all comes together. I think it's going to be really good, and exciting, for everybody in the crowd."

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Barden has yet to experience a game at Williams-Brice, but sports have been a part of his whole life.

A former UNC wrestler, Barden first got into the business working side jobs for a friend.

One thing led to the next and a side hustle eventually became a hobby, a hobby eventually a career.

Barden says that "entertaining people with music" is what he loves to do and he hopes to share that passion with South Carolina fans -- and Gamecocks' recruiting targets -- each Saturday in the fall.

"I think what will be affected a lot is the flow of the game when there's no action," Barden said. "I think that's where a lot of places lack. The game might be really exciting and you're basically riding on the wave of the excitement of the fans and the players. You want those times in-between snaps to really count to keep the energy up in the building. I think, in concert with me, they're going to try to emphasize keeping that energy level up the entirety of the game."

Barden wasn't sure if the addition of a DJ also included an upgrade to the sound system, since he didn't see what the stadium was previously equipped with. But he seems happy with the setup, which features a special new DJing platform, complete with CO2 cannons.

As for musical choice, Barden knows better than anyone that every individual has his or her own tastes.

He describes performing in a new venue in general as bit of a "trial by fire," especially if he's not sure going in, who his audience is.

Barden often frequents college towns for homecoming or big-game weekends for parties and tailgates that involve older alumni, younger alumni, students and other fans.

His special blend of experience in both an NBA arena and college towns should pay off with the Gamecocks.

"You're definitely on a tight rope any time you're anywhere," Barden says. "That goes down to like if somebody hires you for a birthday party and you don't know the people there, you're still on a balancing act. But this is a really big balancing act. You do want everybody to feel like something is in there for them and that's really what I try to do. That's what I've tried to do since I started DJing."

Barden adds that all of the regular college football traditions will still be present and a focus. The band, the PA announcer, video board features -- all still there.

He doesn't want to "dominate" the game, just add to it.

"I want to impress to people, that adding me to the gameday experience, isn't going to take away from their traditional college football experience," Barden said. "I don't want to do that. I wouldn't want to do that.

"I've been a college football fan since I was probably 4-years-old. The last thing that I would want to do would be to take away from why you go to the game. But [instead] just to add something else, especially something for the players and the fans. I think that's what I'm there for, is to sort of bridge the gap for the players, the students, the alumni, and the fans."