Celebrated DJ, Founder of Ponyfish Island & E.P. & L.P.
Grant Smillie - Celebrated DJ, Founder of Ponyfish Island & E.P. & L.P.
Grant was one of half of TV Rock, and one of Australia's most celebrated DJ's, winning two ARIA Awards throughout his career. Grant's success also extends into the hospitality industry, co-founding Ponyfish Island, one of Melbourne’s most iconic and unique bars, situated in the middle of the Yarra River, Melbourne Brewing Co, and E.P. & L.P, one of the highest-grossing venues in Los Angeles.
E.P. & L.P: https://www.eplosangeles.com
Grant on Instagram: http://instagram.com/smiles01
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“Make your Bs your As and make sure you can still kill the night without having to play a hit.”
“I feel like I'm a hooker. I'm getting paid a lot of money, but I don't really want to be here.”
“You know you never want to be the smartest one in the room.”
“That's the only guarantee you got because you're going to be over budget or you're always going to be over budget.”
“We actually did set this place on fire. I shit you not.”
“I reckon an entrepreneur is a guy that keeps on fucking failing.”
“I think you're only as limited as your own dream, but you've also got to have the stones to back it up.”
What makes someone a good DJ?
Treat your limited material (vinyl/crates) as precious by curating only the best content, assume the crowd has already heard the biggest hits, and hold back ('make your Bs your As') so you can still win the night without relying on an obvious hit.
How should you approach collaboration when building a business or creative project?
Always try to collaborate with people smarter or more skilled than you in their specific craft (e.g., a better producer, chef, architect), because the outcome improves when they're invested and talented—you never want to be the smartest person in the room.
What should you expect financially when opening a hospitality venue?
Assume your budget estimate will be wrong—likely over budget—and build in a realistic contingency; do proper due diligence on timings and build costs, and expect to just need to survive the first year.
How should profits be handled across multiple businesses?
Decide whether to take dividends or retain all profits for reinvestment and growth; a hybrid model (partial dividend, rest retained) can work, but retaining profit avoids constantly having to raise cash for new projects.
At 16, Grant became a club promoter to get into Melbourne's Metro nightclub, inventing a method of drilling a hole in passes instead of writing initials to speed up distribution and earn a cut per pass.
Grant and Ivan formed TV Rock, self-funded a film clip after being rejected for a record deal, started their own label, and eventually won two ARIA Awards and sold 300,000 copies of 'Flaunt It'.
Grant describes the experience of being the warm-up act for Swedish House Mafia, running at reduced volume without pyrotechnics so the headliners' entrance felt more dramatic.
Grant describes a moment at a gig in Albury where he felt disconnected from an uneducated crowd and compared himself to 'a hooker' for the money, prompting him to call home and commit to only 10 more shows before quitting DJ touring.
Grant recalls performing well at the AFL Grand Final while Jet's live performance was ruined by amplifier and monitor failures that caused Nic Cester to be badly out of time, though the press blamed the band rather than the technical fault.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
At 16 he became a club promoter in Melbourne, drilling holes in passes to mark them (earning $1 per pass) to get into venues, before moving into DJing and then music production with TV Rock, which won two ARIA Awards for the track 'Flaunt It'.
From episode 520→Every episode featuring Grant Smillie on The Daily Talk Show.
