Meow Now initiative<\/a>, a trap-neuter-vaccinate-return program. The art will be on display at the brewery from April 3 through May 1.<\/p>\nBak has organized the DJs for the fundraiser. Luce Kanon, Lunaroo and M.s0lea will also perform. <\/p>\n
Much of her life has been driven by her passion for music and animals. <\/p>\n
Born in Philadelphia, Bak\u2019s parents moved to the Bradenton area while she was in college. <\/p>\n
In her 20s, when she ran a nightclub, she \u201cgot really into music,\u201d she said. \u201cI was exposed to all different kinds.\u201d<\/p>\n
She went on to become a securities broker. Though she was successful, she found the work unfulfilling. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat just really made me realize what\u2019s important in life. Money doesn\u2019t buy you happiness,\u201d Bak said. \u201cI did a 180 and went into the nonprofit sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
She spent a decade in California working as a fundraising director for two different animal shelters there. <\/p>\n
She returned to Florida in 2017, moving to St. Petersburg to care for her mother, who was paralyzed after a stroke. <\/p>\n
For a time, Bak worked in fundraising part-time for Friends of Strays. Eventually, she realized that both the nonprofit and her mother required full-time attention, so she stepped away from the organization. <\/p>\n
While a full-time caregiver for her mother, animals remain an important part of her life. She volunteers for Friends of Strays and feeds about a dozen stray cats in her Palmetto Park neighborhood every day. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the sweetest little things,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Bak told her partner that she had always dreamed of becoming a music producer or DJ. <\/p>\n
She received her first piece of DJ equipment as a birthday gift a couple of years ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust a little board, almost like a toy,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
After learning about an 80-year-old Japanese woman who taught herself how to DJ, she began thinking that she might be able to book some gigs for herself in St. Petersburg. <\/p>\n
\u201cI started playing places and built a niche for myself playing for people my age,\u201d Bak said. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to keep up with the 20-year-olds and I\u2019m not trying to play after midnight. I saw these older DJs and thought, \u2018Alright, I\u2019ll find my people.\u2019 I want to get the daytime dance party off the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
As people age, it\u2019s important to keep moving and dancing – and important to have a comfortable space to do so, she added. <\/p>\n
\u201cDancing is so good for brain activity, physical activity and dopamine; it releases that feel-good feeling,\u201d Bak said. \u201cOne thing as a DJ, too, as I get older is, I used to love to dance. I would go to raves in my 20s, clubs, and as I get older, I don\u2019t feel like I belong there anymore. It\u2019s so important to keep dancing and it makes you happy. People my age want to do an early dance party. They want to be in bed before midnight. So, let\u2019s give it to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, FL \u2014 When Linda Bak began working as a DJ last year, she jokingly called herself…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-211964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}