Mermaids and Invites Only

VJs -- not those familiar faces on MTV2 or VH1, but the behind-the-scenes guys who create the visual atmosphere of a DJ event. Lance Winston and Cody Campbell run Eyestorm Visuals, providing "visual backdrops" to many of San Diego's clubs and DJs. Images are projected onto walls and screens and can include lighting design and special effects like lasers. "We are the video art directors much in the same way that DJs select the best music," says Lance.

TRICKIEST PROBLEM DOING LIVE SHOWS?

Lance "Being our own roadies -- it's always a challenge to find the easiest or best place to install projectors and screens in the rafters while years' worth of dust is getting in our eyes. For the one-night-stand shows, we occasionally have to remove all this stuff while everyone is drunk and heading off to party some more."

BEST BRUSH WITH SOMEONE FAMOUS?

Lance "When Paul Van Dyk came to L5, we wanted everything to be perfect for his set. We asked him how he wanted the house lights, smoke, video, etc., and he said in his funky Euro-accent, 'I played for years in the Amsterdam Underground, so I am used to crazy lights and lasers. Nothing you do here is going to bother me.' I'm not an autograph hound, but I had him sign my DVD."

Cody "I had a fairly humorous chat with Slick Rick. A laser from the club bounced off his diamond-studded eye patch and zapped me in the eye. I probably looked crazy -- blinking and rubbing while I talked to him."

TOP FIVE DESERT ISLAND CDs?

Lance "I'd cheat and load up five DVDs with 8.5 gigs of MP3s each. I'd have the biggest, most rockin' music collection of any of your desert island castaways. In a year I'd have a $5 island cover charge, and in two it'd be mermaids and invites only. There would be a little of everything: Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Flaming Lips -- and Jeff Buckley, 13th Floor Elevators, and Pink Floyd for the mornings. Thievery Corporation, Groove Armada, PVD, DJ Shadow, DJ Icey, Z-trip, and DJ K for the mermaid dance parties. I'd also bring some of the continuously mixed musical journeys that local DJs like Willow and Sean Perry have given me. With 42.5 gigs, I could even bring some audio books, but I fear I've already gotten too elaborate to list those."

TOP FIVE GREAT MOVIES?

Lance "I have a thing for glorified outlaws: Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Oceans 11."

Cody "The Outsiders, Traffic, Being John Malkovich, Pulp Fiction, and Shawshank Redemption."

STRANGEST DREAM ABOUT DOING A SHOW?

Cody "I dreamt that we were hired to do a show in Germany and that we had made an elaborate animation [which included] a lot of text, but we did it in the wrong language. It wasn't English and it wasn't German. I don't know what it was. I do know that no one understood it and we looked very stupid."