Aliesondria Nightbane donned her cutest pink housemaid outfit with a matching bow in her iconic side-swept hair.
Once she was inside and comfortable at my house, she showed off all her favorite outfits from a beachy ensemble to a lion-masked combat inspired getup she called the “Ligma Lesbian Defender” (“Ligma Lesbian” also known as “Limsa Lominsa”).
“It’s like I’m Batman but also gay,” she said with a laugh.
The DJ, whose stage-name is DJ Potate, is a burst of energy dabbling in a little of everything from music to LARP to even pursuing a commercial pilot’s license. In-game, Nightbane is a sweet Lalafell with a lot of pride for her people and the party scene. Out-of-game, she’s an enigmatic being who seems passionate about trying anything at least once and making the most out of life. But just like anyone else, the Eorzean DJ has had to work hard for what she wants.
From a young age, Nightbane had an interest in music. Over the years, she’s picked up the cello, bass guitar, drums, and singing. “Cello is my best instrument,” she said. “I’ve been playing it the longest.”
Transitioning from an IRL musician to an in-game DJ was a natural move for her, despite having never tried to DJ out-of-game yet. “I have worked in clubs before doing security and sound, but I have never DJed IRL,” she explained.
“I got taken to a show here in [FFXIV] for the first time and got hooked on the club scene.”
Nightbane credits a lot of her start to the DJ LightningThemis who took the Lalafell under her wing in the very beginning. “LightningThemis was my favorite DJ, and I messaged her and asked what it would take to do what she did.”
From that moment onward, Nightbane went from an avid club-goer to a rising club headliner. After LightningThemis showed the budding DJ how to set up a stream and make sure the sound quality was up to par, the rest was up to DJ Potate to make a name for herself.
“It was really nice to have someone to basically hold your hand for the first show,” she said.
LightningThemis, the St. Louisbased DJ, has been seen all over and currently works at the maid cafe Candyland on the server Goblin (Mist, Ward 2, Plot 32). Her streams can be followed under the same name on Twitch. It’s not hard to see why Nightbane loved the DJ’s work so much. So much of her own set’s influences involve heavy bass and beat drops that make it hard to sit still in your seat, just like LightningThemis.
When Nightbane was asked if she was nervous during their first set, she loudly proclaimed, “YES!”
She looked off into the distance as she silently recalled that first night before turning back to me on the couch. “I remember [where my first performance was] exactly. I was at Club Ocho, run by DJ Artie B. I peaked at 30 viewers. I was SHOOK.”
Perhaps it’s a small victory for veteran streamers, but for a newcomer it set the tone for her career.
Nightbane admitted that these 30 viewers weren’t the most active—and she didn’t have an overlay that allowed her to interact with them much during her set—but the experience was unforgettable for her. When asked what she remembered thinking after her first show, she said: “I really need to figure out how to use sound channels!”
With mentors by her side to help her with stream mechanics, and a desire to learn as much as she could about audio balancing, Nightbane kept at it.
She developed her own style, combing through hours of music for the perfect sets—a collection that rounds out at about 10 hours of music.
"[M]y set-list is some of my favorite music,” she said. “I really, really, really love bass and memes. […] Memes galore!”
Nightbane’s three biggest hits are “Meme Thyme,” “Booty O Clock” and “selfie time”. Three major themes in her set that happened—as she puts it—almost by accident.
“[…] It all just kinda happened one day,” Nightbane recalled. “I said, ‘Here is Meme Thyme,’ then it just turned into its own thing.”
Each one demands its audience to shake it to the beat and drop it low for every bass drop. A demand that’s easily met by her fans.
A couple of nights prior to Nightbane’s talk on my couch, she was headlining at The Bird House in Mist cheering on the crowd who cheered her right back. The audience danced and jumped around during “selfie time.” The next night in Costa Del Sol, a few familiar faces—and a variety of new ones—rocked the decks on the island the second “Booty O Clock” started. Once again, at DJ Potate’s command, the crowd went wild cheering, jumping, and dancing to the beat.
But that’s just the kind of pull Nightbane has with her fans. Even an impulsive beach party can turn into a record-breaking performance.
“I was blown away,” Nightbane said about the party in Costa Del Sol. “We peaked at 105 viewers. I had no idea it would be that big.”
What was going to be a short, impromptu performance turned into an all-night bash on the beach for DJ Potate, who stood atop a tented shelter and hyped up the crowd throughout the entire set-list.
Nightbane isn’t afraid of an all-nighter, though she says these days she tries to keep her sets to a reasonable time after her head rattling 8 hour stream ages ago.
“I was dead tired,” she said. “There were a few people that stuck it out the whole time but was mostly a bunch of in-and-out clubbers.”
Still, no amount of exhaustion has dissuaded Nightbane from continuing to DJ. If anything, it’s driven her more to continue performing.
“At this point, I’m down to DJ more full-time,” she said. “I am falling in love with DJing.”
When asked where she thinks DJing might take her, she said: “Honestly, I have no idea. I kinda want to make the Lala club [the Bird House] a huge place. I really have some intense Lala pride and want us to have a place to feel safe and bring our friends.
“I’m proud to be a Lala DJ. It has brought me so many great friends.”
“[Lalafell] are the nicest! And cutest!” Nightbane exclaimed with a bright smile. “Lalas just want to see the world smile.”
With such a precocious personality, it may be hard to imagine that the beloved DJ Potate could ever feel the nerves of a novice performer or be anxious before putting herself out in the world. However, Aliesondria Nightbane is a combination of wit, charm, courage, and tender vulnerability. The only difference between herself and someone who hasn’t jumped on stage yet is that she took the first step.
“Is there anything you’d like to say to folks who are scared to jump into social events, the club scene, or even try their hand as a performer in Eorzea?” I asked.
“Do it,” Nightbane replied simply. “It’s worth it. But be careful once you start clubbing. It's kind of addicting. For people who want to perform, just make sure you got some good tunes and are comfortable even if you mess up a bit. Most important thing is to remember that this is a game, and [you should] do it only as long as it’s fun.”
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