Meet The Neighbors

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eli & Meir and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eli & Meir, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

To be honest, there was no thought process. It all happened organically for the love of music.

Meir and I met through pure luck. Both of us moved into the same neighborhood around the same time. A few weeks go by and I end up at Meir’s backyard gathering.

He had his gear out and was jamming some fun tunes. Since I was a DJ during my high school years, I felt compelled to go stand next to him, and watch him play.

So we start talking, I tell him about my experience as a DJ and he offers to show me how his new gear works.

Next thing I know, a family member asks us to DJ his birthday and we just said yes.

When he asked us what name he should put on his flyers, it was suddenly so obvious that our name should be The Neighbors!

Little did we know that this was the beginning of what is now a 6 year journey!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

We started this thing really only as a fun hobby, and slowly that hobby was becoming a big part in our lives. While we were growing as artists, we had this feeling like there was something missing musically in the Montreal scene. There were all these talented DJs that seemed to be limited in what they were allowed to play.

While we were traveling the world, exploring, appreciating underground music, we were seeing what we would like to bring to Montreal in all those different venues we would visit. All those places we loved to be at, play at, got us wanting to bring the same type of environment to our beloved city.

Then, the goal was set – Create something that will make people appreciate different music.

Once we became established as Producers & DJs, we jumped onto another project. The Neighbors needed a new home where they could freely share their love for music, so we created Hōm. Our new baby is a speakeasy, with an incredible sound system where people come to hear music that they can’t find at most places. We wanted to create a place that would make people say ‘’there’s no place like Hōm.’’

So far, In this venue’s short history, we are really proud to have hosted the likes of Shai T, Roy Rosenfeld, Simone Vitullo & more.

None of this came easy but the age old (cheesy) saying of love what you do and you’ll never work another day in your life definitely applies here.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Montreal is a fascinating city. We were lucky enough to be able to visit so many places and truly, Montreal is one of the best in the world.

Summertime here is second to none. Even though winters here are very cold, Montreal hosts many places which will make you forget how cold it is outside.

The old port is always a great place to start your trip where you’ll find your share of great places and events all year long, from summer terasses to igloofest.

For the best nightlife in Montreal –
-Flyjin – Supper club
-Soubois – Supper Club
-Velvet – For a more underground party scene.
-Hōm Bar – Of course needed to be mentioned (Our venue)
-Greenwood Summerhouse

Restaurants in Montreal
-Jatoba
-Shay
-Nolan

Honestly in terms of restaurants I’m doing a disservice as there are way too many to mention.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

Well deserved shoutout goes out to our great friend Jam. He BLINDLY booked us which kickstarted our adventure. Big thank you to our families as well for giving us the much needed support to keep this going!

And also a big shoutout to our many supporters without whom we wouldn’t be where we are today.

My personal favourite comment is “I didn’t know I liked house music until I heard you”. That always puts a smile on my face.

We were blessed with a lot of support from the community and all the venues that gave us these opportunities and thankfully terrific turnouts.

Website: https://www.theneighborsdj.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneighborsdj

Other: Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6RMky2R164evo9WTo38drt?si=jS2v1PPcQ7ieBuWYgzcN_Q