When you’re being relied upon to deliver a service, and you’re leaving home having to remember to take all you need – with no going back should you forget something – it pays to have a list.
All pro DJs have some kind of “must take” list, and indeed you can read about what to take to club, lounge, bar, festival, event and all other types of gigs in our popular article on the subject, plus download a list to print off for yourself.
But we wanted to find out the less obvious things that DJs take that you maybe won’t find on “serious” DJ checklists… so we asked our community.
Watch the show
Check out the replay of our live show, where we asked our DJ community what unexpected items they take along to their DJ gigs…and catch some of the things that didn’t make the list!
Hundreds of DJs, pro, semi-pro, hobby and just-for-fun, joined in our fun live show recently on this subject and from everyone’s suggestions we compiled a list (in real time) of “7 surprising things DJs take to their gigs”. Here it is…
7 Surprising Things DJs Take to Their Gigs
- A USB fan – This came out top, and nowadays, it’s a great call, as you can get some excellent little fans that can work from a battery pack or a “spare” USB socket on any equipment in the booth even. A solid first choice, and something we hadn’t considered ourselves before
- Deodorant/perfume/breath freshener – Personal hygiene products of various types came high on the list too, and let’s face it, it’s a good call – being able to freshen up a little when it’s hotter, sweatier and harder work than you thought it might be is never going to be a bad thing
- Snacks – None of us wants to get irritable through hunger in the middle of our DJ sets. Whether crisps/chips, nuts, Haribos or whatever, a packet of something to keep you going was a consistent suggestion from our audience (although someone also said “beer has enough calories”, and someone else said, “no don’t eat, food makes you farty” – which we can’t argue with!
- Towels/wipes – Whether to dry yourself off, to give your equipment a wipe down, or just to clean your eye glasses, something along these lines was also a popular suggestion
- A mini lamp – Like the USB fan, you can buy simple LED lights that plug into USB sockets or power banks with “bendy” mounts, that can be just the ticket for illuminating your gear “hands free” when you’re in a particularly dark DJ booth
- Condoms – Well, you may not need them but you’d be kicking yourself if you did and didn’t have any. Your mileage may vary, not for everyone, etc – but thanks for the suggestion to the brave DJ who got us going with this one!
- Another person – A “hype” person, a bodyguard, a wing man/woman… DJing can be a lonely game and having someone to start the dancing, take requests, check the volume on the dancefloor, go for the drinks, or just chat to you can transform your confidence and the amount of fun you have. A good call
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Get The Pro List
This fun little list was started on our live show and actually turned into something quite useful. I also suspect one or two of the above are also actually on the “big” list we offer to our students – but you can find out for yourself!
Head over to this article, and click the download list to get a printable list you can pin up behind your studio/bedroom/garage door and run through before leaving the house for your next gig and every gig from now on.
Phil Morse
