D-Jam

I usually won’t tell someone I’m a DJ. I like to take a quick look at what the guy/girl is using, but then I back off and move on, or toss them a praise if they’re doing well.

As for the requests…yuk! Sounds like every event I was invited to play.

Promoter: Yeah, I want you to come in and play some deep house. Build a cool atmosphere.
D-Jam: Cool.

*D-Jam gets 2 songs into his set, suddenly spoiled suburban bratty trixie clomps up in heer heels*

Trixie: Can you play ____________? (insert poppy tune that doesn’t flow with the music or the vibe the promoter wanted)

Trixie: Can you play something we can dance to?

Trixie: Are you going to play techno all night? (when I’m not playing techno)

Trixie: Can you play some hip-hop, like Britney Spears or Beyonce?

Trixie: It’s my birthday…can you play ___________?

Trixie: I know the owner, so you have to play my request.

AND MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE…

Promoter: Do me a favor, play that shit she wants to hear so I can get laid later. (despite how it killed his event and made chunks of the crowd leave)

strictlyt, post: 41268, member: 2747 wrote: Your point one here really interests me. I play techno and I really struggle to swap the bass when blending in a new track with the bass turned down, the switch doesn’t sound right. Do you have any tips for this?

My expectation is that for this technique you need the songs matched perfectly so you turn the bass up at just the right time as to not disrupt the flow of the mix.

Could this also be down to the fact that my speakers at home are not made for DJing? When I play out I find EQing the bass much easier for some reason on a proper sound system. Sometimes I am shocked at how much bass some of my new tracks have haha

I’d have to hear some tunes you play to understand fully, but what I’ve found is you first need to pick tunes that meld well. Many turn to harmonic mixing to do this, but I more see it as your sense of taste and your ears as the guide.

You also need to orient yourself on finding the “sweet spots” where you start playing and blending in the new tune. I see too many guys get impatient and end up blending in over vocals or even the main “meat” or synth of the tune playing. Makes it all sound like a mess.

This blending with the EQs also goes beyond bass. Sometimes you need to turn down one tune’s treble or mid if it’s coming in too strong. Sometimes the hi-hats and cymbals in a new tune will be too strong and need to be dampened. Plus this technique is more ideal for longer blends, like 1-2 minutes.

The end goal is to make things meld…to gradually hear the old tune being taken away in pieces while the new one takes over. This is a lot of why I like to mix off the ends and chop out the “middle” of a tune if I need to shorten it. The intro/outro is the ideal spots now since we don’t see breaks happen too much in a lot of dance music.

From there you even try to mix where there isn’t dead spots…so when one tune lets off into the outro the new tune is taking over. It just takes time, practice, and exploration.

Mitch Hambling, post: 41534, member: 7942 wrote: Thanks, and yes i do that. Im not stuck on one specific genre either. Im super into electro house, progressive house, big room house, glitch-hop, dubstep, trap, tech house, minimal, deep house, and nu disco, as well as melbourne house. My main problem is still being able to mix on the spot. given that ive only been mixing for 6 months, i havent gotten it down yet. this is the best mix i have recorded i made for a contest http://www.mixcloud.com/mbling52/danks/ . I can get a good mix like this goin occasionaly, but when im practicing I cant get a fluent mix without stopping and figuring out where to bring the next song in

Well…just be patient. It takes a lot of time. I started in 1992 trainwrecking all over. Then I got it down to 32 beats held with a lot of preparation. Then 64 with a lot of prep. Over time you just get into a flow and get it all down. Suddenly you hold stuff together for minutes without much prep.

A lot of it is training your ears through practice. You begin to see which direction you go with the pitch and thus it gets easier. Be patient. It takes years to achieve this.

The funk/disco stuff was going to be my suggestion. Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth Wind and Fire, Commodores, etc.

Welcome to DJing.

I would just take chances. Don’t judge by 1-2 people asking you to just play favorites…but if the floor clears.

Here’s the thing to bear in mind.

Promoters get loads of demos and such all the time. When I took a hand at promoting, I ended up with loads of emails and people rolling through to give me demo CDs.

With the saturation of DJs out there, promoters want ROI. Don’t even think if you offer a “freebie” that they have no risk. They do. They run the risk of you emptying their room and thus they have to work harder to get those people to come back. So trying to convince them to “give you a shot” or “trial run” won’t work.

ROI…return on investment. Most places aren’t paying you for your DJ talent, but paying you to bring them a crowd. OR…they’re paying you not to lose their crowd that they worked hard to get. Had many promoters lament on how most local DJs were incapable of playing an opening set because they all want to be headliners. Had one promoter lament on how many DJs come in to play for themselves and not play to the crowd. I’ll quote him:

I’ll come in and see no one on the dance floor, everyone sitting, people leaving…but the DJ is there fist-pumping with his four friends who came out, totally ignoring the room.

So I’ll ask, are you more looking to play to the crowd? Are you willing to come in and be a human jukebox if need be? Or are you more deep into some sound or vibe and want to “educate” or “spread the gospel” or “be a tastemaker”?

If you want to play for the crowd:

1. Make sure anyone you talk to knows this. Don’t name off genres when a promoter asks you what you play, but tell him you play for the crowd.
2. Go to bars and local spots too where you can “pay your dues”. If Club A and Club B are the big popular spots, then there is no way you’re getting in unless you bring ROI to the promoter.
3. Get to know the DJs in these spots. Network. If they have to take a night off they might be calling you to come sub…there’s your opportunity.

If you want to be the “tastemaker”:

1. Forget bothering promoters and build a following. Build a scene. Get your butt on the computer and produce music. Produce remixes. Produce mashups. Post them online and grow with them. Most people who want to play the underground or anything like that will be the ones people know for some release they put out.
2. If producing isn’t for you, then blog and do podcasting. Write for yourself or toss stuff to websites. Phil picked me up for this site mainly from comments I was posting on the articles. Podcasting is the other. Start a show, push it, and stay consistent with it. In a year or so you might see results and suddenly grow into the following that becomes your leverage to get gigs.
3. Don’t shoot for the weekend events. In this world, the small weeknight events are easier to break into. Skip clubbing on the weekend and go out to a weeknight event you would want to play for. Hang out, get to know the DJ, bartenders, regulars, and eventually the promoter.
4. Get involved and promote. I’m not saying to throw your own events just yet, but if you see the promoter has a cool night and is going it at practically alone, offer to help. Granted you’ll be doing other work now, but you’ll get into the booth.
5. Build marketing materials. Website, social media, press kit. In this “tastemaker” world, the guy with a professional looking press kit will get way more gigs than the guy with a homemade CD with his name written on it in a sharpie…unless sharpie boy is know and thus will bring heads.

I won’t lie. It’s a lot of work. This is much of the reason why I stayed a hobbyist. I found myself putting in 20-40 hours of work ON TOP OF my normal job just to get that measly hour DJ set in the club…which often ended up falling apart the moment I get the trixies begging me for Top 40.

I’ve seen married men in their late 20s to late 30s able to break into the scene…but they were people persons. They could get their friends and coworkers to come out…thus showing he could get 50 people out at 9-10 PM. He was willing to go get high with promoters at some shady afterhours event to “get in”. I won’t lie…it’s political.

This is why I tell many to start small, build something, look for the smaller players who need people (like the large number of online shows asking for guest DJs), and work your way up. Go get that gig playing top 40 in a bar because it might lead you to bigger avenues.

Do you have a press kit you would send them?

http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2011/05/how-to-succeed-at-djing-demo-mixtape-press-kit/