Your Questions: Where Can I DJ When My Town Has No Scene?

Digital DJ Tips reader Prof Strangeman writes: “I am an up and coming dubstep / glitch hop / house DJ. I have been bedroom DJing for way too long. I feel confident that I could pull off a set. One problem though. There is no scene for this music in my town. I live in an oil town in Northern Alberta, Canada and my friends and I love this music to its core, but the scene in our town is country music. Do you have any tips for finding gigs in a town where your style is non-predominant? There are very few places in town that have the ability to host a DJ. I need to get out into the public so this thing can take off. Any and all help would be fantastic.”

Digital DJ Tips says:

While of course I don’t know your town, you already have a scene – you and your friends. So blag a room. Invent a club night name. Make sure every one of your friends brings 10 people. And put on the party of your lives. Digital gear means you can plug in anywhere that has a sound system, or just hire one. Be imaginative about your venue. As we teach in How To Digital DJ Fast, the really important thing is to play in public, at any cost. Make sure you (or you and your DJ friends) do the DJing entirely yourselves – you know what you like, and you’ll be good enough.

Certainly don’t think you have to save money and get any name DJs in or anything. Invent a brand, decide what your music is, get it out there on a social media, and go for it. Don’t let anyone in or out of that building without getting their email address so you can tell them about future parties. Most people don’t ever even throw one party, let alone get to double figures. In truth? You won’t start out throwing amazing parties, but the only way to get good is to do it. Some nights will work, some will be bad. But ten parties in, you’ll have a scene.

And one advantage of having a small town? It should be easy enough to make sure everyone knows when you have an event on!

Are you in the same position as Prof Strongman? Have you managed to create a scene out of nothing? How did you do it? Please share your experiences in the comments.