Why do newbies automatically want gigs?

[Liambo]

After being in the DJ industry for 6 years now and being a DJ for roughly 10 years, with technology evolving non stop and it being easier to create good sets opposed to 10 years ago when it was nearly mostly vinyl here i am wondering. Why do the majority of newbie DJ's automatically set there sights on gigs?

After being on this forums for a while (even though i don't post much) and being on other forums for a number of years iv just started to notice this.

There is nothing wrong with aims right enough and wanting to gig especially if you can get gigs simple enough if your hooked up. But i had been DJ'n for about 3 years before i even thought about giggin. I just wanted to mix non stop. I suppose everybody is different in their own ways.

This is not a thread to put newbies down because if you can learn the trade quickly and get gigs soon, the quicker the better for experience. And i also have respect for them, but it has just been a curiosity of mines.

Infact i have two or three friends that i would rather gig with that have only been DJ's for a year maximum because their tenability is beyond some of my old vinyl acts i gig with.

Discuss.

[padi_04]

they want the bitches

[MuzicFreq]

they want the bitches

qft

all i hear from new guys i talk to at times are only in it for the women

[Jason Cerna]

kids these days want the "i win" button.

what they don't realize is, this industry takes years of work to establish yourself along with "your sound." then, you have to factor in networking and building up your fan base in, around and outside of where you live.

the problem is that the market is so saturated in many areas with all these new people trying to "make it big" that you end up with having occasionally good djs mixed in with a larger number of sub par or just plain horrible djs. and all of those guys are willing to just keep taking free gigs or undercutting everyone in that local market.

before i started working my friends at boogieburg soundsystem, i was just learning to dj on my own for about a year. i would go to their shows and help them setup and tear down, even when i wasn't playing. i wanted to learn everything i could about djing live, before i started djing live. and later, when i started doing shows with them and then branched off into running my own nights, i had the skills for equipment setup, maintenance and the skills to move a dancefloor. and, this is all before i started participating in online dj type message boards or forums.

been doing this for 7 years now, which is not a long time compared to most of my peers. but, i have been fortunate to work with like minded people who will put in the work in the studio and when they dig for music. all of those good traits rubbed off on me and it has made me a good dj in that respect.

but, the new guys who are doing it for the wrong reasons, or to try to look cool and inflate their egos, are always the ones who burn out fast and quit. they are never satisfied with anything and they always want the newest, shiniest gear so they look like they're playing the part of dj. and they pull up this front to people who don't know any better. the thing is, that sort of person can't fool me.

these are the types of guys who don't have a clue how to go out and search for new music. they are constantly clueless. it honestly shouldn't be that difficult with the "internet" at your disposal.

part of being a good dj is being on top of the new music. you are supposed to be a selector of music. you are supposed to be the guy or girl who introduces listeners to new things out there. all this takes work on your own.

[cormacp6]

they want the bitches

Thats exactly what i was thinking!

[Lecko]

The 1st time I played out was in a bar and was in a club within a few months and held a residency for 5 years, never was or have been a 'bedroom' dj I find it boring,

[wrong chris]

i suppose it's the next logical step after getting their dj moniker off a forum from people who actually have some semblance of an imagination.

[Liambo]

What Jason Cerna said

Thanks for the read, that was quite a informative from your point of view. Everything you have said there is true.

In my local scene there is a guy thats well reputable that puts on regular nights every night of the week and keeps complaining about the trash that the other promoters are putting on and saying how the once good DJ's are selling out to the commercial nights that are going on.

He also has a problem with all the new DJ's coming on the scene since hes one of the 'originals' but a few friends of mines im doing a regular club night with keep proving him that not all new club nights are trash and not all new DJ's are in it for the 'image' or other things.

But a lot of the newer DJ's i speak to straight away always ask 'can you get me into a club? Iv been DJ'n (enter a period under a year)'. This is where i think the guys should be doing what Jason said, because i did the same thing. I did it for two years, i also did free gigs (gigs no other person wanted) now i have gotten my name and style out there and couldn't be happier.

Note to the newbies - Don't go straight out there, make sure your confident, you can impress and also just keep at it!

[Jason Cerna]

for me, i did what i did out of respect to my friends and for djing in general. and to add to my previous post:

having dj equipment and music doesn't make you a dj. it is the attitude you carry, your work ethic and how you present yourself to people.

But a lot of the newer DJ's i speak to straight away always ask 'can you get me into a club? Iv been DJ'n (enter a period under a year)'.

a few years ago, i had this gig i ran for about 2 years, it was a bi-monthly at this hookah lounge just off the campus of Virginia Tech (a college in southwest Virginia in the U.S.). a guy who had been coming to the shows came up to me with a general interest in djing after watching me a few times.

so, i told him to hit me up after he got some gear. at that point in my life i wasn't thinking about trying to teach anyone how to be a dj. but, i was confident in my skills from what i learned from my friends. so, i taught this guy. and he became very good, technically and musically in about 2 months. in his first month, i had him djing with me, initially as an opener. then, i wanted him to know what it was like to tag with another dj, so we took turns for half an hour for the whole night, 9pm - 2am.

not once during our first initial meeting did he demand anything of me, other than to teach him how to dj. i miss meeting people like this guy, Justin.

*and i'm not saying everyone is like this. but there has been an increasing trend of "me me me" in the past couple of years versus "what can i do to improve the scene where I live?"

[Invoke]

Personally for me I have only been bedroom DJing for over a year and just recently started thinking of getting gigs. its like every time I go out to a club or something all of my friends end up telling me that I should DJ because I sound better than most of the DJs there.