How did you guys get your first gig?

[vincetdj]

Facebook! find friends that dj or friends wanting to have a house party and go from there. Share your mixes with local promoters.

[DJKyleHughes]

I'm 15 and do Teen Nights at popular clubs in my area.

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Talk to people. Meet people who are in the position you want to be in and get to know them and how they got there. Casually tell them how you're a DJ as well(Not when you first meet!) and ask them if they'd like to hear your stuff. If they say no, just shrug it off and try at another time. These are the people you want to get to know.

If all else fails, talk to a local bar or club in your area about starting your own night.

[Seven Deep]

I have a couple good friends in a shoegazy/punky rock band and they thought it would be cool to do their CD release (also doubling as a Halloween party) by having me set up after them and get all the drunk folks dancing. The night went death metal band, punk band, my friends band....then me.

It was kind of a fun challenge since most of the crowd were metalheads and hipsters with razor thin musical sensibilities and had no idea what to make of the breaks and techno I threw at them. Nor did they realize that "oonce oonce" jokes dont really make sense when the Apache break is playing.

But they were drunk so they all danced anyway. On the other hand it was nice knowing I could experiment and throw down old tried and true tracks that an electronic oriented audience might find dated or have grown bored of years ago.

I get to relive that experience at the end of this month at their next CD release party.

[Jester]

Rock up with a demo. Introduce yourself. Be confident.
Everyone has to do it