Serious advice needed!

[DJGusOKeeffe]

Hey DJ Techtools community, I need some help!

The other week, on the 11th of may, I had the pleasure of going to an Australian music festival called Groovin' The Moo. (I'm in Australia by the way, Perth WA to be specific)
This festival is a multigenre music festival, with a wealth on the acts playing. For example, this year we had Shockone, Flume, Tame Impala, the Kooks and many other live bands and DJs. The bands major enough to make it onto the lineup performed on 3 stages. Two of the stages were next to each other, so as one act finished the other would start, and the 3rd stage was in a big top tent a few hundred meters away.

Down the end of the park (the festival was held in Hyde Park, Bunbury) was a small tent called the Moo Town tent. This tent was reserved especially for local and small time Perth DJs, and House, Electro and Techno were the main genres being spun. Visiting this tent was a good opportunity to have a fun little bounce around while you were waiting for the acts you wanted to see. I went to the tent 2 or 3 times within the space of about 3 hours, and each time different DJs were playing.

The thing is, these DJs were bad. I mean, technically, they were bad, the crowd was having a good time, but they weren't mixing. I know the definition of a 'DJ' isn't someone who beat matches record, they play music for a crowd. What bugged me was that the festival had booked DJs that they expected to have basic technical skill, and in reality, the were letting a playlist on iTunes play through, I could see it on the latop screen. (Not even a pre-recorded mix, straight, un-mixed, un-edited tracks.) The guy behind the decks (I didn't manage to remember his name) was also faking 'mixing' hand movements, pretending to trick the crowd into thinking he was actually doing something, which I thought was quite lame.

Now I thought to myself, I'm probably a lot better than the guys who were playing, and I started to think to myself, 'if these guys can get this gig, why can't I?' Technically as a DJ, I'm really quite ok, I can beatmatch and I think I'd be able to hold the crowd, and I was compared to them a number of times in a way that would make me the equivalent of an Aussie Sasha. (Which I'm not implying is who I am, but you get the jist )

Here's the thing. I am currently 15 years old, and by the time the festival rolls around again next year, I'll be 16. Do you guys think it'd be possible for 16 year old me to get that kind of gig? As you've probably picked up, it was an all ages festival, but to be able to do bloody anything around here you've got to be 18. I was considering somehow using my age as a gimmick, not as in the 'look at me I'm an 8 year old DJ' sense, rather the 'bloody hell he's good for his age' sense. I'm afraid that if I were somehow able to catch the festivals organizers attention, they wouldn't take me seriously.

So that's why I'm making this post. I want to ask you, the Techtools community, the question, that if I were to somehow catch their attention, would I be in with a shot, and also, how to catch their attention as someone of my age. (And I ask you because, as a DJTT forums trawler for 3 years now, I've seen some great responses and advice coming from you). I'm not going to beg them to let me be at the festival next year, but I honestly think I'm better than half the DJs that were there there.

Excuse me if this post makes me sound like an arrogant little so-and-so, or if it sounds like I'm hyping myself up, but there isn't really any other words I can put what I wanted to say into.

Thanks very much - Gus

P.S I'm not some kid that thinks because he owns decks and has the latest Beatport top 10 that I'm the next Tiesto, I take my DJing quite seriously :P
P.P.S My Mixcloud > http://www.mixcloud.com/gusokeeffe2/

[Big Panda]

Don't really know what to say. Send them an email, no one else is going to ask them if you don't. Link them to your mix and away you go.

Worst they can say is no.

[Tortango]

Yeah it couldn't hurt to find out who booked DJs for that gig and email them. Go ahead and put together an EPK too if you haven't.

Do you go to many gigs in that area? My guess is that people pulled for that festival are DJs that the promoters know will draw a local crowd, maybe those DJs have experience/regular gigs nearby. Do some networking bro! It's good that you're wanting to approach this seriously at such a young age.

[DJGusOKeeffe]

I tried to find out the guy that booked those acts but so far I havn't got anything :/
I might as well make myself look stupid for the sake of learning what it is, what is an EPK?
It's a regional touring festival, so they go around each of the states and play in a rural area, Bunbury (where this was held) is a 3 hour drive south of Perth, WA's capital. I only know two Perth DJs, they're both pretty big here (one of them has the prime slot at our cities biggest club), but neither of them made it on the list. To be fair though, one of them did play Stereosonic, and it was probably more his thing with it being more dance music focused.
Thanks for the reply man, it's good to know people take the time to read these longer posts

[haze324]

make a demo. blast some emails.

You seem pretty well spoken in your post. Send them a note and mention your age in a positive light ---- all age will "connect" better with someone your age, better turn out, etc.

[mdcdesign]

It's not what you know, it's who you blow.

People don't get gigs based on talent anymore I'm afraid, they get it based on knowing the promoters/managers.

[SkyLinez]

It's not what you know, it's who you blow.

People don't get gigs based on talent anymore I'm afraid, they get it based on knowing the promoters/managers.

This is a very true statement.

[Ham]

As mdcdesign said, it's who you know, not what you know.

But a promoter isn't going to put someone on the bill of a festival, especially Groovin', who has never played a gig before.

[AllDay]

It's not what you know, it's who you blow.

People don't get gigs based on talent anymore I'm afraid, they get it based on knowing the promoters/managers.

Its always been this way in life unfortunately. If you found someone actually looking for just the talent then good on you! lucky dog.

[Ham]

Its always been this way in life unfortunately. If you found someone actually looking for just the talent then good on you! lucky dog.

I think a good mix of both is essential, I wouldn't hire someone purely on talent if I didn't know them, they'd probably be an arrogant princess who thinks the world owes them something, and being a promoter is all business, you don't want to deal with that shit.

Also, no matter what gig you go to, there will always be people on either side of the fence, just because you think someone has talent, doesn't mean I do, and the promoter is going to be one of us......