So, i dont even know where to start my story. It all began almost exactly one year ago. I was supposed to be spinning with my partner in crime as a team in my hometown´s nr1 spot that my buddie rented for his Birthday. There where two other dj´s booked that didnt show up, same as my partner which left me alone for the whole period. I should mention that i normally spin hip-hop and top40 chart music and the club is normally known for his semi-skilled edm dj, who happened to be also there that night. I´m glad he was there as it was the first time i played in a club and had no clue about setup etc. To make things short he plugged my pc line-out direct into his mixer, resulting in the most crappy sound i ever got out of my laptop. He even refused to let me install the drivers for his audio8, so i felt kinda boycotted. I start to play rap, 5 minutes into my set he grabs one of his records -wickie-wickie- hardcore gabba. like in one minute chilled cypress hill -bum tschak-..next minute bumbumbumbumbumbum..WTF?
After all it went mostly well, except that 1/5th of the room had crappy sound which i tried to pretend but i couldnt save the sound all the time. I mean it really went well besides the sound issue, i had a packed dancefloor for 8 (!) hours, had a great bar rotation and made many contacts. i was even given the possibility to use cdj´s the first time. I went crazy for a short amount of time and used my nb, the 2 cdj´s and the 2 tt´s at the same time, oh what a joy...keeping 6 records allinged, jumping from the far left to the far right while nudging here and there. A bit like Paul Van Dyk lol
Sadly in the early morning hours our biker-gang-chapter showed up and things went futher down to the point that the owner tells me to play their rock request. so i played some AC/DC, wolfmother, nirvana... and as soon as i play z-trips ring of fire, hell breaks loose. Seriously, a bar brawl u normally see in theaters. Chairs beeing thrown, tables beeing broken. I´ve seen a 18y old kid jump on the back of the security, taking the tonfa and start beating the crap outta the sec. I stop music, turn on the lights as the owner told me to and got the fuck outta there, not even shutting down properly, just slamming my notebook in the bag, take my record crate and up i go.
Days later i checked the clubs homepage just to see a statement that went sth like " normally we serve great music from skilled djs that know what they do, our security keeps trouble away etc etc". Basically blaming me for the bad end of a great night. You just gotta love those rockers.
Footnotes 1. 4 dj´s booked, i showed up as the only one. I brought a following of around 100 people, played 8.5 hours straight for free. Took request. Rockers come by. massive beating. massive police show up. Clubs basically blaming me.
Beeing the fighter i am i said to myself "f" that, lets step things up a notch. since then i spend every penny i could afford into dvd´s and sound tech, i practised techniques like a mad man, i kinda locked myself away to train. A few month later i had to suffer from a kidney-illness, due to that i lost a lot of weight and had to cut my hair short. Before i looked kinda like Kurt Cobain people say, now its military lol
Anyways, a few weeks ago a fellow dj out my town pm´ed me if i was spinning this year again at my buddies birthday. Like 5 days before the party.
I found out my buddie already told everyone except me, which pissed me off. After arguing over basically everything we decided i wouldnt play for free, but get 50 cent out off everyones 2€ entry fee. I was ok with that, atleast i wouldnt be playing for free. I demanded on visiting the club prior to the event to check the equipment, talk to the owner etc. Luckily he seemed to either not recognise me due to my optical change or he just didnt remember, but i got him to let me use his projector. This way we agreed on me spinning videos the whole night, and i even got the chance to spin my video-set-routines i practiced to death over the past year.
Thats when things began to be strange. Preparing everything i suddenly lost my database.Which means no cues, bpms, playlists. I managed to get things back roughly, but i kept on having the strange feeling to forget some records. Im sure y´all know that feeling.
I went to the club with my huge desktop, enough power, great sound, great graphics. I brought my bcd3000 and my nanopad. Plugged everything in. Prayed. Gently touched every control while praying. Im serious. I felt like high-noon, now or never, dead or alive. Please, my holy eqiupment, dont let me down....I pressed play.
Thats where my memory gets blurry. I remember the owner coming up to me asking if the speakers are broke..."TURN IT UP MAN!". i sure did. After my first set i had finally enough balls to really analyse the situation. The place was nuts. At first there where several people sitting and staring at the videos, 2 hours later i had a packed dancefloor, about 400 people and still new entrys every minute. I knew i may not fuck up in any way, my name is on the line as it was steadily displayed under the video, oh, and the djtt-press play logo. felt good to not just represent myself.
4 Hours into playing request ( i had every single one. You got the new guetta- sure, since months ) the owner comes up to me asking for my contact data. He made sure i understand how blazed he is, he never saw a such amazing mixshow consistent of so much different genres. remember the edm dj that plays there usually? seems like he doesnt like request, or anything thats not electric. Thats why he liked my set so much, i am absolutely able to spin anything in a cool way. Really, i played the musical can can. That speaks for itself. I made a AV-show for sure, Movie skits on top, dope scratches ( yes, bcd baby) and most importantly, i was sooo uber focused, i did not mess up once. All my cue routines. Flawless. Not even at home have i been that good.
3 in the morning he came up to me again, smiling like a honey-pie-horse. He said that this was one of the nicest evenings he had in a long time and handed me a few bucks extra. Well not a few. It was enough to make me stare blank. Damn, that was the first time in a while i had no financial worries.
I had a blast, i felt like the king of the world, just without the reling. I met a reaally nice girl, earned enough to date her for months, got very good reputation, people know me and talk about my show.Everythings cool.
But what is driving me mad is the fact that the owner nevr got in contact with me. The next day i had to pick up a few cables i left there, where he assured me again we would hear from another, this wasnt the last time i played there if i want. We even came to the point that it could be regulary. But he never called. No e-mail. Not even a letter.
To understand better, i really like the location. Its in my hometown, where i know almost everyone, i know the vibe here. And i got the offer to play in Berlin in a major club with 2 x 1000 guests. This would mean a serious step forward once again for me. And honestly i dont know if i am really ready.
But i have to earn money. So i am asking for a advice here. In case i dont find a regular dayjob. Should i wait for the owner to call me ( 2 months now)?Should i take the big step and play in Berlin? Should i contact the owner in case he lost my data? I feel like i am stuck. the first time in years. I feel exhausted. But yet happy.
Footnotes 2 Gig in same Location. Went as best as it could. Owner told me he would stay in contact with me. Till now he did not. Possible club-gigs in huge club in Berlin. Dont know what to do....
And now ladys ( i know they have to be here somewhere too ) and Gentleman, a small glimpse at what i did that faithfull Evening. Are you prepared to witness what happens, when madness and technology combine their forces to create a innovative travel through time and space? Be ready to whitness a mind changing audio visual next level sh*t.
So here it is, Ladys and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, i bring to you:
a 48 min mash up set. Combines several parts from my live show. More will follow the next days, pictures from the gig, a video, and maybe another mash-up set or two. i played so much good routines that night that i want to share them all with you.
I thank everyone that reads this load of words, and i hope you will like my video as much is i enjoyed planning and creating it over the last year.
peace.1 love. K
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