NYC DJ ready to get serious

[tads]

I am DJ who lives in New York, but has no idea where to go to DJ house, or honestly where to listen to good stuff.

TheLast time I posted was because was about to DJ for the first time outside of the bedroom at a DEMF after party that we threw.

Now I'm back in New York and I want to keep things going but I don't know what to do next. I don't really know anyone who DJ's out here and I'm sure it exists in the city, but I don't know where or how to get it started. I'm a teacher, so I have summers off, and you can tell the kind of stuff I spin on my soundcloud

[TommyQuiet]

dude you live in NY,i am sure its easy to find clubs
just go out and find events check event guides online etc...
check out local bars etc... hand a mix cd over if they are looking for dj's

its not like your living in the outback
your in the city that never sleeps.

[Bassline Brine]

Just go to shows. Go to shows. Go to shows.

Become a regular. Start networking with the people whom throw events (promoters).

Drop your demo, and just keep supporting their scene.

[smiTTTen]

Take the following for what it's worth. You may well have considered everything listed here but in case you haven't...

Really focus on clubs that play the music you like and you think you would be a fit for. You are far better off repeatedly targeting a handful of these places rather than trying to cast your net too wide.

Develop YOUR sound. Don't worry about what the next guy is playing. Play what feels good and gets you excited. Granted, if that's 201 BPM Ukranian Swinger Techno then you may want to tone it down enough to make it accessible.

Create a couple of demos based on your sound. It's unlikely that you are going to walk straight into a headline slot so consider a warm-up style demo and a demo that shows what you would play during peak hours. Consider keeping them to around 20 minutes as you may be asking a lot of a promoter to listen through an hour. You might consider copying your demos onto cheap usb drives. You can get them in bulk and they are far more pocket friendly for someone take off you at a club than a CD. You can also include additional information and web links on the drive. If you wanna go all out - get them logo'd up.

For the the web side of things you want to have a homepage where people can go to and check out your stuff. If you meet someone in a club you want to be able to easily direct them to your online home. Soundcloud is fine but it won't necessarily help you create a brand. Wordpress is free and easy to use. Getting a snappy domain name will cost you less than $10/year and you can redirect that domain to your home page/wordpress site etc... Twitter and Facebook are also useful so long as you have something to say and/or things of value to post. Don't fall into the trap of tweeting "Hey, check out my new mix at: blah" 20 times a day. Follow people who are relevant to NYC, your scene and your sound - many will follow you in turn. More and more people are doing ustream both on the audio and video side. Why not do a weekly show? It's another thing you can refer people back to. There are also plenty of online stations that are looking for good stuff to play. 15-20 minute mixes are the way to go for those guys.

Whether it's face-to-face in clubs or online, be amiable and confident in what you do. No need to broadcast that you are looking for your first gig. Having some of the items listed in the last paragraph above enables you to build a presence and a listener base without leaving the house and this is becoming more and more important. Most of all, be nice. People buy from people and it will be the relationships you forge that get you the gigs far more than the skills you show on the demo. Obviously if your demo sounds like to two old women fighting over the last set of false teeth then you might have some more work to do.


Good luck!

SmiTTTen

[bigbeatzz]

House parties go on about every night here in NYC. Joris Voorn is playing on Sunday afternoon on a rooftop. I was thinking about swinging by: http://newyork.timeout.com/music-nig...en-joris-voorn

[smiTTTen]

House parties go on about every night here in NYC. Joris Voorn is playing on Sunday afternoon on a rooftop. I was thinking about swinging by: http://newyork.timeout.com/music-nig...en-joris-voorn

Listen to this chap and you can't go far wrong!

[tads]

Thanks for all the advice everybody

House parties go on about every night here in NYC. Joris Voorn is playing on Sunday afternoon on a rooftop. I was thinking about swinging by: http://newyork.timeout.com/music-nig...en-joris-voorn

I'm going to try to go to this, but I know I had a commitment earlier in the day. I'll PM you once I know if I'm going to be free or not.

[jimbly1990]

Hard work is the only answer I can give you. Sadly - even in the DJing industry its who you know not how you play. Obviously work on your own sound and stay true to it, otherwise you'll get a gig and then get dropped, but network network network.

Eventually, a promoter/bartender/doorman/DJ/manager will be asked if they know anyone that can fill a spot at the last minute and your name will spring to mind. Thats the only way I know how to do it..

[eeloe]

It's all about networking.

If you don't know venue's in NYC that play your kinda sound, how do you know you'll fit in, in such clubs?

Go to the clubs, have a ball, see what happens!

[sobi]

Find Chris Love, Rob Rewind, Tom Mellow, Scotto, and persistently give them mixes and ask for gigs.