First DJ Gig at a Club (In the US)

[lloung88]

Hey all,

So I got the attention of one of the club managers here in Dallas, Texas at one of the more happening clubs. He loved my demo which was a mix of remixed "mainstream" songs and some dope electro/progressive tracks that you would normally hear at raves or played at the shows of the truly awesome DJ/producers.

I'm getting nervous because I don't know what are the expectations of mixing at a club. I feel like it's different than what you would hear at a show or a rave. Whenever I go out clubbing here, I feel like the DJs are always quick to transition within less than 2 mins of a song, and there is never a period of when the song is coming down to build back up... does that make sense?

Can anyone give me some guidelines of club mixing or some quick rules of thumb?

Lisa Mari

[DJ SB]

Do whatever you feel is right and whatever your style is. I rarely play both buildups and drops of a track, and if I do, I tend to mix things up quite a bit with three decks. Try to be smooth, but not boring. Just have fun.

[Gapout]

Do whatever you feel is right and whatever your style is. I rarely play both buildups and drops of a track, and if I do, I tend to mix things up quite a bit with three decks. Try to be smooth, but not boring. Just have fun.

+1

The dude who listened to your mix liked your mix. Keep to that. If you go in there and start changing up from what you mixed...then hes gonna be like wtf? this isnt what i got you in here for.

You will be crazy nervous when you first start playing...Everyone is...thats just apart of the game. Just make sure you are having fun...and you feel your music...because chances are if the crowd sees you feeling your music they will feel it to...

[DJ Squilz]

Hey I guess I'm just reiterating what was already said but yeah, stick to the kind of stuff you played in the demo, trying going to the club a few times before your night to get a taste of what is typically played and try keeping it close to that (although never forget to play the songs you like, never take a gig where you don't get to play the music you like, it gets boring quick.) As for your transitions, you're spot on. For example, seeing dj's play who produce melodic music, (ie. Avicii, Above & Beyond, SHM, Tiesto, ect.) often have long transitions that typically don't have much (or any) percussion and play them out to build an atmosphere. For a club DJ, DON'T DO THIS. The crowd may not think about this but they're only dancing to music with beats. No drums = No dancing. Do occasionally play out a melodic part (best if it's a very well known song/melody) to let the crowd rest. While i'm not a huge guetta fan, just remember, nothing but the beat.

[chicomodo]

I`ll post my first big gig in my city here in Brazil.

A big friend of mine got me this gig. It was a college party at a huge club here. Showed a short mix (about 30 mins) of me mixing and remixing some pop songs with some dirty electro, and doing some mashups and so on. They loved it.
My mission was to open the night to everyone, after a rock band and before a pagode (something like samba) band. I was like, omfg, I`m totally screwed. How I`m going to blend in with my music and so on? And just in 30 minutes!

Was REALLY REALLY nervous. There was about 1500 people on the main stage, and I was playing.

So I started playing my rehearsed mix. I changed a little on the fly when I saw that everyone was enjoying the song... And suddenly my mashup/remix set ended. My pop song remix ended. So I started to play remixes of rock and hip hop songs, and so on, until the mid set, when I dropped HUGE electro bombs. I`ll never forget how everyone jumped when I unleashed Wake Up (by Steve Aoki).

I still don`t know how I managed it, but you`ll feel on stage when you see everybody dancing that you are making the right decisions

[lloung88]

Hey I guess I'm just reiterating what was already said but yeah, stick to the kind of stuff you played in the demo, trying going to the club a few times before your night to get a taste of what is typically played and try keeping it close to that (although never forget to play the songs you like, never take a gig where you don't get to play the music you like, it gets boring quick.) As for your transitions, you're spot on. For example, seeing dj's play who produce melodic music, (ie. Avicii, Above & Beyond, SHM, Tiesto, ect.) often have long transitions that typically don't have much (or any) percussion and play them out to build an atmosphere. For a club DJ, DON'T DO THIS. The crowd may not think about this but they're only dancing to music with beats. No drums = No dancing. Do occasionally play out a melodic part (best if it's a very well known song/melody) to let the crowd rest. While i'm not a huge guetta fan, just remember, nothing but the beat.

Omg, thanks. This is a really good tip!