First club gig coming up.....need help retaining my sanity
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  1. #1

    Default First club gig coming up.....need help retaining my sanity

    Im currently helping host an end of summer electro themed event and minus all the problems with the event itself that we're running in to (our event is the night before the first day of school for some schools, this rival club company is trying to torpedo us, etc) im freaking out on the musical aspect because i have to coordinate all the other djs performing, and none of them are responding to me so far for some reason, and also this will be my largest performance yet (over 300 people) and so ive bee practicing my set list for the past week (and i till have several weeks to practice) and i just picked up the book "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" to get a little history on my little hobby, and within the first few pages, i came across an interview with fatboy slim that states this:

    "For me, its whether they look up or not while theyre playing...a good dj is always looking @ the crowd, seeing what they like, seeing whether its working, communicating with them, smilng at them. and a bad dj is always looking down at the decks and just doing whatever they practiced in their beroom, regardless of whether thercrowd are enjoying it or not"

    after that i immediately found myself under this second catagory, because for the couple other gigs ive done, my eyes were glued to my computer or controller, making sure everything went the way i planned, not paying attention to the crowd at all (which is weird because all the djs thatve inspired me have alway been very crowd friendly and charismatic). and now i have a bad feeling about this pre-planned setlist, because its all full of its and it has a bit of room for flexebility, but now im just so stressed about everything thats going on that im just kinda mindblanking. so can anyone help point me in the right direction for any of the issues i have with this? all i really wanna do is just get up and spin some mixes and have a good first club performance, but at this point i think pretty much everythings gone to hell, at least in my mind

    http://soundcloud.com/dj-solus
    -
    Equipment: M-Audio Xponent w/ Torq Software, Akai APC40 w/ Ableton Live 8, Korg Padkontrol

  2. #2
    Tech Convert
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    Put the Book down, Pick up your drink of choice, and just play.....

    DJ'ing is not a stressful occupation if you're doing it right.

    theRoyal1.com
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  3. #3
    Tech Guru
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    Quote Originally Posted by theRoyal1 View Post
    Put the Book down, Pick up your drink of choice, and just play.....

    DJ'ing is not a stressful occupation if you're doing it right.

    ditto
    GPS of Fresh Wet Paint | "Always Fresh n' Sticky"
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  4. #4
    Tech Guru space monkey's Avatar
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    Right on. It's like sex....or something.

    (going to the I iz drunk thread lol)

  5. #5

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    if the DJs are flaky, find new ones that aren't. as for the date, i wouldn't worry too much about it as long as the majority of the crowd won't have school the next day. as for the torpedo, well, take it as a compliment really. they see you as competition, so you're definitely doing something right. keep an eye on them, but act like you don't even know they exist, and just do what you do.

    try to stay away from pre-planned setlists as much as you can. learn as many tracks as you can backward and forward, to the point where you don't have to rely on cues to know when something will fit. that, to me, is what DJing is all about. cuz i mean if you think about it, if all you're going to do is follow cues, i could make the same set in ableton and play it back with one click of a mouse and they'd sound the same, you know? DJing is all about the moment, live in it, feel it, and mix it. it's obviously in you somewhere, don't let fear of failure hold you back from being the SHIT.

    good luck, but i know you'll kill it, because i see how dedicated you are.
    soundcloud.com/hpntk / soundcloud.com/freakstep
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    Quote Originally Posted by JesterNZDJ
    My solution: Pay some one to whack them so you don't have any competition

  6. #6
    Tech Guru Damien1138's Avatar
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    drop a track. queue up the next one. watch the crowd. envision what you want the crowd to do next. pick your next track. mix. drop the incoming track. rinse. repeat.

    most important- have fun
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  7. #7
    DJTT Infectious Moderator photojojo's Avatar
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    Put the book down and set some cues to remind you to look at the crowd and interact.
    Chris Jennings FHP

    Podcast - Soundcloud - Mixcloud - Beatport Charts - x

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by photojojo View Post
    Put the book down and set some cues to remind you to look at the crowd and interact.
    Haha I can totally imagine doing that. Crowd cues!
    Setup: Kontrol S2, Komplete Audio 6, Maschine Mikro Akai LPD 8, Akai Mpk49, Traktor 2, Ableton Suite 8.
    http://soundcloud.com/miishmash

  9. #9
    Tech Wizard
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    don't be so paranoid!!!!

    my first "big" gig i was so nervous that I sucked. I'm not too big on playlists but when you freeze up like that you scramble to play the next track and it just doesn't flow right.

    not sure if you are a drinker but a few drinks before REALLY helps. Don't go over board. Red bull or the green can of monster also helps me at times.

    so i finally came to the realization that there was a reason why people were asking me to DJ bigger "places" than just house parties. It was because they liked what I did so now when I go out I just mentally think I'm just doing a house party and honestly it helps.

  10. #10
    Tech Mentor ohmyjosh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by theRoyal1 View Post
    Put the Book down, Pick up your drink of choice, and just play.....

    DJ'ing is not a stressful occupation if you're doing it right.
    I had my first club gig last night. I had a set layed out but ended up playing some other stuff in the end. Just have a beer, relax and enjoy it as if you are a member of the crowd appreciating the music.

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