My First Gig.

[wongaling]

G'day DJTT im pretty new around here and to the mixing/controllerism scene but i need your help. my first gig i'm meant to be playing it my girlfriends 18th birthday party on july 23rd, here's the problem... i'm meant to be mixing for 5 hours!!!!:eek::eek::eek: I know i'll take a break during that time for maybe 45 minutes but I need tip tricks and any help you guys can throw at me to do with making people have a good time and have fun myself. people keep requesting me to mix a bit of everything in for the night so basically i'll be mixing 80's dance tunes all the way to some of skrillex's tracks so if you guys could throw me some tips you've picked up over the years that'd be sick!!! p.s. here's my setup incase you ask.
Toshiba satellite A500 (laptop)
Traktor pro 2 (software)
Numark Mixtrack (midi controller)
Traktor Kontrol X1 (midi controller)
Korg Nano pad (though i can't get it to work).
M-audio fastrack pro (external sound card)
carillon M8 (analogue mixer baically to run to powered 1/4 inch jack speakers)
Sennheiser HD 25 MK 2 (headphones).

[16b441khz]

djtutor.com/ellaskins(youtube)

[fellis]

I DJ quite a few 18th's these days but generally start at like 8.30 and go through to midnight. My advice is that don't take it personally when people don't dance at the start of the night. Generally, the d-floor heats up around 9 or 9.30 once everyone is warmed up.

As for music choice, funnily enough, people these days seem to soak up Scary Monsters but don't really go for much other dubstep/heavy tunes, I generally play a handful of dubstep tracks to keep (myself) and the other fans happy. I also through in a fair few dancey electro housey tracks throughout the night that people would probably never have heard but would enjoy dancing too (Gregory's Theme - Basto, Blowin UP - Gigi Barocco etc). Then stick to dancey Top40 stuff; david guetta etc or remixes of pop tunes; aka Fred Falke stuff.

Good luck!

[wongaling]

thanks man, yea I think I'll need the luck lol.

[wongaling]

shit! thanks man. I guess i'll be on youtube alot for about a week or two.

[levvis]

when I play for longer periods i've usually got a few pre recorded 30min sets to put on. keeps you interested and gives you a chance to mingle a bit. no one expects you to play 5 hours straight, i'd never expect to only have one break.

I'd say have at least 2 breaks, or even more for just like 15 mins. worst thing is to play for too long and lose interest. if the dj's bored, crowd will be bored

[aGhost]

You have a great advantage, if it's your Gf's birthday, you (most likely) would know what the crowd likes. This can shape the way your 5 hr set would look like. You can also use the cruise control in Traktor to help you take some breaks. Check your grids (there are many articles and post that talk about that) so your beats are on time. Once people are dancing chose the right time to throw Michael Jackson hits and 80s, people goes nuts! At least that's what I've experienced.

Also you might want to spend sometime surfing soundcloud, check for independent versions of top 40s you'll find some really good stuff.

Last but not least - sound check- before the party. Once you're out of your bedroom/studio things get crazy or just don't work the same way. Give yourself some time to troubleshoot or run to the store for an extra set of cables...in case you don't have back ups ready.

Good luck Mate!

[Ryan Leo]

I think its important to realize that you are the center of the energy or at least that you have the ability to control the energy at the party. Project a good time and you will get a good time back.

As for 5 hour sets,

Start slow.

I dont know how you reference music, but I find that 120bpms with a solid bassline will get every body moving.

One these days I'm going to have 4 hours worth of songs in that range.

I find it has just enough tempo to get the asses shaking casually.

Also,

Play music that keeps the dancers that are already dancing dancing. Everyone else is will build off there energy.

Make sure your setup its up high enough so your not slouched over cause your neck will be killing you.

Have fun with it and learn everything you can.

[Sounds in Space]

Whenever I have a fraternity gig I have to spin for four hours, and guy who said to have a couple pre made mixes was right. Having a couple of mixes is a great idea. There are so many things that could go wrong over the night. One time somebody left a hookah coal under an amp and it burnt the bottom of the box. I had to throw on a mix and fix the problem.

Having a sound check is a great idea too! I copied how Lazer Sword does their sound check. They play the same song over and over again, and check how different parts of the room sound.

Whenever I spin a set that long I start off with 65 - 70 bpm top 40s, then progress up into about 110. Then after about 1 1/2 - 2 hours of 65 - 110 I'll jump into the 120 range and progressively reach up to 130 - 135 (where the bangers live). In the beginning try and take each blend, and transition slow and simple. Then when you and the crowd is warmed up then start to do some trickier transitions.

Also plan out the first 4 - 6 songs of your set. My biggest problem for my first gig was that I just started waging tracks out of random, and since nerves tend to run high for me until I have that first smooth transition I never found my groove.

Have fun, smile, and be prepared. It will be one hell of a time!

[Bunford]

when I play for longer periods i've usually got a few pre recorded 30min sets to put on.

+1 for this.

If you're intending on having a 45 minute break, record about a 50-60 minute set in advance using Traktor at your home.

Then, just mix the start of your pre-recorded section onto your song, and there you go, you can then let it run and mix back in at any point you wish.