I just had an epiphany while mixing at this halloween party the other day

[Combo Breaker]

I've been doing this dj stuff for quite a few years now, did a few gigs there and there with great success; and on Halloween, my exgf asked me if I could dj at her party she was throwing at her home with lots of people. It ended up being a 50+ people event, which was neat.

Anyhow; during the event, people were asking for the typical top40 lmfao tracks, which are enjoyable and fun, but not my personal cup. I would mix them all together and people had a blast and after the party, i had people commenting on how good and fun it was bla bla bla.

Yet.. it was absolute fucking pain for me the entire time. During the evening, I realised that I was more into dj and mixing tracks more for the 'technical' (and by that I mean transition, smooth transitions, juggling loops, etc ) than 'entertaining people'. I kept looking at the clock in my traktor display the entire time, hoping for a quick evening so I could stop. It was that painful and boring to me. I kept talking to a bunch of people who were really impressed by my setup and wanted to look at the flashing lights, so at least time flew by.

I know that, as dj, we are suposed to entertain people and give them what they want to hear, but damn did I hit a wall heads-on on that night.. I really didnt enjoy myself at all! The morning after, I kept wondering if I should even keep doing this; and took a few days off mixing at home, just to clear my mind.

Still, last night I had a blast mixing for myself, doing all sorts of crazy effects so at least the passion is still there.. It just feels like I'm more into mixing for my own personal enjoyement of music and technical skills ..

[Xonetacular]

It just feels like I'm more into mixing for my own personal enjoyement of music and technical skills ..

Yeah I know what you mean. If you want to DJ for the enjoyment then I guess look for gigs more your style and if you want to play for a wider audience, make more money, and do open format stuff I'm sure you could adapt and make it more fun if you got into and planned a bit more. I know with that type of gig I went into it with a different attitude and had to learn to not take myself so seriously and that no one cared about the mixing and to just have fun and try to become like the crowd and I got my satisfaction out of their satisfaction.

[Garygary1]

Sounds to me like your playing to the wrong crowd...

[padi_04]

^+1 on this

Had a reminder of it at a party last saturday after not playing out for a while (i'm hitting the studio quite hard). Everybody loved it, except me...

[bigbeatzz]

^^ What they said ^^

Maybe you need to do a few gigs playing what you like to play, this way you'll know. Top 40 gigs can be painful but if you embrace it and really rock the crowd it can be somewhat rewarding also.

[DJ ATX]

Sounds to me like your playing to the wrong crowd...

I agree.

Use to do a lot of mobile gigs back in the mid 90's. Although the money wasn't bad, every night was work for me. At the end of the night, I was tired and did not have fun. On the other hand, doing my clubs gigs, I always had fun and did not want the night to end.

The difference between the two? Mobile gigs, I was a paid jukebox. Club gigs, I played what I liked and people jammed to it cause I was playing at the clubs in which the music I liked to play is welcomed and encouraged.

[rami]

Funny, I literally had the exact opposite experience at my Halloween gig. We threw a big party in the basement of our apartment building, and got a pretty huge turn out. I had 2 other DJs come help out for earlier in the night then i took over around 11:30.

What I quickly realized, is that while the audience could appreciate the killer transitions, they were more concerned about song selection. So I dropped thriller on their screaming faces right around 12:15, after a steady 45 minutes of electro-house/avicii/college-kid-stuff, and they ate it up. from that point on I probably played a total of 5 EDM tracks....I was mixing Get Low with Wasn't Me (Shaggy), Otherside with Rolling in the Deep, etc.

Halloween let to my epiphany that I no longer want to be an EDM DJ, but rather an Open Format "Party" DJ.

I'm personally really excited about it, because its forced me to completely reinvent my style. As someone who can't scratch for shit, I've been relying on cue point juggling and different fx combinations to transiton between tracks that really have no unifying beat or tempo.

Anyone else experience something like this?

[Andrew1207]

Halloween let to my epiphany that I no longer want to be an EDM DJ, but rather an Open Format "Party" DJ.

I'm personally really excited about it, because its forced me to completely reinvent my style. As someone who can't scratch for shit, I've been relying on cue point juggling and different fx combinations to transiton between tracks that really have no unifying beat or tempo.

Anyone else experience something like this?

I did a gig this past weekend that was marketed as a mostly EDM event, but I knew exactly what the crowd was gonna be like ahead of time (more mainstream), so I made some crates with top 40 / hip hop, even though I prefer and really love playing EDM.

Anyways, I get there, start playing at midnight, and lead with some familiar EDM tracks that are kinda top 40 crossover. That goes over well. I was getting requests ALL OVER the place, some were just absurd. Eventually, I decided to shake it up and throw in Biggie - Hypnotize and the place went nuts.

From there on out I was transitioning all over the place. I would play a bunch of EDM tracks mixed with upbeat top 40, and then take it down to 70/80/90 bpm range and play some of the popular hip hop/R&B tracks. People were loving it all.

I actually really did enjoy playing each genre and transitioning up and down BPM. While I do still love playing straight EDM sets, I find myself doing more open-format also, and have a great time with it. I think it works out better with most crowds because you play a little bit of everything to please everybody, but can also get them dancing to music they wouldn't normally be in to.

[sarasin]

Yeah...I really enjoy mixing for myself like the OP said.

Not too fussed about gigs to be honest.....but when I do play out at the festivals I play at....I then remember why I DJ.

[bmar222]

I think im one of the weird few who actually enjoys the katy perry and kesha tracks. I dont like it all, and sometimes it can get old, but the cool part about being open format is bringing in songs that people dont remember and love. EVERY single time I play biggie hypnotize people go crazy. Im a house head but Im not into playing 128 all night (unless theyre my own remixes lol) being able to go from 75 to 140 based on the crowd is not only fun and creative, but challenging.