Yeah, @duerr - you’ve got the right idea about the attitude dude 
(Here comes a massive post…)
You have to take into account, there’s a huge difference between being able to mix perfectly in your bedroom or at a party, and put together a killer mixtape - and actually playing out live in a club. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is - if it’s a small town scene - even if you think you’re a gazillion times better at mixing than the residents that are on the job at the moment, if you don’t have a good rep, you’re not going to shift them in a hurry. No doubt, if they don’t promote the nights themselves, then there’s a good chance that they are the promoters really good buddies, and thus by trying to all out compete with them (as you would in a big city scene) you narrow/potentially ruin your chances of getting in there.
It’s hugely important to understand that nothing in this industry happens over night, everything takes a while, and in that while - hard graft is required to make it happen. So, from my experience with this very same sort of scene - my advice to you would be to get to know the promoters, and importantly the DJs, and just get pally with them.
The most important thing is that you don’t introduce yourself as a DJ, that would destroy your chances immediately - because we all know that 70% of guys get a pair of decks when they’re 16, and half of them call themselves DJs at every opportunity until they get a life. Ok, this is a stereotypical view, but it has been made even worse now that everyone has a cracked copy of VDJ on their laptop. If you say, ‘Hey, nice to meet you, I’m new here and i’m a DJ’ - if they don’t just dismiss you straight away, then they’re gonna most definitely grill you on what you’ve done in the past - and houseys and bedroom mixes unfortunately just confirm your wannabe-DJ status to them. Thus, you wont get booked.
A better approach (and a much better approach to get into any scene really) is to just get to know everyone, and offer to get involved in the promotions, and basically get behind the scenes in the club scene in your town. This might be running the facebook side, or flyering or whatever, but you’re likely to get paid for it anyway. While you’re doing this, pick up tips from the other DJs about how they play out live, by all means let them know you’re interested in their craft and that you much about a bit (because to them, that’s all you do anyway - and the art of (british) understatement is always effective) Then, when you’ve built a rep with the promoters, you can start to ask them to see what they think of you’re mix tapes (which you’ve obviously been perfecting all this time) and maybe suggest that there should be a more electro housey night (or whatever you play) and that you think it would be popular. Push for it, perhaps offer to promote it yourself with his help, and see what goes down. Also, chat to the DJs and ask them how they got into the scene - because not only will they then know that you’re interested to take it further, but you’ll learn the tricks.
I apologise for this being a massively long post - but I know this area fairly well. I’m 18, and been in this game for 2 years. Luckily, I’d been in a fairly successful band for 3 years before that, and I had been managing and promoting it myself - so not only have I got a fair bit of performance experience under my belt, but I’ve also gained a lot of experience in promoting, and a lot of contacts in the music industry in my area.
I have to stress the most important thing is to build good relationships. That’s the downfall of many DJs who get given a chance and think they’re the shit. When you meet the DJs who you think are crap, playing their pitbull remixes and all that, you might actually find out that they’re sound DJs, but just have to play that stuff because that’s what the guys like on the floor.
if you build a good rapport with all of those people mentioned - you’re 80% there… I hope other guys can agree with me on this..?
