Hey, I am rather new to around these parts, but I have been messing around Djing for around a year. Im beginning to get super interested in it and have purchased a lot of things to do a first gig, along with putting in a lot of amounts of time. However, the more i talk myself into beginning to make my way into the public i get nervous that the people that I will DJ for will not like my music. I like house music, but if i was to do a frat party for example, i know a lot of other college kids don’t really enjoy house music, but i feel mixing top 40 can be exhausting for lack of a better term. It makes me extremely nervous to the point of not even wanting to try. Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-social, I just do not know what to expect and was hoping a lot of you experienced guys could give me some advice to get out there. Thanks for the help in advance. I appreciate it.
Look dude, if you are confident in your skills, you arent gunna have any trouble. I have been djing for like 3 years now and I have had a lot of gigs and a consistant job at a nightclub where I go to school. The first time you dj, you will be nervous, you will probably screw up a few times.
But heres a secret: most people are too drunk or dumb to realize if you mess up.
I have noticed that most of the time, you (yourself) are the only person that realizes a screw up as long as the music doesnt just stop cold… cause thats bad - avoid that.
And about people liking your music: yea, you have to cater to the audience somewhat. If you are playing dubstep and no one has ever heard it before and they hate it, change it. I would say play whatever makes you happy, but if you are getting paid… your hands are kind of tied. If you have to play top 40s then play it, try to sneak some good stuff in if you can. Once you establish yourself, you will be able to play anything and everything.
Example: My friend’s frat was hosting a bike-a-thon. They had bands playing all day but there was a 30 min break where someone cancelled on them. I was asked to DJ (for free), and so I went and got all my equipment and set up. I started blasting my dirtiest dubstep and electro, shit that no one had heard before, and clearly not suited for a bike-a-thon. Well after my 30 minutes were up they begged me to keep going. Now I DJ his frat’s parties (and definitely get paid).
Once youve got the rep and the skills, play whatever the hell you want. And the first step to getting there is playing your first gig. Good luck dude, im sure youll be great.
truth, i was really nervous the first few times… but get yourself into a groove and let it flow to you. dont try as hard. just go with it. (also a few beers or a quick burn sesh helps alot)
also so true. play what they want (requests can be wicked helpful to sway the crowd back – cept when you get asked for the same song by the same person 10x in a 10 min span, but thats another issue) and then once you got em, you can do what you want with them (within reason, until they “know” what to expect from you)
for example, i spin alot of bars/privateparties/dances and tonight they had me play for an hr, then a band (doing all rock/classic covers – they werent bad, but the middleschoolers fucking rioted) then, i come back on, drop the intro to jockjams and go into LMFAO-crazy… place lost it… especially cause i was running around pumping them up for the band cause it was a ghost town on the dancefloor. always a great feeling to do something cool and get everyone fucking pumped
djing (like alot of things in life) is alot like dealing with women. it doesnt always make sense, and sometimes shit just kinda happens. but if youre confident (and atleast pretend you have some idea what your doing) its all gonna work out anyways.
and +1, relax and have fun…youll kill it
Best advice ever – if the dj isnt dancing and having fun, how can a crowd?
Nobody will really notice much about your technical skills so long as you’re fairly confident with a mix. Most young people will judge a DJ on the song choice NOT technical skill so make a good compromise between your music and music they will like (aka top40).
Relax! It’s your first gig! Nobody nails it out their first time. Also, don’t fret about the House music thing because most music today is in the 125-130 BPM range… Also if you start acquiring some good club mixes of popular songs (Jump Smokers, Jason Nevins, etc.) people might not get too caught up in the ‘style’ of music your dropping. I’d venture to guess that you’re going to get asked to play a lot of Hip Hop too. This isn’t as easy to mix because of the varying tempos, but the principles are the same… Just make sure you have a lot of what people are listening to today. Be sure to hit up iTunes charts or join some record pools so that you can stay current.
But a frat party? Dude, you can honestly crossfade songs that aren’t even synced and people won’t care. As long as people are drinking and the lights are low, you’re going to be fine. And I bet you’ll even get laid if you look like you’re having a blast too!
Yeah enjoying it would be the most important part. Oh man, the first gig is just about the best. All those bedroom hours and enjoying climaxes and tricks on your own are nice and all, but the intensity and inspiration that comes from sharing those moments with a crowd are just addictive.
By the way, focus on people who seem to enjoy your music and dance to it. It makes everything so much easier.
Oh, and be prepared to have some time twekaing your system and checking your volumes and stuff. For some reason having the exact same gear in the bedroom or in a club is absolutely no guarantee of working correctly.
You play what you play. Not everyone will like it and you have to let people know what style(s) you play. If you play house, would you even want a frat party gig if they say they want top 40? I wouldn’t.
I’ve been a hobby DJ for ten years now. I haven’t played out much but the few times I did I made sure the people that wanted me knew the styles I played. If they were fine with it, great. If not, I’m not changing what I do for some gig. Don’t like it? Don’t ask me to play.
pick the hottest girl at the party, pop on a song and seek her out while getting a drink or something then ask her what she wants (hopefully its decent, or if not, pick another girl ) and play it, then point at her and motion her up and ball out.
frat parties are f-in easy.
as for top 40 songs, R3hab is another good producer / you can find major remixes all over the place (i use mymp3pool(dot)com for most of the stuff coming out now-a-days – $20 a mo)
If I could have a slightly contrarian view… Let me start by saying that I’ve played out for 3 years now, I’m not a bedroom DJ. When making the jump from bedroom DJ to real DJ, you have to take the focus off what music you like, and try to figure out what the people listening like. Why the hell would I go someplace to listen to all the music some random guy likes? People see a DJ and think “I hope he plays something good.” Play to your audience. When you have them nice and happy, then you can deviate off into whatever you want. (somewhat) Play the music they want to hear.
Look up at people when you’re playing. Does it look like they like the music? Don’t fool yourself here, drunk people can not their head to whatever, try to see if people are really feeling you, waiting to see what you’ll do next. If you don’t feel a proper energy in the room, play something else. (and not the next track on the playlist either) If you need to, take a break from mixing, scratching, chaining effects, beat juggling, or whatever else to look around the room. Try to pick the best song for the mood everybody’s in. Read the crowd and try to find something they like, and start the musical journey there.
A shortcut to reading the crowd is to find the one girl that’s dancing, and into the music, and play just to her. Ignore everyone else, and try to make her dance even more than she already is. This usually works out fantastically.
This probably made no sense, but I just came back from the dentist and my head hurts pretty badly right now…
Also, always have a backup… because if something crash, you need to be able to fix it quick. an iPod connected to the mixer with a good song o a mix announcing something or whatever…
Always watch the dance floor, look at the crowd, are they moving? more or less than the last song?
And mayne, if you are a little nervous, prepare a list of songs, so if you don’t really know what to play next, look up your list and sort it out..
Some advices that helped me out when needed them.. but the more important of all.. have fun!
always a great feeling to do something cool and get everyone fucking pumped
) and play it, then point at her and motion her up and ball out.