Older DJ's

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

Older DJ’s

Any of them out there?

I’m 37 years old now, with a young daughter and it’s not like I DJ for money, local fame or any other reason you’d care to mention. Having DJ’ed at a lot of local nightspots when I was younger I now only dabble when I get the chance at home, but I still yearn for the chance to play at big parties. I’ve watched the digital revolution with amazement and embraced it with as much enthusiasm as I embraced house music back in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I’ve even started building my own MIDI controller!

The thing is I often feel like the only living boy in (add your home town here). Is there anyone else out there whose fire still burns bright after all these years? Please tell me I’m not the only one.

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You’re not the only one, mate! I’m 32 and still spin at home.

There’s no need to stop doing what yuou enjoy just because you’re getting older.

I wish I could still skateboard on a weekend!!! :disappointed:

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Yeah, I am an old dude @ 39. Back in the early 90s a great friend of mine turned me on with Jam n Spoon, Josh Wink’s United DJs of America and the artists at Moonshine label. I have been extremely entusiastic about House, Techno and Breaks since…plus DnB, Jungle…you get the point. :slight_smile:
It really wasn’t until the last few years though that I had the time to start doing my own thing “behind the decks”. Lol, I startd out in 98 with a Microsoft joystick and CarrotTop (I think that’s the name) software. I don’t gig very much but love to give out my own batch of cookies to special friends. Music is my drug of choice.

EDIT:
Also, I really like what i’ve seen develop over the last 6-7 years with controllerism and digital DJ’ing. This is a new arena that I believe has breathed fresh air into the medium of EDM and think that the next few years is promising in regards to the evolution of the genre(s).

dan

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38 here m8 and i got my first 1210’s and phonic mixer when i was 16 got my first job and went down Homerton high street in hackney and got them on finance:slight_smile: currently buying a house with the missus, but i am so happy to be able to mix again, the whole dj thing has changed a lot in the 13 years i took a break but I’m loving it, definitely not going to stop again as i am not doing it for the money or fame and if i get to play out that’s just a bonus to me, on top of that an old dj friend and good mate is producing an ep of house with me, so i get to release something again for the first time since 1993 lol.

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“I’m getting too old for this shit,” stated Mr. Digweed, 42

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“I’ve got arthritis in my mixing finger and my hearing aid doesn’t work,” said Mr. Cox, 47

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33 here, 1,5 year old daughter same story…

All for the love of music. :wink:

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You got a year on me, T :stuck_out_tongue: plus i didn’t start playing till 4 years ago (late bloomer)

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There is a mobile DJ I heard about who does weddings and corporate stuff in his seventies. That is the joy of this business. You don’t have to stop. Music will continue on as long as it is good. How old are the Rolling Stones? Still touring I believe. The key is to adapt WITH the music to stay relevant. Experience will give you ability to move ANY crowd, with old and new technics. This is why I went digital.

Plus I want to save my back from lugging all that equipment- LOL

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My first recorded set dates back to … August 2007. (Still on vinyl. :wink: )

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I just turned 32 and have been playing around djing about 3 years now, a little more serious the last 9 months(have had about 4 gigs). Started with some cds, switched to all digital, and now wanting to go to DVS.

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33 with 2 kids and I still play out regularly for 400 - 1000 people here in Miami.

Never too old…It’s like a disease that you can’t cure. Nothing competes with that feeling of rocking a crowd.

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where are you typically playing at? what venues in miami hold up a thousand people?

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Another older dj out here, doing it purely for the love of the music and mixing.

I’m 37, married, with an almost 1 year old son. I’ve been listening to edm since the late 80’s when I first heard New Beat, and then went to my first rave in the early 90’s. Have loved dancing and edm since then, but only really started getting my feet wet w/ dj’ing over the past few years.

When I was younger, I always wanted to dj, but never had anywhere near the money needed to buy the gear. Not to mention, when it was a strictly vinyl game, to be a good dj, you had to also spend a lot of time and money scouring record shops for that perfect track. It wasn’t until recently that my financial situation allowed a little flexibility when it came to being able to afford gear. I made the choice to get into the digital/laptop side of things because I already had tons of great music on cd’s and mp3’s, and didn’t want to have to invest a lot of time and money in acquiring vinyl.

That was 3 or 4 years ago and I haven’t looked back. Started by trying out all the demo software out there. Didn’t have a multiple output soundcard, so I got an adapter to split my soundcard output into left and right, and would use one channel as the mono master, and one as the cue monitor. Then the BCD2000 came out, and it was available for next to nothing, so I picked it up. Soon realized that the original software that came bundled w/ it wasn’t up to par, so I picked up Traktor 3 DJ Studio. Great decision!

Since then I recently picked up a VCI-100 SE, and am using a Audio Kontrol 1 soundcard w/ Traktor Pro. My setup feels pretty solid and streamlined now, allowing me to focus on the music.

Over the past 3 years I’ve played out a few times at bars, and at a couple house parties. Unfortunately, not a lot of my friends are into edm, so my opportunities are limited, and honestly, I didn’t get into this to make a name for myself anyways. I just like to play and mix the music that makes me move. Every weekend you can find me rocking out my living room once the rest of the family is tucked safely away in bed.

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Yay 37 is the age to be :slight_smile:

Similar story here. Always wanted to have a go at DJing 20 years ago now but didn’t think I could tbh. Watched it all evolve through the 90s, helping m8s make it onto the scene, joined collectives, put nights on, made our own scene and slowly faded away to become parents over the years.
Knowing they still had a lot of vinyl and following the prices of the vinyl online, we started trying to sell the vinyl about 3 years ago now. It soon became apparent that we couldn’t part with the damned stuff lolol So I bought some decks and now have a wall of 1200 pieces of vinyl.
I bought a 2nd hand BCD2000 this year for a laugh tbh and was converted pretty quickly to this digital malarky so I upgaded to TSP with timecode control alongside the BCD2000 and picked up a Mackie D4 pro.
It suits me as I’ve managed to fill the gaps in my collection at a fraction of the price and protected the expensive ones I already had by ripping them into the computer too.
I don’t tink I’ll ever play out tho, it’s more of a hobby for me. It does crack me up tho when m8s that know I didn’t DJ back in the day, hear me fooling around with 4 decks in time and I point out the inactive synch button :wink:

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Loads of the guys I play on Purple Radio with who are ‘older djs’, and we run a couple of nights a month in Bristol and London and odd ones in Manchester, York and Nottingham.

Being older just means you’ve listened to a fuck load more music, so your taste tends to be broader. That’s the reason I enjoy the radio show as it gives me an excuse to play a huge variety of stuff. And I get to play out at least once a month with party tunes.

We’re live from 6-12 weekdays and 12-12 on a weekend. Feel free to join in if you want - http://www.purple-radio.co.uk

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By the way, I just posted up a tech-house mix I made last weekend. Would love it if some of you old codgers would give it a listen.:wink:

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Just had my birthday on 25th of october.38 years and like Teiresias with a broad taste.I like the eclectic style or like Garnier said, Good music, somtime techno.Fell in love some years ago with real electronic music.Love it to get the crowd to dance and keep´em screaming.Strange feeling playing and they beg for more.

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OK… I qualify as a older DJ as I am 39 and have 2 kids. Been spinning since 1986 using Vinyl then CD´s and now Digital. Play a broad style of music from 70’s disco to new music.
Live in Uppsala, Sweden and I DJ parties and clubs around here.

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never too old!
I’m 31, have two kids, a wife and a full time day-job, and I spin once-twice a week + an irregular radio spot, can’t say it’s easy, but it worth it!

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i refer you all to dj derek.

check it out!