Trouble calling yourself a Dj?
Hey, I’ve been djing (controller+traktor pro) for about four months(?) on and off and I think I’ve finally started to get good enough to play small house parties and the like. But I still don’t consider myself to be a Dj or worthy of a Dj name.
What about you? When did you consider yourself a DJ and/or start using a dj alias?
when i started sharing my mixes with friends i started using a dj moniker to label the cd’s with. i think i had been practicing for atleast a year or so before i started letting people listen to my stuff though.
Until someone who you respect like a dj, tells you good job. I think so
Plenty of DJ’s don’t take a DJ name.
As you can tell by my moniker, I believe that a DJ name should be bestowed upon him by someone else, not created by himself. Hence, I’m stuck with this!
I know what your thinking. I have only really been doing this for a little less then a year on and off at times. When i first started with traktor i was doing to basic things to call myself a DJ (Plus my limited music knowledge at the time didnt help).
I think it really hit me when i would just be messing around and out of no where songs would come into my head that i knew would mix well with the track i currently had playing, and then i knew what effects to mix it in seamlessly.
Your experience might be different but you’ll get there, just keep practicing.
I starting calling myself a DJ when some one at a house party walked up smiling and said “You actually mix songs, I didn’t know people did that on laptops”.
At that point I had a EDM project going on called SyblingQ. So I just went by that name. Seemed to fit. I rarely us DJ in front of my name.
I think I’m going to keep my name unless someone gives me one although it’s a pain to pronounce my last name. It’s also because I teach piano and I’d rather have them know me as a dj and a teacher under the same name.
@Andrew
Your last is unique enought that you could just go by Loay, or DJ Loay. Meh?
CASH IN HAND!! That’s when it hit me first!
I still feel weird calling myself a DJ sometimes. Especialy when I’m in the presence of a true master of the art! I start to think I’m not worthy.
BUT, when you have the crowd in the palm of your hand, and can do whatever you want and they just go nuts… BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD!!
I started calling myself a DJ once I started giving out mixes. And when I spun my first gig and had the only respectable dance floor out of four DJs, one of whom had been spinning for 15 years. I figured I had something good going 
You can call yourself a “DJ” any time. The hard part is being a good DJ and gain some respect of the crowd.
I have trouble calling myself a dj because i dont jockey discs 
You’re a bit jockey. You jockey bits.
BJ BentoSan
It’s the whole pronouncing it that’s the problem. You should hear telemarketers. “Hi is there a Mr. Lay-oy” It’s pronounced “loy”. But I guess we’ll see as I play for more people.
@Dvls
how did you come about with your name? Did you make one up or was it given to you?
I agree with dj3du. There as a thread I made about that not too long ago about when you should call yourself a “DJ”
That thread talked me out of focusing on “when can I call myself a dj” but instead focusing my energies on the “how to become a good dj”
I’ve been using DvlsAdvct for a long time, since before I was a DJ. When I was a kid I was always called a devil’s advocate, and it was too long to fit on websites.
So I shortened it. When it came time to pick a DJ name it was between DJ Peepers (don’t ask) and DvlsAdvct. I thought Peepers would be funny, but yeah, I like DvlsAdvct cause it kinda expressed my style and taste.
Heh…
DJ names are bollocks. Call yourself a DJ, or not. Do it whenever you like. Call yourself a DJ if all you do is hit play on an iPod for all I care. Your name means nothing, it’s what’s behind the name that counts? Do you have the skills (to pay the billz as it were)?
Don’t get caught up in all the junk about “it’s an honor” or “rite of passage.” Just play music, work hard, and come up with a DJ name whenever you like.
Seriously, you don’t see a band saying “nooo d00d, we don’t deserve a name yet.” Heh, usually it’s the FIRST thing they do (often while drunk)!
ultimately, whatever DJ moniker you choose just know it will stick with you for a very long time. Choose wisely, for while the right DJ name will bring you life, the bad one will take it from you…or something.
I hear alot of you cat’s about not calling yourself a DJ, but its a term used so people can know what you do. If you feel like calling yourself a dj, do it! Its like being called a MixMaster, now thats a term used when other dj’s respect you and you stand out in the game.
I really dont call myself a DJ anymore, I just go by JesC (Jesse), even tho my website say DJ JesC. I use it for business use only
lol !!!
My biological name is Cayo, but I went by my step dads name, (Edwards), all through-out my childhood. It wasn’t until I started working and paying taxes, that I IRS convinced/strongarmed me to switch. 
I’ve been going by Cayotic since junior year in high school. I remember trying to come up with something using a silver sharpy on a Case logic cover. It said “Cayotic Creations”. Back then I was more into basketball, music, art, and cars. Cayotic just stuck, even though it was self inflicted.
I didn’t hear DJ thrown around until around 2005 when I was helping an MC get through his set by switchin his CDs for him. Hes a local artist, but I had been listening to his music for years, and to start working with him and gaining his respect helped salitify the “DJ moniker”… I knew that if he supported me, a guy I looked up too, then that meant I was worthy. I humbly excepted it, and he encouraged me to head down that path.
I was starting to get burnt out with writing and musical production and it felt like it was an uphill battle. As a computer guy, I like to take the path of least resistance, and have been taught NOT to reinvent the wheel. Thats when I met the love of my life, Traktor 3.2. Oddly enough she was performing in a strip club in portland. Its kinda gay to say I was paying more attention to the DJ than the strippers. We were actually out promoting an album anyways, so I was there more for business, not pleasure. 