Okay so I recently had my first gig, for 13-year-olds… (I’m 16, so the music wasn’t too hard to find for this gig)and there was some of their parents there and now I might have gotten my self another gig… but the gig would be for one of the parents going away party. I have noooo idea what kind of music I should play for that kind of event for 40-year-olds EEEEK! I would assume something along the lines of certain parts wedding music playlists? Which I also have none of… If any of you have some track lists from anything, previous gigs, someone elses gig, a website, anything that could point me in the right direction so I can start collecting music for this. Also should I join a dj pool to get the music? If you know of any good websites for that as well that would be great if you could share them!
Some old hits, but well known recent dance/house work well to, it depends on what kind of crowd you’re DJing for. Try to “read the crowd” one of the most important things of the art of DJing.
i’m afraid i’m with lethal here, if you have no idea what to play there’s a big chance you could balls it up and damage youre reputation before you have one, i had to turn a regular gig down for the same reason, it was cheese and party, i was just honest and said it’s not really what i play so i didnt want to ruin it for them
He’s sixteen and playing for his friends’ parents. He’s not building a reputation, he’s gaining experience. Regardless of how he does, it’ll be good for him.
Okay so maybe I wasn’t completely clear… I know what some parents listen to, but I find each person in their 40’s has a completely different taste… Not easy to find a central taste in music. My parents seem to be a bit different on taste, as my dad listens to all the new EDM and such and my mom listens to just mainstream what the kids listen to.
Again, your best bet is to just ask them for a sample of what they listen to… have them give you 10 of their favorite songs. Once you get an idea, then you can branch out from there to find similar music.
The OP’s original post does not explicitly say this. He hasn’t said if it’s parents of friends, or if it’s a paying gig, or what…
It’ll be easy then. All you’ve got to do is build up an encyclopaedic collection (and knowledge) of popular and maybe-not-so-popular-but-still-good music from the 20 years (and beyond) prior to your birth (as well as your post-birth expertise), between now and whenever the gig is.
And hope perhaps that nobody turns up who is 40, is really into music, and has brought their iPod.
I think a wedding playlist would be perfect…Because they’re probably gonna want to hear a mix, of funk, soul, motown, classic rock, retro, and possibly some current stuff like black eyed peas “I gotta feelin’” barf. I can send you an excel sheet of my wedding playlist, but I hope you have a lot of time because it’ll take you a long time to acquire all the music. PM me your email.
This is a really vague statement that makes no sense.
Everyone in the general population is into wedding music. When you look at the general public, a large majority of them are only familiar with popular music, which is what wedding music is. Being 40 has nothing to do with it (and isn’t far off from how old I can for that matter). There’s a reason why everyone knows who The Beetles are, because they were one of the first boy bands in history, ie: popular music.
They didn’t hire you based on a resume or interview, they hired you because they saw what you were doing first hand, with that in mind you might not want to change too much of what you were doing. Don’t feel too much pressure to do anything beyond your ability, they liked what you did well enough to hire you. Secondly, you’re only sixteen! Not to say anything of your abilities, your talent, your resources, or whatever, but it’s a good idea to know whats expected of you. At your age, your skill level, and probably your hourly or event rate, these people aren’t going to expect the world of you. Take advantage of the learning experience, do it to it!
