So I’m 18, a bedroom DJ and a big fan of clubbing.
Very soon, though, I’ll be moving to the US (Bay area, specifically) for College. In the US, the minimum age for entering a nightclub is 21, I believe.
Here, the legal age is 18, but I’ve been clubbing since I was much younger. What’s the situation like over there? Do I have any chance of getting in, or do I need to prepare for a 3-year hiatus?
Also, I’ve been doing this bedroom DJ-ing thing for about a year now, and I was thinking of moving up to club play once I feel comfortable with my skills. I was wondering what the situation is like in the US for underage DJs. Do they make exceptions for DJs, or will I have to wait until I turn 21?
Well one of the best DJs to come out of my city lately started DJing clubs when he was 17. Last time he played out (he’s like 18 or 19 now) he just brought a bottle of grey goose with him and drank it in the booth. I believe the promoter and bar just kind of looked the other way.
So it is possible to do so. I guess you’ll have to have a good relationship with the club. I was drinking in clubs at 18. Got a lot of drinks taken away. But I still did it. Beware though. Some clubs have different policies. They might just kick you out and ban you all together. Risky business. lol
Depends on the club, or with some clubs it depends on the night. Some events are 21+ only, some are 18+ but you get X’s on your hands if you are under 21. You have to have a wristband to drink.
There are a lot of clubs (at least in the Chicago area) that are 17+ to enter and 21+ to drink. Granted, the majority of them are 21+ to enter, but I can think of at least 4 or 5 off the top of my head that you can enter at 17.
dude my girlfriend goes to university of chicago and told me about how few events are anything but 21+ up there, it was unbelievable to me. here in atlanta it’s like a 50/50 18+/21+. i think it depends on the markets?
Yeah that’s true. When there are big events a lot of the time it is 21+. I’m just talking about clubs open once a week- just regular nights where they have resident dj’s spin. I guess I should’ve clarified that most of the clubs I’m talking about aren’t actually in Chicago, but rather are located in places within, say, a 10-20 mile radius of the city.
I would not worry about your age too much. I moved to the Bay area when I was 19 and started playing a lot of clubs with a fake ID. few people ever checked though so its pretty easy to work while under age.
When i used to play in the bay a lot back in 2000, i had a friend there he was like 14-15 at this time but already an awesome dj, Kid Carson, the trick he used to pull out to be able to play was to get in the venue before the security, just hide somewhere until the security checked everyone’s ID, the pop up in the booth ( in the rave scene back in the days they were extra super cautious… )
there is alot of 18+ clubs in Cali, you’ll find more 21+, but when it comes to dj-ing I havent seen a problem. IF your really good at what you do, age doesnt matter too much as long as ur not under age drinking.
If your going to college, you will find alot of 18+.
I know the one party I went to in Berkeley was 18+. Now, in Manhattan, almost every event is 21+, so it’s a struggle to find a Friday/Saturday in a venue that can afford the insurance for under 21, AND has a reasonable (>$3000) bar guarantee.
Fish… being that their eyes are on the side should not stare back. But then again we do that in the scioto river here too. We do have Battelle in Columbus btw… Think WW2 / Manhattan project lol. Seriously though, this city is nasty.
In my experience in clubs, most of the hiring of DJs happens by the promoter, not the manager. If you are an employee of the venue (barback, for example) you can be under 21 and legally be there. In some states, I think, you can be 18 and serve alcohol, just can’t drink it.
It’s usually worth getting a good fake ID (coming from someone who never had one) but if you are going out exclusively as a DJ then you might be okay. And if you spin regularly at one club you make friends with security
( in the rave scene back in the days they were extra super cautious… )