Feb162010
If you have been on the DJ circuit for longer than a month then I am certain you will have come across these phrases from event managers and promoters before - all of which should set off those little alarm bells ringing inside your head.
Perhaps you have a keen eye for this kind of stuff and can spot them a mile away in emails you have received or maybe you are completely new to the whole DJing scene and you want to discover the phrases you will come across time and time again - and the ones to look out for!
Whatever your experience, I’m sure this article will ring true for DJs and shady promoters across the globe.
“If you can play the first event for free I’ll consider booking you regularly”
Normally this is backed up by “We don’t know if you are any good yet” or other such phrasing. I reckon most DJs will have heard something like this more often than not. They will try to coax you into playing a free set with the promise of more work in the future, perhaps even dangling a residency carrot in your face. Unfortunately most of the time this work is non-existent and you end up playing a one-off event for free.
You must be wary of this type of promoter because they are looking out for their own best interests and not yours.
What they’re really saying: I don’t have a lot of money and I don’t know anybody else, but I’m going to lie to your face as I want to get something for nothing. Any chance you’ll believe me?
“Sure I can pay you, but only if you sell X number of tickets”
Unfortunately in today’s industry this has to be the one that pisses me off the most.
I think it riles me up so much because I am asked to do something that is not in my job description - selling tickets. I am not a promoter, I am a DJ. I have little to no experience of promoting events and selling tickets. Why not? Because that’s not my job!
My job is to rock the dance floor and to give the crowd a good time. It just seems really weird that in order for me to be financially rewarded for doing my job behind the decks I have to do someone else’s job of selling tickets. Sorry, but no.
The worst ones are those that get you to buy a book of tickets upfront. You only get paid if you sell enough to turn a commission, but if you can’t sell enough tickets then you are out of pocket.
What they’re really saying: Look, we couldn’t give a shit how tight your beat matching is or how well you can structure a set, we don’t even give a f**k if the crowd has a good night or not, all that matters to us is the number of people through the door and how much money you can make us.
“Im running this event for charity so I was wondering if you cold come and DJ for free”
The good old classic charity event. Now I have nothing against charities on the whole. I feel a lot of them are standing for very humane and just causes. But as soon as you hear the word “charity” in relation to DJ work, you can bet your left testicle the next few words will include either “discount” or free”. And because of this you have to be very careful of those using the word “charity” just to try and get something for nothing.
Charities that do it properly will no doubt ask you for a discount or free set but they will do it through official channels, on headed paper and give you their registered charity number without you having to ask for it.
Be wary of those “charities” and check them out in full before accpeting any work from them. Don’t be afraind to say no to these people. Its possible for promoters to liberally use the word “charity” in the hope fo getting something for nothing. Although they might be a charity, you however are not.
What they’re really saying: Ive been asked to put on an event with a budget of zero. Im going to losely base the event around a charity in the hope of getting a load of DJs to play for free. Are you one of them?
“I’ll put your name on all the flyers and give you loads of exposure”
or “This is a great opportunity for you to play alongside some of the top names in the industry”
Now this is a good one. Here’s a situation where it appears the client now knows whats best for you in your flyer portfolio. They assume that the DJ set you will play for them will be so amazing that you’ll want to feature it in your DJ CV.
The big alarm bell here is that they are the kind of promoter who thinks that they know best. They are going to be expecting the best DJ set in the world from you but sadly they will seldom have the budget to pay for it.
What they’re really saying: Hey, Ive seen you’ve DJ’d at some great events, but I want you to come and put your name to ours where we will demand you play for twice as long for a fraction the money because we’ve blown all of our cash on the headline act. Its OK though because our event will look great on your DJ CV.
“I don’t have a large budget but I can help promote your site”
This is kind of two phrases combined into one when it comes to alarm bell phrases. Normally its said all at once just like the phrase above, but don’t get caught out if they’re said alone. Both “I don’t have a large budget” and “I can help promote your site” are individual phrases that should be avoided at all costs.
What they’re really saying: I want to put on my event for next to nothing and in order to get that done, I’ll tell you that I know famous people and/or can get you tons of exposure.
What do you reckon?
Are there any phrases missing from this list? What do you think they are? Let me know in the comments if you have come across any of the alarm bell phrases before or if you have got some yourself that perhaps aren’t listed here. There just has to be more…
Jan222010
I get very flattered when people ask me for advice. It makes me feel like I actually know what I’m doing when people look to me for help.
Recently, I received an email which went along the lines of this:
“I am going to be DJing a Funky House event and I want to drop an acapella in the middle of my set to get the dance floor even more pumping then it already will be..
“I wanted to ask you have you ever stopped your set and dropped an acapella… with no beats just purely the song itself? Do you think it’s too risky? I don’t want to get boooed!
“My aim is to make a really good impression with the promoter… but this could go both ways.. !”
Have I ever stopped my set halfway through? Yes. But there was always a reason. Sometimes I needed to switch the style of music from Soulful House to Funky House or from Funky House to more of an Electro sound where I’ve had to do it quickly without transitioning between records.
Most of the time the reason is that a certain stlye or genre just isn’t working on the dancefloor for whatever reason.
You’ve got to ask yourself why you want to kill the music mid flow. Usually, reasons are not premeditated like this and stopping the music mid set is more of a tool to get you out of trouble.
Theres no chance of you getting booed AS LONG AS you dont kill the vibe by stopping the music when the crowd are peaking. Building a momentum and a relationship with the crowd in a set always takes time and you don’t want to ruin the last 20 minutes of hard work building the crowd into a frenzy just to bring them to an anti-climax.
If you feel you must drop this acapella then perhaps it would be best to try and do it over the last few outro beats of the preceeding record. Then you can smooth fade into the acapella and let it run as you intend. This way there is no sudden stop to the music and you can still acheive what you want to do musically with your set.
You will get more respect from the crowd doing this rather than a simple stop/start. For extra kudos, you could follow up with a “live” mash-up by fading in a different instrumental track underneath the vocal as it plays.
If you are doing this to impress the promoter then simply don’t bother. The promoter will not (most of the time) care how good your ability to mix is or even your accurate tune selection. The main priority for the promoter is to get people through the doors.
Perhaps the acapella would sound best at the start of the set rather than halfway through. I think it would have more impact this way. At the end of the day, it’s your set and we wouldn’t get anywhere in this world unless we experimented with things from time to time.
Jul152009
I thought I would share a few tricks of the trade and let you all know what goes through my head when deciding on the soundtrack to someones best night out.
Know Your Music
This is kind of a given for all DJs. You should know each end every track in your box before you play it out. I’m not saying you should mentally absorb every 16 bars like some kind of Rain Man, but you should know which tracks have long intros, which ones are slow/fast and the general vibe of the track.
Your set should flow smoothly and you should instinctively have about four or five tracks in your head that will mix beautifully out of the track currently playing. If you start clashing styles and wildly variant BPMs, the crowd won’t know where they are and neither will you.
If you find yourself with some brand new promos that you haven’t heard yet, listen to them in the car on the way to the venue to familiarise yourself with them.
Who Is DJing Before And After Your Set?
It may be the case that you are DJing a mixed genre night, or the DJ that is on after you might be playing different class of music at a different BPM. You should always pay attention to the last couple of tracks that the DJ before you has played and start your set off with something that is similar but still keeping with your own style.
For example, if I am Djing after a Garage DJ, I might kick off my set with something by Martin Solveig which is quite breaky, or I might play a funky house remix of a well known Garage tune. This helps to keep the crowd on your side when you step up and also makes the transition between DJs a smooth one.
Take The Crowd On A Journey
Without getting too philosophical, this is quite an integral part of your DJ set. As well as tunes being played that mix nicely into each other by having a similar vibe, you always have to be thinking about the long run, the kind of tracks that you played at the start of your set and the kind of stuff you think the crowd would enjoy at the end of your set.
Its no good playing some piano led Jamie Wamie track before mixing it straight into a bit of Prodigy. It just does not work.
I always like to start my sets off at a slower BPM and a more chilled vibe before gradually working up the tempo throughout the night. By the end of my set I think I’m always playing something quite nasty and electro-y.
But be sure to pace yourself with your track selection otherwise you will just end up DJing yourself into a corner. What I mean by this is don’t play those killer tracks you have too soon. I know you are eager to hear them on a loud sound sytem but if you peak to early then you’ll run out of steam and won’t have any tracks left in your bag that have the same impact and your set will taper off.
You’ve started out chilled, worked up into the peak of your set, only to leave yourself with nowhere to go and only 30 minutes in. Keep an eye on the time and how long you have left in your set and play your records accordingly.
Don’t Plan Your Set
Yes, this is a list of how to plan your set, but one thing that you must avoid at all costs is writing down a religious track-by-track listing that you stick to for the whole night. As a DJ you must be flexible to what you are playing and always go with the crowd depending on their reactions.
Make sure you have enough music on hand to go off on slight tangents and take your sound a little more vocal, a little more deeper or a little more banging depending on the mood of the night.
Label Your Tunes
Something that I have started to do lately is to label my tracks when I go out. I normally sort my music by the month that I purchased them and have them in a double-height CD wallet.
The top row holds the printed track listing (or back of the CD artwork), and the bottom row holds the CD. I found a load of coloured stickered circles in my flat a while ago and so I thought I should put them to good use. Next to each track on the listing, I put a coloured sticker beside it depending on the music style.
So if its a laid back down tempo track, it gets a green sticker. If its a track that fits into my set pretty much anywhere, it gets a yellow sticker. Floor fillers and guaranteed anthems get a blue sticker while dirty nasty electro filth gets a red sticker.
So now when I am playing a track and I decide I want to step it up a notch, or if I am hitting the peak time of my set, I can speedily fly through my CDs looking at colours rather than track names and it helps me to find a suitable tune to play a hell of a lot quicker.
Know Your Toilet Track
When I say a “Toilet Track” I don’t mean a crap record. I’m on about a tune or two that you have in your collection that is quite a lengthy tune in case you get caught short. This is a great tip for when you find yourself playing longer DJ sets and you need to relieve yourself halfway through.
My Favourite is the 8 minute Monster Mix of Faithless Insomnia. Stick that on and you have a good few minutes to locate the restroom and take care of business before you need to get back and cue up the next record. Or you could always have 2 tracks pre-mixed on CD that you could play but the crowd might boo you when you get back!
Your First Track Is The Most Important
Your first track of your DJ set is the most important track you will play. It sets the mood and the tempo for the whole night. It sounds obvious, but before you play your track make sure it is cued up exactly where you want it and double check that pitch adjust. If the previous DJ has left it on +8 you will have a tough time bringing the tempo back down to a sensible level without looking like a nob.
Also, do not choose a record that has a stupidly long intro. Crowds are fickle people and they will not hang around to listen to 2 minutes of beats before something “happens”. Choose a track with a short intro, or (and this is what I often do) find a record that sounds amazing but has a very DJ-unfriendly intro. By that I mean it will start without beats and launch straight into a melody or a vocal solo. DJ-unfriendly tracks are a bitch to mix midway through your set so if you can play it as your first tune then no mixing is required.
Two CDs Are Better Than One
Now you have built the crowd up into a frenzy. They are going nuts, there’s crowd surfing going on and they are all chanting your name. And you know exactly the track that you want to play next to blow the roof off!
Trouble is, its on the CD that is currently playing. Oh dear. Some pieces of DJ kit will allow you to play a track from a CD that is already playing, but if you do not have that luxury, then all you need to do is make 2 copies of each CD that you take out to the venue. Not only does this allow you maximum flexibility during your set, but you also have a backup in case you find that one of the CDs is scratched and won’t load.
Stick To The Music Policy
If you are booked to play Funky House, don’t go sticking in Trance into your set no matter which drunken oik finds their way to the DJ booth and keeps demanding it. You have been booked to play a specific style of music and you should keep to it. Make sure the agreed music policy is defined in your contract. Perhaps you could crossover a little into other genres, for example I have no problem dropping Scram towards the end of a night but I would not launch into a full-on breakbeat set.
Perhaps you are booked to play in a bar where you are expected to play all kinds of genres of commercial music. In which case, keep it commercial and don’t stray too far into the underground sound. Remember, you are there to play for the person who booked you and not for yourself.
Keep Back Your Secret Weapons Until You Need Them
Right now you have in your collection a handful of tracks that you know will be the highlight of the night and make you a DJ legend when you play them. Make sure you keep hold of these gems until deep into your set and that you do not play them out too soon. If you use up all of your killer tracks at the start of your set, you find you have nothing left during your peak time moment.
Most of all, have fun! I find that DJing is such a good laugh and I always have such a great time doing it. If you would like to hear what I sound like, come and listen to my Funky House Radio Show at Platform Six and if you want to book me for your next event, please get in touch.
Mar082009
I was on Facebook the other day and got chatting to someone who wanted to ask my advice on a couple of pointers for their first ever live booking as a funky house DJ.
This got me thinking that there isn’t too much sensible advice out there that is readily available on the subject so I thought I would offer up my top tips list based on the conversation that I had. This person’s first gig was in a bar rather than a big club so my tips are based from that perspective.
Its OK To Be Nervous
This is quite important. It’s a big step moving from the relative safe realms of bedroom mixing to then be stepping out into the big world of live DJing. Nerves can strike at any time and they are especially worst during your first ever mix.
To be honest, there is not much you can do about this but just know that this has happened to every single DJ ever in the world and you are no different. If anything it shows you care about doing a good job.
Have a beer or something to relax you but don’t get drunk - you are at work after all!
Don’t Worry About Beat Perfect Mixing
In the world of DJing and DJs, you will often find yourself analysing other DJ mixes and spotting little tiny errors and miskates here and there.
All I can say is this does not matter when you are playing out on a system that is louder than your bedroom set-up. As long as your beats are near enough in, the crowd will usually not have enough ‘DJ knowledge’ to spot the tiny flaws you may find if you played the mix back to yourself.
If you get into trouble, just cut the track over quickly and move on to the next track. If you are doing your job correctly, the crowd will be enjoying the music selection too much to notice tiny imperfections in the mix.
Don’t Play A Pre-Arranged Set
This is one of my biggest hates. As a DJ it is your job to be flexible and adaptive with what you play. You should be able to read a crowd and play more pianos if that fills up the floor, or play more filth if the crowd are begging for it harder.
If you turn up with a pre planned set and you know what tune is going to go into what tune and when, then you are insulting the crowd by dictating to them what you want to hear and you are also lowering your own standards as a DJ.
Every time you play you should be finding that balance between your own style and keeping the crowd entertained. There is no way you can do this if you have your entire set planned out before you even cue up your first track.
Don’t Play Every Request
As a DJ you will get your fair share of muppets who will rock up to the DJ booth and ask you something stupid. They won’t quite get the idea of the night you are playing or even understand the concept of a DJ.
“Oh go on, play this track. Its awesome, It will get everyone dancing.”
“I’m leaving in 10 minutes, can you play this track before I go?”
“Please play it. Please. Pretty please. Pleaaasssseeee?”
It winds me up a treat. If you know a good song that everyone will dance to then YOU be a DJ. If you are leaving in 10 minutes, why wait? F**k off now! Please? Pretty please? No.
Whatever is a great track for one person might be the worst track in the world for someone else. If you get caught up trying to please everybody by playing everything they ask your set will not flow, it will be all over the place and you will find yourself spinning round in circles.
I find it frustrating as I feel it’s people trying to tell me how to do my job. Don’t misunderstand, there’s nothing wrong with playing a couple of sensible requests from people, but what do you do when they want a Drum and Bass track on a House night? Or you are playing some cutting edge deep House promo you’ve just been sent and someone asks for Katy f**ing Perry? You can’t tell them to piss off (as much as you would like to) as it’s your first gig and you can’t be rude to the punters.
If you need to ward off idiots, keep these in mind:
- “Sorry, it’s a funky house night tonight, the management won’t let me play any Drum and Bass.”
- “OK, cool, I’ll have a look for it. (have a rummage through your CDs) Sorry, I don’t have it with me tonight.”
- “Yeah, I think I’ve got that with me. (pretend to play a CD) Aw, no! The CD is scratched!”
You should always think “prick” but say “tut”.
A Dude’s Gotta get Paid
Charge for your time, don’t play a free set. If the venue is serious about you playing there, then make sure you get paid. Even if its only a few quid to cover your travel expenses or you should at least get free drinks for the night.
You want to DJ live and so you are happy to do a free set, I get that. I used to do it myself. But time and time again, promoters would continually take the piss out of me and I got fed up with it.
It’s weird but I actually found that by charging money (any amount will do), you will get a bit more respect from the promoter and charging a fee will actually increase your bookings. Don’t sell yourself short, you are good at what you do and that should be recognised.
If you must play a free set, then play your second booking for free, not your first. This way, the management gets you ‘half price’ for two nights and if you make a mess of the first booking, you have a chance to redeem yourself on the second night.
You Are Your Own One Man Publicity Machine
Get some business cards made up. They don’t need to be expensive. In fact there is a pretty good company that I use to get mine done. They are dirt cheap and high quality. Check out VistaPrint for more info.
You don’t need anything fancy, just something on good quality card with your DJ name and a contact phone number, plus email address and web site if you have one. Don’t print them yourself - you will look like a joke.
You never know who you might meet when playing out and it would be a shame if your favourite promoter walked in and you were totally unprepared. Unlikely, but you never know. Almost half of my bookings have come from someone I have met whilst at a previous gig.
Get A Contract
This is probably one of the most important things you should ever do. To find out why I think this, check out my previous post.
Take A Pen And Paper With You
I learnt this tip from a fellow mobile DJ friend of mine. You may not think it at first, but a pen and paper is an absolute godsend if someone is trying to communicate with you.
If the music is too loud, or the guest is too drunk or someone is trying to talk to you while you are in the mix (GAH!), then just shove a pen and paper in their hand. They can write down what they want while you carry on with more important things. Like mixing and stuff.
I’ve got one of these because its so simple any idiot can use it. Plus there’s a little mini-shelf to rest on too! Take about 50 cheap pens with you and keep them in your DJ bag as pens often get nicked when you need them most.
Ditch The Ego
You are not Mr Big. (Unless, that actually is your surname… in which case, I guess you are… well done) Don’t swagger around like you own the place and you are the best thing in the world. Be confident, but humble. Chances are your fist gig will be in a bit of a dive (mine was) and having a self-inflamed opinion of yourself will get you shown the door. And quickly.
Upsell
ALWAYS follow up at the end of the night. Go and have a word with the manager when it is convenient and tell him you really enjoyed the night (even if you didn’t) and you would like to come back regularly if he wants you to. Ask him if he enjoyed the night as well and when away from the manager ask the staff too. It’s always good to get the staff on your side because chances are they’re the first people the manager will ask for an opinion of the night after you have left.
Be polite, friendly and approachable. Just like with any employee, you have to have good people skills as well as being able to do your job properly.
Pay Attention to The bottom Line
The bottom line is always money. The manager does not care about how well you can mix. He cares about making money. He employs staff to serve the beer and you to serve the music
But you can make a good impression by filling up the venue on your opening night. As long as your mates are not a rowdy lot, get as many of them down to see you play as possible. A packed bar full of people loving the music, spending money at the bar and increasing takings will reflect well on you and will help you to get regular bookings.
Share the Love
If you know of any fellow DJs who would find these tips useful, then point them in the direction of this page. There are buttons below for sharing on Digg.com and Facebook too. Please leave a comment if you found these tips helpful.
Good luck with your first gig!
Feb122009
I’ve managed to secure myself a regular slot on the world famous SSRadioUK.com, one of the biggest names in internet radio for the House genre.
Launching on the 19th February, you can tune in live and catch me playing the best in fresh, upfront funky house music between the hours of 2am and 4am.
I’m putting this out there under the Platform Six banner and I will be hosting a regular 2 hour weekly show that will include exclusives, special guests and a couple of club classics alongside the usual helping of funky house and dancefloor dirt.
If you have any ideas for the show or any music that you would like to contribute, please get in touch.
And for my regular podcast listeners, don’t worry, my regular monthly mixes on my own site will still be pushed out on the 1st of each month.
To tune in live into my new airtime slot, all you need to do is go to www.ssradiouk.com and click on the “Listen Live” link in the top right corner. Or you can listen again in the archives after the show.
