Bargler
I'm new...both to this forum and to DJing as a whole and I'll be the first to admit it. I won't try to give you any pro tips, as there are many on this forum far more qualified, but there are some differences between being a pro dj and a party dj that I've seen and hopefully a tip or two from here will help a dj or two as they prep.
1. Read the crowd. I know, I know...everybody says that but I think it is far more important for a house party. The crowd doesn't know what you are going to play and there is no understanding that Club X plays music Y. You might be walking into a chillout crowd or even hip hop. Be ready to drop the 3 hour hard trance set you've been working on for a month.
2. Music trumps Mix. If you have to do a clunky fade out in order to bring in the top40 song everyone is begging for, do it. Most people at the party expected the music to be a mismatched mess of songs off of the host's cd player. Though they'll love a nicely mixed set, they demand good music first...and THEY define what music is good, not you.
3. Let the host (and maybe a few from the crowd) tinker with your equipment a bit. Nothing stops the "Oh, it's just a computer program doing it for you" talk like sticking them in front of the machine. They can't scratch your records or break your needle with VDJ so let them have at it! I usually dj house parties alone, so I need a few minutes of breaktime between sets. I'll announce my break to the crowd and then introduce the host as "guest DJ" then go to the bathroom.
99% of the time, while relieving yourself you'll hear the easy 4/4 trance song you left them with turn into a really ugly mix. Ironically, that is what you want. You come back after 2 minutes, the crowd is loving the fact that the host is falling flat (they know him, and we all love to make fun of our friends) and the host has a big sheepish grin on his embarrassed face. When you take his mess and bring it back to the groove and explode into something massive, they'll love you and you won't hear any "I could do it on a computer too...it's automatic" talk the rest of the night. You've probably also convinced the host that you are the world's best DJ and he'll be asking you back for next month's party.
4. If the crowd isn't there, stick in a mix set cd and enjoy the party. You probably aren't getting paid anyway, right? There are times when you can do more to pump the party from the floor than from behind the decks.
5. If the crowd just isn't feeling it, stick in a mix set cd and go onto the floor yourself. Find a couple of attractive females that seem to be more into it than the self-conscious males leaning against the wall. YOU start dancing to the mix cd and pull in that girl or two. Trust me...at a house party, 2 or 3 attractive females on the dancefloor will turn a death-metal fan into a trance fan in under 4 minutes flat. ;)
6. Not everybody will dance. I don't care if you are Tiesto or DJ Shadow...there will be people there who just don't feel it. Let it go. There is nothing you can do. Concentrate on the "core" of the party...the ones with the least inhibitions that are having the most fun. Instead of spending an hour trying to find the magic ingredient to pull the self-conscious guys out of the bar, spend that time taking the core up another level. The guys at the bar are more than likely not electronic music fans and there isn't much you can do amidst their alcohol haze to change that in one night. On the other hand, the energy from the core of the party might just pull them in. I've gotten many "I'm not a fan of the music, but the energy from the floor to you and back was AWESOME!" comments. One of them was a gother in white face paint...no joke.
7. Continuing from #6, play to the core of the party. If you know them, great...find out when they plan on really getting down...what time they are leaving, etc. I've gone so far as to poll them of what substances they are on, and when they consumed them. I'm not advocating drug use of any kind, but all information is good information. 20 people wandering over from the bar after Jager shots will NOT want the same music as the very same people who smoked some grass or are rolling.
8. Stay sober! You have to be sharp. Think of the gig as a club where everybody there knows the owner. They'll be happy to rip you down in front of the host if you fall on your face. You don't have a light show, club atmosphere, mystique, or uber-loud PA speakers to cover up your errors. Besides, a year from now when you are a big touring DJ, you'll want them to come back and spend $20 to see you. :)
9. Have fun! You are right in their faces next to the floor. You need to move...you need to have energy. You aren't protected with a DJ booth. If you flub a mix, laugh it off and keep going. If they see you getting frustrated, it is a real downer on the floor. I use "Distortion" (David Geatta??) as my mistake fixer. The song begins with a bad mix and a voice over complaining about it. From there it comes together and really pumps. It has really saved my ass a few times. If you can find a song like this, keep it handy.
I once had a bad mix going with the beats falling apart from the tracks. I let it go for about 30 seconds until EVERY person on the floor was staring at me like I was insane. My head was buried in the mixer like I didn't know there was a problem. Just before the music turned into absolute white noise, I look up, give a big beaming smile like I knew what I was doing all along and then cue "Distortion". The missed mix became a sort of dis-harmonious build up. It came off great.
10. No ego. You aren't the greatest and nobody is at the party because you are there.
11. Make sure everyone there knows your name. Don't overkill it, but at the end of your set, make sure they know who you are so that they'll recognize your name on the local clubs marquee in the not so distant (hopefully) future. You are networking.
12. Always play second to the host. Again, you aren't the party, they are. I end my sets with "My name is Bargler and let's all give it up to (insert host name) for bringing us to the music, and the music to us." The host feels like a king and will already be planning the next party...and inviting you.
13. Don't take tips. This is just my personal opinion, but it is inappropriate to take tips at a gig where the host is out of pocket for party supplies. If someone insists on tipping, tell them to find the host and drop in a few bucks for the beer/cleanup fund. Better yet, pull the host over and tell them, "hey, this guy just tipped me $5. Put it towards the beer." You might be a starving DJ now, but I am convinced that the attitude of "music not money" will, ironically, be more profitable in the future. Don't be alarmed if the host's eye's cross. You are probably the only person that ponied up for the beer, not to mention the fact that you are the only person there that is working!
Bargler
1. Read the crowd. I know, I know...everybody says that but I think it is far more important for a house party. The crowd doesn't know what you are going to play and there is no understanding that Club X plays music Y. You might be walking into a chillout crowd or even hip hop. Be ready to drop the 3 hour hard trance set you've been working on for a month.
2. Music trumps Mix. If you have to do a clunky fade out in order to bring in the top40 song everyone is begging for, do it. Most people at the party expected the music to be a mismatched mess of songs off of the host's cd player. Though they'll love a nicely mixed set, they demand good music first...and THEY define what music is good, not you.
3. Let the host (and maybe a few from the crowd) tinker with your equipment a bit. Nothing stops the "Oh, it's just a computer program doing it for you" talk like sticking them in front of the machine. They can't scratch your records or break your needle with VDJ so let them have at it! I usually dj house parties alone, so I need a few minutes of breaktime between sets. I'll announce my break to the crowd and then introduce the host as "guest DJ" then go to the bathroom.
99% of the time, while relieving yourself you'll hear the easy 4/4 trance song you left them with turn into a really ugly mix. Ironically, that is what you want. You come back after 2 minutes, the crowd is loving the fact that the host is falling flat (they know him, and we all love to make fun of our friends) and the host has a big sheepish grin on his embarrassed face. When you take his mess and bring it back to the groove and explode into something massive, they'll love you and you won't hear any "I could do it on a computer too...it's automatic" talk the rest of the night. You've probably also convinced the host that you are the world's best DJ and he'll be asking you back for next month's party.
4. If the crowd isn't there, stick in a mix set cd and enjoy the party. You probably aren't getting paid anyway, right? There are times when you can do more to pump the party from the floor than from behind the decks.
5. If the crowd just isn't feeling it, stick in a mix set cd and go onto the floor yourself. Find a couple of attractive females that seem to be more into it than the self-conscious males leaning against the wall. YOU start dancing to the mix cd and pull in that girl or two. Trust me...at a house party, 2 or 3 attractive females on the dancefloor will turn a death-metal fan into a trance fan in under 4 minutes flat. ;)
6. Not everybody will dance. I don't care if you are Tiesto or DJ Shadow...there will be people there who just don't feel it. Let it go. There is nothing you can do. Concentrate on the "core" of the party...the ones with the least inhibitions that are having the most fun. Instead of spending an hour trying to find the magic ingredient to pull the self-conscious guys out of the bar, spend that time taking the core up another level. The guys at the bar are more than likely not electronic music fans and there isn't much you can do amidst their alcohol haze to change that in one night. On the other hand, the energy from the core of the party might just pull them in. I've gotten many "I'm not a fan of the music, but the energy from the floor to you and back was AWESOME!" comments. One of them was a gother in white face paint...no joke.
7. Continuing from #6, play to the core of the party. If you know them, great...find out when they plan on really getting down...what time they are leaving, etc. I've gone so far as to poll them of what substances they are on, and when they consumed them. I'm not advocating drug use of any kind, but all information is good information. 20 people wandering over from the bar after Jager shots will NOT want the same music as the very same people who smoked some grass or are rolling.
8. Stay sober! You have to be sharp. Think of the gig as a club where everybody there knows the owner. They'll be happy to rip you down in front of the host if you fall on your face. You don't have a light show, club atmosphere, mystique, or uber-loud PA speakers to cover up your errors. Besides, a year from now when you are a big touring DJ, you'll want them to come back and spend $20 to see you. :)
9. Have fun! You are right in their faces next to the floor. You need to move...you need to have energy. You aren't protected with a DJ booth. If you flub a mix, laugh it off and keep going. If they see you getting frustrated, it is a real downer on the floor. I use "Distortion" (David Geatta??) as my mistake fixer. The song begins with a bad mix and a voice over complaining about it. From there it comes together and really pumps. It has really saved my ass a few times. If you can find a song like this, keep it handy.
I once had a bad mix going with the beats falling apart from the tracks. I let it go for about 30 seconds until EVERY person on the floor was staring at me like I was insane. My head was buried in the mixer like I didn't know there was a problem. Just before the music turned into absolute white noise, I look up, give a big beaming smile like I knew what I was doing all along and then cue "Distortion". The missed mix became a sort of dis-harmonious build up. It came off great.
10. No ego. You aren't the greatest and nobody is at the party because you are there.
11. Make sure everyone there knows your name. Don't overkill it, but at the end of your set, make sure they know who you are so that they'll recognize your name on the local clubs marquee in the not so distant (hopefully) future. You are networking.
12. Always play second to the host. Again, you aren't the party, they are. I end my sets with "My name is Bargler and let's all give it up to (insert host name) for bringing us to the music, and the music to us." The host feels like a king and will already be planning the next party...and inviting you.
13. Don't take tips. This is just my personal opinion, but it is inappropriate to take tips at a gig where the host is out of pocket for party supplies. If someone insists on tipping, tell them to find the host and drop in a few bucks for the beer/cleanup fund. Better yet, pull the host over and tell them, "hey, this guy just tipped me $5. Put it towards the beer." You might be a starving DJ now, but I am convinced that the attitude of "music not money" will, ironically, be more profitable in the future. Don't be alarmed if the host's eye's cross. You are probably the only person that ponied up for the beer, not to mention the fact that you are the only person there that is working!
Bargler
Mensajes Tue 31 Aug 04 @ 8:18 pm