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i don't see the big deal. i played a party this saturday for a friend, mainly a hip-hop/classic rock crowd, it's much better to mix things you like if you're actually friends with many of the people at the party, simply because they'll probably understand the motive for you playing the track you're playing.

but really, i think the key to playing at parties that listen to music you normally don't listen to is to just have a good time. play some snoop dogg, play some dr.dre, play some funny shit that'll get peoples attention.

when people are drunk, they'll usually move to whatever catches their ear, all about understanding who you're playing for.

p.s: this went down as fuck on saturday, especially for the girls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nmXrCJIsAo

quote:

Originally posted by Imu it's not that simple. where I go for example, the EDM scene is dead. If there is an EDM scene it consists of bad house (calabria, rise up, world hold on), sickening electro-glitch, or cascada (and maybe some daft punk). And yeah, the only consolation is that you're getting experience on the dancefloor.

new york is not far from CT.

ffs i know people from NH that would travel to Montreal and Boston for gigs...you have to chase them, "the scene is dead" is not an excuse if you want to play.

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Originally posted by elFreak new york is not far from CT. ffs i know people from NH that would travel to Montreal and Boston for gigs...you have to chase them, "the scene is dead" is not an excuse if you want to play.

that's very true...but since we're discussing college parties in this post, "the scene" refers to college parties lol


also, i agree that people should keep an open mind about music and don't. honestly, I have a pretty shitty time dj-ing college parties because i can't play what i want to. what's more frustrating is that most of the time when my set is technically brilliant, no one notices, and a lot of times i can play the worst set of my life, but as long as the songs are good people are like "omg wow that was amazing"...sometimes i wonder what the average person thinks a dj is doing behind the decks and the fancy equipment. A lot of ppl I talk to are like "I always think DJs just try to pose with their headphones"...which is kind of annoying

Either way, I think the best solution is to get plastered when dj-ing a set at college parties. It makes life less painful. And I used to get pretty annoyed when I got the "are u going to play something I can dance to?" comments...but if the girl's hot and u can get some out of it, then why not lol

^^^ im totally agreeing with the last statement, i play killer sets for my friends, and my own enjoyment, but at "dance" parties i play popular hip hop mixed with electronica and house. Keep the hot girls dancing and the night goes over well.

I encourage everyone to get some experience playing for mainstream/top40 crowd, esp. new bedroom DJs

Not that something I'd do anymore, because I'm rather tired of playing cheese, but I still keep a cd wallet full of some cheese in case I do get stuck playing gigs that requires me to play cheese.

Interesting how you can play with the crowd by starting with some remixes of popular tunes, and slowly build up to some marco v and len faki. Of course, providing that everyone is sufficiently liquored up lol.

But yeah, I turn down gigs if I know it's going to be mostly mainstream crowd

also, u learn over time that the hot girls control the dance floor.

no hot girls on dancefloor = no horny guys trying to dance with them = empty dancefloor = bad reviews as a dj

Armin (#1 dj to add some ethos to this statement lol) himself says that ur priority as a DJ is to ensure that ur crowd is satisfied...so while thay may be selling out...it depends on what ur trying to achieve. college DJs mainly want money and girls...so that approach works. if ur looking for integrity and showing off ur skills etc...u need to be spinning at smaller parties...especially if ur at college

quote:

Originally posted by Imu also, u learn over time that the hot girls control the dance floor. no hot girls on dancefloor = no horny guys trying to dance with them = empty dancefloor = bad reviews as a dj

have you ever spun at a proper edm club?

quote:

Armin (#1 dj to add some ethos to this statement lol) himself says that ur priority as a DJ is to ensure that ur crowd is satisfied...so while thay may be selling out...it depends on what ur trying to achieve. college DJs mainly want money and girls...so that approach works. if ur looking for integrity and showing off ur skills etc...u need to be spinning at smaller parties...especially if ur at college

you're very new at this, aren't you

lol i have...but im not referring to a proper edm club here...i spin at edm clubs over the summers when i have time...when ur at college for 9 months in a year, u spin at frat parties...in which case everything i said above is right

either way, are u contesting the idea that a DJ is meant to satisfy a crowd?

if u feel strongly otherwise do express why.

I think that most North American mainstream club DJs have encountered this problem...

its a bit of a confidence shaker the first few times you try to play all the house / trance you like, only to find an empty floor. Booze helps, but you eventually have to accept that you have to start somewhere, not everyone starts out playing to packed clubs / arenas playing the music they want with 2 min breakdowns.

I play mostly mainstream remixes (Britney, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Katy Perry, etc), with a mix of house (usually more accessible stuff - i.e. Deadmau5, Kaskade, Morgan Page, but sometimes earlier in the night I dig a bit deeper / more progressive with 16BL, Eelke Kleijn, etc), and cheese (Put Your Hands Up, Calabria, World Hold On, Etc). I suppose it can be considered selling out to some degree, but you have to adapt when you have no EDM clubs in your city.

It helps if you don't absolutely hate what you're playing, broaden yourself to pop and eurodance a bit (i.e. September - Cry For You, more Radio 1 friendly stuff). I also work in another club where I literally just run videos off some silly program (VDJ... muchmusic style) - top 40, etc, and that one is much more brutal because I'm not allowed to -actually- mix, just MC and allow the program to auto-crossfade (read: trainwreck). Regardles, once you learn to accept that sometimes you just have to play mainstream, then you realize that DJing has great benefits like bar tabs, guestlists, and easy money

Yes its really annoying when people come up and ask you to "play something thats not techno" ("hey man play some fucking SEAN PAUL or sumthing so I can get sum pussssssay"), but you'll realize its almost all guys that are coming up and asking you to play that stuff, girls usally can have a good time to house music, and once they hit the floor, the guys just follow.

It also feels great when people come up and compliment you for actually mixing instead of just running virtual DJ and slamming bad mainstream songs together, and you'd be suprised how many more house / EDM fans are actually out there.

Great thread that I'm sure many can relate to!

quote:

Originally posted by Imu either way, are u contesting the idea that a DJ is meant to satisfy a crowd? if u feel strongly otherwise do express why.

lol. i get a kick whenever someone refers to Armin/Tiesto/PvD as number 1 DJ

I started DJing mostly for myself. And as a college DJ, I try to find ways to exposed people to electronica. I started playing house as a way to play something a little more dance friendly and now when I look for tracks I have three categories: Tracks I love, tracks my roommate would love and tracks that I think everyone would enjoy. I am usually right on about them for the most part. I haven't played any house out yet, but the people to whom I have showed my house mixes have all responded positively. I understand the role of a DJ, but I never became a DJ for those reasons. I became a DJ to do mixes that appealed to me. Of course the more I play out the more I am tempted to start playing more popular music. I never really did it for money, I did it because I want to share the music I love with everyone else.
- Quyn

quote:

Originally posted by Yohan lol. i get a kick whenever someone refers to Armin/Tiesto/PvD as number 1 DJ

well do u have any other way of quantifying who is number 1? it's kind of like if ur in a class and ur getting a D but u refuse to accept that the guys getting an A are the smartest in the class. u may have a different definition of smart, but at some point u need to accept that there has to be a standardized way of gauging who is good and who is not...and public approval is the only way as a DJ

quote:

Originally posted by Imu well do u have any other way of quantifying who is number 1? it's kind of like if ur in a class and ur getting a D but u refuse to accept that the guys getting an A are the smartest in the class. u may have a different definition of smart, but at some point u need to accept that there has to be a standardized way of gauging who is good and who is not...and public approval is the only way as a DJ

yes... let's judge by using a flawed poll as the medium.

this election is rigged!

Armin is a popular DJ. I don't dispute that. But number 1 DJ?
Whatever.

No need to quantify who is number 1, nor are there any good way to accurately judge who is number 1.

anyways. getting off topic. if you want to argue this, send me a pm

quote:

Originally posted by Imu well do u have any other way of quantifying who is number 1? it's kind of like if ur in a class and ur getting a D but u refuse to accept that the guys getting an A are the smartest in the class. u may have a different definition of smart, but at some point u need to accept that there has to be a standardized way of gauging who is good and who is not...and public approval is the only way as a DJ

That's not true. Public approval just gauges the mainstream an in a lot of cases an uneducated pool of voters. I would prefer to have opinion based on peers or enthisiats.

The fact that Tiesto is still popular is pure proof of this - 14/15 years olds (no offence meant) think that this is good dance music because they don't know any better. Most people that I know who are really in to EDM, wouldn't give him the time of day. I'm not saying he isn't talented or done well, just that his stuff is the lowest common denominator, aimed at kids - just look at the average age of people at a Tiesto gig.

Back on topic, BREAKS FOR THE WIN with a hip-hop crowd.

I played a thing at my college years back (when EDM was even lees established) and was freaking out because people were going to think it was just that "techno stuff". A friend I was DJing had the genius idea of bringing a crate of Breaks with him along with the other house&prog stuff. The guy before us was playing a bit of house and some US garage which wasn't doing anything for the crowd (and was getting requests for Hiphop) so when we got on we tried a breaks track AND THE PLACE FUCKING EXPLODED! We had girls coming to MC over it and the hip hop guys were feeling it because it was all bass heavy and funky....great night in the end and by the time everyone was badly drunk we were able to play whatever we liked.

BTW, girls like funky too. If all fails, play funky, the guys will then follow to the floor.

lol what is US garage?

and yeah iv noticed breaks does work...and some d&b - I dropped "ready or not (dj zinc 2003 remix)" by the fugees once...wen't down really well

UK garage goes pretty well too...though im still curious abt US garage...what does it sound like? give me some tracks to listen to please!

quote:

Originally posted by Imu lol what is US garage?

er...garage from the US (you noob!), just kidding.

quote:

Originally posted by Imu and yeah iv noticed breaks does work...and some d&b - I dropped "ready or not (dj zinc 2003 remix)" by the fugees once...wen't down really well UK garage goes pretty well too...though im still curious abt US garage...what does it sound like? give me some tracks to listen to please!

Do you mean the DJ Hype mix of ready or Not? That always rocks a party.

US garage IMO, differs in that it is slightly more housey and is more soulful than UK garage per say - I'm struggling but the best way I could describe it is that it was like smooth hybrid of R&B and house. UK garage has that really bassy kind of chunky sound with often heavier percussion and obvious FX. I'll have to dig out some examples but producers like (I'm going waaaay back here) Todd Edwards used to make quality US garage.

quote:

Originally posted by Az evil nine

+1 that rock'ish stuff will kill. Play that Alex Metric tune that Sasha dropped at Bonneroo

quote:

Originally posted by Imu then there's the hipsters who think justice + mstrkrft + boys noize = house music idiots.

I think we both spin at the same place.

quote:

Originally posted by DarkMemoria I think that most North American mainstream club DJs have encountered this problem... its a bit of a confidence shaker the first few times you try to play all the house / trance you like, only to find an empty floor. Booze helps, but you eventually have to accept that you have to start somewhere, not everyone starts out playing to packed clubs / arenas playing the music they want with 2 min breakdowns. I play mostly mainstream remixes (Britney, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Katy Perry, etc), with a mix of house (usually more accessible stuff - i.e. Deadmau5, Kaskade, Morgan Page, but sometimes earlier in the night I dig a bit deeper / more progressive with 16BL, Eelke Kleijn, etc), and cheese (Put Your Hands Up, Calabria, World Hold On, Etc). I suppose it can be considered selling out to some degree, but you have to adapt when you have no EDM clubs in your city. It helps if you don't absolutely hate what you're playing, broaden yourself to pop and eurodance a bit (i.e. September - Cry For You, more Radio 1 friendly stuff). I also work in another club where I literally just run videos off some silly program (VDJ... muchmusic style) - top 40, etc, and that one is much more brutal because I'm not allowed to -actually- mix, just MC and allow the program to auto-crossfade (read: trainwreck). Regardles, once you learn to accept that sometimes you just have to play mainstream, then you realize that DJing has great benefits like bar tabs, guestlists, and easy money Yes its really annoying when people come up and ask you to "play something thats not techno" ("hey man play some fucking SEAN PAUL or sumthing so I can get sum pussssssay"), but you'll realize its almost all guys that are coming up and asking you to play that stuff, girls usally can have a good time to house music, and once they hit the floor, the guys just follow. It also feels great when people come up and compliment you for actually mixing instead of just running virtual DJ and slamming bad mainstream songs together, and you'd be suprised how many more house / EDM fans are actually out there. Great thread that I'm sure many can relate to!

Well said.

One more thing to add that I find is really helpful with these sorts of gigs... edit the shit out of everything - Ableton is great for shortening down songs to between 4-6 minutes, removing breakdowns that won't work in these club enviroments, etc. Since your average club-goer in this type of case has a 3 min attention span, your 60 sec or 90 sec mix in, 60 or 90 sec mix out leaves just enough tasty meat for your clubbers to enjoy.

You can get away with a suprisingly liberal amount of house / trance music if you edit your tracks accordingly... Tracks like Timmy & Tommy - Full Tiltin (Joint Operations Center Remix), David West - Welsh Morphology, Jay Lumen - Calypso, Jaytech songs, etc can easily be snuck into a top 40 style set with a bit of quick editing.

And a big +1 to the hipsters comment... just tell them you're playing a new track by them and just play whatever you want, they'll eat it up and feel better about their awesome diverse knowledge of electronic music.

play to the crowd. If they want top 40, give it to them! That's what a DJ does right? Plays to the crowd. If u don't like spinning hip hop for a crowd that likes hip hop, I think u need to quit playing there...

I mean if ur banging a chick and she says "suck my nipples" ur gonna suck them right? And if the crowd says "top 40" u should do the same...

I can play to any crowd... Give me a top 40, I'll kill it. Put me in a dance club and I'll house it. Wedding? No problem... I DJ for people, not myself...

Maybe you should just start producing

quote:

Originally posted by Imu it's not that simple. where I go for example, the EDM scene is dead. If there is an EDM scene it consists of bad house (calabria, rise up, world hold on), sickening electro-glitch, or cascada (and maybe some daft punk). And yeah, the only consolation is that you're getting experience on the dancefloor.

Did u ever hear of a gay bar? They love edm...

we have 1 here...it's always playing hip hop

but btw that ableton idea is great...ill definitely try that! also im sure a lot of tunes out there have radio edits

quote:

Originally posted by discobiscuit play to the crowd. If they want top 40, give it to them! That's what a DJ does right? Plays to the crowd. If u don't like spinning hip hop for a crowd that likes hip hop, I think u need to quit playing there... I mean if ur banging a chick and she says "suck my nipples" ur gonna suck them right? And if the crowd says "top 40" u should do the same... I can play to any crowd... Give me a top 40, I'll kill it. Put me in a dance club and I'll house it. Wedding? No problem... I DJ for people, not myself... Maybe you should just start producing

See, that's what I am talking about. I DJ for myself, and I know it. I don't like to play out unless it's in an environment conducive to dance music. However there are many people I know who think "Oh, he's a DJ, he should play here," who just don't get that being a DJ doesn't necessarily mean I am doing it for the money, I am doing it for the love of the music. I am starting to tolerate Top 40 stuff more and more, but how on Earth does one go about mixing it? I presume mixing isn't really a necessity because the average top 40 lover doesn't care about mixing. And yes, I would suck her nipples.

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