How do you guys deal with requests?

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-- How do you guys deal with requests?

Posted by JRB on Jan-01-2004 21:38:

How do you guys deal with requests?

how do you guys deal with requests if you don't have what they are looking for. I seem to get alot of requests for mainstream type stuff, but I don'y have alot of that kind of trance.

on a side note: at the party I was spinning at last night I had someone ask for "Nelly" lol. thats when I pulled them closer to tell them the harsh reality that I wasn't a hip-hop DJ (as if that wasn't apparent by the trance in the background), and that if I was, I sure as F##k wouldn't have any nelly records. you should have seen the look on their face

Posted by DJTJ on Jan-01-2004 21:58:

Well, saying "sorry, I don't have that one" might be a good place to start...

Posted by Vlad on Jan-01-2004 22:02:

If people have requests I would try my best to fulfill their request, but you obviously cant fulfill everyones request, but you could try to do some... Your obviously not gonna spin something you dont have or something that is hard to get, but if you have it, why not? It will make those several [that requested] to maybe hundreds of people happy to hear that track.

Posted by Nemesis44 on Jan-02-2004 01:28:

Them there requests...

Requests can be a pain in the arse of a source of great amusement from time to time.

I always try to be nice no matter how bizzare the request is. I also avoid mocking the person requesting a particular track even if it's just plain stupid.
I'm plain honest about it though, if I think a track wont work then I will tell them so, or it's not the way I see the night going. If the crowd are responding better to 'hard and dirty' then I don't want to throw something light and fluffy in there.

Things do change though, as you get to work in bigger clubs the less you have to do with the punters in terms of requests as the DJ booth has usually got a few other DJs in it so people usually don't ask me directly anymore.
It also changes in the sense that the better places you get to play, the more people will be there to see you entertain them rather than them telling you what to play.

As I like to mix harmonically some requests wont fit and although I could progress to it, by that stage in the mix it may not make sense to play it. I would however like to think that if it was such a major track that just had to be played then I would be playing it anyways.

Cheers
Nem

Posted by YellowG555 on Jan-02-2004 01:42:

Don't you love it when people at house parties ask you..."Got any hip hop?"

Posted by Shad0wmaster on Jan-02-2004 02:57:

depends on the request. if it sounds like something that might work later on in the night (and i like it and have the record on me) i'd play it at some point. if someone asked for hiphop, i'd say "does it SOUND like i have any hiphop??" if i had the record but didn't feel like it would be a good idea to play it, then it's "sorry i left it at home"

Posted by Boomer187 on Jan-02-2004 03:39:

I play DJ Sammy everytime it is requested.

always.

Posted by Vero on Jan-02-2004 17:22:

a friend of mine has a t-shirt that he wears everytime he spins that says "i dont do requests". i odnt know where he got it, but its pretty funny.

Posted by onceler on Jan-02-2004 19:11:

This happened to me on new years... A guy came up and asked for an Oakenfold track, I simply said that I didnt bring it. Another person came up to me right before I went on and preceded to explain to me how her dad owned x many nightclubs and that she grew up in the industry and that she knows what she was talking about, and then requested hip hop at a club that has never played a note of hip hop in its young existance.

Posted by Shad0wmaster on Jan-02-2004 20:24:

wow, people can be stupid...from now on i'm going to spin with a sign that says "NO REQUESTS"

Posted by Frode on Jan-02-2004 21:01:

Pascal F.E.O.S. wore a t-shirt at the Einslive Einheitsrave with
"I'm not your fucking jukebox" on it. Quite amusing.

Posted by dieselatx on Jan-05-2004 01:35:

i was spinning trance after just finishing throwing some hip hop together for about an hour on new years eve. this drunk guy comes up to me and says "i love techno and all, but you don't have to just play that. play some rap for the brothers." i told him that i was in my element and that i wouldn't go up to quincy jones and say "you know, the jazz thing is cool and all, but i'm in a mood for some polka". i wish more people were open minded about things...

Posted by Nemesis44 on Jan-05-2004 01:41:

WTF are you talking about!!!! Polka is awesome!!!

Nem

Posted by DjCoz on Jan-05-2004 05:16:

I've had some really agressive people yelling in my face to stop playing "techno" and even handing me Cd's. I usually say, "ya, I'll play it next." and then when they stumble away I just laugh and continue.

Posted by MERiDiAN5i2 on Jan-08-2004 20:21:

"i'm a dj, not a jukebox!"

Posted by Vizay on Jan-08-2004 22:26:

I always try to confront people friendly as long as they are nice to me...

if they do a request and I have the track and it fit's in my set I'll gladly play it (after all we dj's are there to entertain the crowd, not just ourselves)

if I don't have the track or doesn't think it fit's then I just tell them so and then they can say whatever they want...

if they on the other hand are not so friendly against me then I just ask them to fuck off or something like that...