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-- First Night Playing Out: Crash Course
First Night Playing Out: Crash Course
well, it's not my luck to play out yet. but my best friend did last week, and it wasn't as pretty as we would all have hoped. he's a good DJ, and was recommended by another DJ as someone to call for a DJ competition held at one of our best local clubs.
so he obviously accepted. he doesn't have all that many records, but he wasn't going to be on for too long, therefore it wasn't much of an issue. he was scared shitless the days before whilst he was practicing. he even opted to do a programmed set, as that way he could ensure both a nice sequence and that he would play his best tracks.
but then... the night came. there were no people there at about 11PM. which is somewhat normal for this club, it gets packed around midnight and after. so they moved the DJ competition to start at midnight, and shortened everyone's set to about and hour and 15 mins. he automatically panicked, because shortening his set would throw the sequence out of whack. i told him to calm down, and feel it out.
when the time came, he started off nice and proggy, and all was good. he mixed his first 3 tracks beautifully. but then something went wrong and problems arose. by the end of the set, he had mixed about 5 tracks well, but the rest were pretty much on the close-close to trainwrecking area. he then got cut off before he could finish his set.
he tells me he was having monitor issues (says the phones would start to distort like hell out of nowhere, which was confirmed by another one of the DJs that spun that night) and the clubs speakers were so shot, he couldn't touch the EQs or gains or otherwise they'd distort as well.
on top of that he was pretty damn nervous.
so all you jocks out there that have been playing out for a while, what are your recommendations?
getting there early to test out the soundsystem? not doing a programmed set? have the resident sound guy check shit out if something goes wrong? get an aromatherapy massage beforehand?
furthermore, if the scenario had been different, ie. not a competition, and he would have been expected to get payed, how much is a reasonable price to ask, what to do with promoters who like to screw you over, etc?
please, fill us n00bs in, and hopefully we might get enough info for a sticky...
i would recommend him to practice beatmatchin with high hats more and more in case that happens again.
i think your friend would probably be telling the truth... i remember the first time i played out.. it was in a bar local. and i was having free vodka and cokes all night, and i realised i was pretty fucking hammered.. i was nervous so i thought id get a bit of dutch courage and get rat arsed... knowing i was due to go on in about 15 mins i thought id better get a glass of water and sort myself out. i was stood in the DJ box waiting, and simon the guy that was on before me, finished a mix then took his pones off and handed them to me... and that was it... i was well nervous to start with... id never been on any 1210s before and id never even seen the mixer.. but i felt my way around.. took me about 3 mixes to adjust to the 1210s, but i was that nervous i just made sure i didnt fuck up.. and i thin k thats what you do.. cos your so scared of fucking up, you just play with it more and more making 100% sure you got it sorted... or atleast thats how it was for me, and i did fine... played at the same bar every week for a few months 
i believe the best way to start playing out is going to small bars where you can get to know the resident dj and ask him to let you mix some tracks just for fun (without the people knowing you are the one doing it).
This will give you some confidence for when you go and play a complete set. Also you will already be more familiar with the equipment and can make it easier.
The idea of going ahead of time to check out the equipment is a good one.
Yet, the most important part of it is not to worry, just put in your first song and have some fun!
in clubs where you can't rely on your monitors... NEVER take off your headphones... we've all been in the situation... where the d&b DJ or the hardcore DJ blew the monitors the night before and you're stuck with noises that aren't really there. Anyways, if somehow that isn't possible, don't plan a set where your last track is your best... it doesn't need to be. bring a crowd from low to high back to medium/low actually works super well. As for price, i dont know mate, ask what the residents are getting and expect about half of that.
My first/only time playing in front of a real, live crowd (as opposed to an internet audience) was at a pizza place that had DJs spin on Tuesday nights. It wasn't hard to get on the list (I just had to ask the promoter), but I had to do a drum 'n bass set as opposed to trance, because pretty much everyone had House or Trance listed as their genre.
Let's just say I was really happy I brought my own headphones. My headphones aren't even good, but I discovered very quickly why most of the other DJs were trainwrecking all over the place. Those were the most fucked up Sony headphones I've ever seen. 
And since I had to mix completely inside my headphones (something I wasn't used to), thanks to the lack of a monitor (their version of "monitor" is placing one of the speakers DIRECTLY behind the turntables, so I was glad I brought earplugs), it wasn't perfect. But it went alright, considering, and I didn't completely trainwreck at all, something I was thrilled about...
And I feel sorry for the poor bastards who went on after me. Drum 'n Bass has a funny way of affecting speakers that are turned up too loud. 
But at least it sounded good while I was on.
on my first night out i didn't had any monitors and the bass coming out of the speakers bounced against every possible wall.
so i mixed all in the headphones and it worked out just fine .
Inertia,
Couple tips from experience...
It sounds like your friend was having monitor issues, but perhaps he was not able to adapt to the sound sytem as well.
Its very important that he learns to mix in the headphones, so when he is having trouble with monitoring, he can mix within the headphones. Also, earplugs would help if the sound is too loud.
Another frequent problem ive seen is where the sound system is setup poorly and the sound may seem to distort easily. There is a always a way to tweek it slightly, or you find your sweet spot, to where it doesnt distort... you usually can get the feel for it after the first couple of mixes.
Many times, when you get used to 'your' equipment, in 'your' sound setup... you tend to play like you are at 'your' studio or bedroom or whatever. It's important to realize that every different place will have a different feel, as room size is different, and so are the equipment that your working with (how the sound was setup). Unfortunately, awareness is the best preperation, as you only get better with experience under different setups. Always, be prepared for the worse, so be sure you can mix in all sorts of different conditions... without using faders, or only using gains, on ear monitoring, only headphone mixing, only using hihats or claps for mixing,.. the list goes on.
Basically, the more times he plays out... especially on different setups, the better he will get at adjusting to these conditions.
reminds me of my first time. It was actually a great time mixing. I had a decent monitor, although it started crackling...but it was setup so I could hear that loud and clear, and not be effected by the speakers.
As I played in other bars for different people I learned always always always bring your own head phones. Also get into your music. Usually when your starting off you hear your records so many times they start to lose their appeal. Well forget that and get into evrey song. Helped me a lot, and having a friend there be a friend and get into it and scream "YEAH" at you helps. hehe, and one time he wasn't lying, it was cool.
oh and, practice, practice, practice...that always helps.
great tips...
in all fairness, my friend was riding on some Pioneer HDJ-1000s in mint condition (they're barely 2-3 months old) and they were distorting due to something screwed up in the mixer (an abused Pioneer DJM-500, too many amateur DJs been messing with it, seems its time has come...)
and when you can't listen to your phones, well, you can't really mix.
nice sotires, keep 'em comin!
just enjoy yourself, simple as, practise if u want to, dont if you cant be arsed
Playing live for the first time � be prepared to learn more in such a short space of time than you ever have in your DJ�ing career so far!
I'm just starting to play out myself, but I have to say that I am very glad that my first couple of sets were played for very small audiences, as it was an invaluable learning experience.
A few things that come to mind include:
- going from playing in your bedroom on headphones to playing on a booming club system
- getting used to playing equipment that has frequently been treated quite poorly and/or is quite old
- making sure that you can mix in a way that every mixer supports
- making sure your equipment is working correctly before you start your set...
As for the pay bit, things could be different where you live, but locally it's fairly rare for DJs to get paid. For the most part we do it because we love the music, and we love playing out in a club for an audience. About the only time any of them get paid is for an established residence, or the occasional party if they are a big enough name locally.
decent DJs are not that common here. i could maybe list 20. so they do pay them, the amount is variable, but they always get payed, except on a special agreement for otherwise, or for example on a DJ comp, but there is a prize there normally anyways.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Inertia decent DJs are not that common here. i could maybe list 20. so they do pay them, the amount is variable, but they always get payed, except on a special agreement for otherwise, or for example on a DJ comp, but there is a prize there normally anyways. |
Im my home country, i've been payed for my small set with drinks, which is not bad at all. Because you are having fun and drinkin' for free!!
Here there are not that many Trance Djs, but the people always enjoys and hour or so of trance, so whenever a club owner gets the oportunity for someone to play some track he will make it open bar for the dj and some of he's friends.
Right now i'm planing a live gig on one of my friends radio station. Only to entertain myself and to promote even more the sounds of the modern music!!!!
-- Trance is a Way of Life, Addicted Yet???
My First Time
My first time was out at a club called Spiro's in Austin, TX last month. I wanted to be a good dj and show up early but nothing was really organized. I showed up at 9 and didn't play til midnight, which is a really good slot in my opinion. Well, first I was told I would get 45 minutes. I planned out a flow and started. I was nervous, but after the first mix, I felt really good. I was doing really well until the promoter said he was cutting all the djs to 30 minutes slots. I decided to stop building up and tried going straight to peak time. I got cocky I guess and next thing I know, I started trainwrecking on my 5th song. I eq'd down and saved it somewhat and then finished with a really strong track.
I was fortunate that I had a decent monitor. I don't know how I would have mixed by headphone on the mixer they had. I wouldn't worry much if I was your friend though. Just keep practicing and putting your demo out. He'll get 'em next time.
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