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Need Advice on this gig situation

So me and my another kid got to play at this nightclub/lounge that we have on campus at my college for the freshman orientation weekend. This venue is one of kind as far as colleges go. Its got a killer sound system, flat screen monitors, big booths, it's designed really well and fits about 150-200 people. The crappy part is that they don't serve alcohol which is a HUGE negative because alot of kids won't go there for that reason.

So we were spinning some progressive followed by some upbeat, funky house stuff and weren't getting much of a response from the crowd. Kids came and went, some were dancing for a while but most weren't. We had some really good records, our mixing was right on but it seemed that they just wanted to listen to hip hop and rnb which we had none of.

So I have mixed feelings about the whole night. I'm happy that I played a solid set with pretty much no noticable errors. But I feel kind of frusterated because no one was really into the music. I know I could go on and play a bunch of crap hip hop tracks and people would dance but that would be boring.

This venue has huge potential for me to have my own semi-regular night because the manager likes to book all kinds of events. So I'm trying to gather ideas on how to bring people in there and make it successful (aside from printing flyers and stuff). The campus is huge so theres got to be some kids that would be into a night like this. They don't really have promoters so it's pretty much a word of mouth thing.

So my question is how can I make the most of this oppertunity that I have at this venue?

Thanks for your advice!

Hmm, don't know if these campus's have this ability but can you sound out an eamil to all students advertising it, if so, then do that but make an electronic flyer, you could even send us info on here and we could maybe make you one, if not, then something like a big bulletin notice saying for people interested to email you saying if they would be interested, then you could find out how many people would be interested hopefully, I know if I saw something like that, I'd email them for sure.

If all else fails, call in a bomb threat and say the bomb could be anywhere BUT the club, so when people pack into it, just turn on the system and start pounding the tunes to a bunch of shit scared students, if so, drop Brainbug - Nightmare, should suit the situation.

quote:

Originally posted by DannyO just turn on the system and start pounding the tunes to a bunch of shit scared students, if so, drop Brainbug - Nightmare, should suit the situation.

or A*S*Y*S - No more fucking rock and roll...

quote:

Originally posted by DannyO just turn on the system and start pounding the tunes to a bunch of shit scared students, if so, drop Brainbug - Nightmare, should suit the situation.

thats fuckin hilarious

Re: Need Advice on this gig situation

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Joshua H I know I could go on and play a bunch of crap hip hop tracks and people would dance but that would be boring.

Don't worry about trying to convert the ones who don't get your style of music. Worry about pleasing those who do.

Re: Re: Need Advice on this gig situation

quote:

Originally posted by FirstBorn Don't worry about trying to convert the ones who don't get your style of music. Worry about pleasing those who do.

good advice, thanks man!

If you're playing music that your crowd is unfamiliar with (lets say, a college campus), you have to adjust from a progressive style, and play for the women. Most college guys don't like dancing on their own. You need to keep the chicks on the dancefloor at all costs.

And you may have noticed this: Breakdown = dance floor death. It was a huge wakeup call after playing 15 minutes of anthems (Traffic/Punk/misc. Hard Trance) and I couldn't avoid even a minor breakdown. The beat dropped out, the music dropped out, the melodies started filtering down (they were going to come up in about 6 seconds), and there was a mass exodus on the dancefloor.

People were appreciative, they just thought I was done. Even though the beat kicked back in hard before they were even off the floor, they just kept walking.

Think about it, though. Most people go to a club and listen to rap and ultra-mainstream house. When was the last time you heard a breakdown in a rap set?

You have to win them over. Mixing solidly and choosing a playlist that would make Ibiza orgasm will probably bore the average (American) college student.

^^^
So what are you saying? He must forget Trance and play music that he (assumidly) hates just to please people?
That may get people there, but if then he tries to play trance, they all leave again!
Don't radically change style to please everyone if it means you won't enjoy it. If you like those inferior types of music, go for it, but if playing rap means that you are going to start not enjoying djing, don't bother.

quote:

So what are you saying? He must forget Trance and play music that he (assumidly) hates just to please people?

Nope. He can play Florida breaks, IDM, and abstract hip-hop TOGETHER as far as I care, but the fact is, you aren't going to get paid as a DJ in a mainstream environment (for long) if the crowd doesn't give two shits about you. And you ARE, from a business standpoint, competing against Average Hiphop DJ #12987243 whose primary concern is getting numbers from the hotties (and he WILL get them, when he plays "Salt Shaker" just for them ). A college lounge is a mainstream environment. It's as simple as that. People aren't there to hear the music, they're there to get laid and drink, not necessarily in that order. Since there's no alcohol there, that narrows down what the people are there for. Once you understand that, you can start to change that.

As I used in an example, I was playing songs I liked. I wouldn't string the anthems together like that at say, Godskitchen, but the shit local nightclubs--or worse, birthday parties--don't have "Godskitchen" on the sign. Nobody had ever heard Traffic before. Or Punk. Or Burned With Desire. But as long as I filled the breakdowns (layering techno beats), people would stay on the floor. Then, I was able to sneak Fluke, Super 8, Perry O'Neil, and Sasha into my sets, and hold their attention. (The "DJ Scot Project -- FM1" breakdown is what killed it in my example)

The bottom line is, if you want to take people on a journey, you have to convince them to follow you. People who aren't there to actually listen to music are not going to wait 9 minutes for the opening progressive trance track to be slowly layered into a lovely deep trance number, and then wait on the floor for 2 minutes while the ambient breakdown builds into a mellow, soft, beautiful melody. They'll be striking out with random chick #3.

If you don't care, you don't care. But since I'm not getting paid to enjoy myself (I mix online for 6 people at a time for that), I have to figure out a way to program the songs and keep the crowd interested while not boring myself to tears. And that's a fun challenge.

idk, I'm of the opinion that a DJ is supposed to make peopel dance. To be honest, if you're spinning at some Freshman college party, none of them care how good your mixing is. I would hit up the record shop and try and pick up some music with a wider appeal. For example, that Erink Morillo Track, Break Down The Doors, is real housey, but the lyris samples make it a cool song that cathces almost anybody's interest. I always try and pick out some records when I hit up the shop that I know have a wider appeal. They may not be my preference, but I know that in certain situations they can come in handy. There are some cool Beastie Boys house and prog remixes out there, those always do the trick. Just throwing out ideas.

Thank you for the responses!

Lately I've been getting into prog. house and breakz, etc. but I definitly wasn't planning to play any of that at this party. So I figured that I would go with some upbeat/funky/vocal house. I could have picked up the latest commericial house tunes (think Ian Van Dahl or mainstream DJ Sammy [this is what most people at college think of as 'techno']) off of Robbins or Star 69 and slapped 'em together end to end but that's not me nor do I want to be known for playing that stuff.

I see two ways to approach this:

1) Take advantage of this oppertunity that I have here by maybe playing at a night where there is hip-hop being played also. Then maybe I could go on and throw on some commercial house and remixes and see how they respond, if its good then try some groovin house tunes.

2) Don't take advantage of this and try to get a gig elsewhere playing the stuff I really want to.

I have a feeling 1 is the way to go b/c it will allow me to play in front of the most amount of people.

Thanks!

try to get ahold of kaskade's remix of - i like the way you move

ppl cant tell the diff between tha and the orig but its sick!

its been out for a year but i thinkk it went bust

also, dont exagerate on the boots.. it gets boring 3 - 4 boots an hour is more than enuf (trust me on experience)

i have alot of bootlegs i'll pm you some later.. (i have like 20 lol)
and you cant afford to mix prog as said above wich is too underground.. breakdowns dont work to well in a nondruggednonalcohold environment
benny bennassi, mad house is the way to go and slowly slowly convert..

quote:

Originally posted by DannyO just turn on the system and start pounding the tunes to a bunch of shit scared students, if so, drop Brainbug - Nightmare, should suit the situation.

just play some hardstyle

quote:

Originally posted by zizack There are some cool Beastie Boys house and prog remixes out there, those always do the trick. Just throwing out ideas.

That kinda stuff always gets people dancing. If people recognize some lyrics from mainstream stuff, they will always get up and dance.
Remixes are a must for these types of parties. There are a ton of them out there, plus you will still be mixing dance music.

quote:

Originally posted by hooj1 That kinda stuff always gets people dancing. If people recognize some lyrics from mainstream stuff, they will always get up and dance. Remixes are a must for these types of parties. There are a ton of them out there, plus you will still be mixing dance music.

Wise words... remixes of popular/mainstream choons serve as a very nice bridge.

Where women go... men follow. So get the women 'a dancin!

Re: Need Advice on this gig situation

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Joshua H So me and my another kid got to play at this nightclub/lounge that we have on campus at my college for the freshman orientation weekend. This venue is one of kind as far as colleges go. Its got a killer sound system, flat screen monitors, big booths, it's designed really well and fits about 150-200 people. The crappy part is that they don't serve alcohol which is a HUGE negative because alot of kids won't go there for that reason. So we were spinning some progressive followed by some upbeat, funky house stuff and weren't getting much of a response from the crowd. Kids came and went, some were dancing for a while but most weren't. We had some really good records, our mixing was right on but it seemed that they just wanted to listen to hip hop and rnb which we had none of. So I have mixed feelings about the whole night. I'm happy that I played a solid set with pretty much no noticable errors. But I feel kind of frusterated because no one was really into the music. I know I could go on and play a bunch of crap hip hop tracks and people would dance but that would be boring. This venue has huge potential for me to have my own semi-regular night because the manager likes to book all kinds of events. So I'm trying to gather ideas on how to bring people in there and make it successful (aside from printing flyers and stuff). The campus is huge so theres got to be some kids that would be into a night like this. They don't really have promoters so it's pretty much a word of mouth thing. So my question is how can I make the most of this oppertunity that I have at this venue? Thanks for your advice!

If there is two of you, while one of you are spinning get the other to sell pills!! That will get the crowd going!

My reply in this thread may help you out. just think about what I am saying.

http://www2.tranceaddict.com/forums...threadid=207535

You have to take the venue into account.
If it's not a club then you will have addapt your styles accordingly as you don't have the luxury of having a hardcore trance crowd.

As I always say, give the people what they want and entertain them and learn about dancefloor dynamics. Rock the party, you will enjoy it more and everyone will be happier allround.

Like Freak, I have also played commercial clubs and know a little bit about this side of the industry too.

By the time you get to play a propper club you will know more how to dictate energy levels etc.

Don't get me wrong, it's hard when you love a style of music and can't play it. But to get to that level you have to work real hard. Let's face it, your first shot in an underground club will most likely be as warm up and you can't play what you want then either. Get to love DJing and performing for people as much as you love music.

Cheers
Nem

a) you dont have to "play for the women", or anyone else for that matter
b) you need to get people there that will actually enjoy what your playing, or go play elsewhere
c) you say you threw down a rockin' set, you did your part on the decks
d) who cares who enjoys what how much, just focus on having fun playing the music you love..
e) they dont serve booze, so you shouldnt have to worry about bar folk getting pissed your not turning out all sorts of people that want to get into a drunken stupor
f) screw the morons that want to hear rap/hiphop, they only want to get some ass - cuz thats all rap and hiphop is for - meatmarkets and generic people with generic follower tastes. ugh, i could go on about that style of horrid noise only meant to get men with small dicks and women with 40" waists laid after consuming 50 gallons of cheap shitty brew and/or 5 gallons of disgusting well liquor.

bottom line: promote your event. the club promotes itself, but each artist has to promote themselves at whatever venue they will be at. get the word out... if you can bring out the people that enjoy your style of music, you'll have alot more fun.

but if you cant, and the club still lets you spin.. by all means keep doing it! force as much good music on those peeps are you can.

maybe they'll wake up and stop listening to rap and top40...

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