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Getting gigs

I've played in live electronic bands for a few years now. We always sent out a nice press kit clubs that included a 3-4 song demo, band photo, and bio.

I'm taking a break on the live band thing and now feel like I have the chops to get out and do some DJ gigs at clubs. What's the best way to get a foot in the door? Should I prepare a similar press kit that I used to when playing in live bands and send them out to clubs? Any info would be appreciated.

Stab

Re: Getting gigs

quote:

Originally posted by stabmasterflex I've played in live electronic bands for a few years now. We always sent out a nice press kit clubs that included a 3-4 song demo, band photo, and bio. I'm taking a break on the live band thing and now feel like I have the chops to get out and do some DJ gigs at clubs. What's the best way to get a foot in the door? Should I prepare a similar press kit that I used to when playing in live bands and send them out to clubs? Any info would be appreciated. Stab

If you are just starting toi DJ, I would recommend you to practice a lot, listen to a lot of songs each day, maybe for about 2 years.
then you start thinking of getting into clubs.


If you already have been DJing, then I owuld recommend to make a mixed set maybe 60 minutes or wahtever fits ain a Audio Cd. and then give it to club promoters.

Create a nice mix demo on CD, print a great cover with all your contact details on. Start phoning all the clubs that play similar music and ask if you could drop off a demo with the booking manager. Make a time and have a drink with them, getting to know them slightly better, maybe spend some time in the club checking out the other dj's and chatting to them about the place.

in this business it is all about who you know. Networking is probably the number 1 factor. Hell...I got my first club gig ever at one of the most famous clubs in the world...SPUNDAE. And that was because of who I knew. They had never heard me spin before. I went on to play there again one more time and now I am throwing my own parties at clubs in my hometown.

quote:

Originally posted by SVGmethod in this business it is all about who you know. Networking is probably the number 1 factor. Hell...I got my first club gig ever at one of the most famous clubs in the world...SPUNDAE. And that was because of who I knew. They had never heard me spin before. I went on to play there again one more time and now I am throwing my own parties at clubs in my hometown.

+1 it's all about the connections.

Connections is about 80% of it, but not always. Personally I don't think passing out demos works, but it helps out to get the word out that you're there.

There's several other ways to get gigs. Another major way is to throw your own events. This will help out a lot. Many DJs have done this, including Judge Jules and my self.

A third way of doing it is by meeting promoters. Become friends with them, talk to them. Promoters usually book the DJs, not the owners.

Fourth way, get on the radio, magazine, website. All those things get you exposure. That's the main thing, get exposure. I used to work for a nightlife magazine for free just to get hook ups. And trust me, I GOT MY HOOKUPS!!!

Don't expect to make money right away, you'll do gigs for free just to get your name out there. That's called paying your dues.

And lastly, don't get a big ego, and don't be a shit talker. I know several DJs who are awesome mixers, but because they got big egos, or are shit talkers, promoters don't want to deal with them.

Many promoters will give you one shot, don't fuck it up!!!!

i agree about connections. every gig that i have got is because of the people i know. i have never used my demos to get gigs, although i still make them. basicly when i started i when to all the clubs i could and just hung out and met people. you have to be consistant and very social. you should also try meeting up with some of us TAs. this is a good place to start. good luck

This is an AWESOME place to start!!!!


I have gotten several gigs from here.

Yup its who u know. Most of the time, meeting and talking about possibly playing with the club owner will get u nowhere. You have to butter up the other DJ's, if there not stock on themselves, or with the manager/promoter to give u a shot. Club owners think they know what will bring the people in, and there usually way off and too busy to worry about a new DJ. Its a tough thing to get into, but once you get the chance and you don't mess up, the gigs will come.

Good Luck

quote:

Originally posted by DjWoody Connections is about 80% of it, but not always. Personally I don't think passing out demos works, but it helps out to get the word out that you're there. There's several other ways to get gigs. Another major way is to throw your own events. This will help out a lot. Many DJs have done this, including Judge Jules and my self. A third way of doing it is by meeting promoters. Become friends with them, talk to them. Promoters usually book the DJs, not the owners. Fourth way, get on the radio, magazine, website. All those things get you exposure. That's the main thing, get exposure. I used to work for a nightlife magazine for free just to get hook ups. And trust me, I GOT MY HOOKUPS!!! Don't expect to make money right away, you'll do gigs for free just to get your name out there. That's called paying your dues. And lastly, don't get a big ego, and don't be a shit talker. I know several DJs who are awesome mixers, but because they got big egos, or are shit talkers, promoters don't want to deal with them. Many promoters will give you one shot, don't fuck it up!!!!

1. Meet as many people as you can. From the clubbers themselves and up the behind-the-scenes ladder (promoters/owners/etc). Knowing people at every level will help you out in the long run. Always remember the people that have helped you out in the past because you will never want to cross them.

2. It is important to hand out demos to possible patrons. This way you get exposure and build up a little fan base before you actually start playing out. Record something that represents your style...something that you are proud of. This demo will be representing you. If you must give a demo to an owner/promoter...make sure you get straight to the point with the demo. I handed out many demos to promoters/owners in my city. It was 40 minutes long with 12 tracks. Short but straight to the point. These guys have businesses to run and they don't have much time to listen to cd's.

3. Throwing your own events is an important aspect of getting gigs. You can book yourself! Haha. This gives you further exposure and gives you more credibility. It is a fast way to build up your network. This will open many doors for you. I gave my demo to a club owner and he let me host my own nights there 2x a month because he loved the type of sound I played. I have many other dj's, promoters, and club owners contacting me now because of all the exposure I have gotten from hosting and DJ'ing my own events.

4. Radio exposure is very helpful. I did my radio show for over 2 years. Broadcasting with almost 100 mile radius in every direction and a live webcast. I booked many local dj's and others from out of the area to spin on my show. I made many contacts this way. Doing this builds up your credibility and makes you look more professional.

5. As Woody stated previously...you must pay your dues. Don't expect to be getting paid right away. Wherever you end up playing at, help them promote their events heavily. Remember, these are actual businesses. You need to bring them clients. The type of music or the talent of the DJ is not the priority. The priority is to drive as many people as possible to the venue and sell alcohol. Thats pretty much what it all comes down to.

1 word, DIFFERENT, if youve got something which is unique and different from anyone else then youve got a great chance at succeeding at it. this doesnt just fall in the music industry category.

dont give up,

dfop

quote:

Originally posted by DFOP04 1 word, DIFFERENT, if youve got something which is unique and different from anyone else then youve got a great chance at succeeding at it. this doesnt just fall in the music industry category. dont give up, dfop

true that. ya gotta be marketable.

network

go out, everywhere, all the time, meet anyone who matters, get to know them, this is where you meet promoters and give them your contact info, get theirs too, let them know you're a dj but don't bother them with a cd unless they ask for it

promote

people are always saying give cds to promoters... don't waste your time and theirs
i literally have stacks of demos that i'll probably never listen to
don't give your cds to promoters, give them to the crowd, they're the ones who are paying the money and dictating what the club does
promoters get feedback and info on who to book from djs they know and if they're getting hassled enough to book a certain dj

which brings me to my next point,

become friends with as many local djs as possible
working djs are a tight community, they all know each other, at least in calgary, but i'm sure it's like that to an extent pretty much everywhere else

it takes a LOT of hard work and YEARS of commitment

definitely not an easy road to go down, but hard work does pay off, believe me, just be prepared to work

Agreed with morello. A couple of things I thought i should add.

Promoting: Now ill start off by saying promoting is the first step to getting your self booked and known. By promoting, I mean actually promoting for parties. Get to know the promoters, tell them you will be willing to pass out there flyers, if they would consider booking you. Now out of a deal like that you get a couple of perks. First you automatically start networking from there, second your showing that you are willing to work to play at first. Its hard work and there are way to many Djs.

Adding to that, Promoting your self. For every 1 promoter you give a CD to give at least 100 cd's to people. **DONT WRITE ON THE CD WITH A PERMANENT MARKER*** For about 20 bucks you can get label stickers that comes with the software. Before you start duplicating a grip of cds, give some to co-workers, or people out of the scene. I give my Cd's to my mom and dad, family, people that think anything electronic is techno. Because if they can enjoy your mix you got somthing (btw my dads a big supporter of mine). On your CD make sure you put an email address, People will Email you about your mix. Its good to keep in touch with them on a personal basis. Alot of the people that were coming out to see me play were people that i always kept in touch with.

Skills: If you think you are ready to play out, ask your self these questions.

*Will you be familiar any mixer you face?
*Can you keep songs beatmatched up?
*Do you understand how to "open" or "close" a party?
*Do you have your own pair of needles and headphones?
*Are you Comfortable mixing with only your headphones, or no monitors?

Becuase playing out.. its not always going to be your dream setup. But you need to be professional and know how to get around setups that are not ideal.

Cockyness: On the contrary I think a little bit of selfesteem goes a long way in your performance. I've played at parties where i felt i was the most experianced dj there, and I tore it up. there have been clubs where ive played after a big name DJ, and just sucked ass. Confidence in your self and your mixing is essential. Like most things you will start to have problems when you get TOO cocky, and you forget where you come from.

Networking/relationships: Be yourself,


***im at work , so ill edit later on my break***

quote:

Originally posted by michaelconway Agreed with morello. A couple of things I thought i should add. Promoting: Now ill start off by saying promoting is the first step to getting your self booked and known. By promoting, I mean actually promoting for parties. Get to know the promoters, tell them you will be willing to pass out there flyers, if they would consider booking you. Now out of a deal like that you get a couple of perks. First you automatically start networking from there, second your showing that you are willing to work to play at first. Its hard work and there are way to many Djs. Adding to that, Promoting your self. For every 1 promoter you give a CD to give at least 100 cd's to people. **DONT WRITE ON THE CD WITH A PERMANENT MARKER*** For about 20 bucks you can get label stickers that comes with the software. Before you start duplicating a grip of cds, give some to co-workers, or people out of the scene. I give my Cd's to my mom and dad, family, people that think anything electronic is techno. Because if they can enjoy your mix you got somthing (btw my dads a big supporter of mine). On your CD make sure you put an email address, People will Email you about your mix. Its good to keep in touch with them on a personal basis. Alot of the people that were coming out to see me play were people that i always kept in touch with. Skills: If you think you are ready to play out, ask your self these questions. *Will you be familiar any mixer you face? *Can you keep songs beatmatched up? *Do you understand how to "open" or "close" a party? *Do you have your own pair of needles and headphones? *Are you Comfortable mixing with only your headphones, or no monitors? Becuase playing out.. its not always going to be your dream setup. But you need to be professional and know how to get around setups that are not ideal. Cockyness: On the contrary I think a little bit of selfesteem goes a long way in your performance. I've played at parties where i felt i was the most experianced dj there, and I tore it up. there have been clubs where ive played after a big name DJ, and just sucked ass. Confidence in your self and your mixing is essential. Like most things you will start to have problems when you get TOO cocky, and you forget where you come from. Networking/relationships: Be yourself, ***im at work , so ill edit later on my break***

The first time I played at Spundae was the first time I ever played on an Allen & Heath Xone 62 mixer. I was so intimidated. And the turntables had that center click on the pitch slider. My setup at home is the djm600 and the m5g turntables with no center click. Also it was my first time playing on a loud system...i never knew the concept of a delay in sound until that night. I think that I learned a lot from that experience even if I wasn't full ready to play out yet. It sort of forced me to do well. Because I got thrown out in the deep end and it was either sink or swim. I swam...although a sort of retarded doggy paddle. LOL.

quote:

Originally posted by SVGmethod The first time I played at Spundae was the first time I ever played on an Allen & Heath Xone 62 mixer. I was so intimidated. And the turntables had that center click on the pitch slider. My setup at home is the djm600 and the m5g turntables with no center click. Also it was my first time playing on a loud system...i never knew the concept of a delay in sound until that night. I think that I learned a lot from that experience even if I wasn't full ready to play out yet. It sort of forced me to do well. Because I got thrown out in the deep end and it was either sink or swim. I swam...although a sort of retarded doggy paddle. LOL.

oh man i have been there, this one desert event i played at. The sound guy had flaked, so they called someone last minute to bring there home set up. Belt drive turntables, oldest gemini 2 channel mixer i had ever seen. We had 3-4 djs trainwreck every mix, Finally when I got on, I was like shit!!! but I kind of worked around it, No trainwrecks clean mixing. Granted i couldnt get all into it, but mixing got done. I got paid double :-)

what I did was that i actually accepted a gig for free to do the first time...:-)

how it went...first there is a local chat here...where I meet some friends (from real life ) and we thought like "hey let's make a meeting of chatters, so they can get to know each other etc."
I was like "ok let's do it in a club and I'll DJ that"
then we found a few clubs which wanted to host a party like that (the thing that matters is that we had 150 people to come!)
almost every club wanted us...so we decided for two and had parties in those in 2 months...

now I have residency in one of them and am host of each saturday night in the other...they seen me play first time for free and liked it, that's how it went for me

i warn every single one of you that has very high hopes and dreams

be prepared to sweat blood and tears

if you persevere, you'll love it, if you honestly suck, you'll just plain suck and quit

it's a VERY tough road, but the finish is just that much sweeter

if you truly and honestly want it and keep at it long enough with the proper know-how, you'll get what you want

you guys are right...promoting and hook-ups deff plays a large role...in fact it explains why i find these dj's with very little skill djing at club events...i now never need wonder how they got hired...

right now i am at that point in figuring out if i should bother continue into the clubs or just continue getting a regular job like everyone else...

quote:

Originally posted by spdandpwr you guys are right...promoting and hook-ups deff plays a large role...in fact it explains why i find these dj's with very little skill djing at club events...i now never need wonder how they got hired... right now i am at that point in figuring out if i should bother continue into the clubs or just continue getting a regular job like everyone else...

you can do both. regular job during the day...and if you have a desk job you can spend some time during work researching and listening to music. then at night you can DJ at the clubs. theres plenty of time for both. career and a hobby.

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