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Residency in mainstream club

Hi guys,
I need your opinions, these days I'm regularly playing at this club in my hometown, and the owner really likes my style (cuz I'm just slipping some house into it with some proper remixes of well known tunes etc.)

the thing is, now he offered me to take wednesdays parties ... the thing is...the club is really kinda mainstream...and I'd have to play some rnb and such shit too...untill now it was always a party which was held, promoted by me and the club was just kinda offered as a place where the party can be held...

now I could start having a serious income...but also will have to force myself to play more of the poppy stuff :-( and that's what I thinmk could cause the problems...what do you think?

please please please...some serious opinions...nothing like "if you can't play trance tell them to fuck off" or something ... kthxbye

Seems like a no brainer to me.

You have two choices:

1. Sell out, earn more wedge, play shite music.
2. Maintain your self respect, offer the residency to someone else.

No one here can make the decision for you.

All I can say, is that personally I'd hold onto my personal integrity. Not least of all is the factor that I simply wouldn't enjoy playing crap music, it woulod defeat the whole object of why I'd play out in the first place, which is entirely not for financial gain.

It's all about the music!


Jarv

quote:

Originally posted by Jarvmeister Seems like a no brainer to me. You have two choices: 1. Sell out, earn more wedge, play shite music. 2. Maintain your self respect, offer the residency to someone else. No one here can make the decision for you. All I can say, is that personally I'd hold onto my personal integrity. Not least of all is the factor that I simply wouldn't enjoy playing crap music, it woulod defeat the whole object of why I'd play out in the first place, which is entirely not for financial gain. It's all about the music! Jarv

I agree with Jarv on this one. I could never play music that I didnt like. But, maybe people are in this for different reasons. Some people do it for money, some do it for status, some do it cause they love the music. I guess I would ask myself why I am doing it. I get alot of offers to play top 40 and hip-hop because I have my own sound and a decent equipment setup, and I always have said no. I have never been offered a income like you are talking about, but I would probally say no. I make decent money at the job I am at now, so I really don't need to, plus my true love is EDM. I could never imagine Paul VanDyke spinning top 40, or Jon O'Bir producing hip-hop. Good luck on your decision.

Mike

A mate of mine (I'll keep him anonymous for now) is an up-and-coming trance/hard house/hard trance DJ & producer, he's sold 50,000 records and played at all of the big clubs in London.

Until about 6 months ago, the highlight of his week was playing Girls Aloud, Chesney Hawkes and the Grease megamix to a load of freshers at one of our Uni bars. He only stopped doing it cos he finished his degree and moved to London...

He's gonna be in Mixmag in a couple of months time. They know about it, they don't give a fuck.

Even John Digweed used to do mobile discos, playing the "Time Warp" and "When I'm 64" at weddings and birthday parties before he started doing well on the underground circuit.

If you'll enjoy doing it (a lot of people still get a buzz from the crowd reaction even if they don't like the music), do it. If you don't know if you will or not, do it and see how you get on. Treat it like any other job, but if you're seriously into your more underground music, don't lose sight of that as well.

i dont get this whole speach about selling out....

yes, I kinda enjoy the crowd reaction on the grease megamix and all that shit a like...I know that when my bring my own setup then I can rock the place and still have fun...I'm just thinking about the loosing of respect...

actually being a student the income would propably help me to have a little less worries etc...and also...when I have to choose between helping with some boxes in Tesco, kaufland or K-mart or whatever alike...I still would choose playing shitty music over it anyway...I love music...and I love playing with the crowd...I just don't really love the music this crowd enjoys...

what I'd like to do is making them like my own sound...in a few months or so...I actually have played GD Dangerous Power and the response was pretty good...only thing that bothers me that playing not as mainstream sounding prog, breakbeats or trance wouldn't be that much welcome...

still I'd love to have residency in the club...it's very popular here...and if I ever move to some other town where's more of clubs which are open to more genres, than when I say I've been playing at this club, will make them a bit more friendly and earn me some respect...

still I'm pretty much undecided, the club owner is very friendly and he never told me anything about what to play or what not to play...and I know that if I played hardtrance and people liked it, he'd just sit in his corner and smile all night, as he usually does...

to answer a few of the questions ... I'm not DJing for the money ... but at this situation ... the money can make my life easier ...

I'd love to try to keep my respect around here ... but still everyone has to start somewhere somehow... :-/



Short version: Still undecided.

If you want to then go for it. I wouldn't because I wouldn't enjoy it and I don't need the money but there is nothing wrong in doing it. Its just like any other job. If you need the money take the job if you don't pass it up.

thanks Zild, that sounds like healthy attitude "so to say" :-)

thank you

I don't think I could spin rap or something that I have no interest in, regardless of the money.

quote:

Originally posted by BOOsTER yes, I kinda enjoy the crowd reaction on the grease megamix and all that shit a like...I know that when my bring my own setup then I can rock the place and still have fun...I'm just thinking about the loosing of respect... actually being a student the income would propably help me to have a little less worries etc...and also...when I have to choose between helping with some boxes in Tesco, kaufland or K-mart or whatever alike...I still would choose playing shitty music over it anyway...I love music...and I love playing with the crowd...I just don't really love the music this crowd enjoys... what I'd like to do is making them like my own sound...in a few months or so...I actually have played GD Dangerous Power and the response was pretty good...only thing that bothers me that playing not as mainstream sounding prog, breakbeats or trance wouldn't be that much welcome... still I'd love to have residency in the club...it's very popular here...and if I ever move to some other town where's more of clubs which are open to more genres, than when I say I've been playing at this club, will make them a bit more friendly and earn me some respect... still I'm pretty much undecided, the club owner is very friendly and he never told me anything about what to play or what not to play...and I know that if I played hardtrance and people liked it, he'd just sit in his corner and smile all night, as he usually does... to answer a few of the questions ... I'm not DJing for the money ... but at this situation ... the money can make my life easier ... I'd love to try to keep my respect around here ... but still everyone has to start somewhere somehow... :-/ Short version: Still undecided.

I wouldnt worry about losing your respect because of your decision. If people have a problem with your decision then "fck um". I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping an open mind. Sort of goes a little bit against what I said earlier, but I tend to struggle with the whole open mind thing. I have to constantly keep trying to practice it. You never know what could come out of a residency at that bar. You could end up introducing alot of people to music they have never heard before, and possibly fall in love with. That happened to me. Thats how I ended up falling in love with EDM. I happened to go to a party here in Detroit one night years ago, and some DJ was spinning some really deep, emotional EDM. Changed my life forever! I totally fell in love with it at that moment, and started buying alot of electronic music cds, and started finding that this type of music really moved me. It did something for me that no other type of music did. As far as music goes, my life was never the same from that point on. There may be someone in that crowd one night that is just like us, ya know?

Mike

hey the starts are always difficult, nobody knows you atm! I mean the crowd of this club goes there for the music, not for the DJ.
they want to hear the music they have been listening to.

so get your respect at this club and gradually you can play some of your tracks. and you earn some money spinning, some ppl here can't say the same.

i like to stay open minded when it comes to music , and although there is a lot of shitty mainstream music out there, the basslines are pretty groovy and the shit lyrics and stuff arnt so prominent when played over a powerful system...lol...so i would do it if i were you.

i dont think you should look at it as a "respect" issue, this is THE PERFECT oppurtunity for you to gain some experiance in the field!!!

I never liked working in a supermarket, but I used to do it for money. Atleast it'll give you more experiance with crowds enjoying music.

It all really depends. You can go either way with it. I started out DJ'ing parties for friends, I loved trance and house back then too, but I realized that to get the setup that I would eventually use to practice on for a club...I would have to make money. I spun a lot of hiphop and all that jazz for a while, made some good money doing house parties, got my setup at the time...and then vanished. Year or so later I had regular jobs at 2 bar/lounge venues, and a club that packed about 400-800 people. These clubs were not strictly edm, but I was still about to get people groovin for sure on the nights that I played. I got decent money playing at these places, but they were by no means "crobar" status, and didn't take paying djs big money all that seriously. I mean..i'm young, and the chance to play in a club infront of hundreds of people, even for just a hundred or two and an open bar tab, was well worth it! I was 17 at the time, and It was something I really couldn't pass up. Sadly when I moved to go to college, I wound up in a town (Tallahassee, Florida) that has a dead scene. I get hardly any pay now, and I have no residencies for clubs up here yet, its pretty much back to square one. However, i've been playing some house parties for house music only for about a month or so now, and i've packed apartments with a good 70-150 people dancing their asses off, and ya know what? I would do that for free...

...but getting paid would be nice too. I really just feel like there is no greater feeling in the world than playing to a crowd the music YOURE into, and having THEM be as into it as you are, grooving, grinding, and yelling/clapping/screaming during breakdowns. It's the most powerful feeling in the world! Can't get enough.


....and I have been offered PLENTY of decent paying jobs to do big house parties for frats and sororities n the like, or other people in general. They come up, say i'm awesome bla bla bla, they like what I play...they get my number. We talk a week later and they say they want me to spin...but to play "variety music". I decline everytime. Now I just feel like playing something I don't like isn't worth the money to me. It's really not. It's your own personal choice. I don't really buy the selling out thing. Loving music is loving music. Loving the crowd is loving the crowd. As long as you dont give up on playing edm, and dont go all out hiphop or something...and are still known for your OWN style...then fuck it. Thats MY opinion. Hope this helped. Goodluck!!!

i'd rather play shitty music than work the job i'm working now. i say do it. it'll help get your name out more also. can you spin rnb/hip-hop though?

well...I can stand some RnB here and there I think I will just to try make my crowd like my style...but that will take some time.

THANKS ALL GUYS!

I think I'm going to the club with a few friends on wednesday...I'll talk to the owner and tell him that I take it... well...if the money pays me the taxis to get there with all my shit at least


Thanks a lot for helping with deciding guys...you're great and topics like this with lots of helpful replies and no bullshit remind me of the reasons I love tranceaddict...and tranceaddicts haha (no gayness involved)

quote:

Originally posted by BOOsTER well...I can stand some RnB here and there I think I will just to try make my crowd like my style...

I think you made the right decision based on this quote. If you can appreciate what you'll be playing, then there's no question why you shouldn't take the gig.

Finding your own style within the music and belding it with elements of music that your more used to playing will please the crowd and yourself. I know two great dj's that have residents in mainstream clubs here in toronto and you can always tell how their sets vary from the traditional mainstream hip-hop/rap/cheeese house/cheese trance compisitions of their sets. Also, its always wicked finding out that these mainstream dj's have other nights where they can spin the real stuff.

Bottom line, if you can handle what you'll be playing, go for it beacuse theres's alot of ways to combine mainstream music with alot of trance/house to make sets that cover all forms of great music.

This sounds like a really good opportunity!
I say, take the offer, and see it as a chance to make a name for yourself. At the same time, gradually sneak in more and more EDM, and people will start enjoying it

Do it, even if you end up not liking it and leaving, at least you'll have some more experience of playing out under your belt.

i still do mobile dj shows, weddings and even the occasional high school dance

i enjoy all music though, from classic rock, hip-hop, this new commercial rap crap and of course my beloved EDM and almost everything in between

so playing top 40 to a crowd doesn't phase me, i enjoy and know the music i play and get a rush from a crowd going off to what i'm playing

know your music and enjoy what you do

Take the residency. Do it for experience. Forget the integrity aspect for now. The experience you might get from this residency albeit poppy stuff might help you down the line, whether meeting another connection or understanding different crowds...dont pass it up or pass it down. And your getting $. No brainer...take it!

Id love a residency anywhere.

Hey there,

It's not a waste of time. I have played those sorts of gigs and to be honest the hardest part of DJing is learning what people want. Don't worry too much about the music that you are playing because even if you are playing the genre you love, even then you are not always playing the tunes you love, far from it in fact.

I hate RnB but would play it if I had to. Try and understand what is good RnB and bad, but don't always let that influence what you play. Ultimately you have to give the people what they want and also develop the skill of knowing what they want before they do (sounds strange but you will soon see what I mean).

Use it as a learning experience and watch the other DJs. Don't base all your observations on their skills with the decks either, just check the tunes they play and ask yourself what you would have played at that time and so on.

It's purely a case of monkey see, monkey do. Learn from it, but the reality is that this will not be your breakthrough, but then PvD also Djayed in some really commercial clubs a long time ago.

Cheers
Nem

i can honestly say it's good experience

you take a lot from it, flow and track selection are the biggest and i think most important part of being a dj

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 I hate RnB but would play it if I had to. Try and understand what is good RnB and bad, but don't always let that influence what you play. Ultimately you have to give the people what they want and also develop the skill of knowing what they want before they do (sounds strange but you will soon see what I mean)

you have to sift through the shit and pull those songs out that will get them moving

and yes, it's a bit strange but you'll find that you'll intuitivly know what to play next or when flipping through your music, a song will jump out at you

go for it, it's great experience and you'll come away with some great stories, especially if you're not having to do promotions as well, if you're just going in and playing you'll be set

promoting is a whole different ball game, it becomes a full time job and then some, i can help you out in that department if need be, i ran calgary's #1 electronic night for 2 years then hated what was going on, so quit, i'd rather dj then try to promote/dj

Hi guys, thanks a lot to help me decide...tomorrow is my first night in place of resident DJ. I'll let you know how it went...

though...I've done quite a lil bit of research between the clubbers I know etc...like who's prolly going there etc...and it seems that in my town my name brings the same crowd as it was, when I was doing parties on my own...

It seems it won't be that bad...at the weekend I played a little house party too...and hahaha now hold your laughs please...I mixed Akon vs Eminem (whatver that new song name is) with some heavy break loops I prepared...daaaaaaaaaamn it worked :>

and actually I see that if you get RnB with some faster pace, you can easily turn it into some breakbeat...with ableton even easier than anything else...:>

People seemt to enjoy it too...although...I had to play Grease a few times on request...but I hate that lotsa less than some other crap tunes...so

expect my report tomorrow or the day after guys

Thanks a lot for all your advises and everything )

Money experience and confidence. three reasons you should do it.

being able to take the high and mighty and look down on other 'inferior ' genres or gigs is all very well if you are established and can afford to.
Otherwise go into it with open eyes (and ears) and I guarantee you will learn some stuff you can apply to any gig of any genre in the future.
Plus its fun.
I love playing 70s and 80s nights personally

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