I think it's a good idea to make a sticky on this subject, because ultimately, it is every DJs goal to share his sound with the crowd. I'm sure it has been covered numerous times here, but I think a thread like this has potential to help a lot of people. Basically I'd like to hear how some of the DJs here received their first gigs/residencies. It will also help if some of the promoters chime in and share their experiences with bringing new talents to the stage.

first gig - went up to the promoter of a recurring party and asked them if they needed a dj for the next one. they told me they had just lost their previous dj, and I was in. 500 person ibiza themed party - not too bad for a first gig at all.
Video Here

I have the dark hair, though it was short back then- my friend was playing with me as well. we were getting a little crazy lol but i was definitely nervous and overwhelmed my first gig especially with all these people crowding us making the needles skip

other gigs I was just asked to play by people I know, a lot of house parties and opening up for people. I started a promotion/dj/production collective which helped tremendously with this as the scene was virtually nonexistent. Going to university I was able to get a lot of cool gigs through the institution - playing at gallery openings, music department demonstrations, street fairs, etc. It gave me a lot of exposure and chance to promote myself independently to people for house parties and what not.

my first residency started with me having a friend who was a bartender at a new lounge who hooked me up with an interview. everything seemed ok and then then nothing for a while. He had intended to open his club as a chic lounge with quality house music most nights and one night of top40. Instead he made a ton of money playing top40 and then never called me back. I harassed him until he gave me a chance to play and drew a decent crowd. After that, I didn't play much there. Then randomly a year later he calls me back and tells me he needs me to play because his usual dj is out of town. I take the opportunity to promote it myself and brand it as a separate night. It ended up as a great night and I made a ton of money as all the cover went to me lol. The owner realized that it was possible to do such a night in such a locale despite his conditioning to believe that only mainstream music would make him money, and he invited me back to do a weekly. I did one more party but then I skipped town for a new job and now I'm back to nothing in new york city handing out cds to anyone and everyone i can.

(book me please)

Last edited by nefardec on Jul-12-2007 at 19:05

quote:

Originally posted by nefardec first gig - went up to the promoter of a recurring party and asked them if they needed a dj for the next one. they told me they had just lost their previous dj, and I was in. 500 person ibiza themed party - not too bad for a first gig at all. Video Here I have the dark hair, though it was short back then- my friend was playing with me as well. we were getting a little crazy lol but i was definitely nervous and overwhelmed my first gig especially with all these people crowding us making the needles skip other gigs I was just asked to play by people I know, a lot of house parties and opening up for people. I started a promotion/dj/production collective which helped tremendously with this as the scene was virtually nonexistent. Going to university I was able to get a lot of cool gigs through the institution - playing at gallery openings, music department demonstrations, street fairs, etc. It gave me a lot of exposure and chance to promote myself independently to people for house parties and what not. my first residency started with me having a friend who was a bartender at a new lounge who hooked me up with an interview. everything seemed ok and then then nothing for a while. He had intended to open his club as a chic lounge with quality house music most nights and one night of top40. Instead he made a ton of money playing top40 and then never called me back. I harassed him until he gave me a chance to play and drew a decent crowd. After that, I didn't play much there. Then randomly a year later he calls me back and tells me he needs me to play because his usual dj is out of town. I take the opportunity to promote it myself and brand it as a separate night. It ended up as a great night and I made a ton of money as all the cover went to me lol. The owner realized that it was possible to do such a night in such a locale despite his conditioning to believe that only mainstream music would make him money, and he invited me back to do a weekly. I did one more party but then I skipped town for a new job and now I'm back to nothing in new york city handing out cds to anyone and everyone i can. (book me please)

I looked at the video and you had a stringer right next to the booth. That's sweet!

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quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi change your avatar for fucks sake.

lol yeah there were some behind too

quote:

Originally posted by nefardec first gig - went up to the promoter of a recurring party and asked them if they needed a dj for the next one. they told me they had just lost their previous dj, and I was in. 500 person ibiza themed party - not too bad for a first gig at all. Video Here I have the dark hair, though it was short back then- my friend was playing with me as well. we were getting a little crazy lol but i was definitely nervous and overwhelmed my first gig especially with all these people crowding us making the needles skip other gigs I was just asked to play by people I know, a lot of house parties and opening up for people. I started a promotion/dj/production collective which helped tremendously with this as the scene was virtually nonexistent. Going to university I was able to get a lot of cool gigs through the institution - playing at gallery openings, music department demonstrations, street fairs, etc. It gave me a lot of exposure and chance to promote myself independently to people for house parties and what not. my first residency started with me having a friend who was a bartender at a new lounge who hooked me up with an interview. everything seemed ok and then then nothing for a while. He had intended to open his club as a chic lounge with quality house music most nights and one night of top40. Instead he made a ton of money playing top40 and then never called me back. I harassed him until he gave me a chance to play and drew a decent crowd. After that, I didn't play much there. Then randomly a year later he calls me back and tells me he needs me to play because his usual dj is out of town. I take the opportunity to promote it myself and brand it as a separate night. It ended up as a great night and I made a ton of money as all the cover went to me lol. The owner realized that it was possible to do such a night in such a locale despite his conditioning to believe that only mainstream music would make him money, and he invited me back to do a weekly. I did one more party but then I skipped town for a new job and now I'm back to nothing in new york city handing out cds to anyone and everyone i can. (book me please)

That's an awesome response. How long did you play in your bedroom before you got your first gig?

t was about a year (and it was my friend's bedroom, before i had my own equipment )

I knew the organizers of a pro-wakeboard festival and got to provide music over the 4 day tournament. And my sister works in the admin office/promotes part time at Pawn Shop Lounge down here in Miami and got me the spot there. Connections...

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Click the link below to stream all of my mixes past and present. New mixes go up about once a month. Enjoy!

www.mixcloud.com/jluger

What's a stringer?

Jarv

quote:

Originally posted by Jarvmeister What's a stringer? Jarv

A Stringer(hardly a technical term) is somebody who ties strings to glowsticks and swings them around in various patterns and designs.

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quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi change your avatar for fucks sake.

My first gig of any kind was a thing at school - basically there was a social BBQ arranged for the year below mine, which one of my teachers was running. He mentioned it to us in a lesson then after the lesson I asked him if I could provide the music... he said yes, it happened. (actually it all went a bit Pete Tong when most of my equipment stopped working, but hey - all good experience!)


For my first club gig, I was only 14 so was a regular at the local under-18 club night (held at the same venue as Slinky, for those of you who know the brand)... at the end of the event one night, I went and asked the DJ how I could go about getting myself involved as a DJ myself - he pointed out the promoter's number on the back of the flyer, I gave him a rang and 2 demos + much pestering later (I'm pretty certain he never listened to either of them), they said I could play one night.

That evolved into a residency warming up and a few months later (they were monthly events) They told me to take charge of the 2nd room, playing whatever I liked. That all fell on its arse about 6 months later when the club decided to get a different promotion to run the under 18 nights, but hey... I just gave them a rang and started playing for them instead!

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Stu Cox |

At one of the first house parties I played at, a huge, angry guy punched a hit a girl and broke another kids jaw because we wouldn't play rap.

True story, there was a thread, search if needed, etc.

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last minute disco dot net

quote:

Originally posted by Beatflux A Stringer(hardly a technical term) is somebody who ties strings to glowsticks and swings them around in various patterns and designs.

Ahhh, right. I call them wankers.

Thanks for clearing this up.

Jarv