I need advice on how to approach a club asking for a DJ job. They are many small clubs in my town and apparently they are a few which have certain nights were every-body goes just for the music, Which could be intresting because this would be a more educated audience rather than pop lovers. Do i send them demo tape or what?
So, taking on board i am leaving school this year, at the age of 16, How can i approach this ? Thanks very much !

I would appreciate advice of some-one who has been in my posisiton and now has experience. Thanks again.

You may have trouble being so young...don't know where your at, but in the U.S. you have to be at least 18.... 1st you have to find out who the owner or manager is...and hand them a demo directly... If u give it to the dj or the guy at the door....most likely tehy will throw it in the garbage..... These guys are most likely friends...and why would they want someone else taking their job...know what I mean?

And if at 1st u get no response....It pays to be Persistant...not a pain in the ass, but almost


Good luck

Eddie

As a small club promoter myself heres a few hints for what we look for in a demo tape:

1 - No mistakes, if there are any parts in the mix that makes you cringe then it will stick in the promoters/club mangers head, that one mistake will be the lasting impression of the mix. Some slight drifts of beats are OK provided you quickly make adjustments before the dreaded double beat comes into play! Clashing baselines are one to avoid!!!!

2 - Play to the employees style, if its a trance club then give them a trance demo, but keep it fresh as the club manager/promoter will get a lot of tapes so they don't want to be listening to the same old crap day in day out. Try and have at least one mix that is not straight mixing, throw in a few tricks, some accapellas and you will be laughing.

3 - Nail that first mix, if its crap they might just switch off, you have to grab attention with that first mix by either making it as smooth or possible, or by dropping in the new tune in an original as possible way.

4 - A description of your mix, if you didn't like a part of it write it down on paper and hand it in with the mix, give an explanation of why you chose such a track in this part of the mix and why you mixed it with this other tune. NOTE, most club managers would not really look at this, but for those that do it shows you have a passion and understanding of the music you play!

5 - CD vs Tape, personally I prefer CD so I can send it to my co-promoter! Sound quality is normally better too.

And as Disgustipation has already stated be persistant, show this club manager that you really want to play at their club and have reasons of why you are better than what they currently have.

Wow that's some awesome help! I'm looking into sending in a mixtape to my local club as well, so these tips have come really timely. Thanks!

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Melodic Progressive.

Better than sex.

Thanks for the advice but i just got one more question. How long would you advise my mix to be ? I dont wanna make it to long and bore them to death, I dont know what people ill be dealing with.

Hey I will also keep this in mind when the day comes.... Thanks dudes!

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Check My Music

An hour is normally long enough to show what you can do. It probably won't be listened to in its entirety unless it really is astounding. If its on CD they might just check the mixing over and over, if it is good and track selection is what they are looking for you are in with a shout!

Really appreciate the comments, Thanks. I quess its just all down to me now, Sweet. Now all i need is to select 10 tunes and glue the bitches together, Simple.