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Unoffical Rules and Guidelines to be a DJ (pg. 2)
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| Orpheus Is Dead |
| quote: | Originally posted by ballmouse
Jesus pose is reserved only for Tiesto. |
I prefer the Moses Pose....(throws stone tablet at crowd) |
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| blacknoizybox |
| "let me se ya!!" scream and heavyweight wobbling reserved for Carl Cox |
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| Trance Nutter |
| quote: | Originally posted by blacknoizybox
"let me se ya!!" scream and heavyweight wobbling reserved for Carl Cox |
Eating corn on the cob in the booth is likewise reserved for Carl Cox |
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| Beat Blog |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ_Ampz
I was curious and I know a few of those unwritten dj rules, I wanted to see what others through. Here are my few.
1. Don't Bug a DJ while s/he is mixing, If you want to talk to him/her, wait till s/he is done.
2. DON'T EVER TOUCH A DJ's EQUIPMENT (unless you are the room host, AND all you are doing is lowering or raising the sound volume.) This includes effects, adjustments, levels, etc.
3. Don't ask a DJ who is not your friend to "play this track here because it would fit great"
4. Don't ask a DJ to "let me drop one track".
5. DJ's don't have to dance, at any time. using the Excuse "Im a DJ, we don't have to dance" is a legit answer.
6. Don't use a mic unless the DJ hands it to you to use.
7. Don't host a party in the DJ booth, and If your there to watch, stay out of the way.
What else do people have. Ive missed ton's I'm sure.
Ampz |
8. Don't put the prefix "DJ" on the front of your name, it makes you sound like a tool, especially when you're actually some guy who plays music in his bedroom, and not a DJ.
9. If you absolutely must call yourself "DJ" something, make sure it's not "DJ Ampz".
Shouldn't the title of this thread be "unofficial rules and guidelines to be a member of the crowd at an event where a DJ is playing"? |
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| unripelemon |
| Make sure you dont get cum on the equipment after the blond with fake boobs gave you head. |
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| Omega_M |
| quote: | Originally posted by Trance Nutter
Eating corn on the cob in the booth is likewise reserved for Carl Cox |
:stongue: |
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| flavdave |
| quote: | Originally posted by david.michael
Stop bitching about me not playing hip-hop. |
Stop bitching about me playing hip-hop. |
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| blacknoizybox |
| Never play Modulation - Spirits (Cosmicman Remix) on vynil. It will result in sound deterioration of vynil over time. Solution - send the vynil to me:p |
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| starboy |
| 8. dont make gay threads, and stop being a tight ass |
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| DiegoParra32 |
this list is ok but this is a lot better and still applies today even though it was written a while ago.
http://www.djforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3663
Newly spell checked and revised 9/8/06
OK, I am about to tell all of you closet mixmasters out there all of the things that no one would tell me when I got started at this thing we call spinning.
At the time, I was hungry for a little insight from someone who has been there and done that.
So, I am going to be that guy for whoever cares now...
1987-1990:
I had been making mixtapes(edits) in my bedroom(using Scotch tapes and razor blades, I didn’t have a mixer) and playing house parties for friends throughout high school and my only means of listening to other people mix at that time was by listening to the live broadcasts from Cowboys every Friday night on KTUX, or by listening to DJ Darrell and Chico throw down on KDKS. They always blew me away! I was hungry to learn how these guys managed to mix those songs that well.
Later that year, I turned 18 and I gained access to these clubs and began watching guys like Jerry Tickner, Fabor Robison, Steve Worachek, Danny Miles and "The Reverend" Chuck Davis spin.
I soon got up enough courage to approach these guys and ask them how they do it.
I walked in with a good idea of what songs should go together, but I hadn't a clue as to how they got those turntables to sync up like that.
No one would help me.
They acted like they had some secret power endowed to them that they would lose if they shared their knowledge with anyone who dared asked for it.
Until one night, Chuck Davis looked at me and
asked “Do you REALLY want to do this?" I eagerly agreed, "YES!”
He then gave me the best advice anyone ever gave me...
He said "Shut up and pay attention."
He expected me to use my intuition and intelligence to figure the rest out for my self.
That is exactly what I had to do.
Here are a few simple guidelines for any upcoming DJ to spin by...
1. Ignore the trends. Play what makes you TRULY happy. If you are not enjoying the music, your audience won't either!
2. NEVER trust a club owner or promoter.
3. NEVER play for beer and other buzzes when others are going to profit from your efforts. This excludes charity events and house parties for your friends.
4. Buy the best equipment available to you. The rest is crap. (trust me on this, I have thrown away more equipment than I own right now!)
5. MOST dance music is based on 32 beat segments. If you can count to 32, you can mix.
6. record EVERYTHING! even when you are just goofing off on the decks, that is when you’re best ideas will be born.
7. After you have produced a mix tape that rocks all of your friends’ worlds, give copies out to clubs and rave promoters and other kids. That is the ONLY way you are going to recoup the thousands of dollars you will have to invest in records, equipment and noise pollution tickets!
8. IGNORE THE TRENDS. BE YOURSELF, even if you spin polka, be yourself and never let people pressure you into playing music you don't like.
9. Play something! If you can play an instrument, even if is banging two sticks together in time, you will be a lot further along than most of the DJ's I know.
10. Find a mentor. Learn from HIS/HER mistakes so you won't make the same ones! And more importantly, let them guide you onto the musical path that is right for you.
You never know, you could be a misguided guitar player or pianist. No one is an island unto themselves; don't fool yourself by thinking otherwise.
11. Dance, until you can't. If you aren't dancing, you don't feel the music. If you don't feel it, don't spin!
12. If you are going to play two records simultaneously, listen to the mix in your headphones for AT LEAST 16 beats before you pan that crossfader over! There a lot of highly paid DJ's in Shreveport who hasn’t figured that out yet! TRAINWRECKS WILL KILL YOUR VIBE! Avoid them at all costs!
13. Buy all of the records you can, they are with their weight in gold.
14. TAKE CARE OF THEM! GRUV-Glide is best and it is available at http://www.pssl.com
15. DO NOT TAKE REQUESTS. YOU ARE IN CONTROL! (OK, some clubs insist that you do, and ALL mobile DJ's are there to do ONLY that, so be nice about it...)
16. People that are not dancing need to be drinking. If you ever get to play a club, your performance will ultimately be judged by the amount of liquor sold that night. If you notice several cliques in the house, learn their tastes, and make sure that they are all happy at some point.
17. NEVER TRUST A CLUB OWNER OR MANAGER. GET A CONTRACT AND USE IT! IF THEY WON'T SIGN IT, THEY DON"T DESERVES TO HAVE YOU THERE!
18. LISTEN TO PORTISHEAD!
19. DRUGS WILL NOT MAKE YOU A BETTER DJ!
20. ALCOHOL WON'T EITHER.
21.Clean your equipment regularly, A clean fader is a happy one.
22. The Technics SL 1200 mkII & mkIII are the ONLY turntables to buy! Anything else is a waste of money!
23. Stay away from Gemini and other cheap brands, they are crap.
24. Sony and AKG studio headphones are the way to go, you will have them forever and they sound better than any of the club systems you will be tortured with.
25. The best entry-level DJ cartridge in the world is available at Radio Shack for $35
RS-500 DJ
it is actually a Stanton Cart. and it will do you just fine until you can justify the expense of Ortofons.
26. NEVER pay more than $250 for a used 1200.
A 20 year old 1200 is every bit as good as a brand new one. REALLY.
27. Replace your tonearms every ten years. The contacts in the unit have a tendency to oxidize and the repair is well worth the cost!
28. Fix your own gear. If you do not know how, ask someone that can help you! If you break it, it is usually a good idea to fix it yourself.
29. Protect your ears, loud music is cool and all, but it's much cooler if you can hear it!
keep your booth monitors turned down at a discrete level. Your ears will thank you for it later! There is no cure for "Club's Disease"!
30. Yes, you will get the attention of girls.
31. Make the girls happy, you will never go wrong doing that!
32. If a woofer makes ANY sound besides a "woof" or a "boom", turn it down! (Don Teach never told me that when I was buying all of those replacement baskets)
33. Peavey sucks.
34. JBL rules.
35. Never take advice from older DJ’s; you'll never know what kind of bull we are throwing at you...
36. Never let this go to your head. But never let people try to belittle you either.
Psychological warfare is a lot of fun, but it doesn't sell records for very long...
37. If you are insistent upon learning to scratch, do it at home, not the club. After you can do a couple of tricks do them at the club.
38. I never had them available to me, but there are MANY good learning guides and videos available today, Ignore those too. Be yourself.
39. if you really suck, or aren't interested in on the job training, go to http://www.pssl.com and order one or two. Who knows, they might actually teach you something.
40. You are only as good as the occupancy of your dance floor, watch it closely.
If it is empty, try playing something else.
41. A 32 ounce Crown & Coke will ruin most DJ mixers.
42. It may also seriously impair your ability to mix well.
43. Be friendly, spinning for 8 hours at a stretch can be an incredibly stressful endeavor. And people who approach you during that time will pick up on the bad vibes emanating from you and take them back to room. If someone keeps bugging you to play something stupid, it is usually better to ignore them by looking incredibly busy than turning around and getting pissed off at them. Remember, these people are usually drunk and they think that it is your job to appease them by playing whatever songs will pave the yellow brick road of their wildest disco fantasies. It is, but you are the engineer, they are merely travelers. Make it look easy!
44. DO NOT USE THAT FU@&ING MICROPHONE UNLESS THE PLACE IS BURNING DOWN AND YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM TO GET THE FU@K OUT! The world's best DJ's never turn on a mic.
NO ! They don't have to, they are good enough to let the songs do all of the talking for them.
45. There is probably not a single square foot of retail floor space in your home town (since most people don't live in large cities, believe it or not...) dedicated to selling NEW dance music. Go online to http://www.cdnow.com http://www.dancerecords.com http://pssl.com http://www.satelliterecords.com
they will do for now....
46. After you are sick of buying other peoples' music, save all of that money, buy a Kurzweil, or a Korg, or a Roland, and a good Yamaha and make your own.
47. call your mother. she is worried about you. (She had better be anyway.)
48."Pro" DJ C.D. players usually die a miserable death (usually when you are in public, mixing). If you insist upon playing those abominations of media, get a Pioneer or NEW Denon player. The rest are crap. So are the older Denons.
49. If you let someone else pay your dues for you, they WILL come back to collect them from you. Don't sell out.
50. The most successful DJ's/producers in the world are in their late 30's - 40's and early 50's.
Don't be in a hurry. You will have to pay the same dues they did. Unless you are an attractive woman.
51. NEVER TRUST A CLUB OWNER!
Part Two:
52. If you don't like it, don't spin it!
53. You are the biggest single social catalyst in the club. If you play trash stuff, you will get a trashy crowd...
Inversely, if you play advanced, avant garde' music, you will attract the same kind of people.
54. GOOD LUCK FINDING THEM IN SHREVEPORT!
Several have tried, most have failed.
55. A dance song that actually makes it to the radio here had better have been in your set 9 months earlier!
56. Drum & Bass is incredible music but it doesn’t sell very much whiskey yet. If you live in am market that will support it, then you are blessed!
57. Go to New Orleans at least twice a year to soak up those vibes. Bring them back with you and share what you have experienced with your crowd.
58. GET OUT OF (Insert town of under one million in population here) WHILE YOU CAN! THERE IS NO MONEY HERE!
59. OH, I forgot, DJ's don't make enough here to move in the first place....
60. Topless clubs are a LOT more enjoyable outside of the DJ booth.
BTW, They ALWAYS need a DJ…
61. When laying down tracks in a studio, it is usually best to have tight, final tracks to jam with. Someone else's train wreck WILL create your own and will result in MANY hours of frustrating overdubs, retakes and punch-ins.
BTW, I love my band; I couldn’t imagine having a better group of guys to play with.
I just wish we had more time to finish our demo. We have been busting ass for over two months on these songs. They are beginning to take on a life of their own. They certainly have taken over my life for the time being, LOL.
Anyway, to get back to my point...
If you are a DJ and you ever have to enter a studio environment with 5 other band mates and have to lay your parts down one at a time, due to time and scheduling dilemmas. Be prepared to rethink EVERYTHING you thought you knew about your craft and be sure to clear your head of everything going on in your life outside of your music.
62. All things human are either mathematical or political. Hence, hold your enemies close. Their politics will affect your math.
63. Spit in the face of adversity and then hug it, it needs love too.
64. Practice some more.
65. Aren't you still practicing?
66. Clean your needles every hour you spin spit and compressed air has worked for me for years.
67. Don't be a snob to people who helped you in the past. Their attitude probably hasn't changed much... |
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| blacknoizybox |
| some points are totally outdated |
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| RebeL9 |
| can anyone pass me a cigg? |
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