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Moving to L.A.
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| Evolve140 |
Hey guys,
Most of you probably don't recognize me because I hang around in the Producer's forum. I have been working very hard the past few years to sharpen up my productions and song writing, and I'm happy to say I'm ready to break into the game full force. I'm not here to promote myself or my productions, just to get a little information.
I am not moving to L.A. strictly for the music, or to be "discovered", or anything ridiculous like that. Where I live (Las Cruces, NM) there is no scene and nothing going on. Boring college town, the only thing to do is drink and smoke pot. The nearest party city is El Paso, but it's just a bunch of electro garbage and scene kids and lacks night life diversity. Juarez used to be the best party city for hundreds of miles around, but ceased being safe several years ago. The reason I mention this is because I've just been ready for a change for a while, and L.A. happens to be a good decision right now because of my circumstances which I won't get into.
There are a couple/few international DJs who I keep in touch with who have expressed some interest in supporting some of the tracks (unreleased) I have shown them and I noticed that they have gigs lined up in L.A., which means there is a chance they could be playing them out there as well.
I just have a couple questions. How hard is it to break in and start getting gigs here? Would it help if my productions were being supported by bigger acts? What is the scene like? Is the music winning or is it "see and be seen" type of night life?
Just wondering what to expect, so please don't crucify me for asking! Thanks guys! |
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| fantasyexctasy |
| You should be prepared for the 18+ crowd and the 21+ crowd because there is a huge disparity in taste. The younger ones worship electro/vocals, while the older crowd appreciates more techy, trancy tunes. Also alot of the time the crowd lacks knowledge in EDM and can't really tell which song is which unless its really popular. |
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| DaveT |
| quote: | Originally posted by fantasyexctasy
You should be prepared for the 18+ crowd and the 21+ crowd because there is a huge disparity in taste. The younger ones worship electro/vocals, while the older crowd appreciates more techy, trancy tunes. Also alot of the time the crowd lacks knowledge in EDM and can't really tell which song is which unless its really popular. |
Other than massives, LA is mainly 21+....so just know your crowds.
SF used to be mainly 21+, other than massives, but a lot of the big trance nights are 18+ now, in clubs. others are 21+. It's great becasue other cities typically are one or the other, but SF has a mix.
yeah, I'm talking up SF.
I think the LA trance club scene sucks major ass right now. And it does, if you're honest with yourself. |
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| Quazar |
I just moved to LA a year ago (from Atlanta), and the scene here is amazing.
There are well-known trance DJs/producers in town every weekend, normally at Circus, Avalon, or Music Box, and those events are mostly devoid of the douchebag crowd you get in other cities (though for a big DJ like Steve Angello, they'll be out in force). There are festivals happening every few months. The house and techno scenes are really good, too. There is something going on almost every single night of the week, not just weekends. During the summer, you even get daytime parties.
Take this past New Year's for instance. You could choose from John Digweed at Avalon, the Together As One festival in downtown LA, Gabriel & Dresden at Hollywood Palladium, and two hours away in San Diego you had Ferry Corsten.
Above & Beyond's Trance Around the World 350 event in December sold out in ONE DAY.
Most of the EDM parties are about the music, but you're going to get see-and-be-seen types everywhere. They'll show up, but they're greatly outnumbered by music fans at the techno parties, Circus, etc. Obviously the "Hollywood hotspots" are different, but those aren't EDM clubs.
LA is relatively friendly, so it's pretty easy to meet people and network, especially if you have productions to show. People here live and die by their connections, so everyone is looking to make new ones. That's not to say people are being fake (though some are), it's just more of an "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" type of town.
No offense to anyone, but the only people I've seen complain about the LA scene are people who have been here for a very long time. In a sense, they were spoiled in years past and now think the scene "sucks" (I can only imagine how awesome it was in the late 90s/early 00s), but I can't imagine any other US city having a better scene for trance right now than LA does. Maybe NYC, but if you browse their forum, it doesn't seem that way.
One possible negative: Electro house and dubstep are HUGE in LA right now. I don't really mind, and it's easy enough to avoid the events, but a lot of the 18-21 crowd loves that stuff and they swarm to the festivals en masse. |
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| DjWoody |
| One thing about LA right now, is that unlike before, you pretty much have 2 scenes. You have the underground, where people go for the music - Avalon, Warehouse parties, King King, etc., and the mainstream EDM scene. Most venues play commercial EDM now, pretty much your Guetta's, Afrojack, and Chuckie, etc. These venues also mix in other formats, so they're not strictly EDM all night and the crowd is completely different. |
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| darin epsilon |
| quote: | Originally posted by Evolve140
I just have a couple questions. How hard is it to break in and start getting gigs here? |
First of all, congrats on moving to LA! I just moved here a little over 2 years ago. This is arguably the toughest city in the entire nation to break through, but it's not impossible. The good news is that unlike other major cities, LA has a wide variety of venues to play. I count at least 6 superclubs and few dozen smaller-scale places that you can play, depending which genre of music you're making.
| quote: | | Originally posted by Evolve140 Would it help if my productions were being supported by bigger acts? |
Yes absolutely, it never hurts to have the backing of major players in the scene, but I wouldn't recommend using it as a crutch.
| quote: | Originally posted by Evolve140
What is the scene like? Is the music winning or is it "see and be seen" type of night life? |
We have a little of everything here. The electronic music scene is exploding like nowhere else in the US, in my opinion. You also have Vegas, OC, and San Diego nearby. |
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| system-7 |
Don't listen to DaveT, this guy rarely hits up any parties. He is a remote clubber with views from 5 years ago. The trance scene is still good in LA.
| quote: | Originally posted by DaveT
I think the LA trance club scene sucks major ass right now. And it does, if you're honest with yourself. |
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| Evolve140 |
| Thanks a lot guys, this really helps. I've been getting a lot better finishing tracks for releases living here, and I draw mostly from inspiration. I can only imagine the inspiration from living out there, since I already love Cali. The vibe is always way better than in NM. I'm putting out progressive house and some trancey stuff, so even if the decent crowd is 21+ there will be some needed diversity. |
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| Brian Scott |
| quote: | Originally posted by Evolve140
Thanks a lot guys, this really helps. I've been getting a lot better finishing tracks for releases living here, and I draw mostly from inspiration. I can only imagine the inspiration from living out there, since I already love Cali. The vibe is always way better than in NM. I'm putting out progressive house and some trancey stuff, so even if the decent crowd is 21+ there will be some needed diversity. |
LA is overwhelming to a lot of people who come from smaller towns around the country. Connections are everything if you wanna break into the club scene as a DJ. Get some face time with the promoters and meet their friends. Just be prepared to be severely underpaid. |
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| Evolve140 |
| Cool. Thanks for the heads up. I actually have some nice connections out there, but will need more! :) |
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| wackadoo |
| quote: | Originally posted by Brian Scott
LA is overwhelming to a lot of people who come from smaller towns around the country. Connections are everything if you wanna break into the club scene as a DJ. Get some face time with the promoters and meet their friends. Just be prepared to be severely underpaid. |
Aint that the truth. Underpaid or not paid.
Best of luck to you in your adventures in LA LA Land. |
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| DaveT |
| quote: | Originally posted by system-7
Don't listen to DaveT, this guy rarely hits up any parties. He is a remote clubber with views from 5 years ago. The trance scene is still good in LA. |
You pretty much have one club that books trance regularly. Circus. With that booty sound and acoustics (not a knock on LMD, they do the best they can and respect it). Good crowd (when not full of zombies). Can have very welcoming vibes. Avalon does it sparingly (though picking up more -- before Dave/Giant came back, Avalon had a policy against booking trance headliners. Only like Bobina ever was regularly, and I heard it was a friend connect that allowed that but I don't know for sure. And Insomniac is trying to do things at Henry Fonda, but it's not regularly at all. Other than that, most of the main acts that come through LA play at the Palladium (not a club) these days it seems or one of the many festival (not a club). SF has Taj, Spundae, ME, Torq, Ruby Skye (on its own), Skills, and more who throw 18+ and 21+ trance events in clubs at various CLUBS. While I might've not been able to get out as much as I like, I don't have to go to a club to know who the hell is playing and who is behind it and see how has changed.
Anyhow, that's my point. The trance scene in clubs in LA has sucked ass for 2-3 years now, in comparison to how it was before. 5-6 years ago when you had promoters throwing trance events regularly at Avalon, Vanguard, and Circus. People even threw events at the Hollywood & Highlands then, too. And you still had the festivals. Back then, DJs didn't hold out on the clubs then like they do now for the festivals.
Again, when you look at the whole picture and are honest with yourself, it sucks ass compared to what it can be or has been. That said, it is better than 99% of other cities out there. But for LA, it's suffering. You said it yourself, it's still "good." At one time, it was ing amazing. Club wise that is. Sorry that I have high standards for a city like LA.
Oddly, Orange Country/Giant/Sutra has prob helped the trance scene in SoCal to make up for the lackluster last few years in LA itself. |
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