Here Goes Another Season

[DJH 0]

Tonight is the night i start my stint of xmas and private parties, a nice little 8pm till 11pm for a swimming club, done it last year and it was good fun,

i was wondering how many gigs roughly the semi pro Dj`s on here do around this time of year?????

i have 8 to do between now and new years eve, which i think is great considering its only supposed to be a hobby.

Haydn

[deejaymitch 0]

Just checked my calendar - 21 gigs in the next 28 days. Think I'll take a wee holiday in January!!!

[High Fidelity 0]

7 for a hotel, and 1 private one for a business centre tonight.

 

I'm determined to not work NYE next year. :wall:

[mick 0]

Nine gigs inc NYE for me.

[bigMCben 0]

Between 30/11 and 31/12, 17 for hotel, plus 6 other private parties.

[davemoody 0]

I am out every night excluding Xmas Day and New Years Day. Next night off is Jan 7th

[Corabar Steve 0]

21 including Christmas Day / Night.

[Norfolk DJ 0]

Varies year to year somewhere between 6 at the worst to 15 at best

 

21 including Christmas Day / Night.

 

hope you are getting a good payer for Christmas day. My wife would kill me!!!

[Mattaious 0]

None

 

(Dont run the business anymore)

 

However ive received a few calls over the last few days and its looking like i might do the odd one .

 

 

Who knows

 

 

[Reverandfunk 0]

11 I think, make note to self - look at diary....

 

Justt interested to know from those of you with a bucket load of gigs, are they all at one venue/ through an agent, private bookings etc?

 

I've only been working for a couple of years, but my agent and mates say that this is the worst Xmas ever in the West Mids, virtually nothing on a Mon Tue Wed.

 

[Danno13 0]

I have 10 gigs to do personally, and another 5 where I'm supplying other DJs.

 

Not as busy as last year. And only two regular venues, with 2 gigs for each. The rest are private parties, a wedding, and a couple of corporates.

Edited December 10, 2007 by Danno13

[NRG Roadshow 0]

From the end of November to the start of January Im doing 17 in total.

 

All weekends have been filled and some sundays and midweek stuff.

 

I still have a few midweek dates left Matt, if you fancy dishing anymore gigs my way.

[D.X 0]

 

 

I'm determined to not work NYE next year. :wall:

 

Best night of the year mate. Pretty much the same as any other night yet you get to charge twice as much tongue out icon

 

 

[Secret Disco 0]

Every night up to new years eve.....with the exception of the 13th 14th 18th and 19th. where im on doubles with kids gigs in the afternoon / early evening, and then my night time party gigs.

[High Fidelity 0]

I've got none now :dan+ju:

 

Hotel gigs were a nightmare and I decided by the end of the second night that I couldn't work with the management there. Rang the agent who booked me to tell him that I wouldn't be going back there for the rest of them, only to find out, they didn't want me back there anyway.

 

Something of a novelty for me, I've never been sacked before.

[Paul Smith 0]

Sorry to hear that Paul - what were the problems you had?

[Corabar Steve 0]

11 I think, make note to self - look at diary....

 

Justt interested to know from those of you with a bucket load of gigs, are they all at one venue/ through an agent, private bookings etc?

 

I've only been working for a couple of years, but my agent and mates say that this is the worst Xmas ever in the West Mids, virtually nothing on a Mon Tue Wed.

2 hotels that we have a contract with, we're supplying all the DJs for them (unless privately booked functions with own DJ/band) & a handfull of private gigs Christmas parties, birthdays & one wedding.

[High Fidelity 0]

Sorry to hear that Paul - what were the problems you had?

 

Set up in the small bar with the brief to entertain the restaraunt guests when they come out from their meal. Mic work not wanted, just party music and what the guests want. Pub already had a lot of "kids" in before I started.

 

Feedback (via the agent) after the first night was music was all over the place, jumping about from type to type too much and played tunes that were not party tunes. (These non-party tunes were requests), and I think the slowest "non-request" track I played all night was Uptown Girl. I always play in sets of 3 or 4 of any genre. :shrug:

 

So the brief for the second one. Don't take any requests from the guests unless they are party tunes, and if they don't like it, refer them to the management.

 

Started off playing the ususal party stuff with a busy dance floor, then got the same request as the first night from one of the "kids" in the pub (Riahna - Umbrella), which cleared the floor at the previous one. So I told her of my instructions and refused her request. She obviously complained to the assistant manager of the hotel because 10 minutes later the bar manager comes to me saying "I wish my bosses would make their mind up - can you play that Riahna request". I said OK, but I can garauntee it will clear the floor.

 

I had just started a 70's set working into a Motown set (including some requests for 70's & Motown party tracks) so put Riahna into my requests list to fit in when suitable.

 

Five minutes later the assistant manager comes over to repeat the message. I told him I would fit it in soon.

 

Ten minutes later the assistant manager is back again, "I still haven't heard Riahna yet". I tried to say to him that you cannot play a 70's followed by a "chart" followed by a "Motown followed by a "chart" and so on. He says "yes you can, you need to mix it up a bit". Bear in mind the feedback from the first night, and I had a full dancefloor at the time.

 

So, being a firm believer in "The Customer Is Always Right", I did what he asked.

 

Guess what!! - it killed the dancefloor. :ads:

 

After 20 minutes of this chart party chart party he's back over again asking what's happened to the dancefloor to which I replied "I told you so".

 

Him "So why don't you play Rock DJ"

Me "I've already played it"

Him "Take That - Shine"

Me "I've already played it"

Him "Sugababes - About You Now"

Me "I've aready played it :wall: :wall:

 

And so on.

 

No matter what I tried after that, I couldn't coax more than a couple at a time back on to the dance floor.

 

Having had such a good night at my own gig on Friday, with a full dancefloor from start to finish, I was just totally P****** off, and really angry, and just couldn't wait to get out of there, having already decided I wasn't going back.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but I just can't work under those conditions.

 

[shakermaker 0]

I think you've done the right thing and in the same position I would've found it hard myself.

There's nothing worse than someone else dictating to you and telling you what you should play...I can't stand it and it puts me in a foul mood as soon as someone starts being like that.

 

Anyway, Christmas...well, it was potentially very busy a few weeks back but a number of nights have been cancelled due to the hotel not having enough interest (I've mentioned this in another thread), my dates as of now are as follows:

 

12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 19th (afternoon), 21st (afternoon and evening), 22nd, 24th x 2, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 31st x 2