So night before last I had my first gig ever. It was for my school, which is located downtown and therefore has a student population with a whole lot of variation. I went with mostly dance music and rock. I was pairing up with another DJ who is very into hiphop.
Long story short, I played 2 tracks (One by Oakenfold and the other by Saliva) because for the whole first 20 minutes or so people were coming up to me saying "YOU ARE GOING TO PLAY SOME TECHNO, RIGHT?" and "This rap SUCKS! Play something you can REALLY dance to" but as soon as I did I was mobbed my inner-city kids who wanted nothing but more rap. So I conceded defeat and handed my equipment back over to the other guy, who absolutely dominated the crowd
However, while he was dominating, there were about 10 people with me in the back corner talking about how badly the rap SUCKED and how badly they wanted some techno or something. I kept telling them how much of it I had, but was unable to play.

I got paid $120 anyways

Oh well.. I guess you win some, you lose some

Hey - don't let your 1st gig put you off!. I get gig's all of the time that make me think "Why the hell did I choose this occupation" . D.J'ing, from the start is a never ending learning curve, and you found out (the hard way) that you have to be flexible with your approach to music and audiences.

Spend some time reading the forum, asking advice and watching / learning from older D.J's and then just like falling off a bike, you've gotta pick yourself up and get back on there

You may find THIS TOPIC of some interest

Don't be so down on yourself................ thats not a loss, you got paid, somebody else did the work, RESULT!! Maybe you should be.........................................






an agent! OR........................................
























A forum administrator!! ROFL

Have this kind of thing with my djs all the time.Heres the trick, its done ,its gone,you did your best and we move right along to the next gig,which you will get paid for and maybe you will research the gig and perhaps have a little rap with you too! Just in case you have to show the other guy what you are made of.What i am basicaly saying that its like a lot of other things,not that good the first time but it gets better!

I remember my first gig, the gear was somebody elses' which included a bubble machine fastened to a t-bar. Somebody knocked it causing the fluid to spill on to the dance floor and if that was'nt enough I was handed a beer mat with the following written on it "When's the DJ going to start"!!!!!! but it's all part of the learning curve, it's a case of the quicker you get back up and carry on the better you'll get.

On the good side, I gave my sound system a workout. My bass was so powerful the vibrations were making my CD skip ... With the 45sec anti skip of my CDN-88

Yay for bass!

Don't let it put you off mate, EVERY DJ has nights like these, by 9pm you feel like giving the gear to the hotel and walking home, but then you get a good gig and it is all worth it. I had about 12 gigs in a row last year which were a waste of time, but I knew it wasn't my fault, and it was the crowd, so grit your teeth and carry on.

At least you now have that first gig under your belt (& got paid more than most of us for a 1st one). It would seem that the techno fans (& you) were way out numbered and you won't win in that situation.

For your next gig either take a bigger selection or if you're not into other genres choose the gig carefully.

It's like riding a bike - if you fall off get back on quick to restore confidence - Good Luck

PaulS

Dont think of it as being your fault - it wasnt.

You pleased 10 people - and as the saying goes "You cant please all of the people all of the time".

The inner-city kids who pestered you for more hip-hop could easily have been mates (or family) of the hip-hop jock. His posse, who follow him from gig to gig, shunning and dissing any other DJ's set. In such cases, you could have been playing better hip hop than him, and the same bunch of yobs would still have had a verbal go at you.

Think of the 10 who liked you. Only consider acting upon any VALID, SPECIFIC critisms which you are given.

Specifics being comments like:

*) You're too loud
*) These tunes are too old
*) You talk on the mic too much
*) Your clothes look shabby (and hey if a STUDENT tells you this..get shopping )

Non-specific comments (the forgetable insults)
*) You're crap
*) Your musics crap
*) No-one wants this - (10 people did)

And keep going...if such a situation arises, slink off down to the 10 people and ask them where else they go for that sort of music normally and try to get a spot there.

well done for getting out there and doing it in the first place there are a lot of bedroom djs who talk the talk but put a crowd in front of them and they can't do it. well here is my 2 cents i belive dance music i.e trance/funky house ect.. is in a bit of a slump which is not a bad thing as it goes back underground and gets good again, the problem when a certain genra of music is charting and doing well is that people start writing music just to do well in the chart and not just because its in there heart. i belive hip hop and rnb is in this stage at the moment there is a lot of people writing rubbish music at the moment, but dance will return! right ill get down now.

You'll be fine!

Can I just say Phantom, that I have had much experience working with american crowds... I D-j'd at Marymount International School for years... and American Community Schools in London on many occasions. Without wishing to offend, I have found that american crowds are probably the most opinionated and are extremely rude if you are not playing "their" choice of music at any given time. I always researched the american schools by looking at different american charts - which gave me a good indication as to what would be popular music for their gigs... and I always made sure I had a good selection of stuff which would go down well with all tastes.
I guarantee one thing...when you start with hip hop you will get the rockers moaning, then the rnb brigade will drop by to see you! The only thing I can suggest is that you open by telling the guests that "there is a diverse group in tonight, with different tastes in music.. I WILL be playing all types of music during the evening, so if I start off with something that is NOT to your particular tastes - dont worry, I will get round to it!"
They are always gonna moan at you - no matter what you do or say - but at least you have made clear your intentions.
The funny thing is, that no matter how much they moaned - they ALWAYS asked me back.... even after checking out other DJs thinking they were gonna get a better disco!

I always feel better after a from Karen...or was it a or even a


One thing is certain she has now replaced Osama has America's most wanted...What would Kazzi Bin laden look like??
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.This perhaps??

*Shudder*

That's just scary.

Looks like you don't need a soap box to have a price put on 'yer 'ead!!!!

CP - are you a digital darklord?!

Crispy! It is true though..... Americans - especially the student variety are a tough nut to crack!

Looks like my mother in law