After a sudden busy spurt i feel very tired and lethargic. I have just had a weekend off but over the BH i had 3 gigs and 1 social night out which im convinced lead to a bout of man flu. I did a full day at work yesterday then gigged 7 to 11 last night, getting home at just after 12 with all the heavy side of the gear still to collect this morning. im shattered already with the weekend coming fast.

Didnt help this morning when a wagon load of timber and aggregate landed at 8am

Luckily i only work part time but how do you do it and work full time?

For me it's the setting up and breaking down that's the killer.

I'm still looking for a company to make a system that takes all the effort out of it. Plenty of separate ideas out there, it would be good if someone brought the DJ furniture out of the seventies and into the 21st century...

pre-powered/CMX'd light stands
pop up bevelled starcloths
and many others...

Love DJ'ing, love driving, love my family.

Wish I had a day job - I'd love DJ'ing even more, love driving probably a little less, but I'd certainly love my family even more so!
Why? All that extra £££'s to spend on kit! LOL!

Got a bucket yet?

Eat well, sleep well and stay fit. You'll last a lifetime!

I average four gigs a week and yes it gets to you.

they are generally three residencies all different all without built in kit and one function the sunday afternoon gig after a big saturday function is a killer and then monday tuesday wed i am doing prep and paper work and sorting gear etc it can feel its never ending

i recently had a gout attack and flu so packing up gear was a killer .

I really need to take care of myself physically as i am fat and eat all the wrong things and this certainly has a bearing on my energy levels , going full time means i do take lower paid gigs for the regular work , and this can mess with your head knowing you are worth more than what you are getting paid and is this really worth it ..but it is guaranteed income and if its your sole income that's what often has to take president.

once, twice a week giging is quite easy... four is not week in week out.

7 nights a week certainly gets to me - by Sunday I'm shattered its just a releif that my Sunday gig is usually only busy for an hour or so, so I can chill out and faff about on my laptop for a few hours with a coffee in the dj booth!

I've started taking more time off, the odd weekend here and there and I feel better for it.

The only gear I take into venues are my CDJs so I don't spend any time setting up or packing down, I dont think I could handle that! I dont have a day job (apart from my voluntary work) so once I'm out of bed at midday I have the day free until it's time to work!

The late nights do get to me and i find it hard to sleep at weekends....
The setting up and breaking down part of the job is fine for me its just the driving i hate as i seem to spend most of my life on the lovely M25

I've got a good mix of time.
Day job is hard at the moment, pressure on all sides for support/on-time delivery of development projects/and lots more.
The last few months have been a nightmare with a possible "drop everythign" to a £1/4M product development about to land on my lap


Every other weekend, I normally have my children. I do take the odd kids party, and recently starting taking my 13 yr/old daughter along to help set-up/packup. I pay her £10, and she also helps with the music when I'm running the games. I really enjoy these little 2hr parties!

So..that really leaves 2 weekends/month for "proper" gigs. I rarely get 2 gigs a weekend (record is 3 thou!), so only 2 gigs a month, if I'm lucky.

May is busy, with 3 weddings and a nice little awards night for a local football team in my local pub.


So, back to the original question - we do get knackered the following day after the gigs. Not used to standing for 6 hrs, and the physical side of set-up/packup, so we're both worn out the following day...

Not sure how Robsta etc do it (physically set-up/packup). The actual DJ'ing side is not normally hard work, and is usually the fun bit - but then if I were working like Jon, I'm sure it would be a drain!

I am a night -owl, even on week nights, so the late nights are normally not a problem... we just get up at 11am..lol

I'm a weekender and work full-time in a demanding day job, and at times I am sorry I take on gigs at the weekend, for example on a saturday evening I'm asking myself, why did I take that gig for tonight, I'd love to go to bed early / hit the town depending on my mood. But then once I'm in and set up it's ok, putting the gear together and taking it apart is a real pain though. If I have gigs on Fri & Sat after a full work-week it definately makes me tired. However I know that even though I am not financially dependent on the work, if I sold my kit I'd regret it and would end up back in the game in no time. There is no better feeling than coming away from a cracking gig, after a genuine thank you from your clients, and knowing you did a great job, won't give it up unless I have to for some reason.

The big shows do...after 20 hours rigging / de-rigging /DJing I need bed and sleep
The usual small gigs are ok ish I used to be able to have only a couple of hours sleep and still fully function but.... Now after the age of 40 (Half a decade ago) things are a bit harder I now need 8 hours sleep .

After my health problems last year I now take it easy and have plenty of R+R and family time.

Personally I try to always use a roadie as I have problems with my back at times, but If i am on my own the hardest thing to manage is my rcf bin, its not that heavy but its just not balanced right.

Phil.