It must have happened to you other jocks when you're in the middle of a set and can't decide whether to play one more or not. The reason I ask is I was doing a Wedding over the weekend and I was in the middle of a motown spot. During which a guy came up and said "Have you got some Northern Soul Mate??" I told him what I 'd got and he chose the track. As soon as the first few bars started the majority of the crowd went and sat down. Bearing in my mind I had had numerous requests by the bride to play some more up to date music I decided to leave it there and move on. I got quite a few grumbles saying I did'nt play enough northern soul. It's always been a bit of a grey area when it comes to DJ-ing. I personally love some of the wigan casino classics but not sure if the crowd would.

it all depends what the track was, just because the guy chose the song, it may not have been the best one to start with, perhaps a few "cheesy" northern tunes to lead into the more obscure.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, I think it happens a lot to every D.J. A sort of damned if you do and damned if you don't scenario.

Most of the skill of D.J'ing is in being able to read a crowd, but even so we are not Mystic Meg and a lot of what happens to the dancefloor is the result of just playing it by ear.

I don't think that anybody can say that when they play a track every single person will be enjoying the music at that time. True, you can appeal to the majority at any given time, but not EVERYBODY. Which is one of the reasons that as D.J's we vary the Genre's and Era's of music throughout the night.

Okay, you can use common sense and avoid playing something like Black Sabbath - Paranoid at a Wedding for example, but nobody could have blamed you for following Motown with a few Northern Soul Classics - I did exactly the same last night, and it worked quite well. But next week I may do exactly the same thing and clear the floor!.

If a certain era of music is being asked for, and you think that it will go down well then play it - whatever the reaction is part chance anyway!. You can always play a few, call up the person who requested it onto the dancefloor etc and chances are they wont bother you again .

Always good to keep a few known floorfillers (depending on the function), Rock D.J, Sexbomb, dance the night away, Reach etc etc, in reserve so you can re-fill the dancefloor, should the change, clear it.

Sometimes, if the dancefloor as been busy for 20 - 30 mins, then people are just looking for an opportunity to go and sit down / goto the toilet, get another drink etc, and a change in music is often all that is required for them to go for a break!.

with the best will in the world, dancers dance for about 20 mins a time so there is always a natural change on the dance floor. As Chris says have the floorfillers ready just incase, but on the other hand dont be affraid to chance a song you've not played in years. I did that at christmas played a lot of old stuff and it worked.

My recommendation if it goes wrong, smile and take the rip out of yourself. (stops the loadmouth in the corner from shouting his opion at you)

Yeh, I know what you saying with regards to "playing" with the crowd. I could afford to loose a few feet knowing I had plenty of classics to bring them back up. I should be like tonyj says and just laugh it off but even after 25 years in the business I feel I should have done better. I suppose my problem is because I've just started out on my own I am trying too hard to achieve the impossible by pleasing everyone.

we are all perfectionists in this job. But if i ever think that was a perfect nite then thats the time to quit because no matter how good your doing the next bad nite is just around the corner. Just learn from your mistakes.

By the way is it just me or do other people have problems typing i keep going in to text mode and shortening words. never mind.

QUOTE (tonyj @ Jun 8 2003, 05:07 PM)

(stops the loadmouth in the corner from shouting his opion at you)

Thats me!

[it all depends what the track was, just because the guy chose the song, it may not have been the best one to start with, perhaps a few "cheesy" northern tunes to lead into the more obscure. ]

I'd agree with Ian on this one, especially with the more 'obscure' areas of our music. Northern Soul is one of my loves havings been brought up on it and started as a dj playing it. It is similar with things like 'Punk or Rock'n'Roll' etc. I'm always weary of letting someone choose the first track of that type of session as if it clears the floor the fingers will point at you and not the punter that wanted the track who will inevitably leave the floor when all of their mates have legged it.

I'd always blend in with a couple of the classics, not neccesarily 'cheesy' - I hate that phrase - and if that keeps them on the floor then you can always bung in the chosen one, remembering to make a announcement that it is a special request for 'x'.

Its never easy...

I have 3 methods of people making requests...They can come up and ask me, they can fill in the paper request slips which I place (in carefully calculated amounts) on each of the tables, or they can text me by mobile.

A lot of the time, I'll read a request and think "Oh yeah, thats a great track", at other times (as with the Black Sabbath comment above), I'll think "cough cough....no way..."... I also divide the requests into piles of Modern chart/Slowies/60's/80's/party etc... which helps me to build "live" sets.

Some requests however, are just killers...emptying the dancefloor, you know that they may well be good songs, but just absolutely impossible to dance to... These I'll normally save until the buffet...a good 20~30 minutes to play all the things like Bohemian Rhapsody, There She goes, Complicated, etc...

Such requests can be made to work FOR you in certain situations...For example...Just before speeches, presentations, raffles etc... I'll play a "killer" or "iffy" request, simply so that I dont have to utter those "suicidal" words of "Can we clear the dancefloor please for your boss, Mr Smith..."... playing an "iffy" just when you give Mr Smith his "you're on in 2 minutes" warning, gives a much more natural flow to the night, but still letting everything happen.

Some guests, especially the "Im too cool to dance..." 16 ~ 18 year olds, will ask for specific tracks and only want to remain seated and occasionally tap their foot, or nod their head, to the beat. YOU can tell these people are enjoying themselves (mildly) but no-one else in the room will see it.

Its normally (but not exclusively) these age groups, that will bombard you with requests for a particular tune, or genre of music...but all the requests are coming from the same table, or mobile number, or are in the same hand writing. I guess they think that you'll play "their song" quicker, or more tunes from "their genre" if you seem to be getting lots of requests for it...

What I regularly do (sometimes a couple of times per night) for tracks that I think might fail, is announce a track, but telling the audience that I'll be applying "The 30 second rule"..eg: If no-one dances to it within the first 30 seconds, we'll move onto the next track. This also stops "in jokes" like "Like a Virgin, for the Bride" from wasting one twelfth of an hour....

Smooth Criminal Ross.

Any chance you could reduce the picture size in your sig, its slowing down page loading whilst using 56k modems ..

Thanks...

Some very good advice floating around on the forum at the moment.....Ditto Ditto Ditto the above.

If you look at any crowd as a barrel of apples....there is always 1 who is slightly rotten!

Oner topic along the lines of "do I , don't I" is repeat playing of a particular track.

I always take the view I'm being paid to entertain and if entertaining the majority of the crowd means playing a particular track again I will. I usally say to the person I'm booked for this can happen. Sometime you can play the same song by a different artiste, take the Locomotion!!!!!

Is this standard practice, or am I just too nice!!!

yeah - if someone asks me to re-play something i already have i will if it has been at least an hour or so since the first play, AND the track went down well with the majority of the crowd. Otherwise - No chance

I agree with DD on this one if i've already played it unless it is an absolute floor filler, arguments like "i was in the loo, on the phone, outside," don't wash with me and it won't be played ahain until a) much later or b) its requested by the person paying you!

The worst ones, are when someone requests a track; you then play it and they come back upto you later asking when you're gonna play their song
It always makes me think that they either don't even know the bleedin song they're asking for, or they're too busy rabbiting to listen to the music anyway, so what's the point in playing a tune for them... they invariably will then ask you to play it again!
"What!, Why?, if you weren't listening the 1st time, you probably won't hear it the 2nd time either"!

Only last week I had someone come up & ask when I was gonna play their request - 'I am, this is it' - I said looking slightly baffled. (me looking slightly baffled)
'Well play another one by them after that one as well then!'
Sometimes you just can't win.
Thought for the day "You can please some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time"
Have a good w/end
Paul S

It would have to be either a very special request by the host of the party, or an absolute floor filler for me to play something twice, although nowadays, if somethings going well on the dancefloor, I just lengthen the track with seamless loops. I'd rather add 2 or 3 minutes to the track during its only play, than play all 4 minutes of the original again later.

I normally run out of time just playing the usual party tunes, and the audience requests anyway...to the point where I have to prioritise audience requests by how much of a "Sure fire success" they're going to be with the majority of the audience. Some of the dilmemas ore easy enough though...like shall I play Eminem for those two brats, or "Hi Ho Silver Lining" for everyone over the age of 20.... tricky...NOT!

QUOTE

like shall I play Eminem for those two brats

Hisssssssssss!!!!
Ban It.

Yes, and why is it the 4 kids out of 300 Guest's feel that you are their School D.J? - and constantly expect you to play Steps, R&B, Bob the Builder, Dance etc etc when the Majority of the audience are in their 50's???

I think Karen's idea works at family functions. Play music for, and entertain the little brats during the first hour (Pre Buffet) when the adults are not interested in the Disco.

Although I doubt I would play Eminem even then....and Paula is renowned for her love of the Guy!!.

I hate playing the same track during the evening and if I haven't had to resort to it during the night then I usually come away quite satisfired. On the very odd occassion where I may have played a track very early on and it didn't quite take off, I have sometimes played it later on. This is a particular problem at dinner dances, when you think I'll just put this on to get them up off their backsides and onto the dancefloor and ..zero. Then later on in the evening when everyone is on the floor and you've only 10 minutes left and it's the handiest thing to play before the smoochy part of the evening...on it goes!

I'm doing a wedding in a couple of weeks time when they have specifically asked that the 'kids' be entertained early doors with their choices including all those we love to hate - Eminem !

i try not to repeat songs at all but sometimes you've got to. Usually with the line" more repeats than bbc2 on a bank holiday monaday lol"

the problem with repeats is down to our radio here in the uk. most stations have a tight playlist so are repeating songs every 90 minutes.

anyway, why do people start asking for requests in the last 15 minutes of the night??

"anyway, why do people start asking for requests in the last 15 minutes of the night??"

I have always thought that this is down to a person's idea of their all time favorite wanting to be played to everyone else (or it could be that they think they are a budding DJ!!!)

Must admit that this problem has disappeared since I have had PC DJ, as you have a visual display of the time the tracks you have left to play.

A couple of reminders early in the evening reminding that they need to get their requests in early, backed up with a annoucement about 20 minutes before the end of "no more requests please" and if all else fails, I show them my PC DJ screen with the tracks in and tell them that I have these X tracks left which will take me up to the end of the evening. Mind you I will drop one and add their request in if it is a good choice and of course a floor filler.

Nasty Basket ain't I?

I always use the "Don't keep it to yourself and DON'T leave it to the end" philosophy with request's but it made zero difference, they'd just sit there on their backsides just waiting for me to cue up the first smoochy then it happens.......

"Got any Scooter Mate???"

Argggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh....Had I been talking to myself all night???, Hadn't I just announced that the last Smoochies were on the way??, Hadn't I just mentioned that we only had 5 minutes left???. Hadn't I been almost Begging them for requests since 8PM?? - Some People are just.....

Maybe I should employ some scantily clad dancing Girls to do the Can Can around the room wearing fluoresecent Placards Stating "Don't leave your request's to the end" or maybe we should just ban Scooter Fans and alcohol mixing together!.

I've now come to the conclusion that last minute requests are an unwritten law...along with congregating around the only door in the building waiting for a taxi, when the D.J is loading his / her vehicle

what we need to realise is that most people do not listen to anything the DJ has to say, if they are in conversation then we are just a small noise in the background.

I very much like the idea of dancing girls in skinny kit assisting me.

LOL Peteee (I would'nt mind either)-uuummmm Racheal stevens,christina,Britney

I like this You can make up your own words to go in the spaces-LOL!!

QUOTE

LOL Peteee (I would'nt mind either)-uuummmm Racheal stevens,christina,Britney

Hey SBD you missed out one of your Admirers a little closer to home.....

KIMMIE!!!!!!!

hmmmm.... well I like the idea of having a couple of muscle bound, thonged up, well toned dancers shaking their booties by my side... any offers out there!
As for playing a song twice, I just joke and say "im not UK Gold you know"!!!