We had a storming works Christmas party last year. Can't actually remember the DJ's name or much of what he did. He did play Land of 1000 Dances and made me sing Great Balls of Fire on the karaoke, but apart from that - he was almost anonymous.
When I asked people what they thought of the DJ the following week, most just said he was OK. "What did he wear?" I ask. "No idea", they reply.
He wore a safari-suit with a hat with corks. His equipment was not flight cased, all the bits were stacked on top of each other. He had trailing cables around his feet, and around the dance floor. His lightshow was one screen and one light, placed on the floor. His dual CD player didn't work, so he had to get the wife to fetch another from home.
We couldn't understand a word of what he said on the mic either. Yet we had a bloody fantastic night.
Similarly, when I was playing my big wedding gig at Peckforton in April, a colleague was getting married. She wanted me (cheap I expect!) but I was already booked. The guy they used did not talk to them beforehand. They called up the agency (my advice) to tell them the tracks they wanted to have for their first and second dance...the agency said talk to the DJ on the night.
So, on the day of their wedding they approached the DJ (having got him a pint) and asked for their first song. "Haven't got that" he replied. So they danced to something else. He didn't have their second dance song either.
But, everyone still had a bloody good time and by all accounts, it sounded like another great party!
So, two bad/almost annonymous DJ's but two fantastic nights.
I can play to my limits one week and have an awful night but have a bad gig and the crowd say what a fantastic time they've had.
Does the DJ actually have any effect on the party at all, or is it just down to whether the crowd are up for it or not?
This is devil's advocate signing off...na-nu na-nu.
Full Version: Do DJ's a good night make?
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I think 75% off what a night is/will be like is down to the crowd. If you have a crowd that is up for it you will have a good night. If you have a crowd that just don't want to dance there is nothing you can do. I do think the DJ can make a difference having said that as I have turned up on another dj when he was having a bad night and got everyone up and this has also happened to me when I was starting out. It is the music the DJ plays at the end of the day that makes the difference.
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| the agency said talk to the DJ on the night. |
That is absolutely shoking! That is not good customer service in my book.
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| Does the DJ actually have any effect on the party at all, or is it just down to whether the crowd are up for it or not? |
I am always 100% honest with my clients when asked the question 'Can you guarantee to get everybody dancing and that they will enjoy themselves?'. I know that there is mixed opinion to this level of honesty vs hard sell, but I have always tried to maintain honesty, and lets face it some audiences can be extremely difficult to work, especially in summer when the guests may perfer to wonder outside and sit in the beer garden.
Here is a snippet of a recent reply to a client, where I was asked such a question.
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| I am going to be honest here. No DJ can guarantee that everybody will get up and dance. At any private function there may be guests who are happy to sit and talk, and others who just want to catch up with old friends. Attending a function by invitation does not always guarantee that 100% of the audience will appreciate a disco, some people will simply choose not to dance but it would also be wrong to assume that just because they are not dancing that they are not enjoying themselves. Any DJ who tells you otherwise is either inexperienced or simply telling you what you want to hear in order to win the booking, no DJ can predict audience reaction in advance of the actual event because basically what you have is 120 people, each with their own personal tastes. However it is with experience that a DJ can 'read' the audience and dancefloor and then gauge the music to suit. but this cannot be done properly prior to the event, purely based on the audience response of previous occasions because every venue and audience is different. I hope that you appreciate my honesty here, but I am speaking from 18 years experience worth of entertaining, and basically it all largely depends on the audience and the atmosphere in your chosen venue and of course each individuals personal preference. What I can guarantee is that we will do our best to work with you in order to ensure that all those attending enjoy themselves and we will tailor the event to your daughters requirements. |
And in answer to the obvious question, did we get the booking?. The answer is yes, this was the reply back
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| Hi Chris, Thanks for your very prompt reply, I respect your honesty and my daughter Leanne would like to book you for her party. Can you advise how we can go about doing this? |
I don't think it matters what the DJ wears, or their gear which makes a good DJ, however it does reflect on their business. Any DJ who works at a Wedding wearing ripped jeans and a metallica T-shirt is going to get a negative first impression, and if their appearance is shabby then it reflects on his business and conveys a little contempt towards the formality of the function. I know some DJ's are against working in suits and dinner jackets especially during the hotter summer nights, but even then you can be smart and clean shaven!.
totally agree with chris cp's post one week you can pull a track out of the case and there wont be a bit of space on the dancefloor,following week its like somebodys let off a stinkbomb, its down to the guests, the venue i always find you have to work a lot harder if the bars ina different room or floor and even prices, i recently did a wedding and an average round for a couple of lagers a glass of wine and a coke was roughly about £17.00 and you could here a lot of people complaining and it set the evenings atmosphere
Yes and No.
Ive done some gigs were I have tryed my very hardest to get the punters going.
Sometimes they just want to sit and talk. However if you have a good crowd that are well up for it then I find it makes me buzz more and I find it more enjoyable and be able to relax and perform even better.
Ive done some gigs were I have tryed my very hardest to get the punters going.
Sometimes they just want to sit and talk. However if you have a good crowd that are well up for it then I find it makes me buzz more and I find it more enjoyable and be able to relax and perform even better.
Very interesting thread. I guess it just goes to prove that the DJ and the music are not the biggest things on the minds of the guests. When I had my 40th party (just before I got back into DJing) I took the guy that came with the room, didn't meet him beforehand, didn't ask for any particular songs, can't remember if he said a word, can't remember what he played, and had a fantastic night with friends I hadn't seen for ages.
The floor was sometimes empty, sometimes packed, but as someone having a party, I didn't care.
I think sometimes we get too close to things - people don't come to see / hear us perform at parties - as long as we play appropriate songs (something they CAN dance to even if they choose not to) I think we'll be fine. Obviously club DJing is a different thing.
Cheers,
Jack.
The floor was sometimes empty, sometimes packed, but as someone having a party, I didn't care.
I think sometimes we get too close to things - people don't come to see / hear us perform at parties - as long as we play appropriate songs (something they CAN dance to even if they choose not to) I think we'll be fine. Obviously club DJing is a different thing.
Cheers,
Jack.
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