The Order?

[davemoody 0]

We all started out the same bu doing our first gig by ourselves and being worried about what to play and if nobody dances but you have got to jump in the deep end eventually.

 

As for the start I have to agree with previous about going for more up to date as a background such as 80s and 90s and chuck a few charty ones in for good measure. Again you can still play them later on becuase people don't take that much notice of what you have previously played, you are just setting the scene.

 

To start with pick a couple from the 90s 80s and recent to see what they go for. If for arguments sake you put Duran Duran on and a few of them scream and invade the floor stick with it for a bit. Gives you time to assess what to put on next and also don't be afraid to ask for requests. This can really help you out of an awkward situation. They cannot really complain if you are playing what they have asked for. This works well towards the end of the night. Try and get a load of requests, hopefully a mixed bag if possible, then you will find 9 times out of 10 the requests are of all types of music, something for everyone and with a little luck and a bit of patter you can keep them dancing

[DJBJ 0]

This advice is just what I am after... thank you.

 

It allows me to learn as much as I can beforehand....

 

 

I think a lot of it is using your musical knowledge and combining it with common sense... maybe I am wrong!

[dj007 0]

ok, back to skool

2nd party is a 18th birthday with a mixed age group but mainly teenagers.

the birthday boy has requested no cheese what so ever.

their is no buffet and the party is from 8 until midnight.

 

the girls outnumber the boys by 3 to 1 (my sort of party) boff.gif

 

all the boys want to do is get drunk and misbehave and wont dance whatever you play.

 

a group of about 30 girls that want to dance but dont like the music you are playing come up to you and ask you to play lots of r&b and then lots of cheese.

 

what would you do. would you play the cheese?

 

Tricky one..... Firstly, I would try to find some borderline dance/RNB cheesy things and see if that gets more people on the dance floor..... If not, I would probably do three cheesy'ish songs that could be classed as r'n'b-ish and then back to the dance music but I would ensure that it is very commercial all of the stuff I play. At the end of the day... if the birthday boy is happy with what your playing and most of the other guests are then keep with it, if not put stuff on that everyone else likes for a bit and for every so often put in a track the boy wants.... VERY tricky question though... got me thinking!

 

RNB cheesy things. are these a new snack on the market tongue out icon.

R&B and cheese are two totally different genres and couldnt be further apart.

for most 18 year olds r&b is what has made it into the charts over the last couple of years ie: 50 cent, the game, beyonce, rihanna, usher, r kelly etc.

cheese can go as far back as the 70s with tracks like grease, ymca, tight fit, boney m, fame, rocky horror, yellow polker dot bikini and more upto date with cha cha slide, saturday night, fast food rockers etc.

i would check with the party host before i played any cheese as he requested it not be played. after hes tanked up on beer you could ask him that its been requested by the girls and 9 times out of ten he will say go for it.

 

r&b always goes down well with 18 year olds as does hip hop jungle and house.

 

 

 

what would be the last 3 songs you would play for this roudy bunch of teenagers.

 

(1) is to make the girls happy... so probably:

 

1) Bob sinclair - Everybody dance now

 

2) Put your hands up for Detroit - Fedde La Grande

 

3) Baby Boy - Beyonce

 

normally theese 3 tracks would have already been asked for so you have 2 options, slow or party.

so a rough idea would be take that, robbie williams or james blunt if they want slow

or party

the blues brothers, dexys midnight runners and finally your fun tune as you mentioned in your previous post.

i nearly always play the dance version of zorba the greek. it gets them in a circle jumping around. a bit like playing new york new york but more manic. this will end the night in roughly the same way as the other party.

 

as i said before, you will have a rough idea what you are going to play but once youve read the croud that might all change.

this would be a rough idea of a night for me but could be totally different from everyone else on here so this is why you need to go out with other djs and not jump in at the deep end and just get some bookings straight away.

 

good luck and welcome to the world of the DJ

Jim

 

..... Again... tricky but I think that would have handled the situation well... Maybe I am wrong!???

[Paul Smith 0]

DJU is all about helping people and in this situation we have a new member who is eager to learn and already some have given free advice to help; with others, quite rightly, advising caution.

 

A forum such as this cannot teach someone 100% how to DJ. Sure we can say 'do this' or 'don't do that' but a lot of the art of our craft can only be learnt at the coal face. The best way to achieve this is by tagging along with another DJ - hopefully one who has a number of years' experience. The 2nd best way is to practice in front of a forgiving crowd (for when things go wrong) and by this I mean Youth Clubs or friends parties (as freebies).

 

For anyone who chooses to jump in at the deep end my advice would be don't, however when this advice is ignored then the least we can do is throw in a lifejacket. (what good a lifejacket will do at a coal face is another matter ).

 

So to offer a ladder to someone stuck in a hole, which is now filling with water, (and my apologies for all these analogies) the best way to deal with the event is to get to know your audience and what they want by talking to them. Use the time when you are playing background music to go around the tables, introduce yourself and find out what they like.

 

In the time leading up to the event practice everything from setting up your equipment, dealing with potential problems*, trying out all kinds of music, using the mic etc.

 

*one mark of a professional DJ is to be prepared for the unexpected. When you next practice turn off your mixer mid song. Assume now that your mixer has failed and, if this happens at a gig, how would you cope? Work out a strategy to deal with this - do you have a back-up mixer? could you by-pass the mixer - if so what leads/adaptors do you need?

 

You need to do this with everything in the sound chain because it's a case of not if but when something fails and the way you plan in advance can determine whether the night is ruined or not.

[DJBJ 0]

Very true... I never thought about that! :hurt:

[motherwell 0]

Expect the unexpected. I remember doing my first 18th a few years ago. I started off playing upbeat dancy tunes without much success. Then a guy came up with all his mates and asked me to put his CD on, it was what they call in scotland full of bouncy tunes. ( Happy hardcore). What a killer nobody wanted to dance then a young lad asked me if I had Come On Eileen. Put that on and the floor was jumping with all these teenagers. From then on it was that type of music. Ended up a good night but i still hate 18ths

[andyw 0]

we have an enquiry for a 21st.the birthday girl wants all 60's music