Moby's Comments About Wedding Djs

[Dukesy 0]

Following Moby's comments about performing as a "clichéd, wedding DJ" (read here) do you agree on his take? Do you feel mobile DJs should be included in the same pigeon hole as the 'cheesy classic' playing Wedding DJs?

 

[Jimmy S 0]

What DJ do you know doesnt bring a Mic with them????

And " If i had Oooops Upside your head with me i would have played that as well"........That would have been fun to watch getting your crowd Gee'd up without a MIC................

Edited June 30, 2009 by Abuse Controller

[spinner 0]

Moby's comment is a cliche itself.

 

All DJs are different. They don't have the same taste. They don't play the same material.

 

Mobile and wedding DJs have a variety of clients with a variety of tastes which will, of course, have a great influence on what they play.

 

 

[superstardeejay 0]

I guess there's always going to be favourites (or hackneyed) tunes that everybody plays....but thats surely because they're floorfillers! As an example (I've never done mobile BTW)..every party I've been to, whether works 'do' or wedding reception etc has always had the same 'standard' tunes played by the mobile guy; we all know the ones (assuming its not a regional thing?)...Billy Ocean (Love really hurts), Tina Turner (Simply the Best), Abba (Dancing Queen), Status Quo (Rockin all over the world), well I could go on but you all know them. Maybe Moby just attends alot of wedding receptions? What about the DJ from Phoenix Nights? It's funny 'cos it's true! (?).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[exbutlinred82 0]

Moby....Who??

 

Dido.....Who??

 

Fatboy Slim....Who??

 

Half - a - Hit Wonders so embarassed by their lack of talent that they are not prepared to use their birthname.

[spinner 0]

I guess there's always going to be favourites (or hackneyed) tunes that everybody plays....but thats surely because they're floorfillers! As an example (I've never done mobile BTW)..every party I've been to, whether works 'do' or wedding reception etc has always had the same 'standard' tunes played by the mobile guy; we all know the ones (assuming its not a regional thing?)...Billy Ocean (Love really hurts), Tina Turner (Simply the Best), Abba (Dancing Queen), Status Quo (Rockin all over the world), well I could go on but you all know them.

 

 

No idea whether or not it's a regional thing but I wouldn't play any of the above spontaneously, only if requested.

[C.S 0]

I dont use a mic and i do stand up as part of my show ! Easy to gee up a crowd without a mic . I wouldnt exactly call dido , fatboy slim nd moby as lacking talent as their achievements show.

[D.X 0]

The fact is, if Moby had played some of his records I doubt many people would've liked them. I can't imagine Auntie Floss and Uncle Alf kicking it to 1000 when it reaches 1000bpm. More likely they'd have a heart attack. There's a time and a place for all music and the tracks he thinks are clichés are usually the tracks which gets everyone onto the floor.

 

These fools, don't they realise some DJs have been doing the wedding circuit for decades. As if they're not going to know what works by now.

[Jimmy S 0]

I dont use a mic and i do stand up as part of my show ! Easy to gee up a crowd without a mic . I wouldnt exactly call dido , fatboy slim nd moby as lacking talent as their achievements show.

 

 

Yet in another thread you only say GOODNIGHT........aint that using the mic??? or do you just cut the music and Holler.????

I think a DJ sitting down is slobbish and tacky......unless you've lost All feeling in your pins them why sit....

Even better why not sit in your living room and beam via satelite you sitting on your rear end sipping tea...CRAZY

As for Slimboy Fat etc....cant say ive played any of there stuff....Boring Dribble.

[C.S 0]

A very very very rich fool !

[D.X 0]

A very very very rich fool !

 

Of course. he plays to his market just like we do. We know what works for us as he knows what works for him.

 

Westlife, Boyzone et al are all boy band clichés but that doesn't make what they do wrong. They're doing it exactly right, cheesy pop for women who want to go to bed with them.

 

Unfortunately we're stuck with playing Agadoo for Auntie Floss and Uncle Alf :funjokeandlaugh:

[deejaymitch 0]

Sometimes I appear to be the ultimate cheesy wedding dj embodying every cliche you've heard. Sometimes I appear to be a cutting edge, technically adept superstar dj, and sometimes I'm just like an average pub dj. In any of those guises I will get looked down on and sneered at by certain arrogant, ignorant idiots. But as long as the people I am trying to entertain are enjoying themselves, then I am doing my job well.

 

I've long been resigned to the fact that we, as artistes, will not get the respect or credit we deserve. Comments like these from Moby add to that. He got lucky in a particular niche that was deemed to be 'in' at that particular time. But just because he doesn't appreciate some of the music played at the average function, he shouldn't demean those of us who can blend that music well and put smiles on a lot of faces.

Edited July 1, 2009 by deejaymitch

[exbutlinred82 0]

As for Slimboy Fat etc....cant say ive played any of there stuff....Boring Dribble.

 

 

Now then ....Now then.....Guys and Gals....

 

(I'm with you....Jimmy!!)

[superstardeejay 0]

I know most of the moby-who comments were tongue in cheek but here he is for the youngsters.

I've zoomed in and there seems to be a bit of paper just above the technics deck that says ''anything by Spandau Ballet mate?" though I can't be sure.

 

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Moby-RareDJSet.jpg

[gadget 0]

from that pic it looks like he's also holding the DJ Booth together to stop it falling apart!

[McCardle 1]

Who's Moby

 

 

 

[C.S 0]

I turn the music off and say goodnight correct ! Doing wedding number 300 this saturday ! Then its just club stuff for the rest of the year. Thought some of you guys might of used the housemartins which is of course fatboy slims old band . Oh and as usual its the usual" have a go "from you guys who cant respect those of us who dont do things your way ! Shame really cos this used to be such a good place to be .

[gadget 0]

Who's Moby

 

Go!

 

at Moby-related-songtitle-joke-falls-flat-on-its-face>

[deejaymitch 0]

Oh and as usual its the usual" have a go "from you guys who cant respect those of us who dont do things your way !

 

Isn't Moby guilty of exactly the same thing by trying to belittle the function DJ?

 

And, in fairness, I think most respondants did show respect for Moby and every other sort of DJ, but I can understand their frustration at being seen as the poor, insignificant, talentless member of the DJ family.

[McCardle 1]

Isn't Moby guilty of exactly the same thing by trying to belittle the function DJ?

 

I find it funny in comparison that Peter Kaye could have a regular sketch on a very popular series where this satire occured in front of millions of the TV watching public and nobody is bothered, yet one comment is made, tongue in cheek at that, and an entire thread appears tongue out icon

 

If the bloke had praised us instead, would our income have trebled over night. Nah!.

 

Personally, I think the industry has more to fear from the actions and attitudes of a few of those who are IN IT. Those people are the reason why you may not be as busy this year, or the fact that the client won't pay £xxx to book you, and why its getting harder for the decent jock to earn an honest living and why some may not feel that they are paid what they are worth.

 

On the occasions when these type of people appear don't forget to thank 'em, will you.

Edited July 1, 2009 by McCardle

[exbutlinred82 0]

Who's Moby

 

 

Yep.....

 

He's up there with Bowie,Mercury,Stewart,Presley,Wonder and Elton....NOT.

[C.S 0]

Yep.....

 

He's up there with Bowie,Mercury,Stewart,Presley,Wonder and Elton....NOT.

 

 

Have you got any examples of anyone who has done anything new in the last decade ?

This however is not the point , the point is just as Moby has the right to criticise our industry and we can slag him off, why is it whenever anyone does something slightly outside of the mold of the british mobile dj ,everyone on here comes down on him like a ton of bricks ? Its the same with mixing which has been a part of most full time professional djs lives since the early 80s, on here its nearly always been criticised and deemed unecessary. Fair enough i operate abroad and mic work is laughed at here but even so it doesnt seem like much is being done to bring the uk dj into 2009. I have over 6000 posts on here and a lot have been about trying to modernise our industry, yes i can use a mic, first thing i learnt in 1974, i still can use i mic and very occasionaly do. The mobile dj industry seems to have become stale and the public have a dreadful image of us, there seems to be very little willingness to break the mold and try something new. i think you will find that the djs who have have plenty of work.

[Robster 0]

ok ive seen a few interviews of Moby and he is a witty guy his full quote was

"I was a straight-up, clichéd, wedding DJ.

 

"I played VAN MORRISON, BEYONCE and NEIL DIAMOND. If I had Ooops Upside Your Head, I probably would have played it."

 

He added: "Thank God I didn't have a microphone as I would have embarrassed myself and everybody around me."

 

err he sounds like he is putting himself down not saying he is a great wedding DJ and being modest to me .. He doesnt read as if he is having a go at wedding DJ's to me ... who apparently from this and many threads are quite touchy.

 

Wedding DJ's do play the same stuff as we ALL function DJ's do .....as it works , there is no need to get embarrassed about that..If we have enough paying customers who want our services , who book us again and again , whats the problem?

 

Moby gets interviewed and says a witty, funny ,flippant comment and reaction to it is to say

1 who is he

2 to pick holes in how he did it

3 say he is focusing on stereo types.

 

if Moby was a member of this forum and made comments against a fellow DJ.. knocking his creditability and his skill , would you get a warning or ban?

 

Maybe a lot of DJ's have a sense of humour when they are dishing it out over the mic but not when its aimed at them?

 

personally as karaoke DJ i Expect stick and negative stereotypes from people i tell im a karaoke DJ ..i often get "oh your not are you? "or that they "hate karaoke" as if im a traffic warden or something lol

 

 

Don't take it personally , laugh with it, its not as if Moby is going to put in a £50 bid against your next wedding function is it now?

[McCardle 1]

What has also been missed, is the fact that on another news interview he went on to attack his own style of music and even branded his own album as 'boring'

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jun/1...by-music-boring

 

The musical version of Gerald Ratner

 

Given this point, I honestly wouldn't be offended by comments which were clearly either tongue in cheek, or a seat of your pants, spur of the moment comparison.

 

Then there is the fact about how much of it has been skewed, mis quoted and taken out of context by the press .

 

The mobile dj industry seems to have become stale and the public have a dreadful image of us

 

And when you see how DJ's behave towards each other, and the back stabbing and lack of professional respect its hardly likely that the public have formed this opinion because they could hardly miss it. I phoned an accountant the other day, and not surprisingly non of the conversation involved him bigging himself up, or boosting his ego by slagging off, belittling or making sly comments about his competitors, and he didn't have to tell me what certificates he had or undercut or run down others in his industry just to win the business. Can all Deejays say the same?.

 

Wedding DJ's do play the same stuff as we ALL function DJ's do .....as it works , there is no need to get embarrassed about that..If we have enough paying customers who want our services , who book us again and again , whats the problem?

 

I agree, there is very little experimentation for the Wedding DJ. A client of mine has recently emailed a playlist which, if all the tracks were played would possibly take a week to get through. She has also issued the statement 'Please play as many as possible'. Of course, I could try something new and ignore her direct requirements and play something completely different, but would the B&G be happy?, would they book me again and recommend me to their friends and family?. Too much of a gamble. I'll stick to the comfort zone and play what the customer wants because they are always right. After all, if I book a Taxi to take me to Glasgow, I wouldn't be too happy if I ended up in Nottingham just because the driver fancied a change and was bored of the route.

 

I don't think the Wedding market will ever change, because often you are essentially playing to the whim of two people and what they want / think their audience want, compared to the pub / club circuit where the DJ is essentially in control and no one person has the overriding say. Yes, you will get a Wedding or similar function where the client is perfectly happy for the Dj to call the shots entirely, but to be honest they are few and far between (in my experience anyway) and more often than not there is a request / playlist somewhere with your name on it :scared: .

 

There are several very distinct, yet different markets in this industry each requiring their own unique approach and style and more often than not, anybody who makes a living from it deserves respect. I wouldn't dream of running down somebody elses niche' but in return I wouldn't expect them to rundown mine smile icon .

Edited July 2, 2009 by McCardle

[deejaymitch 0]

I wouldn't dream of running down somebody elses niche' but in return I wouldn't expect them to rundown mine

 

I think this statement sums up perfectly what many of us have tried to say here, and I would hope it is the view of most DJs (although we know it isn't true of all)