On Djing...

oh fuck that looks like so much fun!

looks like an awesome set!

does anyone have tips for cold-contacting bars/venues to ask about DJ slots? i need to start doing this but every time i sit down to write an e-mail i feel so dorky describing myself lol

Stories like Mike's make me wonder the same thing. I'm DJing my first party since new year's Eve 2020 right now, a garden party with mostly 60 and 70-year-olds. Although it's hardly more than keeping a playlist running of 60s soul and early disco and playing some requests, it feels great to be in front of people again. Maybe I should ask around as well. Something like a monthly dance night would be so cool.

I need to improve this as well. I'm not sure where to start because I don't know anyone and can't promise to bring people in, but I feel confident that I will entertain a crowd if I have a shot at playing in the right environment.

does anyone have tips for cold-contacting bars/venues to ask about DJ slots? i need to start doing this but every time i sit down to write an e-mail i feel so dorky describing myself lol

― donna rouge, Saturday, August 27, 2022 8:56 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

the first one i did, i got the contact through a dj friend who had thrown parties at the bar but hadn't done so in a while.
the second one, i also got the contact through a friend of a friend who worked at the bar, met the bar owner that way.
the third one, i sent a message via instagram, didn't hear back, then went to the bar in person a few days later. the bar manager was working there and i gave her my spiel. she ended up hooking me up with a weekly gig a few weeks later for pride.
i tried cold-contacting another bar via instagram, then went there in person and left my info (the bar manager was busy at the time). never heard back.
i'm trying to get in at another bar in the fall. i've had an exchange via instagram with the bar manager that seemed positive but no promise. they open in september.

i think that as far as talking about yourself goes, definitely mention the party you're doing now and the people involved. anything more is up to you but i wouldn't go too long on a first message.

instagram has been good to me as a way to send an initial message though it's still pretty spotty. in-person contact via going to a place is definitely better. i would think about having some kind of card.

thanks for the advice map! i’m in the same boat as moodles re: not having a ton of DJ friends so i feel like i just gotta assert myself by other means. one of the bars i’m thinking of contacting is close to my apartment so it’d be easy enough to just go over and ask them in person. a business card is probably a good idea too. feels like having rudimentary graphic design skills is a big asset if you’re a DJ lol

I got my cards from moo dot com and am very happy with them, not a plug!

I've been trying to make my soundcloud page the main landing site to give people an idea of what I'm about both with music and visuals so that it makes a coherent aesthetician. I have it divided into playlists for full DJ sets, shorter sample genre sets, and original tracks. Don't know if it is too much content at this point, but I like giving people options.

Should say coherent *aesthetic, no its not a page for makeovers

it's not like i'm some kind of expert on this, i've only done it a few times but

fwiw no one who has had any say about me playing at their bar has ever cared about or even visited my soundcloud. i've only had one person want to hear a mix beforehand. they wanted a 30 minute sample sent directly to them, so it seemed best to make one aimed specifically for that bar.

i am not a graphic design person so i can't say anything about that, though it does seem like it would be a big asset. i'm completely unable to do a flyer myself.

the soundcloud thing may just be my limited experience. i'd be interested in hearing if other people have gotten gig interest based on their soundcloud/mixcloud. i suspect it's more like a tick-the-box thing (oh they have a soundcloud/mixcloud so they aren't completely random).

You're probably right, I just don't know another way to promote myself outside of the strength of the music, unfortunately I don't have much to offer beyond that.

in my experience, getting a bar gig does not typically require a soundcloud mix.

i suspect it's more like a tick-the-box thing

i'd say so. good to have but i doubt the manager is gonna click play. as mentioned above, talking to bar staff in person is key. having some kind of referral from another DJ is great but not essential.

All the work I've had since returning to DJ-ing a few years ago has been through social contacts: either they know me, or they know of me, or someone I know has recommended me to them. That said, my first few sets were at an open-deck vinyl night that used to take place in the nearest city, where anyone could book a 30 minute slot in advance. That brought me into contact with other DJs, which led to a few warm-up guest slots at their nights, and which in turn led to solo bookings. I was told by one venue that they get regular cold pitches from other DJs, but don't investigate further as they don't know them. So perhaps the best way to have a pitch considered is to be a regular customer at the venue in the first place?

Basically what I'm getting from this is that I need to stop being a misanthropic shut-in.

dj 313 laying down the law re: requests

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ch0DKmZOCIk/

Basically what I'm getting from this is that I need to stop being a misanthropic shut-in.

― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Sunday, August 28, 2022 2:18 PM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i mean, if you want to play out, there is some social activity required, yes. i'm still fairly misanthropic and shut-in-y yet i managed to do like the bare minimum to get a gig or two. the way i did it was, like, identify the people i need to ask and just ask them lol. i find it next to impossible to just socialize with other djs when there isn't a real point and you're just schmoozing. i definitely feel like my social anxiety "holds me back" and i'm working on it but as it is i can only do so much social you know? for me the most taxing part of djing is willing myself to smile at people / make eye contact / not be terrified of everyone / relax.

Haa, I'm much more comfortable in the role of "entertainer" on a stage vs making small talk with strangers for the purpose of hyping myself. I'm making myself go to an event tomorrow that's a birthday celebration for a local promoter, so I'll at least be in the same room with people involved in the local scene, whether I actually interact with anyone is tbd.

Totally hearing people re. the challenges of the "social" side of getting work. Social anxiety, under-confidence, self-subordination and a general horror of self-promotion held me back for literally decades, and SSRI's have been a major driver in getting me through to the other side. I wouldn't go as far as to say that overt self-interested schmoozing will land you the gigs - that's never a good look - but, at the risk of sounding horribly conceited, if you're good at what you do, people will naturally want to work with you.

When I was working in clubs in the late Eighties, I was able to retain a certain amount of detachment, up there in my booth, but I've found that bar work operates at a much greater level of direct personal connection. So, yeah, eye contact, fist bumps, a cheerful demeanour and a certain amount of "performance" behind the decks are all part of it now. I also make time to chat to people before and most especially after the set, when people I don't know often engage me in conversation - and, not least because they're usually people who I want to come back, making them feel welcome and valued strikes me as all part of the service.

Also, for gigs, I dress up. I want to look like one motherfucking cool sixty-year-old hot daddy, and knowing that I look good, in an eye-catching way, gives me additional confidence and gets me into the role.

Now we want to see pictures!

Oh, go on, prod my narcissm, why don't you; some 2022 "looks", mostly not in situ.

Originally made for COVID-cancelled Trinidad Pride 2020, the cap has a rainbow on the underside of the brim (which I didn't realise when I saw it in the shop window, but was more than happy to go with). I like its stealth.

https://i.imgur.com/ZhQ4eCY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/byvyxf2.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/AFPL8DY.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/YCUM0si.jpeg

Snazzy and stylish!

Thank you! In the run-up to my 60th birthday, I decided I'd had enough of premature grandad invisible normcore, so grew a beard and had a reboot. It has genuinely boosted my general sense of wellbeing.

Sharp! Those jeans rule.

Thanks! I wanted to wear them for Trade's 30th at Egg, the weekend before I turned 60, so my partner customised them for me. Admittedly though, I'd be channelling more of the spirit of The Clash in 1976 if the paint splatters weren't by, ahem, Farrow & Ball.

(Well, you've got to use those sample pots for something after you've gone out and bought the cheaper knock-offs for the actual job, and besides, I totally own my innate bougie-ness.)

The only time I landed a cold call gig was when I had a radio show at the local college radio station, so there was some kind of "presence" for them to relate to - having a prominent timeslot helped. Otherwise, everything has been social nepotism. I've literally been flown to other countries from replying to people's livejournal posts regularly and having interesting looking setlists, but the promoters/people getting me there would openly admit they'd never actually heard me DJ.

As I'm also a visual artist, can say that I've actively had offers rescinded (by people I obvs wouldn't want to play for after hearing something like this) because my "aesthetic" didn't match theirs. This deffo happened earlier in life for me too, but for being fat and queer and not for the kind of art I made.

Super on point about just asking people, though, re: map's comments. If you're not super aggressive about it, it can cut through some of the business-y awkwardness. If you're an introvert and talking to new people is exhausting for you, imagine how it might be for a promoter with similar inclinations having the "obligation" of talking to dozens of new people a year. You don't have to be a butterfly or barfly, just be easy to deal with and low stress.

Promise y'all can do it. I have intense anxiety, am gonna be in lifelong therapy, and I've off and on managed it when it's been relevant to my life.

I'd trade all of my international press for a quarter of Mike's class and panache, though. Lookin sharp, friend.

Just booked my first honest-to-goodness gig. A bar downtown is doing a night featuring DJs who also produce tracks, so I'm cooking up a spacey and hypnotic set to showcase some of my stuff.

nice!

my gig was fun, I was fairly anxious beforehand because I had never used a fancy deck combo before, I was half expecting my usb sticks to fail, and I had no idea if anyone would show up. After the house DJs warmed things up, I came on, got plugged in, pulled up my intro track, and it wouldn't load. At that point I was ready for utter failure, but I loaded the next track and just started there. It was extremely loud and the sound in the booth was terrible, one shitty monitor and busted headphones, luckily I brought my own headphones too. I made the most of it, but from where I was standing it was very chaotic and difficult to discern anything. I like to do long transitions with lots of overlapping sounds from both tracks, but it was far too noisy to really get too creative with EQs and whatnot, so I mostly was just mixing through sheer brute force and bass pressure. Next time I'll probably need to do a lot more mixing through the headphones if I want to get really detailed. Anyway, there was a ton of energy, and quite a big and enthusiastic crowd there for a Monday night, probably the biggest I've seen for this event. From what I understand, it sounded fine out in the bar, so that's good. I had one other track fail to load, but otherwise everything else was fine. The promoters seemed pleased and I'm fairly sure they are going to put me in some more events coming up. So despite nerves and a few technical challenges, it was definitely a success overall.

On a side note, I've been connecting with people through a whole bunch of local FB groups related to the local scene. One group I joined recently, billed itself as a more exclusive group for true techno heads. I was encouraged to promote my gig on there, but I got a lot of snark and negativity from a couple people because the flyer said EDM on it. It was suggested that I'm going burn my credibility playing such gigs and that I should even use a different name if I'm going to do them! The truth is though, the people who put the gig together are all really nice and supportive, it's billed as an EDM night, but is typically a blend of a bunch of different styles, and people were psyched to hear an hour of techno. Not sure how much I should take stuff like this to heart or just ignore it. I definitely want to play more techno-centric gigs, and don't want to screw that up, but I can't really be so elitist about everything.

hell yeah, way to go!

I was encouraged to promote my gig on there, but I got a lot of snark and negativity from a couple people because the flyer said EDM on it. It was suggested that I'm going burn my credibility playing such gigs and that I should even use a different name if I'm going to do them! The truth is though, the people who put the gig together are all really nice and supportive, it's billed as an EDM night, but is typically a blend of a bunch of different styles, and people were psyched to hear an hour of techno. Not sure how much I should take stuff like this to heart or just ignore it.

i would lean toward ignoring that big-time but then i'm deathly allergic to that kind of shit. if these people are nice and want you back and the energy is there that's like a 10 / 10 imo.

pretty much where I'm at as well, I can't abide by the gatekeeper attitude, I'd much rather work with people who about keeping it positive

some of the edm djs where i live are fucking cool people even though we have slightly different itches that need scratching. i can support their thing to a degree, especially if they give me enthusiasm back. eventually it's like if you're not really on their wavelength, you can try to move on to something else. having the gig experience is such a crucial first step i think, playing in shitty chaotic conditions etc. i'm pretty fucking sure the snobs aren't out there working so.

It’s gonna feel v strange DJing a roller disco event in Providence tomorrow while my friends and family deal with a hurricane back home

please tell me you're going to bring some industrial vibes to the roller disco

that's fucked karl, hope you find your zone for a minute.

Thanks map.

xp haha, i wish! i’m anticipating some kids and families so while there will be a fair amount of dreamy druggy vibes i’ll try to avoid overt references and sex sounds in the vox, it is a city-run space aiui

Welp, got a last minute booking tonight from 1-3. Don't have a set planned, never been to this club, using pro decks for the first time. What could go wrong?

How'd it go?

Friend asked me to play the "headlining slot" at her wedding, lol. First time playing out in years.

a friend and beloved community member died of cancer around 2 1/2 years ago and there was finally a big memorial at our local pub with a bunch of DJs and musicians. I have temporarily inherited his collection of ~3000 records, myself and 2 other DJs who knew him picked out sets from his records, we had a DJ station setup offstage so we alternated with bands, it was a great time but my set was bad transition-wise, I'm glad I was the opener. then I got to watch the pros do it... (i.e. folks who have regular paid gigs, unlike my low key work-trade situation)

also yes moodles plz report

The gig went fairly well, although not without some hitches. It was at an after hours lounge space adjacent to a small underground warehouse club that was having an all night party. I got there a bit early and asked the sound tech if I could try out the decks before they opened. He set up a somewhat lower grade all-in-one Pioneer system, which was a bit of a surprise to me because I had been told they would have Pioneer 3000 CDJs and a mixer, but I tested out a couple tracks, it seemed straightforward enough and sounded good coming through the house speakers. So I had my tracks cued up and was ready to start when the DJ who put the gig together showed up and put away the all-in-one system and started to set up the CDJs and mixer. That was all well and good, except that once it was all set up, they could not get any sound to come through the main speakers anymore. It seems there was some issue with the sound being fed to the house mixing board via an ethernet hookup. This resulted in the DJ and sound guy dicking around for an hour trying to sort out the issue, while I wondered if I would get to play at all. My suggestions of "switch back to the other decks" and "unplug and reboot everything" fell on deaf ears. Ultimately, they just rewired all the speakers so that they bypassed the troublesome mixing board. I finally started my set around 2 am, ran through a bunch of atmospheric housey stuff since the place was still fairly empty and then shifted to harder techno and rave stuff as people started to filter in. As 3 am rolled around, I wondered if I would need to wrap up, but I kept playing for another hour. People drifted in and out the whole time from next door. I mainly got a fairly positive response despite the fact that there definitely some messy transitions here and there and by 4 I was pretty shot. So a decent experience, hopefully this leads to some opportunities at their main space, but it was nice to have the DJ/promoter that I've been working with think of me when they needed someone on short notice like that. I had been wondering if I would have any more gigs before November

nice!

i'm getting asked to sub in for a few friday / saturday nights at the gay club, which means i've got to round up all the top 40 type stuff i have into one playlist, that floor is brutal on a weekend if i don't churn through that stuff for at least an hour or two.

^i just had to put together the pop tracks i like, or can at least tolerate. that's finally up to more than four hours.

i think last night was the best set i've done that i can remember? just flowed all night. went all over the place but it made sense. i usually notch the intensity down after last call, and i was somewhat surprised to get the most energetic dancing of the night to some darker more sinuous house tracks. i'm pleasantly surprised that more often than not people seem to be into the frankie knuckles / erik k remix of "forever more" by moloko. i do a whole drag karaoke performance to it lol.

<3

damn that sounds fun

:) the handful of people who are into it seem to have a good time.

and last night was rough. the weekend crowd just wants to sing / scream along to hits. i did ok in that department but definitely had some periods where i lost the floor. it's more stressful because the poppier tracks are 3 ish minutes long so i'm mixing, finding the next track, mixing, next track, etc. spent half the time needing to pee very bad. also had a really entitled requester at the end who i yelled at. he requested david guetta (pronounced david "goota" i guess, idk, i found that pretty funny and pretentious in the moment though) 3 times 15 minutes before i'm ending. literally 3 minutes before i'm wrapping up he barged into the booth and said the dance floor was looking a little sad. no shit bitch it's my last track that's the point. i yelled at him "get the fuck out of my booth" and basically pushed him out which is a no no but god damn i was not in the mood to put up with that shit.