“A real D.J. is part shaman, part tech-wizard, part crowd psychologist, all artist. Many people claim the title but far fewer embody it.”
Tag Archives: Event DJ
Accepting New Challenges As A Professional DJ
I was recently approached with an offer to professional DJ at a club that is under new management. It is really a sports bar with a club upstairs; a great place to eat and party. They already have a Resident DJ but he is not willing to play music for theme nights they are planning over the next few months. He does not want to do Country, Latin or a Ladies Night. He will only do what he does and nothing else. Why are so many professional DJs like this?
I look forward to accepting new challenges and expanding my repertoire as a professional DJ. How can this be a bad thing?
Even when I was new at this way back when many years ago, I wanted to try new things, learn and gain experience and confidence in as many genres and styles as possible. As a professional DJ, it increases my value and marketability. As a performer, I add to my pallet of music in my library that I can provide to clients. Country and Latin Music are two of the hottest dance trends these days and why would a professional DJ not want to be a part of the fun and excitement?
I wonder if this is just a matter of ego and maturity? If you have any ideas on why so many professional DJs are afraid to venture beyond one or two genre, I would be most grateful for your thoughts.
Last Minute Event DJ
It is not often but sometimes I have an open date approaching the weekend. It is even rarer when that date is a holiday three-day weekend like the Fourth of July. Stranger yet was that two separate clients wanted to hire me last minute for the same day but at different times. One needed a professional DJ for a First Communion celebration in the afternoon and the other a unique form of Wedding Party in the evening. We somehow found a way to schedule both of them and serve the families that requested our services last minute!
Fortunately for me, I have been doing this for a long time and don’t need much time or preparation to get ready for a last minute professional DJ gig. Of course, I appreciate the prep time when I have it, but can show-up wihtout much notice or details and do an excellent job providing professional DJ services and great music.
I was speaking with a friend over dinner last night about the fact that I always try to create a ‘playlist’ of songs which is more of a music bank then playlist. I take the songs that the client has requested and place them in a ‘playlist’ for their event. I then add on a 2:1 ratio another group of songs that would compliment their requests perfectly. These are where I will start from at the event till I get a sense of the crowd and get a nice request list going from those attending the event. Together with the original list they offered, the ones I added intuitively, what I can see and feel working and the crowds requests – we end up with an excellent event full of great music and fun!
I am excited about both of these gigs and an additional Wedding on Sunday. The last minute Wedding is actually a kind of Wedding I have not served previously as a professional Wedding DJ. The Bride and Groom have already been married and celebrated at a destination Wedding in The Caribbean. This party is for the friends and family that could not attend their Destination Wedding. Should be fun!
