Probably the most fun activity for a professional DJ is working the room to keep a full and Rockin’ dance floor. It is one thing to just keeping the dance floor full, it is another thing to keep them rockin’! There will always be people who will dance regardless of the quality of the professional DJ or the music. So, using the dance floor’s capacity is not always a true barometer of professional DJ success. When everyone on the floor is having fun, real big fun; that is something to pay attention to.  How does a new professional DJ learn how to do this?

Start with paying attention to the folks on the dance floor AND the one’s who are not on the floor. They matter too. Some people are not really dancers. They may be having a great time and loving the tunes but not comfortable being up in front of others.  Watch and see how they look and feel. Are they pumped and laughing with their feet and butts shakin’ in place? Good!

Next is to watch those on the dance floor. Are they just going through the motions of dancing or are they really moving? Are they soaked with sweat because they CAN’T get off the dance floor?  You can see when it is working by looking into the eyes of those dancing. Are they sparkling and beaming? Are they so engrossed in the music that they forgot there is a world outside of the five-foot area they have taken ownership of? What about the couples and the ‘couples to be’ on the dance floor? Are they so in tune with the beats and rhythms that they do not know there are others on the dance floor? If your answer to all of these is YES! Good!

If the answer is no, what to do? Because at the heart of a good professional DJ is the need to make people want to move so bad they forget their friends, bedtime, job, bills and laundry. First things first, have you been too busy playing what you want to hear and forgot that they are the ones who matter?  Have you tried to switch the genre or era of the music? Sometimes we need to shift the music and energy of what is happening to meet the needs of the crowd. This is still true if you are a Club DJ that has been working this same crowd week after week. Folks sometimes need something new to get things moving. Sometimes switching the tempo can be just the thing to get people paying attention again. This applies to slowing it down just a little to give the opportunity to speed it back up again. This can be risky since you may lose those faithful few who are still out there having a good time. By slow, I do not mean a slow dance like Lionel Richie, more in line with most of the old Motown and Philly Soul stuff is fast enough for the dance floor but not slow enough for couples to slow dance to. This stuff can be great for shifting things around. Another great example of this is Barry White. Don’t be afraid to take risks, just make sure they are calculated risks AND not for the sake of you trying to slip in what you want to hear. It is always about the crowd! We can listen to our own stuff on the way home. Finally, a few professional DJ tricks may be just the thing; scratching, looping, strange mixes and segues, etc. It forces people to notice you are there and alive!

There are other skills utilized that will be included in other blogs. For now, remember the music is for them and do not get stuck in what you do and how you do it. Be creative and alive. And most of all, PAY ATTENTION!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

I had the opportunity this morning to give some basic DJ training to a young man who is filling in for someone tomorrow night at a family function as DJ for the first time. It was fun to share with him the simple yet often failed process of blending styles and tempo together seamlessly. He seemed to ‘get it’ fairly easily, it is not rocket science.

Learning the art of transitioning musical styles and tempos is one of the most important skills a good professional DJ has. They have to be able to make Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Miley Cyrus, Michael Buble, The Police, Beyonce, Bon Jovi, RUN DMC, U2, Cotton-Eyed Joe and Frank Sinatra all fit together without taking the energy of one from the other. They have to actually fit together, not just be part of the same night.

The equally important art is that of shifting tempos from fast to slow and back again without losing the energy and dancers on the floor.

Example: You have the dance floor rockin’ with a set of Stevie Wonder, Prince, Akon, Empire State of Mind, Sly and the Family Stone and Aretha, and now you have the person who booked the event requesting some slow songs, a good thing but not what follows Respect real well nor Dance To The Music. What to do?  Slow it down over a few songs. How about Lionel Ritchie or Smokey Robinson to move towards a true slow dance tune? How do you get it back up to a fast tempo after a few slow songs? How about Marvin Gaye, Barry White, Leona Lewis or one of my favorites; 4 The Cause “Stand By Me”? Then it is easy to crank out something faster like Beyonce, Yaz or Billy Idol.

All of this keeps the event flowing naturally and does not force dancers to shift gears to quickly. Let them enjoy the gentle transitions of style, genre and tempo to support their ability to move and groove to the music without feeling lost or out of sync.

I am interested to hear about how his gig goes tomorrow night. He will be in New Jersey doing his thing while I will be in NYC doing mine!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

All experienced professional DJs have a best friend they bring with them to every gig. No, I am not talking about their buddy who helps lug in the gear and keeps an eye on things during a quick trip to the bathroom. I am speaking of the songs or artists that you know you can bring out when things need a boost to kick into high gear. It is kind-of like cheating with a stacked deck.

In different times and places, the songs and artists vary. For example; if you are the professional DJ at a Sweet Sixteen, your best friend as a professional DJ for that gig will typically be whatever the top dance songs are on the Billboard charts that week. This could be Akon, Myley Cyrus or Carrie Underwood or who knows who will top the charts next week.  If you are the professional DJ at a high school reunion for the class of 1962, then it may be The Five Satins, Elvis Presley or The Everly Brothers, and if you’re lucky, maybe even Roy Orbison.   This is nothing like what your ace in the hole would be for a college reunion from the class of 1983, which would mean Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls and maybe even Michael Jackson Thriller or The Clash depending on the group.

But what about a wedding? Weddings are somewhat different than other gigs because the guests can be very diverse including age, background and lifestyle.  At a wedding, an experienced professional Wedding DJ takes the songs and artists that they were requested in advance by the Bride and Groom, the requests they receive at the wedding, look at the guests age and lifestyle and throw in a dose of common sense of what is working and what is barely shaking the Jello and discern what the ‘aces in the hole’ are for that wedding.

There are the usual songs and artists that rarely fail; Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Old Motown, Soul and R&B, along with a few never fail slow dance songs like Always and Forever, Ribbon in the Sky, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and some Elvis. In certain circles you can also can count on the Slides, Cha Cha and Electric, Macarena, Thriller or any other group dances.  But beyond that, you are successful on your ability to gauge what will work to meet the needs of the diverse guests who may not know each other well or at all.

There are tables that may have a single, middle-aged cousin, two best friends of the bride from high school, the bride’s boss and husband, his former secretary and her new boyfriend and an ex-boyfriend of the bride with his pretend girlfriend for the wedding all trying to make conversation and find a way to enjoy the reception together. They can be the ones you have to get up on the dance floor, the immediate family and friends are rarely hard to please, since they are so excited anyway. But the more distant folks are the ones that will make  or break or wedding or any important event. These are the folks that every DJ needs to identify their ‘best friends’ for that event.

A little experimentation within the scope of what the couple have requested will often give you clues what and when to release the ‘aces’.  Example; if the bride requested Barry White and Marvin Gaye and they both go over well, then it is probably safe to assume Diana Ross post-Supremes, Smokey Robinson and Earth, Wind and Fire will be effective in getting everybody up and rockin’, and of course MJ is always there when you do not know what else to do. Each time you have a success, you build on it and it produces more opportunities for expanding the playlist to meet the needs of more people while still keeping those enjoying what is going on happy.

Learning your ‘aces in the hole’ and “best friends’ are two of the ways that an experienced professional DJ adapts to the situation successfully without losing what they have already established.

What are your ‘aces in the hole’ and ‘best friends’ as a professional DJ in the NJ, MY & PA region?

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ