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

Yesterday I was reading an article in Skratchworx, a professional DJ magazine, titled “DJ? Who says so?” by Gizmo.

inMusic buys Stanton — some DJ industry analysis

It was an interesting to read the writer and the comments by the readers on the subject of what makes a professional DJ, a DJ versus just being someone playing songs. It is a topic I have reflected on many times. In some circles among the professional DJ community, a ‘DJ’ is only someone who works with turntables and scratches. In other segments of the community, a DJ is only a DJ if they know how to use the mic and MC. And still there are others that think a DJ is anyone who plays music and gets people to dance. The answers to these questions are not clear, nor perfect. Most of this is just opinion, and why is mine any more correct than yours?

I would like to take the opportunity to share my views on what makes a professional DJ, a professional DJ. I am certain if I wrote this again in a week or a month, my answers would be a little different. When I think of a professional DJ, I think of a man or woman who is using some kind of electronic equipment and playing somebody else’s recorded music through speakers for others to appreciate, dancing or just listening.  I have an image of them putting together a playlist of songs either in advance or preferably live to match the energy of the crowd. I feel them matching the beats and vibe of the music to keep the energy flowing and the audience lively. There seems to be a need for the DJ to have enough humility and respect for the people to honor their request when possible. But most of all, they need to be interested in music and its affect on people,; how people get energized, inspired, moved and pumped-up by music, sound, beats and rhythm. Music and people seem to be the keys to being a professional DJ.

I know there are folks out there that will disagree and say that DJing is about technical skills like scratching and beat-matching. I will not argue with them these are helpful skills to master on some level but professional DJs were professional DJs before both skills were invented and will continue to be DJs after the next set of skills are created.  I was a much better technical DJ with vinyl than I was with CDs. I never quite got the feel for CDs that I had with vinyl.  Since using a MacBook, I am less inclined to use those skills since some of them MacBook does for me, although I still do my own mixing of songs probably 95% of the time, if not more. Today I rely on my sense of what is working and what the person who booked the gig and the guests as my ‘ruler’ for what to do. Sometimes I will feel a crowd will enjoy some DJ ‘tricks’ to add some flair, others if it does not feel productive or desired I will stay away from that kind of stuff.

I stand by the idea that a professional DJ’s best ‘skill’ is their ability to read and respond to the crowd and the host(s) of an event. The technical skills are nice, but not the essence of what being a professional DJ is for me.

What do you think makes a professional DJ, a professional DJ? Is it their skills on the turntable or Vestex? How well and often they scratch? Their knowledge of music? Their willingness to honor hosts and guests? Their feel for the crowd? What makes a DJ a DJ?

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Sweat. Sweat is the easiest clue to knowing that what you are doing as a professional DJ is working. When the guests at an event have sweat dripping down their faces you know you are doing your job. Saturday night was one of those nights for me. Guest after guest approached about the music or requests or just to take a break and they had sweat all over the faces and clothes. It doesn’t look good but it sure lets me as a professional DJ feel good about we are doing.

Other signs are when the person(s) who coordinated and booked the event don’t come and talk to you much, meaning they are enjoying the event and there is nothing wrong.  They smile at you when they walk by and ask you if you had enough to to eat and drink.

It was fun for me to see everybody up playing and dancing on the dance floor. Since it was outdoors under a tent, as the night got darker, the LED Quest and Scorpion Storm lights seemed to sneak up on everybody without startling them. I got some decent photos that we added to our Photo Gallery. There were actually a bunch more but didn’t want to flood the page with every fun and goofy thing I saw.  The technical part of the photos were not good but I think they captured how much fun folks were having.

I felt good after breaking down, loading up my vehicle and heading home after this event, i usually do. I find being a professional DJ is very rewarding.  How many other jobs to you get to make people happy as your job function? I remember when there was a time when people doubted that we could actually be an alternative to a live band for making great events great!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ