Well well well,
All excited I was, Saturday, talking about my gig. Unfortunately it did not go very well. Afterwords I would refer to it as a collosal failure, in fact.
I think it all comes down to the fact that I was the wrong DJ for the wrong crowd. My DJ style of music is mostly house and lounge. Lounge is easy - it's very laid back and therefore does not make good "dance" music. This kind of music works well at restaurants, which is why it fits so well at Les Folies where I DJ in Montreal. I did not play Lounge Saturday night, because I knew it wasn't appropriate. House music also works well in restaurants, but it is fundamentally a dance music, so it's really good in dance clubs. These clubs are full of people looking for this kind of music, so it's what they expect.
On Saturday night I played for a group of people who were brought together by the love of a sport. What brings these people together has nothing to do with what kind of music they like. As such, a DJ who plays a specialized type of music will not be able to reach out to a big percentage of these people to get them to dance. The best example of the kind of DJ who gets a large group of disparate people to dance is a wedding DJ. They play hits that everybody recognizes and (sometimes reluctatly) can dance to. I can be a snob and say it's "the lowest common denominator" music, but wedding DJs are still talented professionals who work hard, know their music, and know exactly how to get grandma dancing (a feat I would have very little idea how to pull off).
I am no wedding DJ.
Nor am I a Hip Hop DJ.
If I had been the latter, instead of a house DJ, I might have had a better chance of getting people to dance. I got request after request for Hip Hop, and I guess I just don't have any.
Maybe some of the fine readers here familiar with Hip Hop could give me a short list of sure fire Hip Hop artists. But again, sure fire for a B-Boy would be different than sure fire for a late teen club girl, or whatever. But I guess I have to start somewhere. I'm a big fan of De La Soul, but that's a bit oldish now, so I need some more current, dancey stuff. Someone requested Usher. Is Usher good?
Okay, enough ranting about DJing. Saturday night obviously didn't meet my expectations, but I DJ in the end for fun and I'll just avoid these kinds of situations by refusing gigs where I know the audience isn't right (or try out different music styles, and grinning and bearing it if it doesn't work).
Other news:
Now I'm living in my new apartment, and I ended up being a very happy boy by yesterday evening. I DJ'd with my roomate, who is also a house DJ, and we had alot fun. Plus I just feel more like I'm at a home, rather than a hotel room.
Now it's time for me to work. Hope all is well with everyone!
All excited I was, Saturday, talking about my gig. Unfortunately it did not go very well. Afterwords I would refer to it as a collosal failure, in fact.
I think it all comes down to the fact that I was the wrong DJ for the wrong crowd. My DJ style of music is mostly house and lounge. Lounge is easy - it's very laid back and therefore does not make good "dance" music. This kind of music works well at restaurants, which is why it fits so well at Les Folies where I DJ in Montreal. I did not play Lounge Saturday night, because I knew it wasn't appropriate. House music also works well in restaurants, but it is fundamentally a dance music, so it's really good in dance clubs. These clubs are full of people looking for this kind of music, so it's what they expect.
On Saturday night I played for a group of people who were brought together by the love of a sport. What brings these people together has nothing to do with what kind of music they like. As such, a DJ who plays a specialized type of music will not be able to reach out to a big percentage of these people to get them to dance. The best example of the kind of DJ who gets a large group of disparate people to dance is a wedding DJ. They play hits that everybody recognizes and (sometimes reluctatly) can dance to. I can be a snob and say it's "the lowest common denominator" music, but wedding DJs are still talented professionals who work hard, know their music, and know exactly how to get grandma dancing (a feat I would have very little idea how to pull off).
I am no wedding DJ.
Nor am I a Hip Hop DJ.
If I had been the latter, instead of a house DJ, I might have had a better chance of getting people to dance. I got request after request for Hip Hop, and I guess I just don't have any.
Maybe some of the fine readers here familiar with Hip Hop could give me a short list of sure fire Hip Hop artists. But again, sure fire for a B-Boy would be different than sure fire for a late teen club girl, or whatever. But I guess I have to start somewhere. I'm a big fan of De La Soul, but that's a bit oldish now, so I need some more current, dancey stuff. Someone requested Usher. Is Usher good?
Okay, enough ranting about DJing. Saturday night obviously didn't meet my expectations, but I DJ in the end for fun and I'll just avoid these kinds of situations by refusing gigs where I know the audience isn't right (or try out different music styles, and grinning and bearing it if it doesn't work).
Other news:
Now I'm living in my new apartment, and I ended up being a very happy boy by yesterday evening. I DJ'd with my roomate, who is also a house DJ, and we had alot fun. Plus I just feel more like I'm at a home, rather than a hotel room.
Now it's time for me to work. Hope all is well with everyone!
posted by Falko at 12:30 PM
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