It is Unprofessional 4 U to call me Unprofessional
JustAlice
1,308 Posts
This is the line I got from a "dee jay" ( I dont think you could really call him that ) that my boss hired to play last night at the club. This was something I was against from the beginning. First of all dude shows up @ 10 after 10 and doesnt begin playing until basically 11. I tried for 20 minutes to figure our how to plug in his 2 CD WALKMANS that he was going to play from. His friend and him didnt have a clue except to tell me I was doing it wrong. Dude claims to be " international world famous dj" and is clearly full if shit.This was not the first time he played here either. My boss hired him for thursdays and has been playing for at least a month and a half. I knew it was bad, but I didnt know it was this bad.At the end of the night when it came time to pay we pro-rated his wage based on the fact that he started late. He proceeded to blame me for not knowing how to plug in his equipment. I told him that it was unprofessional to show up late and not know how to use his own equipment. Then he said....you guessed it...." It is unprofessional for you to call me unprofessional"The music stopped more than a handful of times throughout the night because he wasnt mixing and had no way to cue songs. The levels were off and I didnt realize that he had unplugged EVERYTHING connected to the mixer so we werent getting any sound in the front room. It took me 10 min. after he started playing just to figure that out! It was kinda funny when I think of it now but when he said I was being unprofessional for calling him unprofessional i wish I would have said something to the effect of :"No, you know what would be unprofessional? If I told you what a fucking joke you are. If I told you that you are the worst dj Ive ever heard in my life and our lucky you've made it this far. If I told you an child could do better with a fisher price player and some seasme street rares.. if I told you YOU should be Paying US to play here...... "I wanted so badly to fire him on the spot and send him home, I called my boss and asked him if I could but he said no. We sold half of what we usually do an a saturday, and I think we would have done better with the jukebox. Anyways, its his bar so he can do what he wants...but cant I be a little tiffed for having to deal with this when I knew it was wrong and told him it was wrong?Ok, my rant is over. Anyone ever deal with any wanna be Dj's that somehow make it through the door?Similar stories of stupid dudes with a stupid set up?
Comments
this dood is
that unprofessional line is dope though. im definitely gonna use it.
Before I would've Dealt with it, now I just plain get the fuck out.
- spidey
instead of having to put me on blast like this!
Very unprofessional, yet again.
- SoulOnIce AKA DJ DuoDiscman
God, I played a gig with 2 discmans when I was 12... and I was embarrased then! But at least there was no dead air!
Its a pretty big mess as I have been going back and forth with my boss for several weeks through email and phone calls trying to tell him these guys were taking advantage of him and all that. I think he took it the wrong way on more than one occasion and I was feeling like my opinions werent being valued. I just wanted to let the chips fall I guess. Ive tried to quit, but its hard to let go sometimes.
People loved it, nobody gives a fuck.
Props to your friend Otis if he can rock a couple walkmans......I know the general public might not be able to tell the difference and doesnt care...but I do. And like I said we sold half as much as a normal saturday so it reflected the overall outcome without a doubt.
first of all...what up Alice...good people you is
second....the above quoted statement really says it. Alice if your bar did shitty sales, then that is enough for the owner to make up their mind on this dude right there. If the owner can't wake up to that fact, then i suggest a bounce to another bar that will appreciate your services, as sooner or later they will take it out on you if you don't.
case in point: i entered this little 'mix contest' that some italian watch company is putting on (hey, 1st place is $5000 and i only have to play for a total of 30 mins), and dude who went on after me was total joke. First off, he was supposed to go on BEFORE me, and he shows up 15 minutes late for a 10 minute set. They had a perfect setup - spanking new 1200s, Pioneer DJM800, Pioneer CDJ1000MK3s and Sair-ah-toe with those high-end ultra thin PA speakers. After his first mix, I see him asking one of the organizers how to eject a CD from the CDJ - wtf?!!? - after his second mix, the sound inexplicably cuts out and the same organizer comes up and looks like she just turns up the master volume on the mixer. To top it all off, this dude had an entourage with a photographer AND videographer. I just brought my girlfriend. Seriously, we played for 10 minutes each to 5 people, and our mixes were recorded for the judges to listen to later. It's not like we were playing to a packed house on Ibisa. and dude brought 4 of those extra-large books of CDs that probably hold 300 discs each. It's 10 minutes dude! You'll be lucky if you play more than 10 songs!
Let me guess - he won, right?
I bet this "dee-jay" had a lot of hair gel, huh?
that's always a bad sign!
Sounds like that bar isn't really in it for the DJ's or music. I can't really say, of course, since I have not been there. Especially, when the bar is not making the much money.
he could hire these dudes:
Nah, I don't buy that either. Considering that the usual Saturday DJ is Mr. Jeigh, who kills it on a regular basis, and many talented DJs have come through, such as Soulstrut's Doc Delay and DJ Day, there's no reason your boss shouldn't be able to tell the difference between a good DJ and an inexperienced wannabe. I know the crowds at XV can.
It was supposed to be some kind of "world music vibe" or anything Not Hip Hop related. My boss has been on this kick of trying to get something a little more eclectic going which is fine, but I know guys that could come in with some latin ish / afro-cuban stuff or even some dub-step would be better than this. Also My boss forgot to keep in mind that gypsy's dont have money.
I appreciate all the comments regarding this event. WHAT UP AA**N!!!
I emailed my boss this morning and said shit has got to end. I need to have the line up for this weeks paper in by 5 pm today and I still havent heard back from him.
It is a huge conflict of interest and always has been since I am one of the lead bartenders and the booking person. Ive had a hard time dealing with the staff having their hands in the cookie jar as well. I think perhaps it has reached its end though.
My boss means well and is all into the change is good kinda thing. His intentions are fine but he is really spacey and sometimes I dont think he even reads the emails I send him. You know what they say...intentions are meaningless and actions are divine.
Its just really hard for me because when something like this happens people assume I had something to do with it which is NAGL at all
Exactly...Plus we have had Hogg and Neta, Mike2600, Revolution, Exile, Frane, Shines, Ohmega Watts the list goes on.
It seems to me it would make a lot more sense for your boss to do this on a week night. XV is centrally located and it probably wouldn't take too long to get a good night going with decent attendance. But Fridays and Saturdays? With all the other clubs right around there, he'll kill business if he doesn't cater to the regular crowd.
He must have read the email wrong because next thing I knew he was asking gypsy dude if he WANTED TO PLAY 2 SATURDAYS A MONTH!!!! WTF
He totally got it twisted, I was trying to tell him it needed to end and he thought I was saying do it more?? NO, if it aint swinging on a thursday it certainly not going to fly on a weekend.
And you're surprised that this night sucked?
It tried to tell him...I tried and I tried and I tried again.
Thats why I was saying I didnt think my opinion was being valued as the booking person.
Honestly this is the best job and certainly best boss Ive ever had as far as letting me do what I want in regards to the music for the most part. On the bartending end I worked up from ground zero and I do love doing what I do and consider myself lucky. One thing that is cool is generally he does take people opinions into consideration but then other times he doesnt. It is kind of touch and go in certain situations.
He gets a wild idea or somebody from the outside comes in and sells him on something that may not be the best for all involved from the staff to the Dj's. All in all I would say he likes going for the under dog and likes to give people chances which is dope except when people are trying to get over on him and rip him off which I feel is part of my job to prevent. The gypsy dudes were all talk plain and simple.
I dont know what to do.
My stomach feels like a bag of bricks.
I would never stand for this and just let it slide...... and sure enough he was upset that we called dude unprofessional.
man this makes me so sad.mad.
He says no hip hop on saturdays, fridays only. world music on saturdays.
can you guys help me write my resignation letter now??
what should I do? I dont know what to do?
This is so frustrating.
greet him warmly and do NOTHING for him. when he asks for help simply reply, "you're the world-wide professional DJ - hooking up your gear to our sound system should be well within your skill set."
I'm sure your boss is nice, but that's just dumb. I would be surprised if this lasted more than two weeks. Very few people in this town are going downtown on a Saturday night to listen to world music. Canl any of your co-workers back you up on this?
My condolences.
J
best thing about this is that you care. You care that the bar is not making the money it should, and you care that the music sucks, and you care that folks are not having a good time. All this wraps into one message for me, and that is that you have what it takes to open your own spot. When you are that invested, there is only one route to follow through on and that is running your own shit. I did it and have never been happier or more financially secure. Save up some money and do it !!!!!!!!!