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I Dj'ed tonight. I was...

kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
edited August 2007 in Strut Central
Last minute gig...Records were all in disarray...No prep.I remember someone started a 'I'm djing my first gig, and am nervous...' thread lately. Let this be my contribution: a little practice and prep go a long way. That, and take time to listen to your records.Tonight? Not a lot of time to listen to things this summer, and no prep or organization...Never felt comfortable the whole time.Keep them chops sharp, y'all. DON'T COAST!Hell of a baseball game tonight between Boston and Anaheim, I might add...

  Comments

  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts

    Hell of a baseball game tonight between Boston and Anaheim, I might add...

    this 2:30 AM shit is ridiculous. At least so far it seems
    worth staying up for, unlike last night's disaster.
  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts


    Keep them chops sharp, y'all. DON'T COAST!

    I have a monthly gig that doesn't pay all that well, but I keep it because when the money gigs pop up I am not all rusty.
  • SnagglepusSnagglepus 1,756 Posts
    I have a weekly gig at a bar, a weekly radio show, and two monthly gigs. That's at least 10 gigs/month. I find that I have to work a lot to keep them fresh. Its so easy to fall into a pattern where you bring pretty much the same records to everything (partially because preparing new crates takes that extra bit of time and energy which I often lack).

    So I'm almost on the other side of the spectrum where I know my records too well. It does keep me buying new ones, of course. I'll also come up with themes that force me to go looking through the expedits for those less often played goodies. But the rock band and ladyfriend certainly compete for my time so I do find myself getting lazy some weeks.

    How do other people with regular gigs keep them from getting stale? (hope I'm not threadjacking here)
  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
    No thread jack...Stale is an issue too...How many times can I drop XXX record before it goes from being 'my joint i am known for,' to 'that joint y'all are bored for'.

    It's all part of making yourself better at your craft.

    Really, I think the thing that this taught me was...Listen to your gotdamn records. You might know some 45 for years, but just a little refresher on how those end, what goes into, etc. is huge if you haven't heard the song in three months...

    This isn't some huge revelation, I know. But, we discuss our pitfalls and successes on here, so this is my contribution, and a bump to y'all to stay sharp.

    that said...

    if i ever stop playing Jorge Ben "Meus Filhos, Meu Tesouro," it means i am dead. THAT TUNE IS
  • SnagglepusSnagglepus 1,756 Posts
    Listen to your gotdamn records.

    It may appear to be obvious, but it's great advice for anyone at any level. When you consume a lot of records (as we all appear to do) it's easy to associate a record with one particular song because that's the first song that grabbed you. However, everyone's tastes evolve from week to week, month to month, year to year. So listening to entire LPs, checking for b-sides, it's all important research. Digging through you're own collection can often be as fruitful as digging for new records.

    And, like you said, even those songs that you know well can be presented in new contexts. Basically ... put in the work and you (and the people you spin for) get more pleasure out of it.
  • bobbydeebobbydee 849 Posts
    I can't count how many times I've thrown on a record upside down, and caught a bit of a b-side I thought I hated that is actually pretty hot. There's quite a few records that I bought for the A but play the B more consistently too.

    I haven't played in a while but I have some stuff coming up... thanks for inspiring me to get off my arse!
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