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Getting DJ gigs??

ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
edited December 2008 in Strut Central
Like many others right now I'm out of a job and I'm trying to make some money dj'ing now that I don't have any schedule limitations and need the cash.b, 21Whats a good way to get gigs? Do you just approach managers at bars, clubs, etc..., with a demo CD and tell them what you're all about or what?b, 21b, 21I really appreciate any input.b, 21Thanks,b, 21 O.S.T.

  Comments

  • calkutacalkuta 160 Posts
    thats what i have done (not that i have all these gigs but i play a weekly night at a small lounge and get other random shows through local promoters and other djs i know) just talk to people, and don't be afraid to ask cus if nobody knows that you dj or even who you are they aren't going to be asking you to play anywhere...a good mix definitely helps, then at least people can know what to expect
  • gambitgambit 906 Posts
    NETWORK. You just need to get on it. It's about building relationships. People like to mess with people they like.b, 21b, 21I am NOT a DJ... but I'm out of work, and I have holiday party gigs for just about every weekend this month. It pays to know corporate types that know nothing about DJing, yada yada yada.
  • DeeRockDeeRock 1,836 Posts
    I have a friend that kind of djs but not really. He has 15 corporate gigs this month at $2000 per. I have NONE! I dj out almost every night of the week. All club stuff. He will make $30K this month deejaying and he is not really a dj! wtf? He did one for a co. and it snowballed and people just keep calling him.
  • dayday 9,612 Posts
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    b, 21I have a friend that kind of djs but not really. He has 15 corporate gigs this month at $2000 per. I have NONE! I dj out almost every night of the week. All club stuff. He will make $30K this month deejaying and he is not really a dj! wtf? He did one for a co. and it snowballed and people just keep calling him.
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I'm dying to know what fools play at gigs like that.
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    b, 21I have a friend that kind of djs but not really. He has 15 corporate gigs this month at $2000 per. I have NONE! I dj out almost every night of the week. All club stuff. He will make $30K this month deejaying and he is not really a dj! wtf? He did one for a co. and it snowballed and people just keep calling him.
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    b, 21I'm dying to know what fools play at gigs like that.
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Unmixed private press geographically restricted funk from 1967 to 1973.
  • DJCireDJCire 729 Posts
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    b, 21I have a friend that kind of djs but not really. He has 15 corporate gigs this month at $2000 per. I have NONE! I dj out almost every night of the week. All club stuff. He will make $30K this month deejaying and he is not really a dj! wtf? He did one for a co. and it snowballed and people just keep calling him.
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    b, 21I'm dying to know what fools play at gigs like that.
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21b, 21you'd be surprised at what you can play. i've been lucky enough to pull gigs for half what dude is making ($2k is insance) but at either point its all about the cash. raers = hardly, but it isn't brickhouse everytime either. It pays the rent so I ain't mad... img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" 21
  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
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    b, 21I have a friend that kind of djs but not really. He has 15 corporate gigs this month at $2000 per. I have NONE! I dj out almost every night of the week. All club stuff. He will make $30K this month deejaying and he is not really a dj! wtf? He did one for a co. and it snowballed and people just keep calling him.
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I've never advertised as being a wedding DJ mostly cos I hate doing them. But somehow I ended up DJing a wedding every other month back home in NC strictly through friends, Strutters(!) and random people who caught me at low-key bar gigs. Pretty good money too. b, 21b, 21Still, I was planning on leaving the weddings behind but finding a graphic design job here in LA has been tough. So after a talk w/ my gf last night (who said she'd help me with gigs) I might start ADVERTISING that I do weddings. Between the fact that she's Mexican (and her brothers do wedding photography) and my Indian music knowledge, it might be a lucrative prospect. b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21So if your friends Sandeep and Manuela are getting married anywhere near Highland Park or Artesia holler at me.
  • DJ_NevilleCDJ_NevilleC 1,922 Posts
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    b, 21I have a friend that kind of djs but not really. He has 15 corporate gigs this month at $2000 per. I have NONE! I dj out almost every night of the week. All club stuff. He will make $30K this month deejaying and he is not really a dj! wtf? He did one for a co. and it snowballed and people just keep calling him.
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    b, 21I've never advertised as being a wedding DJ mostly cos I hate doing them. But somehow I ended up DJing a wedding every other month back home in NC strictly through friends, Strutters(!) and random people who caught me at low-key bar gigs. Pretty good money too.
    b, 21
    b, 21Still, I was planning on leaving the weddings behind but finding a graphic design job here in LA has been tough. So after a talk w/ my gf last night (who said she'd help me with gigs) I might start ADVERTISING that I do weddings. Between the fact that she's Mexican (and her brothers do wedding photography) and my Indian music knowledge, it might be a lucrative prospect.
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    b, 21So if your friends Sandeep and Manuela are getting married anywhere near Highland Park or Arcadia holler at me.
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I may be calling you about doing my brother's wedding on April 18. Its going to be at the Griffith Park golf course club house. They're looking for mostly soul, funk and 60's rock.b, 21I remember reading an interview with Los Lobos a few years back where they said "if you got married in East LA between 1973 and 1978 we played at your wedding!"
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    dude, with the djing and photography hookup, you guys will have shit on lock
  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
    If you guys become friends/associates with a wedding planner it's on!b, 21b, 21Thanks for the other advice guys. I'm burning some CD's of a Demo-mix I made a couple of months ago which is divided in four 15 minute parts (House, Disco, Funk/Soul & R&B). This way I give them a better idea of some of the styles I play.b, 21b, 21Funk/Soulb, 21b, 21object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="335" height="28" id="divplaylist"1param name="movie" value="http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=4521328-9f2" 21embed src="http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=4521328-9f2" width="335" height="28" name="divplaylist" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"1/embed1/object1b, 21b, 21Houseb, 21b, 21object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="335" height="28" id="divplaylist"1param name="movie" value="http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=4521330-143" 21embed src="http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=4521330-143" width="335" height="28" name="divplaylist" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"1/embed1/object1b, 21b, 21Disco/Funkb, 21b, 21object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="335" height="28" id="divplaylist"1param name="movie" value="http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=4521332-056" 21embed src="http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=4521332-056" width="335" height="28" name="divplaylist" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"1/embed1/object1b, 21b, 21Early 90's Pop/R&Bb, 21b, 21object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="335" height="28" id="divplaylist"1param name="movie" value="http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=4521329-b33" 21embed src="http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=4521329-b33" width="335" height="28" name="divplaylist" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"1/embed1/object1b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21I've done some wedding shower and corporate gigs and you usually end up having to play the obvious pop hits from the past 30 years : "Sweet dreams", "Celebration", "Groove is in the heart", etc...
  • DJCireDJCire 729 Posts
    Soulmarcosa, i just got hit up to do a wedding on 12/28 that I can't do in Malibu... Holla at me if you're might want more info...
  • DJ_WubWubDJ_WubWub 874 Posts
    Weddings are a form of musical prostitution but they are a good way to make a buck but sometimes you kinda feel dirty afterwards. Playing "girls just wanna have fun 12" extended mix does my fooking head in everytime but for the money you suck it up and do it.b, 21b, 21I found getting wedding gigs fairly easy as I do web design on the side and just needed to make websites that were keyword rich and are Search engine optimized for the areas i want to find work hence my two sites. a href="http://www.weddingdjbyronbay.com" target="_blank"1www.weddingdjbyronbay.com/a1 and goldcoastweddingdj.com both of which have pretty high rankings with google. b, 21b, 21 To stop me from dying a slow musical wedding death I put on my own parties with friends ( a href="http://www.deepfunkintheforest.com" target="_blank"1Deep Funk in The Forest/a1 and play the shit I want to play and they are a good earner as well
  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
    LOLb, 21I definitely agree with that. b, 21The cake on the turntable and little figures of people dancing on the bottom just kill it. img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" 21
  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
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    a href="http://www.weddingdjbyronbay.com" target="_blank"1www.weddingdjbyronbay.com
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    b, 21We especially loved the Funk Soul and Disco that you played later in the evening. Also thanks for putting up with my drunken Uncle's bizarre music requests.
    b, 21
    b, 21Phillip and Martine Ramirez- Cairns
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21b, 21Please to reveal these bizarre music requests.
  • DJ_WubWubDJ_WubWub 874 Posts
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    a href="http://www.weddingdjbyronbay.com" target="_blank"1www.weddingdjbyronbay.com
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    b, 21We especially loved the Funk Soul and Disco that you played later in the evening. Also thanks for putting up with my drunken Uncle's bizarre music requests.
    b, 21
    b, 21Phillip and Martine Ramirez- Cairns
    b, 21
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    b, 21Please to reveal these bizarre music requests.
    b, 21
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I dont think any of them would make Waxidermyb, 21b, 21I actually wrote all my own reviews (don't tell anyone) b, 21b, 21but you know that at every wedding you will always get someone who requests stuff you cant possibly play without clearing the floor and then gets pissed off you dont play it. b, 21b, 21 The classic wedding moment for me was at a wedding a year ago when after i had just played Soft Cell Tainted Love/Where did our love go 12" an incredibly drunk chick who at this stage could barely stand up asked "can you play Tainted Love?" And when I informed her that I had just played it refused to believe me even after I showed her the record.b, 21b, 21That is a high level of drunkeness.b, 21b, 21Weddings can be fun too and it is a good place to perv on some ridiculously hot drunken chicks (I am married)
  • DJ_WubWubDJ_WubWub 874 Posts
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    h, 21
    b, 21LOL
    b, 21I definitely agree with that.
    b, 21The cake on the turntable and little figures of people dancing on the bottom just kill it.
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" 21
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Thanks I was thinking for ages for an image to use on my site and the wedding cake and turntable seemed a good fit. If any other Wedding Djs (non Australian) want to use it on their sites PM me and I can send PSDs.
  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
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    b, 21LOL
    b, 21I definitely agree with that.
    b, 21The cake on the turntable and little figures of people dancing on the bottom just kill it.
    img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" 21
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    b, 21Thanks I was thinking for ages for an image to use on my site and the wedding cake and turntable seemed a good fit. If any other Wedding Djs (non Australian) want to use it on their sites PM me and I can send PSDs
    and royalty checks to fill out.[/b] b, 21b, 21h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/baller3ae.gif" alt="" 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" 21b, 21b, 21BTW, I just got back from giving out some CD's and speaking to some managers at various bars. We'll see how it goes.
  • covecove 1,566 Posts
    Which bars/clubs?
  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
    Pub Quartier Latin, Shed Cafe and others. I'm still going out today or on thursday for other places I didn't have time to check out (it was too cold last night).b, 21If you happen to know of anything let me know. I'm also trying to organize a monthly party with Frank BLVD and possibly Dj Devious or Kobal.
  • covecove 1,566 Posts
    I don't know those guys, except for Kobal.b, 21I'll keep my eyes open.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
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    b, 21So if your friends Sandeep and Manuela are getting married anywhere near Highland Park or Artesia holler at me.
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    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21img src=http://niralimagazine.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-upload/prepic/namrita-roman-head.jpg1
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    in all seriousness there is no way to get dj gigs any more -- i recommend most djs stop trying -- only a few of us know the real and its the best way to proceed, step back and let the pros take over -- we need the money more than u anyway --
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    gigs are scarce here in town, but we just did land a gig at the Stax museum for 8 bills..not too shabby
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