ENKI Calls Out Wack Opening DJs
discos_alma
discos_alma 2,164 Posts
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2011/03/how_to_be_an_opening_dj_by_oak.php
1. Don't play a bunch of obvious hits early in the night. First of all, it's lazy selection to do that, and lazy selection is the hallmark of a poor DJ. Besides, the opening slot is the best time to be an adventurous selector (more on that below). Beyond that, you may be taking arrows out of the headliner's quiver. Yes, everybody loves that hot new cut that's tearing up the clubs. So then why waste it by playing it so early in the night? Leave it unplayed and let the headliner get to it at just the right moment where instead of liking the song, the crowd goes berserk for it. Understand that the headliner is going to be starting where you leave off, so if you're already running a bunch of sure-shots, where is the headliner supposed to go from there? Build the energy up slowly.
2. Play the appropriate music. My friend's opening DJ was playing shrieky, fist-pumpy techno before the clock had even struck 11 p.m. My friend -- not a shrieky, fist-pumpy techno DJ by any stretch -- kept wondering, "Why doesn't he play some Tribe Called Quest? Some James Brown? Get people loose like that?" And fortunately, the relief opener did just that, but that first DJ failed to tailor his selection appropriately, and the party suffered for it.In this day and age, there's no excuse for not doing your homework on who the headliner is when things like Google and YouTube are right there at your fingertips. Learn about who you're opening for and adapt your set to the headliner's vibe. Versatility is the calling card of a quality DJ! A good opener should have some familiarity with the headliner and should be able to play a set that will allow for as seamless a transition from opener to headliner as possible. (Side note: Promoters bear some responsibility here as well, as they need to pick opening acts who are appropriate for the headliner. Don't just put your homie on, promoters -- put on the guy who's qualified to do the job!)
3. On the subject of versatility, treat the opening spot as an opportunity to showcase the depth of your knowledge and your music collection. Take the chance to play some great, obscure tunes that you probably couldn't play to a packed, enthusiastic dance floor. To me, that's one of the joys of being the opening DJ: You get to nerd out over music in front of a crowd and throw on those lesser-known cuts that you really love. Embrace that opportunity!
If you do your job and do it well, you will get noticed. The headliner will be much more likely to shout you out on the mic -- "Give it up for my man DJ Blahdy-blah, he did his thing earlier!" And the promoter will notice, believe me, which can only work to your benefit. If you prove that you're a capable professional, you will get put on, and the more you get put on, the easier it will be for you to be the headliner down the road.
Comments
I appreciate an opening act that is in contrast to the headliner. Headlinerlite aint making it.
I don't think he meant it as headliner-lite.
One can still play a contrast set that works within the mood of the whole night.
If the headliner plays house and disco, you can start off the night with rare groove and hip-hop.
If the headliner is going to play hard Southern rap all night, you can lead off with a miami bass/80s hip-hop set.
There are tons of examples where you can play a contrast set that doesn't get into the territory described in the article.
And don't play "The Choice Is Yours." Just...don't.
This.
I didn't mean that the opener should be headliner-lite, though in looking back over the post, I can see how it would read that way, so that's bad phrasing on my part. Even editors need editors!
yeah! save that lazy selection for a headliner!
playing other people's music can be so complex.
If "playing other people's music" was all that DJing involved, I could step in for someone like Tiesto at one of his stadium gigs in Uruguay or wherever, and just play "other people's music", and nobody would mind, right? As long as they're getting a DJ who's "playing other people's music" - because that's all a DJ is, after all - then what would they have to complain about?
Why not? I mean, why this particular one?
good advice there, definitely fucked this one up a few times. NEVER PLAY SONGS BY THE ACT YOU ARE SUPPORTING. (probably obvious but everyone falls foul of this!).
Last time I saw The Roots in London, I could count the number of songs the DJ played that were less than 10 years old on the fingers of one hand.
OK, that's what I figured was meant, I just wasn't sure why that one particular song was singled out. But sure, its one in a long list of overplayed stuff.
Imagine these silly rules being professed for opening bands...as if a headlining band could blame the opening band for a lame show. If you can't take the night where you want it to go, then you are a shitty band. Same with DJs. Dint go blaming your failures on the support act(s).
Burn the house down.
Headliner should be pooping his pants when you're done.
This.
I mean, do those of you objecting to the central point of this piece have any experience of trying to rescue a party when, for example, a crowd expecting soul, funk and broadly similar styles of music has had to endure the promoter's girlfriend's kid brother doing his Paul Oakenfold impression for an hour to an empty dancefloor? Well, I have. I was the poor fucker who had the misfortune to go on after this kid one Saturday night, and by that time there was literally nobody dancing. I had to watch the crowd slowly drift away during his set, leaving me to spin for a half empty club that had been packed and jumping a couple of hours beforehand. Not that I'm any kind of big-shot DJ (and nor have I ever been), but this was an act of pure self-indulgence which fucked up the party for the people who came along expecting a certain kind of thing (which they were entitled to do), and made my job that evening a good deal tougher and considerably less enjoyable than it ought to have been.
Now, imagine a similar scenario at a somewhat more high-profile event - perhaps at a club where the night's big draw is Keb Darge playing rare funk, or Frank doing one of his Voodoo Funk-style sets. How do you think a crowd of paying customers are likely to feel about having to put up with a warm-up DJ who is by no measure the main attraction, yet who treats the evening as a platform for the wildest extremes of his turntablizm skillz? Or one who decides the way to set the mood is to test the house subs with an hour's worth of wobwobwob dubstep? It fucks up the party, and it is straight-up the worst kind of DJing - pissing off the customers and giving no thought to entertaining anyone other than yourself and the handful of cheerleaders you've probably brought along with you. This is the kind of thing Enki's talking about. Certainly, there's a competitive aspect to DJing, but that's what DJ battles are for - the clurb is a different environment and a different discipline. Moreover, DJing is not like a rock show - warm-up DJs don't build a rep by being able to blow the headliner offstage, they do it by helping provide a sympathetic setting for the headliner to do their thing, and most of these "rules" so many of you are getting steamed up about are just simple matters of etiquette.
one of the funniest things ive ever read on this site!
i believe it was edpowers that said it right?
Sayin.
There was a story here on SS where Grandmaster Flash gives dudes a list of shit they cannot play when opening up for him.
Don't worry, Mr. Flash, I left my David Bowie, Blondie and Peter Piper records at home.
When the crowd's there to hear the opener spin instead of Flash, then they can bitch and moan about being told what to play by The Main Event. Otherwise...
I grasp it just fine.
Every man for himself. If you are a touring DJ drawing a crowd, then it shouldnt matter at all who opens for you, if you are getting paid well to DJ and paid to travel around to do it...then there should be no excuses if you dont deliver...simple as that.
If your craft/art is so fragile that an amatuer who isn't good at it can ruin your mastery of said craft/art by simply playing before you, then perhaps you need reevaluate things.
True, dancers vote with their feet, but if shitty music is enough to squash their urge to get down, so much in fact that your music doesnt even revive them...then that crowd wasnt really into getting down then.
If Keb and Frank were playing and there were people there who were looking forward to getting down to Keb or Frank and some turtablism/techno/dubstep/whatever bullshit DJ played before them, people would vote with their feet, not dance and wait for the good shit. If they don't, then they weren't that interested in Keb and Frank in the first place.
Now, if you are trying to make a name for yourself and shitty DJs are running people off before you play and it is hurting your exposure or holding you back, then make damn sure you book the show and make sure no wackness proceeds you. But if you are already well-known...no excuses.
Your grasp on the reality of DJing...it is tenuous, at best. Either that or you're being contrary for the sake of being contrary.
"Make damn sure you book the show"? So now all DJs have to be promoters, too? That's not how it works in the Bay Area, where Enki lives and DJs. Sure, there are DJs who are also promoters, but it's ridiculous to imply that DJs should control every aspect of the bill when the real problem is that some dudes don't know their role.
And don't tell me you wouldn't shit if you were headlining a funkyraer45s night and the opener played an hour of Justin Timberlake (your favorite artist!) right before you got on.
Itotally agree. it all depends on circumstance. If your being hired to open up for someone play fair.
But if its an open type gig and they ask u to just do your thing, i would know your crowd and bang the walls of that mutha inside out.
fine, let me change it to "be very selective to what gigs you agree to"...still the same result within a different booking situation...true the Bay Area is much different than some Memphis/South "gimmie a few hundred bucks to play records" booking style, but it has the same desired goal, a good time...so if some bullshit before you is going to squash what you deem a success, then make sure you try every way possible to make sure there is no bullshit before you and if that means not accepting every gig that comes your way, then so be it.
it was said earlier that DJnights are not like rock bands playing a show...unfortunately, it seems they are, however, booked the same way. bands usually have no control who the opener is, or what local support they are receiving. Since they are different animals then perhaps a different booking style is needed. I dont know what that is, but I would think it might be a better solution than hoping a bunch of people you have no control over agree to a blanket set of etiquette points and rules.