Ok, i have been a 2 deck Dan for 5 years now. After traveling to Europe and Seeing REAL dj's at work, actually working the decks (technics) and playin vynil and matching beats. THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO BE. I have SSL, and have been trying HARD to keep updated on music, good beats and beat mixing. But i just cannot get a handle on it. I go to the Ministty of sound website every day, stream mixes online, and i really dont think i can do it. I have takend a hUGE interest in PVD, Tiesto, Robbie Rivieara, Martin Solveig, Oakenfold, TAll Pall, Sasha, Miss Barbara, and befriended another dj who spins what i want to. I have been trying to have him give a listen to my mixes. But 1. I really dont know how to build the night, and 2. get discouraged with all the 50 cent, Nelly, Game, Mainstream SHIT that i keep having to play at the club im currently at. I try to working the beats but everyone keeps asking me for the RAP CRAP. HELP!!!!! I want to introduce my audience to the energy of House, Techno, Electronica, but cannot get there TRL, MTV, Top 10 audience to broaden thier minds. Im hoping if i get advice on how to become a better beat mixer and such, i can hopefully not only have a better night, but also enjoy my job more as well. Guess im asking alot of advice, but I REALLY want to be a good dj, and not play mainstream rap all damn night!!!!! :( and im not good enough yet to play the beats.

Sounds like to me you're playing at the mainstream club and not a dance music club. If you want to play techno, house, electronica sets you'll have to change the crowd, in other words find another club to DJ at.

As far as building the night goes you can still learn a lot about how to build your sets by playing in your mainstream club. Playing at the mainstream clubs still requires the good DJ skill set. The key difference between the mainstream clubs and dance clubs is the amout of time DJ takes to peak his set. Mainstream DJs peak every 15-20 mins, whereas dance club DJs take a long time before their first peak. And you can always sneak your techno anthems here and there. Read and lead the crowd (easier said than done :)

As for beat matching - just keep practicing, you have probably read the standard way to do that. So just keep practicing, it took me two years to master beat matching, it was worth it and now I can mix with my eyes closed.

what is really a REAL dj? a techno dj? a hip hop dj? a mainstream rap dj?

im a house/techno/progressive trance dj (learning ttablism also) and i have to say a lot of "real" house/techno djs (big names) suxxx.

if you are spinning music for the crowd, any crowd, YOU are a real dj.

Dont take this the wrong way, but beat matching and mixing techno/house/dance music is not that hard. The other day i was messing around with these house mashups i have (i never spin house) and i was amazed at how easy it was to mix, when compared to hiphop or dnb. It's totally engineered for the dj- long intro's and outro's, and the bpm hardly changes- shit is ridiculous. so my advice is if you want to get better at beat matching-stay at your current club and practice mixing hiphop and then when you go to dance music you'll be amazed at how much time you have to match a beat and make a mix.

Actually, if you want to get technical. You're just a mixer in that case. :) If you suck that is. Remember, radio DJ's don't even get near the turntables... (air personalities aka dj's).
So really, what IS a real DJ? ha!

Betow -
If you're single handedly trying to convert a hip hop crowd to electronica you have a helluva climb up a long hill to tackle. I wish you good luck, and the only advice I have for to even begin to slip in more dance tunes, is to get ones that are along the lines of mainstream house, that have the lyrics of those hiop hop songs buried in there. There are a ton of these out there and I generally slip these into weddings that I do. They work like charms everytime. back at the club, you can then work on your mix technique since you're branching off hip hop and into a genre of house... see how long you can hold them, and go back to hip hop when needed. I too would like to see people broaden there horizons, but I then just remember how much you hate people soliciting on your doorstep. Trying to sell you somethign you have no interest in.

As for you learning more style and mimicing the DJ's you have named above, it'll take time, and you'll need to have tunes that blend well. I'd suggest buying a cluster from the same label that sound similar and mixing them back to back. Some of those DJ's have mad skills, others rely on spectatualar programming and that's what makes there mixes seamless.

Betow, My 2 cents about mixing is this: don't try so hard. If you just can't lock it down, stop for a second, turn up your monitor, close your eyes and FEEL the music (sounds cliche but no other way to say it) DANCE, wiggle your leg, shake it, your body will feel the beat of what is playing. THEN put on your headphones and try again. and don't be afraid of the pitch.

Learn to do this quickly...

I used to really struggle and stress about beat matching, so I feel your pain. Now I practice daily and have so much more fun when I dj. (I also get more gigs, nice how that works) I also enjoy making people dance as much as what I'm playing... The satisfaction of making people dance overrides my self-centered view of "good music"...

Thanks for all your advice guys. I guess im so frustrated cause of my struggles of as mentioned above, trying to sell someone something they are not interested in buying. The real pain comes in when I would want to play for a bigger audience but i KNOW im not good enough to keep a croud on the floor, but having to play the hip hop and rap, and TRL stuff all night, i dont get a chance to practice. I guess maybe I should keep trying to work a little bit in every night. Practice, practice, PRACTICE is whats going to have to be done. I guess I would be a happier DJ if i actually saw people dancing instead of getting drunk and dry humping each other... haha. Thanks again for the help on the board. cheers