Just learn from your mistakes and leave efx alone for like a year. Focus on fundamentals and practice and have fun. Nobody died, just keep it simple and keep it up!

I'd have to agree with the owners

At least you're aware of your mistakes. Practice more and understand the hardware you're using.

I feel like the kicker who missed the field goal and cost the team game. I'm so mad at myself.

Can I just ask what you guys think the average time from start to gig is? Like how long did you guys work at it before you started gigging out

i didnt start gigging untill about 2 years after i got my first set of turntables and mixer.


when i was 17 i used to sneak into night clubs and just stand by the dj booth all night and watch the DJ's. then i would go home and try to mimmick what i saw them do.


now you have youtube, which is a great resource for learning the basics and fundamentals.

i would start with learning how to properly mix and blend songs together.

also sit down and read the serato dj manual and click the 'information" button on the top of the screen and hover over every aspect of the main screen and setup screen to familiarize yourself with all of the functions.

jordankatz1 if you have time, upload a youtube or soundcloud mix and some of the guys here can critique you and give you some advice.

I do I take lessons with a great guy who plays Webster hall, I just screwed up and made a mistake in that after the brake echo transition form the previous song I didn't put it back. Really dumb mistake. Idiot. Mixing seems ok i mean, for only 4 months of doing it theres only so good you can be I guess. Here's two mixes some honest feedback would be really appreciated

www.mixcloud.com

www.mixcloud.com

Everyone has bad nights. Mistakes happen, equipment will fail or be broken, sometimes you just get a crowd that is hard to work with or just doesn't vibe to your style, people will bump into you or spill drinks, etc. It's all part of being a DJ and constantly getting better and learning.

Keep practicing mixing and technique at home but I say get out as much as you can and keep growing/learning, there's nothing that can prepare you for playing in front of a live crowd than actually just doing it and dealing with the variable environment that affects your show.

How do you guys deal with requests?

www.digitaldjtips.com

lol I wish. That screwed me up as well I got distracted. If you ever get offered to DJ on long Island..pass lol

I don't at events, Its in my contract and I make it clear to all clients. Problem solved......

That's what I'm doing for now on. When I get better I'll be able to multitask. They also bitched about me looking at the laptop. I told the guy I was knew I'm not sure maybe he expected me to DJ like Hardwell after 4 months

By the way, its irrelevant weather you've been playing 4 months or 20 years. Its the sole responsibility of the promoter, club owner, manager or booking agent to determine if you meet their specific qualifications.

If they fail to verify your qualifications then only they are to blame, your job is to get hired, entertain and make money.

Well I made a few mistakes, I'm not sure if they expect complete perfection. When I say a few I'm talking about 30-40 seconds out of 5 hours. Tough biz man wow. I played in bands for a long time I never got bitched at if people didn't like one song

Jokes aside, I don't see anything wrong with requests at a private event or a mobile party. And even at a club or bar, if it's early and there are just a few people on the dancefloor, it's not going to hurt you to grant the odd request to those people who are actually interested in dancing, providing it's within the music policy you've been booked to play.
What I don't like is when I'm asked for a song and then badgered every five minutes until I play it.

Bottom line (IMO) is if you're the only person playing the event, you should be prepared to be asked for the odd request, even if you don't intend to oblige it. But in a multi-DJ line-up at a club, forget about it.

Okay that's good advice I appreciate all the support this seems like a really good Community I'm glad I made the switch to play drums with 30 years and decided to try something else. If someone could just take a brief listen to my mixes and tell me how bad they are that would be good LOL

Did you get complaints about staring at the laptop. Must of been a serious case of Serato face. The laptop stare is a buzz kill for sure.

I did.. But what can I do for the first hour I was mixing house music with loops and mostly 2 songs at once I'm too nervous it's going to fall off I need to watch those little icicles closely. This shit is was harder than it looks lol

Times have changed. With the advances in technology and the ease of getting music, most DJ's will feel that they can handle any gig after a few months of "becoming" a DJ. Bottom line is this: Always practice and try to be as professional as you can. Most people (especially drunk patrons) are oblivious to small mistakes but always try to be the best you can for your own good. This is how you get/lose gigs the fastest.

When it comes to requests, it's my personal opinion that most DJ's should be able to handle a few requests from polite patrons every now and then. The only time you shouldn't take requests is when you're performing an actual exhibition that you have prepared in advance and what not. Otherwise, taking a few requests will keep your customers happy and for the most part coming back. But, I can't emphasize the polite part enough. The key word here is "request" not "demand".

________________________________________
Bragging rights for life bitch! 😂😂😂😂😂😂
serato.com

nm

Well I'm not sure when you can call yourself an actual dj. I suppose when I complete my certification course I'll feel better about it lol well let me ask you are 30 seconds of mistakes out of 5 hours usually enough for people to get pissed about?

It depends on the mistake(s). 30 seconds of dead air would definitely be the worst. lol

________________________________________
Bragging rights for life bitch! 😂😂😂😂😂😂
serato.com

nm

I totally screwed up. Like an idiot I left the break echo effect on. So it was dead air for like 15 20 seconds. Total epic fail.

Can be any worse than dj's who's laptop crashes from user error mid set at a crowed event.

Oiy that's bad lol

I spent the better part of 2 years playing only at home, then got into high school events and weddings. It wasn't until I'd been djing close to 7 years that I even tried to hit the club scene.

Probably got over zealous. I should probably step back

Just take your time and try not to book too big of a gig before you're ready. It happens but it's definitely a learning process.

On top of that, practice, practice, practice makes perfect! Don't be discouraged!

Most importantly, have fun! Why try to be the life of the party if it's stressing you out?

@jordankatz1 I had a brief listen to your mixes, and enjoyed the disco mix in particular. I liked your transition into I.O.U. and then to Brown Sugar, (I.O.U. is a fav of mine too).

I think you should just chill and consider this a teachable moment. It seems like you have some talent and an ear for putting together some good songs. Learn from the mistake and maybe keep it simpler when performing live, to give yourself a larger margin for error.

I'm not a pro DJ, but I've been training people to operate in stress environments for a good bit. Learn to crawl, walk, run, then sprint. Keep pushing yourself a bit beyond your failure point in practice, then ease back under stress. Push the point a bit further all the time when practicing, so you increase your comfort zone under stress. Learn your limitations and operate within them.

Like Jonasty said, nobody died. Be cool, have some fun. Have a long memory for victories and learn from but put failures behind you.

I DJ'd for probably 5 years at the crib, friends' cribs, uncle's crib before I actually did my first party (first party was a college party). And my first gig had me nauseas the whole night in fear that I was going to mess up. I kind of did but if you're mic game is on point you can make them laugh and forget about it.

Like pdidy said, I don't think you can put a definitive timeline on how long you should be playing before you do a gig. I know verteran DJs (especially Jamaican/islanders) who have been playing before I was born and can't mix or blend for $h*t, and younger ones who have only been playing for months who impress me. Coming from a fellow drummer, as a DJ you will know when you're ready. Welcome.

Peace

......man this forums changed

This.

This too. LOL

Well I just started DJing so I don't know what it was before what is that supposed to mean

Like jumping in a pool of sharks. I think that's what he meant.

Before I continue, our of curiosity, how much are you getting paid for these gigs? Does the pay reflect your experience or is it the same as the other djs who play there

$300 I think that chick whose on the radio gets $500

How did you get the gig?

I have an agent

Basically, you are getting the gentle treatment, people are actually being helpful and giving advice to a newcomer that is gigging after 4 months of practice. The only times I've seen people this helpful to a newcomer is when the newcomer is a female with a good looking profile pic. Otherwise.....



But to answer your question, I did my first 'gig' after 6 months of practicing and even then it was at a familly event basically playing for my brothers, sisters and cousins. After that I moved on to church gatherings and then maybe 2 years later I started doing weddings and skating rinks. It's all a learning process and if you put in the effort you will continue to get better.

I think if you can get gigs, take them. Nothing helps you learn like actually playing in front of people. But reading this damn I need an agent.

Haha yeah I'm just going to really step back from the effects that break echo killed me lol

This makes me laugh. Radio DJ's who have been DJing for 10-20 years get $200 more than someone who started DJing 4 months ago.

Played 10y for hobby before started touring :D
First gig i had was suprise warm up set. Only negative feedback was that i made resident dj's look bad that i don't have to be tricky, only beatmatch. Now i'm the headliner of that yearly event after that. Go for it! It disen't matter have u been playing 10y or 6m if u know ur tricks :)

I don't see why that makes you laugh. Do you think a plumber charges more after 20 years of experience for the same service? How about this. Do they charge more every 5 years or something?

________________________________________
Bragging rights for life bitch! 😂😂😂😂😂😂
serato.com

nm

It's because he's showing humility. It's only the jackasses that get "the treatment".

I think he's laughing cause 10 years of experience only nets them 200 more than the newby

Nah, not even then has the forum ever been this nice. This is unprecedented.

Exactly. The business is ruined. Lower end radio DJ's in NYC get about $400 for 2 hours but they do multiple venues 6 nights a week.

The fact that he has an agent who got him club gig after 4 months of DJing and making similar to radio DJ's is incredible.

Well you guys need to know as gigging drummer for 30 years, if you can get your band $1000 a night consider yourself lucky. Even at $1500 you walk away with around $200 each after expenses. I'm making way more and I just started so I'm certainly not complaining

Just want to clarify one thing. I am happy for you. Get that money. You did the right thing getting an agent.

Just realize your DJ reputation follows you. You can not afford to make mistakes at club gigs. DJ's and owners talk. If you want to play in the big leagues you need to come correct.

Best of luck.

No I totally agree man I screwed up I'm going to lay off the effects for a while and just concentrate on the song selection and mix. The last thing I want to do is get off to a bad start.

I come from the karate kid mentality. You train at home, you polish your skills till you're at black belt level. Perhaps even have a mentor (wax on, wax off). THEN you go out and play.

Thats kind of the way I prepared myself for the club scene. That in addition to having a long term residency at a local college spot that didn't care about mixing. Gave me invaluable "match practice" without the pressure. I used to get stage fright now I feel I can play in my underwear and I know what kids react to. So do both like me.

I also know guys that just jumped in the deep end and it ruined their reputation

If 30 seconds of mistakes out of 4.5 hours ruins someone, that's kinda messed up. I mean that's 16,200 seconds and I only screwed up for 30 of them. That's like 0.0002% lol

A buddy of mine was going an EDM gig, he wasn't very experienced, and he had the next song cued up and beatmatched in this headphones (which were on both ears) and he brought up the song but didnt realise he had the crossfader still on the other track (cause edm djs never use the damn thing) so once the new track was all "mixed in" my buddy is up there headbanging, jumping up and down, but starring at that damn screen so hard that he didn't look up to realise that the entire crowd is just standing there starring at him wondering why the music's stopped (it was still playing in his headphones but not out the mains). We still clown his ass mercilessly about that to this day

God damn EDM DJs and their total lack of knowledge

Call me anal, but I think that's way to much. I think 3 seconds of mistakes is allowable

Well you're probably right but like I said I'm new to this and I told them that way ahead of time I've only been DJing for 4 months said not to expect perfection.

For 4 months that's a pretty decent ratio. All it takes is passion and practice (skill wise) and networking and politicking (gig wise)

Woah

NM NH

You sure do! I think I remember reading about this in the forum before. lol

3sec Lol!!! xD
When dj does make mistake it just means that there is human behind the decks not machine! :)

LMAO

LOL no thanks pal, I'm happy with my girl :)

It's the promoters and clubs fault for booking people without knowing anything about their skill. Me and another friend who DJ's were outside of a club in Boston and we were talking to the promoter who books the DJs. His words were that it doesn't matter if a DJ is actually good. He books based on how many people they can bring.

Well I brought a lot of people, place would have been empty

Exactly my point lol. Club DJing is not about DJing.

That's very true.

If you are question should you even be taking the gig.... maybe not.

but whatever.

Yeah true. Could write a book on that. Happens far and wide. Not just in Boston

This is why clubs suck (mostly). Back in the day it was mostly the club and promoter that were responsible for that. Of course the DJ would have a name for his/herself, but it was the talent that brought them there, not the amount of people they know.

Lol its not just djs either, this is a little bit of a side step but the guy I work for manages 4 or 5 venues. He hits me up as I'm starting the night and asks me to walk over and help him with a situation at the bar he's working that night. I get there and they have a band who brought some crappie speakers and a home receiver so the manager asked me to patch it through to the house PA. I asked them a few questions about their setup and they just started at me blankly. So I wire everything in and as I'm finishing the manager asks them "do you guys know ANYTHING ABOUT audio paths or sound systems ..like anything?". The front man sits there quietly for a second and says "...no" and the drummer hops in with " but we'd really like to learn!".

The manager just stood there for a second looking about as pissed/disappointed as anyone I've ever seen and just says "oooook, so THAT'S where you are now.....Fuck it" and just walks off.

LMFAO my reaction to everything these days.

Same way I started too. And also just watching various DJs and styles led med to get a music promotion gig back in the day. i could target music better and got to know a lot of DJs.

Also agree - the forum was EXTRA nice on this thread - WTF?

This is why the Open Format and EDM scene is dead in Baltimore. Most of the DJs in Baltimore play Hip Hop / R&B. Those that play that and more are driving to DC to gig because there's no market for it in Baltimore.

When there was a market, all the clubs wanted to know was how many Twitter followers or Facebook likes you had (Instagram wasn't even a discussion at that time). Could you mix worth a damn? Irrelevant. Did you have a soundcloud, mixcrate, or mixcloud account where they could check your work? As The Rock would say, "it doesn't matter." Couple of thousand twitter followers? You free Friday?

Now, most of the clubs and bars around the Downtown Baltimore area have a Top 40 DJ (who usually cannot mix, but has tons of friends on Facebook). The rest of the DJs drive to DC.

BTW, It's funny how the promoters want you to bring the crowd, but they don't seem to ever want to bring the cash at the end of the night...

Did everyone drop ecstasy all week or something?

i started off making mixes in my bedroom 15 years ago.i can remember my very 1st mix sucked big tym. no beatmatching at all and sounded like a horse race lol. wheneva i made mixes i always gave my friends copies as i knew they would play it at parties n they would give me feedback. as i improved and my mixes got better i had people started contacting me asking if i can play at parties,weddings etc. i only started playing in clubs 5 years ago and even then my 1st gig werent perfect cos i were probably trying to do too much to impress with sound effects,loops etc. my point is that i respect n admire u for taking on the club scene after just 4 months. my advice would b too keep going cos ur debut were nerve wrecking but it will only get better. keep practising with loops and effects and when u feel comfortable with it then blow ur crowds away.