Hi all. It's been a while ain't it? I've been busy. Have bought some new speakers. I won't bore you with numbers. you can find that out on the booking and prices page. Suffice to say they are pretty awsome sounding and have some great kick. They are so bassy that together with my subwoofers, I am getting asked to turn down the bass at nearly every gig! that's ok by me. It means I have finally after all these years reached the required "critical mass". Every DJ when he starts out, finds that volume and impact costs bucks. The bigger the impact needed the bigger the bucks you have to fork out.
I'm not sure if there are many venue's left that I couldn't fill if you take into account that I've still got my old system intact and ready to add if needs be - 2.1 KW. Add that to my current system of 4.4 KW and not only can you see how things have progressed, but how big they could be if in fact I can actually fit it all in the van! I reckon I could, but I'd need an understanding venue owner or failing that, a roadie.
Next purchase will be some extra uplighters so hopefully next year you will be able to hire more at once if you need to.
I have plans to build a new page soon as I'm getting quite a few booking for children's parties. (update - Job done - Yeehaa! click here etc.) The great thing about them is that unlike adults, small people don't need 3 pints of stella to get on the dance floor and get straight into it. Some of the most rewarding parties I've done have been this type and if you check my testimonials, it seems that the clients agree in full.
So self promotion aside, what makes a DJ?
A DJ is a bit of a loner. He likes to take matters into his own hands. He was the guy that didn't know what to do with himself at those house parties you had in your younger years, but he did know he loved music and he did want to be in control of what was played on the stereo. So he did. If you had a youth club he probably did the same there with all your records/tapes/mp3 players..
A DJ is Dissident. He was the outsider. He was the guy at the end of the street who wanted to be a musician and maybe even was for a while, but either got frustrated with his own inability or that of others. What could he do? He couldn't bare the thought of not being out there and playing - So he became a DJ. (think of grandmaster flash and all the other rappers - they were/are all DJ producers aren't/weren't they?)
Should he wear a suit and tie and look like a sales rep at your gig? Absolutely not! Should he wear a tux and bow tie like so many do in America and end up looking like one of the waiters? Of course not. (black tie if absolutely necessary) Smart yes, but blend in with others? Never! It goes against everything above, doesn't it?
A DJ is different to a musician. Yes he's still an artist (there are degrees of course) and no he doesn't often get offered a free dinner and a changing room with two half hour breaks per night and a total of about two hours playing time. Nope.
He's the guy/girl who comes in with a van load of equipment usually on his own, sets it up in front of you and proceeds to entertain the hell out of you for 4 hours plus a night, solely respnsible for everything and taking it single-handedly on the chin if it all goes wrong.
Despite what you may think, he always under charges because you don't see the hours and hours of other work that goes on before and in part after the gig. All the admin the checking out of songs, some editing perhaps for your first dance etc., the website building and the emailing to try to persuade you to write a review so he can have some credibilty with the next customer.
if he's good he'll have skills that you'll appreciate. He'll have rhythm and he will be able to mix without it sounding like a horse falling down stairs between each track. If he's really good he'll leave you somewhat breathless by building you up to a musical climax that you won't forget. Of course too many requests may throw him off so far that this may be impossible!
Lastly, please don't think this can all be done for peanuts. Oh yes, there are DJ's that charge peanuts. But they have crappy equipment and and they are the one's we have to clean up after when they've let you down at the last minute - Which many of them do.
You can't take £10,000 worth of show on the road for £150 per night. You can take cheap, horrible sounding gear out for that if you're planning not to have to replace it. A warning to all those that do or would. There's nothing quite as intimidating as a crowd of alchohol-fuelled guests that have been let down by a technical failure. I had it twice so far. Once when a CD player was had a plug which was wired on a friday afternoon (soon fixed) and once when the laptop crashed possibly due to extreme heat that day. Oh actually I forgot the drunken 18 year old at a wedding who emptied his vodka all over the laptop, but by then I had a back up system. You really need stuff to be reliable as a guest and a performer and that takes investment.
Anyway, I didn't intend to ramble on about money. I just thought you'd like to know what type of people we are really.
Other deejays are welcome to criticize of course. But I reserve the right to be rude if you are.
Until next time I'll leave you with this thought from my friend and fellow entertainer Erik Jack: if everything's coming your way - you're in the wrong lane!
Bye for now fellow music nutters.
