VDJ Ron
Obviously a DJ partially controls the dance floor but what other factors are in play?
I think it's almost dangerous to give young DJ's the idea that the DJ is the "music boss".
It will reduce their ability to compromise when they encounter people to whom it's wise to defer.
Not all people are equal! A crude example is when Ex England football captain Steven Gerrard (he's not a bad guy) attacked a Southport DJ who would not, or could not play Phil Collins. Another is my last Friday night when under pressure from the birthday girl "it's my party" and her father I played a football song. In my region there are two main football teams and a song can start banter leading to a fight. Then you just have the run of the mill gangsters..whatever.
The person who pays is the most important in my eyes.
Our volume levels are often controlled by the council, management, and customer.
It's wise to adapt and compromise.
I think it's almost dangerous to give young DJ's the idea that the DJ is the "music boss".
It will reduce their ability to compromise when they encounter people to whom it's wise to defer.
Not all people are equal! A crude example is when Ex England football captain Steven Gerrard (he's not a bad guy) attacked a Southport DJ who would not, or could not play Phil Collins. Another is my last Friday night when under pressure from the birthday girl "it's my party" and her father I played a football song. In my region there are two main football teams and a song can start banter leading to a fight. Then you just have the run of the mill gangsters..whatever.
The person who pays is the most important in my eyes.
Our volume levels are often controlled by the council, management, and customer.
It's wise to adapt and compromise.
Posted Fri 07 Apr 17 @ 10:30 pm
yourlive
Same here, the person who pays me is the boss, but otherwise I am. If I feel like a request doesn't fit the mood or I'm afraid it will clear the dancefloor, I won't play it. And I don't do "play this next" requests, unless its the boss :-)
Posted Sat 08 Apr 17 @ 12:41 am
sureview
Well of course like most dj's , I like to think its me in control of the dance floor, obviously you are limited by the number of people at the event, careful planning of your playlists helps, I have virtual folders arranged in same manner as when I used to playout with vinyl, records I know will go well together , each section a different genre, once you get the dance floor going I find you need to rotate as people tend to get tired or bored, this method has always worked well for me in the past.
Getting the dance floor started is a completely different job.
As for requests, I always listen to what they want and be polite, I will say yes I will try and squeeze it into my playlist at an appropriate time , and if its a sensible request I do...
Then of course , you get the
drunk - just played it mate two songs ago lol
Bride/ groom - hardly ever happens as I have already spoken ti them before the gig as everyone should do
Birthday girl/boy - I normally diffuse this by saying yes that's a great track and ask what else would go with it and let's have a build up to it , if nothing else it will give you time to try and fit it in at an appropriate time.
Organiser / person with the money, decision time!, have I been paid yet ? .........
Getting the dance floor started is a completely different job.
As for requests, I always listen to what they want and be polite, I will say yes I will try and squeeze it into my playlist at an appropriate time , and if its a sensible request I do...
Then of course , you get the
drunk - just played it mate two songs ago lol
Bride/ groom - hardly ever happens as I have already spoken ti them before the gig as everyone should do
Birthday girl/boy - I normally diffuse this by saying yes that's a great track and ask what else would go with it and let's have a build up to it , if nothing else it will give you time to try and fit it in at an appropriate time.
Organiser / person with the money, decision time!, have I been paid yet ? .........
Posted Sat 08 Apr 17 @ 5:16 am
VDJ Ron
"have I been paid yet?"
That question is also at the back of my mind.
Tips are possible if you go the extra mile to meet the customers wishes. I got an extra £50 on a Saturday night job not so long ago. A couple of weeks ago I was given money to play a few songs by a customer at the bar which included repeating a song. The guy really wanted to listen to the songs so I played them although I passed some of his money back via the bar.
That question is also at the back of my mind.
Tips are possible if you go the extra mile to meet the customers wishes. I got an extra £50 on a Saturday night job not so long ago. A couple of weeks ago I was given money to play a few songs by a customer at the bar which included repeating a song. The guy really wanted to listen to the songs so I played them although I passed some of his money back via the bar.
Posted Sat 08 Apr 17 @ 7:31 am
sureview
I got an extra tip a couple years ago, I was asked ... have I any Greek music, non I am afraid not... but let me see what I can do..., a quick google of the Greek top 40, copy and paste into CU, pre listen and a few tracks were selected and played, it was just as the dance floor was waining, turns out there was half a dozen Greeks in the family, not only were they amazed , it also brought the dancfloor back to life
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 6:37 am
VDJ Ron
+1
That's the way a modern well equipped flexible dj should think and act. We should not be routine and predictable. Surprise based on the availability of the world's music and unprecedented methods of manipulating it are tools offered by the new technology.
Note: I'm arriving a little late to the audio visual party which I believe is the future. It's no longer good enough to just provide audio, with each day that passes video and images become more important. The fathers of modern djing live in this forum!
That's the way a modern well equipped flexible dj should think and act. We should not be routine and predictable. Surprise based on the availability of the world's music and unprecedented methods of manipulating it are tools offered by the new technology.
Note: I'm arriving a little late to the audio visual party which I believe is the future. It's no longer good enough to just provide audio, with each day that passes video and images become more important. The fathers of modern djing live in this forum!
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 7:05 am
groovindj
bigron1 wrote :
video and images become more important
That's been said by so many people over the years, but video never "goes viral".
I remember working in clubs in the 80s when they fitted the latest (huge, expensive) video kit to show blurry VHS videos with low quality mono audio. It was a gimmick for a while, then they ripped it all out.
Pioneer once brought out video versions of their famous CDJ decks (DVJ-1000 and DVJ-X1). Where are they now?
I've got video kit here too, that I could take out with me - I've used it more times at home for films than at gigs!
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 8:10 am
VDJ Ron
The simple answer is football and the modern amazing ways we now have to watch a match!
Football is massive in most venues and we would be fools not to utilize the high quality equipment provided to accommodate the fans. They now provide dj's with vga and hdmi inputs into their equipment and we are learning how to use these opportunities.
This is not a false dawn, it's here and now.
You have been blinded.. for whatever reason?
I have only worked once in the last year without video capabilities, and mostly use the venues equipment. However I have a new projector which is astounding when used with a rear projection screen and my faithful lightweight 42" tv.
Football is massive in most venues and we would be fools not to utilize the high quality equipment provided to accommodate the fans. They now provide dj's with vga and hdmi inputs into their equipment and we are learning how to use these opportunities.
This is not a false dawn, it's here and now.
You have been blinded.. for whatever reason?
I have only worked once in the last year without video capabilities, and mostly use the venues equipment. However I have a new projector which is astounding when used with a rear projection screen and my faithful lightweight 42" tv.
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 8:40 am
groovindj
bigron1 wrote :
This is not a false dawn
This is not a false dawn
No, it's just a very repetitive one!
Every X years, someone says that video will be the next big thing. A few bits of equipment come out.
Then it all dies off and the equipment disappears. A bit later, around it comes again.
As for football, what's that got to do with DJing? I'm not into football - at all - but in all the venues & over all the years I've been DJing, I've never been asked, or needed to connect to anyone elses video equipment - for any reason.
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 8:54 am
VDJ Ron
My respect for your wisdom has just fell off a cliff.
High quality tv and projection equipment is now routinely available in almost all venues.
In a few hours time I'll hook up to a venues pa and wall mounted large screen tv.
This is the new norm.
If your video, images and text are blurry you need to think hard about what your doing.
High quality tv and projection equipment is now routinely available in almost all venues.
In a few hours time I'll hook up to a venues pa and wall mounted large screen tv.
This is the new norm.
If your video, images and text are blurry you need to think hard about what your doing.
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 9:12 am
groovindj
bigron1 wrote :
This is the new norm
[yawn] It's not new at all. It's been going on for years! As I said earlier, they were slapping video stuff into venues in the 80s.
You want to do video, fine. That's entirely up to you - but it's not some new fangled thing that's going to replace what DJs are doing now.
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 9:33 am
VDJ Ron
You're a bit sleepy..I understand your yawn.
This is happening in all the venues..do you get it?
It's the new norm.
I use the venues wall mounted tv's in many places such as pubs, golf clubs and village halls.
There is an army of people like me who are following in the footsteps of Tayla, DJ Soulman, AMAHM and many more.
Also the copy cat companies like Serato and Pioneer are trying to jump on the band wagon.
They have finally awoke.
It's happening now because the equipment is cheap and the technology amazing.
VHS blurry video..lol.
This is happening in all the venues..do you get it?
It's the new norm.
I use the venues wall mounted tv's in many places such as pubs, golf clubs and village halls.
There is an army of people like me who are following in the footsteps of Tayla, DJ Soulman, AMAHM and many more.
Also the copy cat companies like Serato and Pioneer are trying to jump on the band wagon.
They have finally awoke.
It's happening now because the equipment is cheap and the technology amazing.
VHS blurry video..lol.
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 10:18 am
VDJ Ron
I remember the big expensive Pioneer karaoke laser discs and their players, they were rare and made obsolete by the much cheaper cd+g format which has now given way to the computer mp4 file.
Equipment cost and portability plus the video output quality are the key factors influencing the mass uptake of video djing.
The time is only now right.
There is also an interesting convergence of karaoke and dj work. The two are blending, and the result is a more rounded entertainer. You could call this creature a karaoke dj but there is more going on than that title suggests.
Equipment cost and portability plus the video output quality are the key factors influencing the mass uptake of video djing.
The time is only now right.
There is also an interesting convergence of karaoke and dj work. The two are blending, and the result is a more rounded entertainer. You could call this creature a karaoke dj but there is more going on than that title suggests.
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 10:37 am
wildcountryclub
background:
when I first started at here at this club... no even before that when I first walked in the door in 1998 doing radio remotes, I first saw the 4 huge projectors they had in the building for showing music videos and media. the videos were cued up on small monitors and played off of VHS decks and the rest of the music was turntables and cd's. after the place burned down in '02 the switch from cd's to full digital in 2006 with vdj was just something none of the other clubs in the area were willing to commit to and we just blew them out with full time video and other multimedia all going on the screens.
now:
immersive multimedia? video open to close - customer birthday pics and announcements, video clips, music videos, in-house flyers and video advertising for everything (yay VDJ 8.2 with TellyMedia and TellyVisuals!) everything that can catch the customer's eyes when they aren't dancing or looking at a drink or another customer and benefits the club on 13 HD plasma screens (they got a good deal on them)
future?: who knows? but we need to stay on it so the competition doesn't have an edge over us.
back to original topic? plain and simple reading the crowd and guiding tone throughout the night is what we're supposed to do. if you have good management and security at the venue/event like you should then they will know to co-ordinate with you and not make difficulties. specific code phrases should be well established and you need at least a good working if not friendly relationship with your staff to make sure everyone goes home safe at the end of the night. and that means not just on your dancefloor but also in your parking lot.
case in point: this incident happened Thursday night at our sister sports bar - staff and customers acted swiftly (VERY swiftly - and i'm fairly certain the idiot in question woke up pretty sore) and the dj at the time also managed to control patrons with a couple of quick announcements and because we share customers I had to do the same and ramp up my own watchfulness.
is this a regular thing here? no. in the 18 years I have been resident there have not been any shootings and only one incident where someone brandished a (fake) gun and the only knife ever pulled was because some idiot didn't leave his pocket knife in the truck and was popping balloons with it at the end of the night. that particular incident was handled with overwhelming numbers and a barstool to hold them at chairs length - again close co-ordination with security and management and no one got hurt.
you're the one who controls the floor and the club as leader (co-leader if you included manager? maybe) of a team. up to you do decide how controlling you want to be
when I first started at here at this club... no even before that when I first walked in the door in 1998 doing radio remotes, I first saw the 4 huge projectors they had in the building for showing music videos and media. the videos were cued up on small monitors and played off of VHS decks and the rest of the music was turntables and cd's. after the place burned down in '02 the switch from cd's to full digital in 2006 with vdj was just something none of the other clubs in the area were willing to commit to and we just blew them out with full time video and other multimedia all going on the screens.
now:
immersive multimedia? video open to close - customer birthday pics and announcements, video clips, music videos, in-house flyers and video advertising for everything (yay VDJ 8.2 with TellyMedia and TellyVisuals!) everything that can catch the customer's eyes when they aren't dancing or looking at a drink or another customer and benefits the club on 13 HD plasma screens (they got a good deal on them)
future?: who knows? but we need to stay on it so the competition doesn't have an edge over us.
back to original topic? plain and simple reading the crowd and guiding tone throughout the night is what we're supposed to do. if you have good management and security at the venue/event like you should then they will know to co-ordinate with you and not make difficulties. specific code phrases should be well established and you need at least a good working if not friendly relationship with your staff to make sure everyone goes home safe at the end of the night. and that means not just on your dancefloor but also in your parking lot.
case in point: this incident happened Thursday night at our sister sports bar - staff and customers acted swiftly (VERY swiftly - and i'm fairly certain the idiot in question woke up pretty sore) and the dj at the time also managed to control patrons with a couple of quick announcements and because we share customers I had to do the same and ramp up my own watchfulness.
is this a regular thing here? no. in the 18 years I have been resident there have not been any shootings and only one incident where someone brandished a (fake) gun and the only knife ever pulled was because some idiot didn't leave his pocket knife in the truck and was popping balloons with it at the end of the night. that particular incident was handled with overwhelming numbers and a barstool to hold them at chairs length - again close co-ordination with security and management and no one got hurt.
you're the one who controls the floor and the club as leader (co-leader if you included manager? maybe) of a team. up to you do decide how controlling you want to be
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 12:11 pm
VDJ Ron
Quote :
now:
immersive multimedia? video open to close - customer birthday pics and announcements, video clips, music videos, in-house flyers and video advertising for everything (yay VDJ 8.2 with TellyMedia and TellyVisuals!) everything that can catch the customer's eyes when they aren't dancing or looking at a drink or another customer and benefits the club on 13 HD plasma screens (they got a good deal on them)
future?: who knows? but we need to stay on it so the competition doesn't have an edge over us.
You have described well why video is the future.
AMAHM passed the comment that "we don't need more budget DJ's".
Well I'm here, and I'm good, with many, many more on the way.
13 plasma tv's gives you a chance, but for good luck I'd make it 14, adding something very big.
I can get a new 42" tv for @£250, and second hand for maybe £100.
VDJ can be had for a handful of $ per month, and a laptop for almost buttons.
Their all going to be at it !
now:
immersive multimedia? video open to close - customer birthday pics and announcements, video clips, music videos, in-house flyers and video advertising for everything (yay VDJ 8.2 with TellyMedia and TellyVisuals!) everything that can catch the customer's eyes when they aren't dancing or looking at a drink or another customer and benefits the club on 13 HD plasma screens (they got a good deal on them)
future?: who knows? but we need to stay on it so the competition doesn't have an edge over us.
You have described well why video is the future.
AMAHM passed the comment that "we don't need more budget DJ's".
Well I'm here, and I'm good, with many, many more on the way.
13 plasma tv's gives you a chance, but for good luck I'd make it 14, adding something very big.
I can get a new 42" tv for @£250, and second hand for maybe £100.
VDJ can be had for a handful of $ per month, and a laptop for almost buttons.
Their all going to be at it !
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 1:11 pm
VDJ Ron
Cough..LOL
"and security at the venue/event like you should then they will know to co-ordinate with you and not make difficulties. specific code phrases should be well established"
We have two major political parties, one had their annual conference last year, and a karaoke. Security was almost non existent. I won't go into details but you sound almost spoilt. I'm envious!
So..you can image what the smaller venues are like?
"and security at the venue/event like you should then they will know to co-ordinate with you and not make difficulties. specific code phrases should be well established"
We have two major political parties, one had their annual conference last year, and a karaoke. Security was almost non existent. I won't go into details but you sound almost spoilt. I'm envious!
So..you can image what the smaller venues are like?
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 1:30 pm
wildcountryclub
the 13 plasmas used to be 13 plasma TV's, 2 large wall projectors on the side walls 80-90inch throw depending on who tuned them after the lamp went out, and one HUGE screen over the stage. I think it's a 24 foot screen? give or take a foot. when i say he got a good deal on them I mean a GOOD deal - corporate discount for bulk order. I think he paid less than $200usd each. no plans at this time though to add any more.
I do remember reading about that incident you speak of. I don't comment as much in here these days unless its something that really catches my eye.
and yes we are a bit spoilt. but we have had and will maintain a reputation for being the safest club in the area and will fight hard to keep it that way.
extend in your mind that your entire building is a dancefloor and you need the ability to control or at a very minimum have over-watch of the entire thing.
that's one of the things I absolutely love about using virtualdj - you can get your mixing and playing done faster and have MUCH more time to watch your customers and their reactions, their interactions, and everything else that goes into reading the crowd to know what to do next.
and I can well imagine what smaller venues are like because that exactly describes the sports bar - it is literally 50ft from us and I can walk over at 7:45, load music and video into the computer there, walk back and push play all before 8pm. I maintain constant communication between managers, floor staff, security, waitstaff, and even the guy at the taco truck out in the parking lot.
any and every edge you can think of that helps know what is going on on the premises is worth doing.
I do remember reading about that incident you speak of. I don't comment as much in here these days unless its something that really catches my eye.
and yes we are a bit spoilt. but we have had and will maintain a reputation for being the safest club in the area and will fight hard to keep it that way.
extend in your mind that your entire building is a dancefloor and you need the ability to control or at a very minimum have over-watch of the entire thing.
that's one of the things I absolutely love about using virtualdj - you can get your mixing and playing done faster and have MUCH more time to watch your customers and their reactions, their interactions, and everything else that goes into reading the crowd to know what to do next.
and I can well imagine what smaller venues are like because that exactly describes the sports bar - it is literally 50ft from us and I can walk over at 7:45, load music and video into the computer there, walk back and push play all before 8pm. I maintain constant communication between managers, floor staff, security, waitstaff, and even the guy at the taco truck out in the parking lot.
any and every edge you can think of that helps know what is going on on the premises is worth doing.
Posted Sun 09 Apr 17 @ 3:04 pm
Tim Bennett
"Their all going to be at it !", ~Ron
They're already at it.
Nearly every joint I've been in for the past 15 years has video or visuals on screens throughout.
We VDJ users have had these nifty video features for what seems like forever.
Is great that you are excited about the technology but to keep on like all this is brand-spanking-new is silly.
"New to you" does not mean new.
They're already at it.
Nearly every joint I've been in for the past 15 years has video or visuals on screens throughout.
We VDJ users have had these nifty video features for what seems like forever.
Is great that you are excited about the technology but to keep on like all this is brand-spanking-new is silly.
"New to you" does not mean new.
Posted Mon 10 Apr 17 @ 1:16 pm
VDJ Ron
You miss the point, I'm not saying it's "new"..I'm saying it's now practical for the average UK mobile DJ.
Cost and portability are critical.
The early 42" tv's were just too heavy to be moving around and cost too much.
It really took two men to carry one, and I normally work alone.
I think it may also be the USA v UK thing.
In the UK there may be far fewer video DJ's.
I've never seen anything like the venue described by wildcountryclub.
Some UK DJ's may have seen venues like his?
I suppose London must have some top of the range venues?
Can anyone name any top of the range big video/karaoke venues in N.W England and N.Wales?
I'd like to go and have a look.
Equipment is much more expensive in the UK compared to the USA.
That would make it easier for a US DJ to be better equipped.
Cost and portability are critical.
The early 42" tv's were just too heavy to be moving around and cost too much.
It really took two men to carry one, and I normally work alone.
I think it may also be the USA v UK thing.
In the UK there may be far fewer video DJ's.
I've never seen anything like the venue described by wildcountryclub.
Some UK DJ's may have seen venues like his?
I suppose London must have some top of the range venues?
Can anyone name any top of the range big video/karaoke venues in N.W England and N.Wales?
I'd like to go and have a look.
Equipment is much more expensive in the UK compared to the USA.
That would make it easier for a US DJ to be better equipped.
Posted Mon 10 Apr 17 @ 2:32 pm