ProgressiveHouse.com Community Forum

RE: How did you land your first gig ( paid or otherwise)?

Simon Baugh — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:29:43 GMT

The Greg wrote:

While I do find dj medieval's method amusing, I'm not sure I would recommend it to everyone.

I got mine through becoming good friends with the resident DJ and after a certain time he knew that I was good enough to play so I got some gigs when he was busy with out of town kinda stuff. This business really does require that you be good at networking from the start to succeed.

[quote=''Mike''] I sucked at networking so I created the network...

this business is definitely "who you know" and "playing your cards right".[/quote]

Well there's a golden saying to do with the industry in the UK.

''It's not what you know but who you know'',

I think it sums up the music ( and just about any other) industry perfectly!

RE: How did you land your first gig ( paid or otherwise)?

djmarcus — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:03:14 GMT

mike wrote:

I sucked at networking so I created the network...

this business is definitely "who you know" and "playing your cards right"

Ain't that the truth. You can suck but get gigs if you know the right people. The sad truth is that in a typical club drunk people will dance to damn near anything.

It's only we other DJ's that would know if someone sucked or not.

Although I have seen dance floors cleared because of a dodgy track.

Wannabe DJ

Croatia21 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:38:40 GMT

Hey lads,

So i am doing music for comple of years now, love to create.

But i would like to start playing music to more people, kind of soul/jaz/chillout stuff.
Just to bring people those funky/soulful nice sounds.

But i got 1 problem..

Where to start?

Should i buy mixer, decs, or 2 cds mixer, and play at home, then try to get in touch with places where to play or?

Can someone tell me where to start, and with what equipment.

p.s this would be just a hobby tho, i am not crazy or anything for party's, i am just geek on collage...

To see i am not totaly geek, here is track i am working on right now:

http://mp3unsigned.com/bands/21319mario_feat._marie_-_you_are_my.mp3

RE: How did you land your first gig ( paid or otherwise)?

mike — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:40:28 GMT

I sucked at networking so I created the network...

this business is definitely "who you know" and "playing your cards right"

RE: How did you land your first gig ( paid or otherwise)?

The Greg — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:39:52 GMT

RE: How did you land your first gig ( paid or otherwise)?

dj medieval — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:40:39 GMT

I told the club owner I'd be playing that Friday, and whenever Friday rolled around I let the club owner introduce me as a guy playing that day.

I let everything work itself out, and I spun. Man that place was a hole.

RE: What do you think about while creating a set?

kev_obrien — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:02:26 GMT

I try to focus on the music itself, creating a set can be very fulfilling, but it can also be very nerve wracking. I have been pulling my hair out lately because several producers have been releasing music that is not DJ friendly in the least bit. They will bring the beat back one quarter-note too quickly during a breakdown and completely throw your mix off as the 2 tracks will no longer be in time. So for the most part, I am not putting myself in some imaginary place when I am doing a set, I am just feeling the music, and constantly going through my library trying to find the right track to go to next. It can be a painful process some time, but when it becomes painful, i put the headphones down and go at it again later..because when you get on a roll, it all comes together like magic. BAM!

Also, one other note in response to a comment made about 'keying' your music....

I personally hate Mixed in Key. I dont like being told what to do, and thats what MIK does. It limits your creativity and you get tunnel vision. A good DJ does no need software to tell them what they should or should not mix. It completely ruins my flow and I end up getting nowhere when I "key" my music. In my opinion, my EAR does the keying for me, and it pisses me off when I run my music through MIK and the best tracks have some weird key like 12B. I've never been able to do a set using it, so I just uninstalled it lol. I guess if I played older music it wouldnt matter, I could just run my whole library and make sets using MIK without a hitch, but the fact that I only play brand new music limits my use of MIK. Also, just because 2 tracks are key compatible, DOES NOT mean they automatically go together, I hear horrible DJ sets all the time that are mixed in key, DJs who use key programs are often lazy in my opinion and they miss out on many good mixes because they get tunnel vision.

before anyone jumps down my throat, I am not saying that ALL DJs who use MIK are lazy, but it bothers me when people think that just because they put 2 keyed tracks together, that means the mix works. There are too many elements that need to be considered when doing a mix, like basslines, percussion, rhythm compatibility, direction, etc. You should know immediately if 2 tracks are that far off-key, just by listening! My 10 cents!
ok

How did you land your first gig ( paid or otherwise)?

Simon Baugh — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:31:51 GMT

How did you land your first gig ( paid or otherwise)?

p.s sorry if this has been asked before, I searched for this thread on the site and couldn't find it, so I'm guessing that this is the first one asking this question.

RE: How long did it take you to learn djing?

djmarcus — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:35:29 GMT

I'll just throw this in:

It took me about 3 months on crap Numark tables to consistently beatmatch. I am glad I started on bad decks because it made me appreciate my 1200's that much more when I finally got a pair.

As far as mixing goes, I don't think you ever stop getting better.

Allen & Heath Xone:4D Photos and Videos

Dougie Jones — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:08:56 GMT

Afternoon all,

Last month I treated (and bankrupted) myself to an Allen & Heath Xone:4D mixer. Its a great piece of kit and I've noticed that there isn't that much info about it online yet so I've uploaded some pics and vids. If you want to check out the still images they are on the galleries page of my website here:

www.dougie-jones.com

As far as I'm aware these are the first on the net that are not the official press pics.

Oh and if you are interested in the videos you can check them out here:

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Let me know what you think.

Cheers

Dougie