how to get a gig...?

DrumSteve

hey ive been doin sound engineering at gigs and playing pubs and weddings and the like for a while...

just wondering how i would get into doing dj sets in town?

like dorans or places like that? im not into any of that hardcore ****e... just 80's and 90's stuff.

any advice would be very much appreciated.

thanks

ENN0

DrumSteve wrote: »

just 80's and 90's stuff.

Stick to weddings....

DrumSteve

sorry i meant 80's and 90's dance stuff.

ENN0

DrumSteve wrote: »

sorry i meant 80's and 90's dance stuff.

I myself am a DJ, not as long as you, just 2 years now! My cousin is also a DJ...a very good one at that! He used to be wel known in the progressive house scene! He used to play reguarly at the spirit night club...until they wanted him to start playing their stuff! he eventually quit and is now just a bedroom DJ! the DJ club scene isnt what it used to be! it seems the clubs select the music now and not the DJ!

As for getting a gig you need to create a demo and drop it into the club you want to play at! make sure it goes straight to the manager. As for your type of DJ I would recomend learning how to do the basics i.e beat match! If I know pub/wedding DJ's they dont know how to do that!

djdeclan

ENN0 wrote: »

I myself am a DJ, not as long as you, just 2 years now! My cousin is also a DJ...a very good one at that! He used to be wel known in the progressive house scene! He used to play reguarly at the spirit night club...until they wanted him to start playing their stuff! he eventually quit and is now just a bedroom DJ! the DJ club scene isnt what it used to be! it seems the clubs select the music now and not the DJ!

As for getting a gig you need to create a demo and drop it into the club you want to play at! make sure it goes straight to the manager. As for your type of DJ I would recomend learning how to do the basics i.e beat match! If I know pub/wedding DJ's they dont know how to do that!

That has to be the most condescending post i've seen in this forum, I started off doing weddings and pubs, I still do them the odd time when I've nothing else on. I can mix probably as well as you or your cousin (if you are that good lads you wouldn't be stuck playing in your bedrooms) chances are the op can mix as well so don't insult the mans intelligence.

As for the ops question, persistence is the name of the game in DJing, keep doing the weddings and the bars and the club work will come..
Try to get a spot warming up for someone in a club, you won't get paid but the experience and the fact you can name drop will be a big help to you in the long run. If you are playing commercial music (I'm assuming you are) then dropping cds into clubs is about as much use as dropping them into the liffey.
As far as I'm concerned anybody can make a perfect cd at home when they have all the time in the world and computer software to perfect it, the challenge comes when you have to do it live and entertain a crowd every week.
Try to get to know other djs (especially busy ones!) they might give you some work that they can't do themselves, you will also learn from them (every day is a schoolday lads). Contacts are everything in this industry.
Lastly, never undercut other djs to get in the door, its badform and will make you no friends. The lads who have stayed the longest in the commercial scene are the honest guys who don't stab each other in the back and who help other DJs out.

ENN0

djdeclan wrote: »

I can mix probably as well as you or your cousin

Im a turntablist ironically

djdeclan

ENN0 wrote: »

Im a turntablist ironically

I am at a loss as to how that is a point, I use turntables too... Chances are the op does as well, or at least has done in the past.

I think it's long past time lads who use turntables and vinyl got off their high horses and realised that they are not the be all and end all of DJing...

jtsuited

djdeclan wrote: »

I am at a loss as to how that is a point, I use turntables too... Chances are the op does as well, or at least has done in the past.

I think it's long past time lads who use turntables and vinyl got off their high horses and realised that they are not the be all and end all of DJing...

lol:pac:

seannash

djdeclan wrote: »

I am at a loss as to how that is a point, I use turntables too... Chances are the op does as well, or at least has done in the past.

I think it's long past time lads who use turntables and vinyl got off their high horses and realised that they are not the be all and end all of DJing...

i think he means a turntablist like he beatjuggles,scratches etc.
like qbert

tman

Real DJs know how to scratch/only use vinyl/smell like kippers

franklyshocked

There's a couple of ways to get regular gigs.
1) Get a promo of your skills on a CD showcasing the sort of tracks you normally play. Send it to the DJ agencies around the country, depending on where you want to play and hope for the best.
2) Get to know other local DJ's, bombard them (Nicely) with promo mixes and try and get a guest slot and work up from there.
3) Get to know other local DJ's and approach a venue with a proposal to take a night from them as a group.

The main reason a venue won't deal with a DJ on their own is reliability. Venue's have all been stung in the early days of dance by DJ's not showing up for gigs. If you go in as a group/company/agency you guarantee a consistant act/performance every night which is what any good manager wants. Plus you can split costs on equipment rental and promotion.

Hope that helps. There's no short route to success except hard work

richie rich08

The scene in dublin is ridiclous it is extremely difficult to get gigs unless you have your head up alot of promoters holes!
I personally was a mad for getting gigs when i was younger made demos all the time and nothing was happening.
The worst thing was (and im not blowing my own horn) i knew i was better then most of the jocks playin on the dance scene in dublin and anyone else who had heard me play thought the same.

It doesnt matter how good you are really, its all about who you know.
Get out to nights you'd be interested playing at...
E.G. if your an oldskool dj go to the Reactive or Rejuvination nights meet the lads who run them night they are dead sound bring a good demo and make sure it is perfect.....
If your into Hardhouse say go to the hi Octane nights in the cavern or Devotion in Liquid,
same deal bring a demo might the promoter.
Its all about showing an interest, i run my own electro nights and ive recieved loads of demos of different djs thru emails, bebo etc etc....
But nothing looks better then recieving it personally at one of the nights...
shows you have an interest and that your making an effort....

It goes a long way believe me


Check out my nights:
http://www.twistednights.bebo.com

jtsuited

it's easy..

if you're a producer and your music is sellin well!

I'm playin wax on 27th september, and rira on 21st november. Both livesets. see ya's there.

ENN0

djdeclan wrote: »

I am at a loss as to how that is a point, I use turntables too... Chances are the op does as well, or at least has done in the past.

I think it's long past time lads who use turntables and vinyl got off their high horses and realised that they are not the be all and end all of DJing...

you say your a DJ but you dont know what a turntablist is? come come now

this is a turntablist...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP00NiUaV1Y

djdeclan

ENN0 wrote: »

you say your a DJ but you dont know what a turntablist is? come come now

this is a turntablist...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP00NiUaV1Y

Fair dues, I took you up wrong, although I have experienced a lot of people referring to people who DJ on TTs as turntablists.
That still doesn't excuse your attitude towards the op and people who DJ in bars and at functions..

Also just because you say you are a turntablist, doesn't mean you are any good.. Although thats just me being cheeky!

seannash

jtsuited wrote: »

it's easy..

if you're a producer and your music is sellin well!

I'm playin wax on 27th september, and rira on 21st november. Both livesets. see ya's there.

this si so true,practice and practice all you want but if you really want to be a big name dj you gotta produce good music

jtsuited

seannash wrote: »

this si so true,practice and practice all you want but if you really want to be a big name dj you gotta produce good music

ah crap i forgot about that bit!

seannash

jtsuited wrote: »

ah crap i forgot about that bit!

i think youll be alright
i know thre just sympathy gigs you got

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

The thing with the DJ scene is that most clubs have been let down in the past by individuals. So they tend to use the big DJ Agencies with reputations to keep, not gonna mention names but you all know who they are, or to use DJs that have a track record of being extremely reliable.

Agencies have back up DJs if their DJ falls sick and the old relaible DJs tend to never be sick and take two weeks holidays a year - thats it. Its a profession to them and they make sure their cover DJ is as good as them. Individuals worry if their cover is better than them they'll loose the residency.

The annoying thing is everyone wants experienced DJs but everyones gotta start somewhere. My recommendation is to tag along with professional guys and try to do warm ups where possible.

franklyshocked

richie rich08 wrote: »

The scene in dublin is ridiclous it is extremely difficult to get gigs unless you have your head up alot of promoters holes!
I personally was a mad for getting gigs when i was younger made demos all the time and nothing was happening.
The worst thing was (and im not blowing my own horn) i knew i was better then most of the jocks playin on the dance scene in dublin and anyone else who had heard me play thought the same.

It doesnt matter how good you are really, its all about who you know.
Get out to nights you'd be interested playing at...
E.G. if your an oldskool dj go to the Reactive or Rejuvination nights meet the lads who run them night they are dead sound bring a good demo and make sure it is perfect.....
If your into Hardhouse say go to the hi Octane nights in the cavern or Devotion in Liquid,
same deal bring a demo might the promoter.
Its all about showing an interest, i run my own electro nights and ive recieved loads of demos of different djs thru emails, bebo etc etc....
But nothing looks better then recieving it personally at one of the nights...
shows you have an interest and that your making an effort....

It goes a long way believe me


Check out my nights:
http://www.twistednights.bebo.com

I agree with you dude.
The Dublin scene is a closed circuit. A lot of guys who've been playing the same places for years and not enough space for new up and comming DJ's to get a shot. I moved to Dublin a couple of yeas ago and got out to all the nights, met all the DJ's I could, took a slot on a Pirate station and blagged guest spots everywhere I could. It was fun at the time but a lot of late nights and hard work. Not much cash out of guest spots either
I eventually took a break from it when promoters and clubs started telling me that R'n'B was what people want to hear. Load of ****e basically.
Anyway after a 2 year gap I'm back playing regularly enough but i'll tell you, dance music is in a better state down the country.
Dubs can say what they like about "Culchies" but I've been having better fun outside the pale in the last year.

Riesen_Meal

franklyshocked wrote: »

Dubs can say what they like about "Culchies" but I've been having better fun outside the pale in the last year.

Bit of a racist, generalist comment but ill let it go! :P

Ive been the same to be honest, most of my gigs lately have been outside Dublin and abroad now aswell and ive had far more fun playing to people this year outside of Dublin (unfortunately means less gigs I can do) than I have at some of the big gigs ive done in Dublin over the years!

The scene has dried up to ****e in dublin and is a closed shop in most areas, I dont lick arses to get gigs off promoters like half the dublin djs I know do, playing for people that they despise just so they can get gigs, and get their name out there - most of the promoters are either money grubbing ***** or just use you when they need a slot or two filled, I know I want to be booked on my merits and not because I went partying with promoters!

There are a hell of a lot of great young bedroom djs out there at the moment and they dont get a look in at all, crying shame really, but thats the way it is here in Dublin....

If you want something done..... (you know the rest)