Do DJs enjoy DJing?

electrogrimey

By that I don't mean playing huge stadium gigs, I'm more or less talking about house parties.

At a house party that I would have been going to anyway, DJing or not, I'm just as happy DJing the whole night and only talking to people now and then, as just hanging around chatting. Is this the same for big-name DJs, or would they only DJ a mate's party if they were paid?

Daroxtar

Claude Young spun some tunes in my mates gaff a few years ago after he played in the TBMC. He just hung out and had the craic.
If you love your tunes then you'd play for free, money is only a bonus. If you're more interested in money then fúck off and play weddings and 21sts.

electrogrimey

That's what I'd like to imagine all DJs think like, going back to an afterparty and all the lads who played taking turns on the decks.

ED E

It would be a stupid thing to get into if you didnt enjoy it really. If it was all about the money there are far more dependable ways of making a living with much friendlier hours:)

Jev/N

I think for most or all the newish international DJs that's the case, but for those doing the rounds for longer, I'd imagine it would lose it's sheen a bit after awhile.

If you can imagine playing a different city every day of the week for years, you might (or might not) become a bit disillusioned at some point, probably due to the amount of fanboys (and girls) annoying the sh1te out of you during your set, back stage and at a house party afterward.

I've been at a few parties where the DJ from the night has come back and spun a few tunes but many of them like just as much to chat and relax.

Táck

i seen an interview with james zabiela a while back and he was saying that being in a hotel room on his own, 45 minutes after being standing in front of, usually, thousands of people can, be a bit weird. he always looks like he's enjoying himself anyway though and im sure as he logs on to check his online bank balance, his nights easier. most likely in 4 star hotels.

ironclaw

Have to agree with the disillusioned bit. I'd say many DJ's eventually become too big for themselves and almost hate the fame they've created. Many artists go through it.

But back to the original topic, I'd say yes, you should enjoy what your doing and do it for such. However, if you did have a financial outlay, you should be paid accordingly (I love law, so therefore I should give barrister services for free sort of argument ) What you love and paying the bills seem to always clash :rolleyes:

djhaxman

Daroxtar wrote: »

Claude Young spun some tunes in my mates gaff a few years ago after he played in the TBMC. He just hung out and had the craic.
If you love your tunes then you'd play for free, money is only a bonus. If you're more interested in money then fúck off and play weddings and 21sts.

I remember that gig. It was savage!

Scubadevils

I missed the night that Claude Young played in the Temple of Sound in about 1995 - I heard reports after that he was unreal and a real performer behind the decks, scratching with his elbows and the like!

I was in HMV the other day and felt pretty ill to see this on the shelf. I wonder does Micky Modelle enjoy DJing?

Musicman2000

Irish party anthems? this is pure and utter muck, what ever record company released this s***t should be shot:D

cranky bollix

whats wrong with ye, shes fairly hot, id give her one.

L1011

Guarantee you some of the big names who've been doing 4-6 nights a week for years don't enjoy it anymore; but most DJs do. You'd not give up so much of your life to something that generally doesn't pay all that well if you didn't enjoy it.

M5

djhaxman wrote: »

I remember that gig. It was savage!

I was there too, in the early 00's one mind, not the 95 one. Doing spinbacks with his elbow and chin i seem to remember :-)

Always enjoyed DJing myself. Watching ppl go crazy to tunes you pick to play can be quite a buzz!

Some DJs really get into it, Villalobos (spelling) comes to mind straight away!
Then you have the other type, like Sasha/Marco Corola etc who just stand there and mix! I remember Chris Liebing "damaging" the sound system on the main stage in Dance Valley. His reaction? turn the monitors towards the crowd, shrug the shoulders, and carry on :-)

Daroxtar

Ya, claude had a camera ste up over the decks so we could see what he was at. Classic. I remember Thomas Krome blowing up a speaker in the kitchen too and he seemed fukin delighted with himself, pumped the air and grinned like a maniac.

run_Forrest_run

as one DJ who's been around for ages I like to think good old Carl Cox still enjoys his time behind the decks. At this stage in his career he hardly needs to do it.

Táck

yeah calude young gigs were savage, in fact, most of the rosman gigs were

leggo

This is coming from someone who will gladly take over the music at a party for free. But I wouldn't lug my gear out or go to any hassle if it wasn't paying. Similarly, I'd focus on more tunes I wanna hear than going to the punter-pleasing sets if I was doing it for nothing.

Daroxtar wrote: »

If you love your tunes then you'd play for free, money is only a bonus.

Hopefully this doesn't de-rail the topic completely: but I strongly disagree with this attitude. Tbh I think it's for saps who can't get paying gigs and try to validate this by saying, "Oh I do it for the love of the music!" (That wasn't a personal dig btw. You could become a millionaire DJ one day for all I know. So please don't take it that way)

BS! I love music so much I want to earn a living off it and not anything else, i.e. getting paid. Getting paid good money for something isn't a reverse correlation of loving it. It's pretty much the opposite.

ironclaw

leggo wrote: »

Hopefully this doesn't de-rail the topic completely: but I strongly disagree with this attitude. Tbh I think it's for saps who can't get paying gigs and try to validate this by saying, "Oh I do it for the love of the music!" (That wasn't a personal dig btw. You could become a millionaire DJ one day for all I know. So please don't take it that way)

BS! I love music so much I want to earn a living off it and not anything else, i.e. getting paid. Getting paid good money for something isn't a reverse correlation of loving it. It's pretty much the opposite.

I half agree with that. Money cannot be the primary goal for Dj's. It really can't. Money doesn't make you a DJ, the music does. So you have to enjoy the music. So you sort of have to do it for the love of the music.

I wouldn't do a gig for free, I'd expect my costs to be paid, but I wouldn't go expecting to make a profit so to speak. Profit is a bonus.

Just my two cents.