Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Chat

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Market yourself towards the deal chasers, then your customers are the ones that will be hurting the most right now.

Hadn't really thought about it in that sense but you're onto something there - if every penny was a prisoner for your budget in January, it's even more so now.

One of the ones I had to knock back as I wasn't available has gone and booked my brother this morning for marginally less than I was charging and I suspect he could have got the same fee as me if he'd just asked.

The other one was so desperate to book she was offering to pay the full balance on the spot, to hell with the fact I had a current client to look after

[Benny Smyth]

Hadn't really thought about it in that sense but you're onto something there

Normally folk drop the C-Bomb at me when I say stuff like that. This is unfamiliar territory for me.

[Pazz]

Just out of interest how many bookings have you still got booked for this year. I noticed a lot artists are advertising rearranged dates for between October and November despite nobody still knowing where and what situation we are going to be in. What about Christmas New Years Eve Boxing Day are you still booked for these?

What's your latest thoughts about how thus will pan out for us DJ's with no vaccine. Any predictions and what rules and regs would you want to ensure were in place for you to be able to do your job properly instead of worrying about dangers?

I'm just trying hard to be positive hoping that we can get back out there and dj again but when I see all these large gatherings for protests, 5 mile radius for people like me in Wales along with baby steps moving forward and places like dentists unable to reopen its just hard to feel upbeat. My plans to get back out there DJ'ing might never happen and some of us here might be forced to look another career/profession.

Need some glimmer of hope from somewhere as I'm sure we all do

[DJ Jules]

Just out of interest how many bookings have you still got booked for this year.

Lots. How many will happen is anyone's guess. August and September are now slowly clearing out as people start to get a better picture of the restrictions that are likely to be in place and what that will mean for their wedding/party.

What about Christmas New Years Eve Boxing Day are you still booked for these?

Still booked at the moment - Christmas is either going to be the most drunken party season we've ever seen, or the quietest.

What's your latest thoughts about how thus will pan out for us DJ's with no vaccine. Any predictions and what rules and regs would you want to ensure were in place for you to be able to do your job properly instead of worrying about dangers?

Having seen plans coming out of other countries, I think the reality is that entertainment is going to be one of the last things to be allowed to restart and we're probably not going to be far away from vaccines by the time that happens. If we are out there while the risk level is still relatively high, it's going to be requests by text, booth mounted sneeze screens, face masks and gloves and you can forget about fist bumps.

I'm just trying hard to be positive hoping that we can get back out there and dj again but when I see all these large gatherings for protests, 5 mile radius for people like me in Wales along with baby steps moving forward and places like dentists unable to reopen its just hard to feel upbeat.

Our local dentist is re-opening next week if that makes you feel any happier. They've started publicising the procedures that are going to be in place (paperwork is done online in advance, front door is kept closed, call from your car before you enter, temperature checks on entry, limited numbers in the waiting room, limited waiting times, barriers on the reception desk, thorough cleaning of all surfaces between appointments). Honestly, it's almost a miracle, the appointments have never run to time before

Julian

[Benny Smyth]

With so many variables for a wedding (venue size, number of guests, ratio of indoor to outdoor space etc.), when weddings are allowed to go ahead it will under a vague guise and that's completely understandable. Can you imagine trying to come up the rules and then working out which one applies to you as a venue? It would almost be that each venue will have to have it's own bespoke set of guidelines and no Government department is going to do that.

So that means that the onus is going to be directly on the venue and it will be almost impossible to police. I've said it previously that the Government will get to a point where they'll be a bit cavalier, and the guidance will be along the lines of "You can have weddings. Try and do as much as you can outside but if that's not possible, use your common sense and stick to social distancing where possible."

I dare say that pubs would receive a similar guideline too...

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

With so many variables for a wedding (venue size, number of guests, ratio of indoor to outdoor space etc.), when weddings are allowed to go ahead it will under a vague guise and that's completely understandable. Can you imagine trying to come up the rules and then working out which one applies to you as a venue? It would almost be that each venue will have to have it's own bespoke set of guidelines and no Government department is going to do that.

So that means that the onus is going to be directly on the venue and it will be almost impossible to police. I've said it previously that the Government will get to a point where they'll be a bit cavalier, and the guidance will be along the lines of "You can have weddings. Try and do as much as you can outside but if that's not possible, use your common sense and stick to social distancing where possible."

I dare say that pubs would receive a similar guideline too...

I think they're going to have to otherwise nothing will be able to open or run properly until a vaccine is found and dispersed en masse.

I'm officially returning to work on Monday.

What that actually looks like is a risk assessment done to the Nth degree, dozens of rules I need to follow and this is in order to facilitate 4-6 adults in the building, there's no way that's ever going to be able to be followed come August when we're trying to reintroduce kids in.

My local is applying to be able to put chairs and seats outside - this is literally in the middle of a little suburban road surrounded by flats and houses so it will be interesting to see what the outcome is - my initial thought is they'll be told where to go but if they do allow it then it's a sign that local authorities are going to be pragmatic to get businesses open and people back to work.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Just seen a guy on Facebook touting his DJ services for garden parties.

[Imagine]

Just seen a guy on Facebook touting his DJ services for garden parties.

I've got one locally doing the same thing. I'm not even contemplating going there! (too much chance of gate-crashers, bad media and police breakups). And how disheartening would it be to entertain for SIX people socially distancing (OK....I know of at least one of our fold that would see that as a good night but....)

I've also got a couple of them who seem to be doing Twitch/FB/MixCloud live streams on a daily basis. The garden party idea at least makes some money - the streaming stuff??? I did a couple, didn't enjoy, it and gave up (sorry, but I thrive off the energy of the dance floor in front of me....not comments on Social Media)

What will be will be. And now - I'm going off on a tangent...

We're going to be the one of the very LAST industries allowed to work again, and my personal feeling is that we're looking at around this time next year or when a vaccine becomes available, whichever is safest. I've even seen reports from European countries with a MUCH lower infection/death rate than us where weddings will be allowed in a couple of months time, but it's been specified in law that there will be no dancing of any kind! I really hope that when weddings are allowed again in the UK that this is clarified because you just know what's going to happen otherwise!

It'll be very interesting in about 10 days time after the events around the world today with various rallies as to where the "R" number stands. The results of any spread of COVID after those rallies with a lot of people in the same place (albeit outdoors) will have a very direct impact on what we do for a living I'm afraid

I've long since given in to the idea that my kit's not going out for the remainder of the year, as has my local network. It's costing me to store it and it's actually gut wrenching every week when I visit the lockup to make sure all's OK, but it WILL go out on the road again and I WILL have the pleasure of entertaining again once this thing is over!

I have to keep telling myself that because driving a supermarket truck around delivering online shopping is depressing at times (especially when it takes me around 4 weeks to earn ONE night's disco wages ). I'm also penalised on speeding, sharp breaking, idling and sharp cornering....there's a set of LEDS in the cab that monitor EVERYTHING I do!

I need something to look forward to and once this is over, I'm definitely going for the recession proof weddings (as are a couple of my tog and DJ colleagues).

Let me tell you a story about how the general public feel about everything at the moment (it's very relevant!).

Today was a real eye opener. It was my first day out on the road as a grocery delivery driver (until now, I've been based in the car park doing click and collect).

This is based on my experience of the past 4 weeks of being employed again. I've seen the queues outside the store (long, depressing, sad, masked up, Marigold gloves, snorkel masks, even a couple of WW2 gas masks....you name it!). The demand for click and collect and online deliveries is growing by several hundred percent PER WEEK at the moment because customers are absolutely scared to be mixing with other people in enclosed spaces such as shops (they've told me this!). My own home store has taken on 57 and counting new employees since this thing started just to meet demand (trust me...supermarkets are working REALLY hard behind the scenes several pay grades above me to make sure that customers can actually EAT!)

I spent today out on the road delivering groceries (yawn...boring and blimmin' hard work for little money and I really DON'T rate Mercedes vans!), and had a realisation....the normal people are REALLY scared! I've become sort of immune to what's going on because I have to walk through the CovIdiots each and every day with their masks making them immune to catching the virus (and yes, I'm VERY careful because I really don't want to catch this thing but I DON'T wear a mask of any type...).
\
I've had very long range conversations with elderly, vulnerable and scared (even young) customers today that have been stuck indoors for 10+ weeks and not actually left their house - I was a Godsend as someone they could actually talk to (from a very long distance), and find out what's happening in the world.

NOTE - they really DON'T want to come into contact with anyone outside of their own household!

Seeing what I've seen today, people really AREN'T going to want to assemble in a sweaty function room for a party any time soon....it's the last thing on their minds!

And as an aside....interesting factoid for you all. We've all seen LOADS of DJs offering to do big deals when we're eventually allowed to play again (I really don't understand that logic...prices should be going UP not DOWN). But if you think WE'VE got it bad....I work with around a dozen ex self-employed driving instructors (they're in the same boat as us at the moment). They all reckon it costs them somewhere between £25-£30 per hour to cover their huge costs for insurance, vehicle costs, fuel etc.). They're up against pillocks that are offering lessons at £5-£10 per hour just to get business in!

How DO these people manage to make a living?

In short from what I'm seeing and experiencing at the moment in the real world from talking to real human beings - we're out of the game for a long time to come. Sorry, they're scared Shss by this whole thing and rightfully so.

[DJ Jules]

And then at the other end of the spectrum we have people who still don't get what the fuss is all about : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52923321

Apparently there's an announcement coming tonight about weddings. Relaxing of rules and a limited reopening of the wedding industry from early July. Expectation is that licensing rules will be relaxed to allow outdoor weddings (should have been done years ago), but with numbers limited to 10 initially. I have a suspicion that we're going to be far more cavalier with safety than other countries have been and we're going to see restrictions lifted quite quickly (as long as infection rates stay vaguely stable). I'm not sure any of this is going to be good news for us, it might see weddings going ahead without entertainment, instead of being postponed.

I'm not sure how quickly people will adjust and actually get back into the party mood. You can count me out for a few months at least.

Julian

[rth_discos]

I And how disheartening would it be to entertain for SIX people socially distancing

FIVE people - you would be the sixth person!

That's a full dancefloor isn't it?

Looking at Spain, they are providing a roadmap for weddings - with numbers allowed to attend quickly increasing to 'normal' numbers.

However, they have also just re-opened nightclubs. Except dancing is not permitted.