Goodmix
19-04-2009, 07:38 PM
OK, so the full intro ...
I'm a 31 yo American-raised Belgian who moved to NL 7+ years ago, and am finally getting back to a decent level of mobile jock work. It's been almost 20 years since I started out playing parties with my best bud, which grew into a nice little sideline. Particularly helpful was having the Friday and Saturday overnight shifts at the #1 Top 40 station in the area at the age of 16 (lots of bookings through that).
Graduating high school and living in Germany as an exchange student for a while introduced chaos, but I kept spinning parties both there and in Austria. Developed quite a knowledge of Teutonic party tunes.
Back to the US, back to the business that was left behind. University contacts yielded loads of frat parties, athletic events, Christmas parties and the like. Weddings continued to be a steady earner, though never really the main market.
In 2001, got the opportunity to move back to Europe with the day job, which was great. However, it meant selling up the business, which was less great. The cash from the gear went mostly to moving house, knocking the rig development back a few years.
Moved to NL with the same Gemini dual-deck and mixer combo I'd had since I was 13. Played my first party here just 3 weeks after arriving.
Since then, have spent the past 7 years working and reinvesting to get the rig back together, upgrading to something professional and making contacts. Got the website up about 1.5 yrs ago. (www.goodmix.nl)
My main rig is a compact Denon/QSC/JBL setup, with American DJ and JB Systems (aka Acme in the UK) lighting. It's maybe not the most whiz-bang setup ever, but it sounds and looks great in most situations. A rack-mounter at heart, I'm frustrated by the focus on 10"/flat deck mixer and CD player formats lately. I've spun on them, and they're certainly quite tactile ... but I love the compactness of a 19" slant rack.
Being near The Hague, I target the international/cosmopolitan market by focusing on my multilingual presentation skills (English, Dutch, German and French all fluently) and knowledge of cultural favourites from across Northern Europe and Scandinavia. Nonetheless, 70%+ of my bookings are for locals.
Weddings are a natural part of the booking calendar, including abroad (Vienna last summer, Chester this year), but other types of events tend to be more common (my next three gigs are Queen's Day, the grand re-opening of a campsite and a graduation party). I describe my spinning style as a "good mix of hits and surprises from the 60s to today". Mastermix provides some of my favourite surprises.
Left to my own devices, I will usually start with Stevie Wonder and friends, wander through some R&B/Hip-Hop before going back to the 80s, following the historical progression either into commercial dance or some good rock, depending on the crowd. Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" is my default closer (ties in with my default "thanks to the catering/bar personnel" cheer).
My website still needs a good bit of work (including getting quality pictures of my rig in good venues -- still have some quite embarrasingly amateurish ones of my old kit at house parties on there). Nonetheless, I'm one of the few (if not the only) NL-based DJs to have DJ Intelligence on their website. This is always a great selling point, and it startles me how few jocks work with it.
Lately I've been branching out into event planning/organisation, mostly rock festivals to help promote my band and the bands we're friends with, but also a glammy Eurovision party and several corporate events. It's been a great way to gain more exposure and professional cred.
My biggest point of pride: we brought Halloween to Delft. Starting 7 years ago, we began throwing a Halloween party that just got better every year. Now it's spawned imitators and even when we move, it will continue. Always great to give birth to a tradition.
At the end of the day, this is still all part time. My day job has a heavy international travel schedule, which sometimes is challenging. Had one this August where I landed from the US in the morning, showered, then drove to Amsterdam to play an incredibly difficult double-birthday party (one Brazilian, one Dutch woman, each with conflicting tastes). Was exhausted at the end.
As a final point: I truly appreciate and believe in sharing experiences and information with other jocks. I got my first subscription to Mobile Beat when I was 14 and it totally helped me understand what being a professional jock means. And I look forward to getting to know the folks on this forum!
I'm a 31 yo American-raised Belgian who moved to NL 7+ years ago, and am finally getting back to a decent level of mobile jock work. It's been almost 20 years since I started out playing parties with my best bud, which grew into a nice little sideline. Particularly helpful was having the Friday and Saturday overnight shifts at the #1 Top 40 station in the area at the age of 16 (lots of bookings through that).
Graduating high school and living in Germany as an exchange student for a while introduced chaos, but I kept spinning parties both there and in Austria. Developed quite a knowledge of Teutonic party tunes.
Back to the US, back to the business that was left behind. University contacts yielded loads of frat parties, athletic events, Christmas parties and the like. Weddings continued to be a steady earner, though never really the main market.
In 2001, got the opportunity to move back to Europe with the day job, which was great. However, it meant selling up the business, which was less great. The cash from the gear went mostly to moving house, knocking the rig development back a few years.
Moved to NL with the same Gemini dual-deck and mixer combo I'd had since I was 13. Played my first party here just 3 weeks after arriving.
Since then, have spent the past 7 years working and reinvesting to get the rig back together, upgrading to something professional and making contacts. Got the website up about 1.5 yrs ago. (www.goodmix.nl)
My main rig is a compact Denon/QSC/JBL setup, with American DJ and JB Systems (aka Acme in the UK) lighting. It's maybe not the most whiz-bang setup ever, but it sounds and looks great in most situations. A rack-mounter at heart, I'm frustrated by the focus on 10"/flat deck mixer and CD player formats lately. I've spun on them, and they're certainly quite tactile ... but I love the compactness of a 19" slant rack.
Being near The Hague, I target the international/cosmopolitan market by focusing on my multilingual presentation skills (English, Dutch, German and French all fluently) and knowledge of cultural favourites from across Northern Europe and Scandinavia. Nonetheless, 70%+ of my bookings are for locals.
Weddings are a natural part of the booking calendar, including abroad (Vienna last summer, Chester this year), but other types of events tend to be more common (my next three gigs are Queen's Day, the grand re-opening of a campsite and a graduation party). I describe my spinning style as a "good mix of hits and surprises from the 60s to today". Mastermix provides some of my favourite surprises.
Left to my own devices, I will usually start with Stevie Wonder and friends, wander through some R&B/Hip-Hop before going back to the 80s, following the historical progression either into commercial dance or some good rock, depending on the crowd. Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" is my default closer (ties in with my default "thanks to the catering/bar personnel" cheer).
My website still needs a good bit of work (including getting quality pictures of my rig in good venues -- still have some quite embarrasingly amateurish ones of my old kit at house parties on there). Nonetheless, I'm one of the few (if not the only) NL-based DJs to have DJ Intelligence on their website. This is always a great selling point, and it startles me how few jocks work with it.
Lately I've been branching out into event planning/organisation, mostly rock festivals to help promote my band and the bands we're friends with, but also a glammy Eurovision party and several corporate events. It's been a great way to gain more exposure and professional cred.
My biggest point of pride: we brought Halloween to Delft. Starting 7 years ago, we began throwing a Halloween party that just got better every year. Now it's spawned imitators and even when we move, it will continue. Always great to give birth to a tradition.
At the end of the day, this is still all part time. My day job has a heavy international travel schedule, which sometimes is challenging. Had one this August where I landed from the US in the morning, showered, then drove to Amsterdam to play an incredibly difficult double-birthday party (one Brazilian, one Dutch woman, each with conflicting tastes). Was exhausted at the end.
As a final point: I truly appreciate and believe in sharing experiences and information with other jocks. I got my first subscription to Mobile Beat when I was 14 and it totally helped me understand what being a professional jock means. And I look forward to getting to know the folks on this forum!