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I'm two proms down with one more to go and they have basically been the same fodder as most of the weddings I do, minus the odd track that I'd normally throw in to keep the older generations happy and plus a bit of gansta :censored:.
I'm running a photobooth for a prom tonight and not DJing so it's going to be interesting to see what they play...
Julian
Another prom last night. Played pretty much the same music (in a slightly different order) during warmup but this time there was way more singing. Very loud singing indeed. During the main course I decided to go with some laid back instrumental house (Coma Cat, Lola's Theme) just to keep it down enough til party time.
After the food, frenzied dancing, having to stop the music 3 times briefly to get people to get down off the thrones and/or shoulders - safety first yo!
Then a brief awards thing, prom king & queen... Then finally unleashed party time proper with gala at hotcue 3... Beat, pause then vocal. BOOM!
The place was absolutely steaming the whole time. I saw groups starting to head for the door presumably to cool off so changed the style & they abruptly returned to the floor cheering the new tune. Stuff like Pony, Soulja Boi...
By the end I'd had a sum total of four requests. AF System, the timewarp (rhs version) from a teacher, Wonderwall & The Macarena. The rest was all just winging it.
Feeling tired by 10pm I wasn't rattling through tracks quite as fast as the previous nights but still managed to whip things up nicely.
Just for a laugh I decided to drop the acapella of Bad Habits over Insomnia (a la James Hype but with way less cue button drumming lol). Then swapped Faithless for Fisher. Stuff like this is the only reason I 'need' a controller that can do 4 decks. So rare I ever do that though.
Slipped into Lady Gaga Just Dance with ten minutes left, dropped bob sinclar Rock This Party for a few bars & launched into dirty bit for the penultimate track. Looped the outro to use as a bed for my outro.. bigged up the teachers, venue staff then the kids. Then dropped Wonderwall. As far from my favourite song as you can possibly get (I HATE OASIS) but hey... It topped the night off brilliantly.
Absolutely lush!
A well needed night off tonight
Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Jules
I'd be really keen to know how things like this go where the dj doesn't/can't mix. Genuinely. Do the kids still go beserk for the chorus but lose interest in dancing til the next track comes clumsily in? What do they do? I wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall at any other DJs gig once in a while just to see how they do things
Well, I can tell you that from the gig last night. The DJ played largely the same selection of music as I have, but sans mixing and with a lot more mic work. He's not a bad DJ, he just has a very different style to me and he did/said some things I would never have done. The kids were just as into it as on my nights, but the music definitely felt more disjointed from where I was stood.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nakatomi
It reinforces my view that music programming and music performance are two distinct skills. Both are important in their own right, but having both brings the performance to another level.
Julian
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nakatomi
Hello. My name is Peter, and I don't mix. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by DJ Jules
I'm in awe of people like Justin who can do this, but as Julian says, I have to do a bit more mic work ( at appropriate times only, of course ) so it's a different method. Justin, I'm not sure you'd learn how to do anything by watching me, only how not to do stuff. It's always educational to watch other people work, definitely.
I think what I'm really wondering is this:. If I couldn't mix, would I still be able to smash it? Also:. If I found some new skills & brought those along too, would I be able to do even better?Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Always looking for more ways to get an edge...
1) Without mixing undoubtedly. When I say I don't mix, as someone who has been around a while ( mention of dinosaurs roaming the earth will be looked upon with extreme prejudice ) on a lot of tracks, I have a good idea of when to press the buttons, and which way to move the faders.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nakatomi
2) Logically, acquiring new skills ought to mean an improvement. However, you'd have to know when to use these skills. I once had a lad covering the early part of a gig for me, due to a timing overlap on an earlier gig. He was mixing up a storm with some remixes of dance tracks. His skills impressed me greatly. Sadly, he was dying on his feet. I took over, put on The Usual Suspects, pressed play, and went down a storm. Had we been in a club, I'd have been swiftly removed from the booth.
3) An edge? Good lad, the day you stop trying to offer a better service is the day you stop caring. Those DJs exist, I know. I just don't want to become one just yet.
We've both been around a lot longer than drag & drop DJing Peter ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
I nearly was, on my very first night in a club spot. I knew how to mix in theory but wasn't up to speed on which way the pitch control works :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Thing is, I don't quite know where to look to improve.Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Well you've cracked it then. By that definition, like me, you're already perfect.:Laugh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Nakatomi
I did my only prom on Friday for a school that I have worked with for 6 years.
Part of this years prom was to let one of the pupils do a 30 minute set. He had his own equipment and just needed a long phono lead to plug into my mixer (so I could control his levels). He was a finalist In some junior national competition and had done a couple of short bar gigs. Even he himself admitted he was a serious bedroom DJ. He started off really well and had really good skills, very good indeed but played the whole set at 129 bpm and lost the crowd in about 8 minutes. Much to my annoyance he overran and ended his set on wonderwall leaving me to pick up the pieces.
Still recovered to have a good evening and got booked for next year.