Good Gig, Bad Gig.

[Spirits High]

Looks like a good night. I guess you can't moan about the load in.

It doesn't get much easier than through the sliding doors and there you are

I was last there in August. It was a brilliant night apart from my sub blowing up which sounded like a firework display during the first dance. Tad embarrassing.

Personally don't feel there's a need for a sub in there the 312A's were just fine

I wouldn't mind a few more gigs there because the location is great. I'm only 10 minutes down the road but I believe they have a regular jock there who they're happy to recommend. Boo hoo!

The B&G were guests at a Wedding I did last year at another venue and booked me off the back of that one.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I think I still have the cold in me!
Last night I was doing a 40th for the lady that owns and runs an Equestrian stables just out of town.
The party was from 8.00pm - 01.00am and in a large barn on the premises.
It was a really good earner and she was a very nice lady that was quite clear about the music she wanted on the night. She said that she and the stable staff are tuned in to Kiss FM every day and so the music was a mixture of RnB, Chart, Dance etc.

I put in extra kit and was very pleased with how it all worked. The guests were all in the main house for pre-party drinks until 8.00pm and then they all wandered down to where I was. There were around 100 guests and about half of them headed straight to the dance floor as soon as they entered the barn. That was encouraging, as was the number of people that actually listened to me and requested tracks.

The atmosphere was great. I was going to take some photos but the ones I took don't do it justice so I'd rather not post them. I did do a bit of video on arrival so that I could see the transformation of the barn but haven't checked it yet so may post that up later this evening as I have a Wedding Fayre to do today.

When I got to the venue it was -5. They had 3 industrial heaters in there but they weren't making much of a difference to be fair. Lots of people dancing with their coats on but a few girls actually managed to last until the end wearing next to nothing! I looked at my phone and it said it was -10. I had my coat and hat on all night and my fingers felt like they were going to fall off.

Really enjoyable though and the lady was very happy and has booked me again for a summer party in the same place in August. She also asked me for a few cards (I know, I know....but it's true!) as she said that a few people had asked about me. I don't think I want to DJ in that kind of weather again but the atmosphere made it bearable (as did the many layers of clothing that I had on!).

My apprehension regarding leaving the kit in the venue during the day wasn't worth worrying about as everything was fine. The only thing I put in on arrival was the laptop with VDJ.

Best song of the night was something I played twice because it kept getting asked for and that was Beyonce - 'Love On Top'.

I also used the opportunity to mix up a few tracks and did a pretty cool one of Party Rock Anthem and Moves Like Jagger (Dance Mix). A bit of looping here and there and effects during the night and it was something away from the norm' for me and I enjoyed it.

Good night.

[Chris G]

Played an18th last night in a hotel. Was under strict orders to keep the volume low until 9 as non - partygoers were dining.
Was using a my new N4 digital controller last night which worked like a dream.
Was scenario where room booked was in a different one to the bar so people generally just drifting in and out so was very difficult to build any atmosphere and what with the over zealous staff shutting the connecting doors every time they were seen to be open not conducive to having a good time.
Right at the beginning of the evening when people were dancing the birthday girl had dropped something onto the dancefloor and it went through my mind whether I should stop the music, glad I didn't though as it turned out the missing item was one of her false eyelashes!
Felt really sorry for her towards the end as her friends did not really seem up for it other than in little patches. I know we all have these type of gigs from time to time but can't help feeling really bad afterwards!

[JAMdisco]

Disco at Driffield Rugby Club on Saturday 11th Feb.

I got there quite early (5:30pm for a 7pm start) as i wasn't sure of the weather, however it was fine and only took me around 20 mins.
The room was upstairs and after wrestling with the lift on 2 occasions (door opening time about 3 seconds) decided to carry the rest of my stuff up.

Got setup in about 30 minutes due to lack of subs and amps these days
and did a quick sound check - they said they wanted it loud and hoped 2x400W active speakers would be enough. Anyway, it wasn't a large room so it was plenty.

The birthday boy and his partner arrived around 6:45pm and presented me with a banner to put across the front of my deckstand (they had asked in an email and I didn't mind). The first thing they said was how good the sound was and how nice the setup looked.

They also confirmed that they were big rock fans and liked stuff like AC/DC and Iron Maiden. Luckily for them I had plenty of each.

The guests started arriving at about 7:15-7:30 and after they'd all arrived a quick count of heads (in my head obviously) put the numbers no more than 30 with the majority being guys.

After an hour or so of playing some 'normal' disco songs (charty stuff like Maroon 5, LMFAO) I eventually started getting some requests, the dancefloor was a bit on-and-off most of the night and probably no more than 8-10 people at any one time. They eventually asked for some cheesy party songs so I duly obliged. These songs went down a storm and consisted of: Superman, The Music Man, Oops Upside your Head, Agadoo, Y.M.C.A, Tiger Feet. After that I reckon there were most of the guests on the floor until they left which was around 11:30pm.

As I was booked til 12:00am and there was only a few people left I played some rock songs for the Birthday boy, he loved it and was dancing on his own on the dance floor. It was at this point he beckoned me onto the floor - after some deliberation I joined him on the floor for some serious head-banging with him for a couple of songs - yes, this may be unprofessional but it was fun . I hadn't danced like that since I was about 20-25 and loved it. He was also loving it and his partner was filming us (may appear on you-tube or facebook at some point I reckon).

At the end of the night, they said how fantastic it was - they couldn't praise me enough and also said all of the guests thought it was great too. They also said they'd definitely use me again and recommend me to anyone wanting a disco.

So, a slowish start but all turned out ok - I also had some serious fun. Went home with a smile on my face

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Sounds like you had a good night, nice one!
I noticed a sentence in your review where you said it may have been un-professional to join the guy on the dancefloor - Why?
I don't think it's un-professional at all mate....especially when it was right near the end of the night and he asked you too aswell.

I had a lady ask me to dance with her last week but I don't do dancing....I just feel silly.

[CRAZY K]

Disco at Driffield Rugby Club on Saturday 11th Feb.

I got there quite early (5:30pm for a 7pm start) as i wasn't sure of the weather, however it was fine and only took me around 20 mins.
The room was upstairs and after wrestling with the lift on 2 occasions (door opening time about 3 seconds) decided to carry the rest of my stuff up.

Got setup in about 30 minutes due to lack of subs and amps these days
and did a quick sound check - they said they wanted it loud and hoped 2x400W active speakers would be enough. Anyway, it wasn't a large room so it was plenty.

The birthday boy and his partner arrived around 6:45pm and presented me with a banner to put across the front of my deckstand (they had asked in an email and I didn't mind). The first thing they said was how good the sound was and how nice the setup looked.

They also confirmed that they were big rock fans and liked stuff like AC/DC and Iron Maiden. Luckily for them I had plenty of each.

The guests started arriving at about 7:15-7:30 and after they'd all arrived a quick count of heads (in my head obviously) put the numbers no more than 30 with the majority being guys.

After an hour or so of playing some 'normal' disco songs (charty stuff like Maroon 5, LMFAO) I eventually started getting some requests, the dancefloor was a bit on-and-off most of the night and probably no more than 8-10 people at any one time. They eventually asked for some cheesy party songs so I duly obliged. These songs went down a storm and consisted of: Superman, The Music Man, Oops Upside your Head, Agadoo, Y.M.C.A, Tiger Feet. After that I reckon there were most of the guests on the floor until they left which was around 11:30pm.

As I was booked til 12:00am and there was only a few people left I played some rock songs for the Birthday boy, he loved it and was dancing on his own on the dance floor. It was at this point he beckoned me onto the floor - after some deliberation I joined him on the floor for some serious head-banging with him for a couple of songs - yes, this may be unprofessional but it was fun . I hadn't danced like that since I was about 20-25 and loved it. He was also loving it and his partner was filming us (may appear on you-tube or facebook at some point I reckon).

At the end of the night, they said how fantastic it was - they couldn't praise me enough and also said all of the guests thought it was great too. They also said they'd definitely use me again and recommend me to anyone wanting a disco.

So, a slowish start but all turned out ok - I also had some serious fun. Went home with a smile on my face

Sounds like Black Lace still rule up North.

When you REALLY want to Party.

Agadoo---

Better not let the PC DJs see this.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Agadoo---

Better not let the PC DJs see this.

What's the correlation? That one lost me, Alan.

[JAMdisco]

Just got this email from the girl who booked me on Saturday night:

"Justin was amazing,everyone at the party was impressed with the service he provided,thier was so much choice musically and he got involved with all the guests making sure everyone including himself was having a great time.He even got involved with my partner at the end and they both put on a great show,so much so i filmed them LOL.The music was clear and the lights were amazingly colourful.I had a personalised banner for mark and justin kindly put it up on the front of the decks which looked great on the dancefloor.To sum Justin up as a DJ,he is reliable,excellent value for money,helpful and a genuinely one of the friendliest DJ'S ive ever had the privilage to meet,i would definately hire him again,he will not disappoint.

**CONGRATULATIONS JUSTIN**
YOU ROCK!!"

Always nice to hear

[Excalibur]

Well tonight I almost fouled up in a big way. School disco tonight, and tomorrow an 80th birthday party ( no not mine! ) where they don't want a lot of sound or flashing lights as one guest is a photo sensitive epileptic. Access may be tricky at this, so minimal kit is the order of the day.


So the backup gear was dusted off, as the case it's in is half the size of the main one. Cables were cut to the minimum also, and I knew I had enough to rig up with.

Except I didn't. Because I'd had a recurring problem with connections in the main box, I'd changed to jacks from phonos. Except I hadn't changed the backup likewise, had I ? So with the cables in the box, I could only connect one laptop channel to the mixer, and I didn't have a keyboard for the Cortex which lives in the case. Worse still, the same fault was manifesting itself in the connectors here, and I only had one channel on the mixer. That was solved by switching the amp to mono, and both sides were fed from the one working input. I cued up two emergency tracks on the Cortex by pressing buttons, and ran all night from one laptop deck by loading up the sidebar and using the Automix facility. When I got a request, I simply put it somewhere in the queue, and let the machine do most of the work.

Only I knew I had any problems, and it actually worked better than usual in some ways. A learning experience, and some different kit and cables will now be in use on Friday.

[Booche]

Well tonight I almost fouled up in a big way. School disco tonight, and tomorrow an 80th birthday party ( no not mine! ) where they don't want a lot of sound or flashing lights as one guest is a photo sensitive epileptic. Access may be tricky at this, so minimal kit is the order of the day.


So the backup gear was dusted off, as the case it's in is half the size of the main one. Cables were cut to the minimum also, and I knew I had enough to rig up with.

Except I didn't. Because I'd had a recurring problem with connections in the main box, I'd changed to jacks from phonos. Except I hadn't changed the backup likewise, had I ? So with the cables in the box, I could only connect one laptop channel to the mixer, and I didn't have a keyboard for the Cortex which lives in the case. Worse still, the same fault was manifesting itself in the connectors here, and I only had one channel on the mixer. That was solved by switching the amp to mono, and both sides were fed from the one working input. I cued up two emergency tracks on the Cortex by pressing buttons, and ran all night from one laptop deck by loading up the sidebar and using the Automix facility. When I got a request, I simply put it somewhere in the queue, and let the machine do most of the work.

Only I knew I had any problems, and it actually worked better than usual in some ways. A learning experience, and some different kit and cables will now be in use on Friday.

Lol VDJ Automix to the savior lol

I must admit and im not ashamed to say that VDJ Automix has saved me quite a few times when you have stupid list that you HAVE to play in order and you know it never will lol