Ryan's Gig Guide - August 2019

www.ryansgigguide.com Night Club DJ A loyal music fan armed with their own PA system and mixing desk (or a set up provided by a venue) that is paid to blast music to a crowd for several hours.The main objective of a DJ is to identify the tone of the audience or “read the room” and create stimulating playlists that make everyone on the dance floor happy, persuades them to move limbs as much as possible and arguably generate body heat causing them to make regular trips to the bar. Wedding or Party DJ Unlike a night club DJ they must behave in a similar way to how a TV extra conducts themselves on a film set; do as they are told, stay in the background and don’t upstage the talent (Bride, Groom or party host) and only to speak if they are given a line. It’s customary to have an embarrassing DJ name displayed at all times (for example:“Marko Disco”) using the Comic Sans font above a mobile telephone number. Those who choose this as a career path often gain a residency at a venue or receive regular bookings because they specialise in a specific genre but the two most notable types of DJ are either real or fake and each use different skills in order to make a living. (1) Fake DJ A master of mimicking the behaviour and mannerisms of a real DJ and exaggerating body movements such as shaking headphones and pulling funny faces whilst pretending to adjust faders.This pantomime-like performance is made easy by simply miming to a pre-programmed MP3 of the entire set list. Unsurprisingly this means that audience requests are impossible which is why they beforehand tend to state on their Facebook event page “Message me what songs you’d like to hear and I’ll play them” which gives them time to magically add them to their playlist for the night and appear competent. (2) Real DJ Able to blend songs together live and make smooth transitions with ease thanks to possessing ears like the superhero DareDevil. A good DJ is prepared to take sensible requests from the general public even if they do annoyingly end up leaving the room before their song is played. Unlike a fake DJ they will have incredible lower body strength and be able to stand on their feet for over four hours. What not to do to a DJ (1) Don’t pass them a drink over their mixing desk. (2) Never mistake the DJ for a bartender and ask him or her for a drink. (3) If you really must talk to them, wait until they look over at you and if they don’t it often means they don’t want to talk to you; arguably they know you are there. (4) Don’t try to impress the DJ with your dancing skills, especially in the middle of the DJ booth. (5) Do not block everyone’s view of the DJ while you dance privately for them. Bands and their love hate relationship with the DJ Many musicians are guilty of having little if any respect for a DJ.There are various reasons for this but it’s mainly because they don’t recognise the skills of a DJ as valuable or on a par with their own musical abilities and so they dismiss them. If you happen to venture to a night club with a DJ performing then it should be no surprise that only a small percentage of the crowd are musicians despite them having a common interest in music. Musicians (well some) make the effort to travel to live gigs and support other musicians but they’re less enthusiastic about showing up for an event featuring a DJ who often has to be on stage at least four times longer than a musician. The Influence of the DJ The one thing you can guarantee a DJ will do is spin a song that they themselves particularly enjoy; so if you’re in a band and can write and record professionally a tune that will impress a DJ then they have the power and potential to promote your music to fresh ears.The bad news for musicians is that the majority of Music Industry Explained [Part 7] By Nick J.Townsend 32 rgg Aug 2019