> On Wed, 31 Jan 2001 Leftalive1@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Greetings all...
> > I was curious as to how many of us on this list (if any) are nightclub
> > dj's. I've been the resident at the Liquid Lounge here in Nashville for
> > about four months, and let me tell you, it's rough sometimes having to be all
> > things to all people. Hip-hop, r&b, pop, techno - you name it, I get
> > requests for it. It doesn't help either that being a nightclub dj is more or
> > less the most reviled occupation in the world of dance. Its impossible to
> > cop a consistent vibe for very long.
my first question to you would be:
"what do you really want to play?"
> > The only thing I've found that I can do is to play sets more or less.
> > Here's the hip-hop set, heres the techno set, etc. Now granted, the crowd
> > never really seems to care that the vibe changes up so much (The other clubs
> > in town are pretty much your straight college type: Bar, Banana Joe's, Time,
> > etc. so their used to it...), but it's really starting to bother me.
there are ways to switch genres w/o seeming "herky-jerky." most genres have a few
tunes
w/elements present in another genre you're going to--e.g., reggae (dancehall)
w/hiphop beats
or a house remix of r&b tune. someone else's suggestion that's very good is to
play the original
"break" from a hiphop, house or r&b tune (e.g., i'm playing "you're so good to me",
the curtis
mayfield tune that mary j. blige sampled for "be happy") as a way of playing good
music and
taking advantage of familiarity--whether or not you segue to or from the tune the
crowd knows.
i personally prefer to play a number of genres during the course of a night--it's
part of my definition
of a good gig. avoid making abrupt changes in the music--except by *artistic*
choice. although it
may go uncommented upon, people appreciate good transitions between both tunes &
styles.
> > The best that I can offer the people in my place is to choose the songs
> > carefully and try to weed out as much of the cheese as I can. (I don't care
> > if you shoot me in the leg, I will not play Britney, N'sync, blah, blah,
> > blah...)
> > Any thoughts to share? I'd like to know what other people think. I'm
> > about ready to quit and go back to being one of those elitists who complains
> > about the music at mainstream dance clubs.
once again, decide what it is you would like to play, and see if there's a way to
make the crowd happy
playing the music you want. i'm sure there's other places you can play if this
crowd is unresponsive
--why play music that makes you unhappy?
-t
(10 year club veteran)
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