What makes a good DJ...

[DefJef]

Originally Posted by Phrenetic

this makes a good dj

i dont understand...

hes not doing a jesus pose, or a filter face.... hell, hes not even mixing!

[dj_soo]

laptop warriors ftw

[Phrenetic]

its not a laptop, its a gateway PC

[jprime]

Originally Posted by mojo

play music that makes me want to dance. if you don't i will probably think you are rubbish.

Man, I get requests all the time for "something I can dance to please!" I always tell them if I have it, I'll play it. Then when it comes on, they don't dance! Instead they'll come back and ask when I am gonna play their song.

The other tough one is that what a 19 yr old want to dance to, and what a 45 yr old wants to dance to are often 2 different things. DJing for a crowd that is expecting a house / dnb / breaks / electro DJ is one thing. Playing for a mixed crowd who may or may not be there to dance is another.
Reeespekt to those DJ's who can find that ill balance point. I'm still working that one out.

[tiedye]

Originally Posted by jprime

Man, I get requests all the time for "something I can dance to please!"

I seriously fucking hate that some times. Especially when some cute girl comes up and thinks that just because she's smiling suggestively that I'll instantly know what she wants to dance to. I've learned one thing though... for every 10 people you please, 15 people don't like what they hear.

After this, I'll never agree to a top40 job again... I don't care how good the tips/wage are.

[Toxxin Ephekt]

'Nuff Said.

[tiedye]

A box with an 'x' in the middle? That MUST be it.

[stimulant j]

in all honesty it comes down to who can get more bitches.

rite now my moneys on b spunk

mateo's not too far behind

[baby-phat]

Originally Posted by t-skywalker

i think its someone with heart. who enjoys what they do. who interacts with the crowd while they spin. everything else will hopefully come into play=)

Definitely!!
I love watching Jelo spin. He gets right into it, has so much energy, and he knows how to read the crowd. I love the fact he tosses in a lil bit of everything new and old to his sets. :)

[baby-phat]

Originally Posted by stimulant j

in all honesty it comes down to who can get more bitches.

rite now my moneys on b spunk

mateo's not too far behind

hehehe..

[Mr Ektion]

It's all about style and showmanship. To be a great dj, you need your own, style and flavor of music that you profess yourself to. Then you need to be the guy who believes in your own music and can have fun. if you're grimmacing during your set, or have bad body language then that affects a good time. IMO. anyone can dj though. it's just dedication and $$$ that stop most people.

[Tea]

PLAY FOR THE PEOPLE
THE PEOPLE WILL LOVE YOU
PLAY TO SHOW OFF
ONLY A FEW WILL NOTICE

it's a struggle really, but have good track selection and mixing abilities
and chances are i'll give you a nod. It also really depends on the genre of music for me.

[jprime]

Originally Posted by Mr Ektion

It's all about style and showmanship. To be a great dj, you need your own, style and flavor of music that you profess yourself to. Then you need to be the guy who believes in your own music and can have fun. if you're grimmacing during your set, or have bad body language then that affects a good time. IMO. anyone can dj though. it's just dedication and $$$ that stop most people.

I think that's a good philosophy if you are only going to play electronica/dance music specific parties, but trying to kick your own style and flavor of music only works for so long in an average club/bar setting.
Eventually you gotta play music you detest when you're coming up through the ranks.

Originally Posted by tiedye

every 10 people you please, 15 people don't like what they hear

Too true.

[kir mokum]

Originally Posted by Mr Ektion

anyone can dj though. it's just dedication and $$$ that stop most people.

while this is true it also applies to everything. dedication and money stops almost everybody dead in their tracks.

[Mr Ektion]

Originally Posted by jprime

I think that's a good philosophy if you are only going to play electronica/dance music specific parties, but trying to kick your own style and flavor of music only works for so long in an average club/bar setting.
Eventually you gotta play music you detest when you're coming up through the ranks.

[/b]Too true.

I used to feel that way. But I've wasted so much money buying anthems that I think people will like, only to not play it because everyone else is constantly playing it. (I'm not even sure what I mean by constantly...) In the end people will want you to play what they recognize. But if you play something they don't recognize but it has the qualities of the genre that is in the popular music they're looking for they'll stil enjoy it. Thus, the popularity of house music ;)

Top 40 and hiphop DJ's need to play the crowd pleasers. People who like electronic music like hearing unfamiliar good tunes because they want a break from the norm. I think great DJ's services that need by playing unlikely GREAT sounds. That's why I envy DJ's who spend tons of time shopping online or working in record shops. They have all the unknown gems.

[ebbomega]

The greatest thing about being a vinyl DJ is that when J. Random Hoochie requests Satisfaction, I can just bite back with "Aw, damn, I didn't bring that record today". Technically true, I'm just neglecting to mention that I'll be helping Satan buy a winter jacket before I'd even buy it...

[CharlieTuna]

Originally Posted by ebbomega

The greatest thing about being a vinyl DJ is that when J. Random Hoochie requests Satisfaction, I can just bite back with "Aw, damn, I didn't bring that record today". Technically true, I'm just neglecting to mention that I'll be helping Satan buy a winter jacket before I'd even buy it...

Hahaha fucking AWESOME.

This is probably the request I hear the most from people. Always girls too.

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by CharlieTuna

Hahaha fucking AWESOME.

This is probably the request I hear the most from people. Always girls too.

Particularly the fat ones for some effed up reason. And almost like clockwork, about 30 seconds into a Daft Punk track.

[mekim]

most important part of being a good dj is knowing which promoters to be chummy with.

second most is being able to bring a lot of friends to the bar.

finally, okay mixes and playing decent music helps.

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by mekim

most important part of being a good dj is knowing which promoters to be chummy with.

second most is being able to bring a lot of friends to the bar.

finally, okay mixes and playing decent music helps.

First honest post of the thread.

[djmarymac]

knowing when to take your finger off the banger button

[Silverwinged]

Originally Posted by stimulant j

in all honesty it comes down to who can get more bitches.

rite now my moneys on b spunk

mateo's not too far behind

worst response of the bunch.

stimmy, not cool.

[Digital Over]

Originally Posted by tiedye

Knowing how a track will affect the crowd, choosing tracks in order to build them to a high-energy momentum without them really noticing it, seamless mixes unless otherwise intended... and most importantly, playing shit regardless of whether it's old or new or overplayed or never heard so long as it sounds good..

DING DING DING DING

I pulled out 2 classic tunes a week or two on Cyber Trance wednesdays (Max Graham - Airtight, and Jose Amnesia - The Eternal), both tunes which totally leveled me years back, and thought, eh, hell, why not...it yielded a fantastic reaction, so I totally went with the vibe/energy after that, probably one of my funnest sets I've played.


In my opinion, a good DJ, gives the crowd what they want, which is ultimately good music. As Myles said a lil while ago "New isn't always better" very true. (also adding on the the quoted post) I've said to lots of people, its a shame that there's so many bland and boring releases coming out recently, it makes it harder for any genre specific DJ to play ass kickingly good tunes, something new and innovative, without compremising the quality of the program; which is one of the main reasons why I like to mix. Adding in something signature as well is always a plus, if its a certain cool drum sound, bass riffs, samples, whatever it may be, make it rock! =)