the semi-coolest dj gig ever

one of my part time jobs is dj'ing grade school dances, high school dances, weddings etc... and the music i play is always shitty disco, oldies, boy band, britney sucks type shit. sometimes before the dance gets started, ill use joy div or new order and the cure for soundcheck or sneak in confusion (blade sountrack) or apoptygma berzerk duirng a techno set, so naturally going to do an 8th graders graduation party today, i expected more of the same crap, but really good pay. to my surpise, the kids actually liked good music!!!! and the parents too!!!! except for 70 percent of the crap played, here is a sample of what they requested and what i played. i just hope one day soon, i get to dj a wedding or party and the people to say we want fucking ministry, punk, the cure, industrial, and of course new order!!!! i wil wait patiently. at least i get free form on the radio.

1.apoptygma berzerk---suffer in silence 2.sex pistols---anarcy in the UK (requested by a 13 year old) 3.Metallica--Master of Puppets (request, not a big fan, but better than korn) 4.metallica---enter sandman 5.men without hats---safety dance (request) 6.ramones---rock n'roll high school (request) 7.the chicken dance (ill always love that one) 8.new order---bizzare love triangle---request, its standard at most weddings but at least its still the order 9.new order---confusion (floor panel reconstruction mix) 10. the cure--close to me 11.peter schilling---major tom (request) 12. apollo 440---dont fear the reaper 13.echo and the bunnymen---people are strange 14.dead or alive---brand new lover 15.rolling stones---paint it black

other than that the rest was crap, the best part of the night, or funniest was when all the kids decided to play basketball, i played jimmy buffet and all the parents cheered and clapped, 2nd funniest part was when the kids heard achy breaky heart from the driveway, came back and said, ok we are back, you can stop playing crap now. and there was a really cute dog there too :)

with semi-happiness to this dance... kamar

Kamar,

As a former mobile DJ I can empathize with you concerning your most recent gig. I spun (yes, I actually played 12" vinyl)for various jr./high schools, government agencies (oh wow, they just played True Faith as bumper music on Sean Hannity's show..anyway), frat/sororities, bar/bat mitzvahs, etc. while I was at UT from 1987-92.

The absolute worst were the alcohol free government agency holiday parties. There was one nightmare where no one, and I mean NO ONE danced. No matter what I played or what I said, I couldn't get anyone on the floor.

Obviously, drunken college kids were the most fun. But the best chance for a random hook-up were the alcohol heavy company parties. There were always three or four relatively good looking divorced chicks looking to get their freak on witht the DJ......:D Ah, those were the days......

as a mobile DJ, are you expected to own the popular standards, or does the company you work for supply cds? just curious...

i actually own digital play with a freind (part-time cause of school)and we have to own all the popular standards. the old stuff is easy cause it never changes and they have staying power but the new shit out there nsync,backsteet boys, justin timberlake, they are popular now, but wont be in a few years, so it sucks having to buy their cds. but when we started this in 2000, i told peter that there was no way in fucking hell i was buying shitty cds and supporting crap financially. so we got them from a wonderful thing called the _____ (fill in the blank). basically, we ask the client for a list or songs they want played and we stick to that, we dont even listen to the music beforhand, but we still rock the house, the music is too predictable and can easily mix flow with anything. mind you, its alot of fun doing if you dont actually pay attention to the music being played and assure yourself that you can listen to real music in the car afterwards. :)

michael, you rock for spinning vinyl!!!!! we have it easy these days with our cd players and mixing boards, i actually feel like a fake sometimes saying im a DJ, the real dj's are the ones that spin vinyl, thats a fucking talent! as far as the girls go, most of the ones we do (wow, not like that, that sounded really bad) MOST OF THE GIGS WE DO are for teenagers and younger. too young and i really just want toget the hell out of there somtimes and hang out with my girlfriend. and the weddings are just plain boring. the worst is when they ask for a song, you play it, they dont dance, and make you change the song before it's even over. but MAD PROPS to you for the vinyl!!!!!!!!!!!

I did a kiddies fashion show once (don't ask - it was charity), following which I hijacked the decks and treated the remaining 5 or 6 people (all pals) to two hours of Bunnymen, House of Love and Tindersticks.

Originally posted by kamar khan michael, you rock for spinning vinyl!!!!! we have it easy these days with our cd players and mixing boards, i actually feel like a fake sometimes saying im a DJ, the real dj's are the ones that spin vinyl, thats a fucking talent! as far as the girls go, most of the ones we do (wow, not like that, that sounded really bad) MOST OF THE GIGS WE DO are for teenagers and younger. too young and i really just want toget the hell out of there somtimes and hang out with my girlfriend. and the weddings are just plain boring. the worst is when they ask for a song, you play it, they dont dance, and make you change the song before it's even over. but MAD PROPS to you for the vinyl!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the props....

I've been pulled out of retirement a few times in the past couple of years for family weddings and PA work and have used the self contained mixer/CD cabinet. It's easy to use and portable, but there is just something cool about handling vinyl and using you hands to cue, etc.

I could flip a record twice while pulling it off the platter...chicks dug it!

my board has an efects pad, thats fun to play with, especially when talking into themic,its makes your voice sound all bad ass. did you have technic?

Originally posted by kamar khan my board has an efects pad, thats fun to play with, especially when talking into themic,its makes your voice sound all bad ass. did you have technic?

The owner of the company I worked for was a cheap a$$, so we only had one console with 1200's. I practiced as much as I could on them during the week, but it was hard to find the time. So, I don't/didn't beat mix that well. However, I don't think I hurt too many people's ears. :D

What's the biggest gig you've played?

has to be highschool dannces 300-500 people. the onw with an exact number that i know, was when i dj'd at a red flag concert at the double door in chicago, my name was even on the ticketmaster tickets and marque :) i only got on, cause we (digital play) promoted the show. 375 people at that one. how bout you? ps-->my gf convinced me to dj at the daycare she works at for a few hours on august 8 to celebrate her last day there. what do 5 year olds listen to?

Originally posted by kamar khan has to be highschool dannces 300-500 people. the onw with an exact number that i know, was when i dj'd at a red flag concert at the double door in chicago, my name was even on the ticketmaster tickets and marque :) i only got on, cause we (digital play) promoted the show. 375 people at that one. how bout you?ps-->my gf convinced me to dj at the daycare she works at for a few hours on august 8 to celebrate her last day there. what do 5 year olds listen to?

As luck would have it, I have a 4 1/2 year old son (and 8 month old daughter) at home and we just got him a disc full of good kids tunes. Some are performed by children and some by adults. It has songs like "Purple People Eater", "My Only Sunshine", "Who Let The Dogs Out" and my favorite, "Day O".

When I get home, I look to see what the title of the disc is and let you know.

Originally posted by Michael McDermott > Originally posted by kamar khan> has to be highschool dannces 300-500 people. the onw with an exact number that i know, was when i dj'd at a red flag concert at the double door in chicago, my name was even on the ticketmaster tickets and marque :) i only got on, cause we (digital play) promoted the show. 375 people at that one. how bout you?> ps-->my gf convinced me to dj at the daycare she works at for a few hours on august 8 to celebrate her last day there. what do 5 year olds listen to?

As luck would have it, I have a 4 1/2 year old son (and 8 month old daughter) at home and we just got him a disc full of good kids tunes. Some are performed by children and some by adults. It has songs like "Purple People Eater", "My Only Sunshine", "Who Let The Dogs Out" and my favorite, "Day O".

When I get home, I look to see what the title of the disc is and let you know.

Kamar,

The disc is called, "More Kids Fun". It guess it's a series. I hope that helps!

thanks!!!! ill look for it this week. lindsey said they listen to shit like destinys child, christina aguillara, 50 cent etc... i said but we need music for the 5 and under crowd as well. she said that IS THE 5 AND UNDER CROWD!!!! glad your kids listen to educational music and new order or anything that is not sluty and cheap. rock on good parents!!!!