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Any DJs here?

KeithBMI

KeithBMI

Jul 28, 2005
7,393
9
37
Metro Detroit, Michigan
#1
Hey guys,

I'm interested to find out if any TBers jockey the discs.

I have two Technics and a mixer. I use Traktor on my laptop. I haven't played out anywhere yet, but I practice as much as I can. I don't want to play out until I feel like I could "wow" the crowd.

I have a video in my signature if you're interested in seeing me fumble around trying to scratch.

I like hip-hop and electro house.

How about you guys?
 
#13
There are many different kinds of and roles for DJs, just like with bands... I've been a pirate radio DJ, college radio DJ, and club DJ... I take a very old school approach (except with modern digital technology), where it's all about the SONGS, about the MUSIC, and not about spoonfeeding a crowd predictable tunes or impressing a crowd with DJ gimmicks. I basically try and be a DJ that I would want to hear if I was in the crowd. I know that when I go out to events at clubs, bars, etc. where there are DJs, I don't want to hear the equivalent of a Rhino's Greatest Hits of [insert genre here] compilation CD, I don't want to hear an hour-long beatmatched set that sounds like one 60-minute-long tune (boring!!!!!!!), I don't want to be patronized with a setlist of "legislated nostalgia"... I want variety, I want to hear stuff that isn't heard at every other club, I want to be surprised and delighted, I want to run to the DJ booth at least once to ask "what the hell is this tune?" so that I can look up the artist online when I get home...
 
#15
lunarpollen said:
There are many different kinds of and roles for DJs, just like with bands... I've been a pirate radio DJ, college radio DJ, and club DJ... I take a very old school approach (except with modern digital technology), where it's all about the SONGS, about the MUSIC, and not about spoonfeeding a crowd predictable tunes or impressing a crowd with DJ gimmicks. I basically try and be a DJ that I would want to hear if I was in the crowd. I know that when I go out to events at clubs, bars, etc. where there are DJs, I don't want to hear the equivalent of a Rhino's Greatest Hits of [insert genre here] compilation CD, I don't want to hear an hour-long beatmatched set that sounds like one 60-minute-long tune (boring!!!!!!!), I don't want to be patronized with a setlist of "legislated nostalgia"... I want variety, I want to hear stuff that isn't heard at every other club, I want to be surprised and delighted, I want to run to the DJ booth at least once to ask "what the hell is this tune?" so that I can look up the artist online when I get home...
Click to expand...
+1 I've been a DJ for nearly fifteen years. I'm not a scratch DJ but more of a "selector". To me a DJ (as opposed to a "turntablist") is someone who should really know their music. I can't stand it when I ask a DJ in a club/bar what's playing and he has to look at the record sleeve (computer screen nowadays). I like DJs who play the role of educator and that's how I approach DJing when I do it. I definitely have a DJing agenda and I'm not a good choice for a lot of events. I figure there's a ton of good music out there that doesn't get played and needs to be heard.
 
#16
bass12 said:
+1 I've been a DJ for nearly fifteen years. I'm not a scratch DJ but more of a "selector". To me a DJ (as opposed to a "turntablist") is someone who should really know their music. I can't stand it when I ask a DJ in a club/bar what's playing and he has to look at the record sleeve (computer screen nowadays). I like DJs who play the role of educator and that's how I approach DJing when I do it. I definitely have a DJing agenda and I'm not a good choice for a lot of events. I figure there's a ton of good music out there that doesn't get played and needs to be heard.
Click to expand...

I think both approaches are valuable. Some DJs (turntablists) are true musicians and a lot of fun to listen to. Others (disc jockeys I guess) are incredibly knowledgeable and that makes them great to listen to as well.

Then there's a huge amount of self-proclaimed "deejays, yo" with barely enough talent to "Yo" over poorly chosen top 40 songs.
 
#17
L-A said:
I think both approaches are valuable. Some DJs (turntablists) are true musicians and a lot of fun to listen to. Others (disc jockeys I guess) are incredibly knowledgeable and that makes them great to listen to as well.

Then there's a huge amount of self-proclaimed "deejays, yo" with barely enough talent to "Yo" over poorly chosen top 40 songs.
Click to expand...

Yes, different DJs for different occasions. There are turntablists who only own "battle" records and concentrate solely on using the turntable as an instrument - and that's cool. With the advent of mp3s there has been a huge increase in the number of people out there who possess enough music to play twelve hour DJ sets. Some of these folks have decided that they too can be a DJ and so you now have the "oh yeah, I'm a DJ too..." phenomenon. Again, the DJs I tended to look up to when I was younger were the guys who had a deep love for music and could actually tell you about the records they were playing.
 
#18
I am Facebook friends with a pal from high school that wants to be a DJ because it might make him popular. He slowly fades from song to song as his computer syncs all of his tracks. I don't mind if he wants to be a crappy DJ, but he illegally downloads music and plays it at bars. Legal issues aside, there is a certain element of respect among the DJ community. Respect the artists that are making you money and pay $1 for their song!

That aside, there is some good discussion in here guys. I'm surprised to see that there are DJs on here (also suprised that Maki didn't call me out for being a FailDJ or something about fat chicks)
 
#19
KeithBMI said:
I am Facebook friends with a pal from high school that wants to be a DJ because it might make him popular. He slowly fades from song to song as his computer syncs all of his tracks. I don't mind if he wants to be a crappy DJ, but he illegally downloads music and plays it at bars. Legal issues aside, there is a certain element of respect among the DJ community. Respect the artists that are making you money and pay $1 for their song!
Click to expand...

See, this is one of the things that I find unfortunate about the current state of music distribution/availability (and I'm not saying it's all bad). One used to be able to assume that a given DJ had to do some digging to uncover the records in his collection (assuming said DJ had anything other than the most run-of-the-mill stuff). Part of what got you respect from other DJs was your record collection and the time and effort you had presumably invested in obtaining those records. There was a bit of romanticism involved in the whole process of hunting for records (or CDs, for that matter). I used to have a blast visiting different cities around the world and checking out the record stores in those cities. Inevitably, I would stumble across something I'd been looking for but simply couldn't find in my own city. Man, the excitement of visiting Amoeba records in San Francisco for the first time! Or the stream of record stores along one of the main streets in Sydney, Australia. Or that tiny but well-stocked record shop in Saskatoon (the only interesting thing about that god-foresaken city :hiding:). So many of my records have stories attached to them and I'm grateful (to whom I'm not sure) for the opportunity to experience record hunting in that way. Now anyone can pretty much just order what they want from the comfort of his or her living room - or simply download an mp3. Talk about sterile... :atoz:

In my day...! :p
 
#20
Agreed. It is a shame that record stores are fading away. There are definitely some "unique" characters in record shops. I love going to Encore Recordings in Ann Arbor and listening to the strange music that they're playing throughout the store. It usually sounds like the soundtrack to a Romanian horror movie. (Isn't it trippy, man?)
 

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