Djing For The First Time Tonight, Any Tips

[Guest pls1]

Well there's an interesting view !

I mean, it's not as though a dancefloor pays to get in is it ? The dancefloor is usually there before everyone else, in fact it's usually there all the time, unless it's a portable dancefloor, or it gets covered with carpet at times.

So how can you rip off a dancefloor ? Unless there is now a faction that supports the human rights of dancefloors, you know, not to many dancing at once, no overweight people, a brush and polish once a week, that type of thing. Of course you have to be able to envisage a dancefloor as an entity in it's own right rarther than just some strips of wood laid down specifically for people to dance on.

I wonder if they have a Union with Union Reps that go round visiting them ? They must do surely, I mean to say, there are so many different types, big ones, small ones, round ones, square ones, oblong ones, wooden ones, tiled ones, the list just goes on and on. I bet the Dancefloor's Annual Conference in Blackpool is busy as well because dancefloors won't get much chance to go to the seaside.

Perhaps you mean rip a strip off a dancefloor, but that would be an infraction against the dancefloor's human rights, so you can't mean that.

I'm still puzzled.

To Greentangerine: In terms of your first DJ spot, keep it simple, but most of all ENJOY YOURSELF.

[viphitman]

its a cartel like policy that rips off the dancefloor

Hm, its one of the first commandments of Northern Soul and yes its a religion!!! (by the way most people say ovo but mean originalformatonly).....Oh and, yep a couple of carpenders done this over here as well but they were swinging something else. Nooooo cartel but I think they were part of the union. I think the turned the ball room into a bingo hall

Edited November 27, 2009 by viphitman

[Guest pls1]

i dont want to argue . we all love this music and thats all that matters

my advice new dj would be . if anyone comes up to you and wants to inspect what your playing tell them to f*** off

because thats what im going to do

Edited November 27, 2009 by pls1

[Iancsloft]

Just get piss-d and play to the dancefloor halfway thro your set play the snake and say this is a request for

Jumpin Joan shes asked me half a dozen times for it so here goes

[Johnmcc]

it would still be good regardless

Well, apart from there would be no promoter, equipment, djs, barely a punter, sellers, buyers, sheepskin wearers.........etc. etc..........

[Guest greentangerine]

all northern is original apart from Frank Wilson and Lonnie Lester, and will only play wilson if there is a pissed not soul crowd at end of night...

[Guest ScooterNik]

One thing regarding fading in/out. Does no one use a cross fader any more? Great for covering up your cueing techniques, or lack thereof...

[Guest in town Mikey]

You must be mad

I'd say, if you want to keep doing it.

Be nice to the previous DJ. Thanks him over the mic. Especially if he is the club promoter.

All the best

[viphitman]

Just get piss-d and play to the dancefloor halfway thro your set play the snake and say this is a request for

Jumpin Joan shes asked me half a dozen times for it so here goes

[Guest Matt Male]

I'd say be true to yourself and your collection/playbox. You shouldn't be afraid to play anything you've got with you, unless you've totally misjudged the venue and didn't do your homework before hand.

[Guest pls1]

Well, apart from there would be no promoter, equipment, djs, barely a punter, sellers, buyers, sheepskin wearers.........etc. etc..........

look im tired of having to explain myself . its a loving thing and besides it gets lonely on this farm in winter

[Johnmcc]

I would add:

Que the records up (when the sound kicks in via head phones turn the record back 1/2 a turn) so when you press the play button the sound kicks in perfectly. Else if not queing in then put stylus on record and give it a half turn by hand to make sure the stylus is locked into a groove - else every now and then the stylus will fly off and hit the slip matt when you press the start button.

Ray

Ouch!

[Guest greentangerine]

You lot do make me laugh..... every decent night I have been to, everyone is so friendly and into it... but on here you just fight all the time....

[Trev Thomas]

You lot do make me laugh..... every decent night I have been to, everyone is so friendly and into it... but on here you just fight all the time....

thats why we're so friendly when we're out, we use up all our aggression on here

[viphitman]

look im tired of having to explain myself . its a loving thing and besides it gets lonely on this farm in winter

AHHHHHHHHH :lamsey::lamsey::lamsey: !!!! Soul Source is just great isn`t it!!!! :cheese1::cheese1:

[viphitman]

You lot do make me laugh..... every decent night I have been to, everyone is so friendly and into it... but on here you just fight all the time....

It'S CALLED SPLIT PERSONALITY OR THE SOUL SOURCE SYNDROME aka SSS

[Dennisoul]

Well there's an interesting view !

I mean, it's not as though a dancefloor pays to get in is it ? The dancefloor is usually there before everyone else, in fact it's usually there all the time, unless it's a portable dancefloor, or it gets covered with carpet at times.

So how can you rip off a dancefloor ? Unless there is now a faction that supports the human rights of dancefloors, you know, not to many dancing at once, no overweight people, a brush and polish once a week, that type of thing. Of course you have to be able to envisage a dancefloor as an entity in it's own right rarther than just some strips of wood laid down specifically for people to dance on.

I wonder if they have a Union with Union Reps that go round visiting them ? They must do surely, I mean to say, there are so many different types, big ones, small ones, round ones, square ones, oblong ones, wooden ones, tiled ones, the list just goes on and on. I bet the Dancefloor's Annual Conference in Blackpool is busy as well because dancefloors won't get much chance to go to the seaside.

Perhaps you mean rip a strip off a dancefloor, but that would be an infraction against the dancefloor's human rights, so you can't mean that.

I'm still puzzled.

To Greentangerine: In terms of your first DJ spot, keep it simple, but most of all ENJOY YOURSELF.

BRILLIANT!

You`ll never please everybody, just go and enjoy yourself..have fun and all the best

[Munchkin]

I would add:

Que the records up (when the sound kicks in via head phones turn the record back 1/2 a turn) so when you press the play button the sound kicks in perfectly. Else if not queing in then put stylus on record and give it a half turn by hand to make sure the stylus is locked into a groove - else every now and then the stylus will fly off and hit the slip matt when you press the start button.

Ray

OWWWW needle burn heaven..... personally i never whinned back records....

[Mach]

Big Chris, last set is 1.30 till 2... sober might be tricky...

mmm...... ...that,s a shame, ....f*ck it then,... ,

[Guest greentangerine]

So if you don't wind them back what do you do? Cross fade?

[Raremusicdirect]

So tonight I am doing a couple of sets at a local night, I have DJ'd a few times in the past on a laptop but never vinyl and never just northern/soul. I have been collecting for about 3 years but only really got to a point this year since upping my spending that I have enough records to DJ, and that are fresh and exciting to me. I am youngish for the scene at 32 so my main worry is the tunes I love are old hat to the veterans of the scene, but I am hoping that will give it a wider appeal.

So has anyone got some tip for a first timer, serious ones!!!

Please ensure you provide an update / look back review on how you got on after the event.........I have my debut in Feb 2010, so will be where you are now, then

[Guest greentangerine]

Raremusicdirect, what's your reason for taking so long then?

[Dazdakin]

Take an offensively large line of the v.fast stuff, get yourself to the point where you become all pockets and loose change, remember you could,just maybe fook everybodys night up, but most importantly remember there is no pressure:whistling:.

No seriously dont mix and match ie 80's then 60's, remember whats been played already, cue it play it a little chit chat, cue it play it, then fade straight in no chit chat, cue it chit chat play it, repeat . And a big line of the fast stuff.

[Guest greentangerine]

daz, I would like to think I have a could line of fast stuff, what would be your top spins in the line?

[Dave Abbott]

Don't Trust Whitey

God Loves A Working Man

And If You Catch It, See A Doctor

[pikeys dog]

You lot do make me laugh..... every decent night I have been to, everyone is so friendly and into it... but on here you just fight all the time....

No, I'm a sarcastic, belligerent, bitter and twisted fcuker all of the time.

[shuggie61]

Hi just a few thoughts/ideas/observations/questions.

Got everything that you might want to play? Got a few surefire winners if you're dying on your arse? I'd pack a dozen great oldies - Carstairs, Hesitations, Lindy Stevens etc

Have you a broad selection of soul music genres or is it specifically a northern soul set that you're playing? In a fairly old interview with Mr Scruff, he said that he plays a 70/30 split during a set. 70% familiar stuff/ 30% new. I'm not sure that there's any sort of formula to a great set but it might bear some consideration?

Are the dancers your friends/friendly? Might make a difference to your state of nervousness because you don't have to go all out to impress them.

Early doors or late? If it's early you might be playing to the barstaff and your mate/the promoter. Now's the time to play those "difficult" records that you love that you've always wanted to hear "out".

If it's a late set - do not - repeat - do not - get pissed. A couple of beers over a long night are fine. You can always get drunk later on the alcohol your admiring mates/fans buy you cos of your cracking set!

Technical stuff: Got your headphones? Little torch to see your record labels if the venue's dark? Spare plastic record "middles"? Or one of those lovely chrome jobbies?

Own cartridges and needles? I know guys on the house music scene who wouldn't dream of djing without their own kit. Maybe that's a bit over the top but if you have expensive records that aren't easily replaceable then it might be worth considering...

Ask the previous dj how the mixer works. Headphone cue buttons/switches. Channel assignment.

Walk around the room before you go on and ask yourself. Is the PA too loud or too quiet? Good balance between bass, middle and treble?

Look at those lovely dancing people. Smile and make eye contact - they won't eat you. Show some enthusiasm and they'll give you a chance if things go wrong.

Have fun cos that's why you're there!

PS Most of these ideas can be found in "How To DJ (Properly)" by Bill Brewster and Frank Tope. Or try www.djhistory.com for advice and guidance.

[Julie Moore]

............dare I say it ...............

OVO

DITTO

[Julie Moore]

Raremusicdirect, what's your reason for taking so long then?

CAUSE HE`S SHY

[Mach]

Hi just a few thoughts/ideas/observations/questions.

Got everything that you might want to play? Got a few surefire winners if you're dying on your arse? I'd pack a dozen great oldies - Carstairs, Hesitations, Lindy Stevens etc

Have you a broad selection of soul music genres or is it specifically a northern soul set that you're playing? In a fairly old interview with Mr Scruff, he said that he plays a 70/30 split during a set. 70% familiar stuff/ 30% new. I'm not sure that there's any sort of formula to a great set but it might bear some consideration?

Are the dancers your friends/friendly? Might make a difference to your state of nervousness because you don't have to go all out to impress them.

Early doors or late? If it's early you might be playing to the barstaff and your mate/the promoter. Now's the time to play those "difficult" records that you love that you've always wanted to hear "out".

If it's a late set - do not - repeat - do not - get pissed. A couple of beers over a long night are fine. You can always get drunk later on the alcohol your admiring mates/fans buy you cos of your cracking set!

Technical stuff: Got your headphones? Little torch to see your record labels if the venue's dark? Spare plastic record "middles"? Or one of those lovely chrome jobbies?

Own cartridges and needles? I know guys on the house music scene who wouldn't dream of djing without their own kit. Maybe that's a bit over the top but if you have expensive records that aren't easily replaceable then it might be worth considering...

Ask the previous dj how the mixer works. Headphone cue buttons/switches. Channel assignment.

Walk around the room before you go on and ask yourself. Is the PA too loud or too quiet? Good balance between bass, middle and treble?

Look at those lovely dancing people. Smile and make eye contact - they won't eat you. Show some enthusiasm and they'll give you a chance if things go wrong.

Have fun cos that's why you're there!

PS Most of these ideas can be found in "How To DJ (Properly)" by Bill Brewster and Frank Tope. Or try www.djhistory.com for advice and guidance.

Good Advice,..indeed

[pikeys dog]

Walk around the room before you go on and ask yourself. Is the PA too loud or too quiet? Good balance between bass, middle and treble?

Do Not 'Fiddle' With PA Settings AS A Kick In The Nuts Often Offends.

[Kev Moore]

i dont want to argue . we all love this music and thats all that matters

my advice new dj would be . if anyone comes up to you and wants to inspect what your playing tell them to f*** off

because thats what im going to do

You're not from Blackburn are you?

[Jumpinjoan]

i didnt say i was missing out at burnley did i ?

please dont boss me about and dont put words into my mouth either . i am as entitled to an opinion as anyone , even if the majority of people on here disagree with me

I did not put words into your mouth Sarah. I was taking you at your word.

You may not have mentioned Burnley by name, but you did state that playing OVO is "a cartel like policy that rips off the dance floor".

Burnley plays nothing but OVO.

As for boss you about? Behave

[Harry Crosby]

Don't Trust Whitey

God Loves A Working Man

And If You Catch It, See A Doctor

These cans are exploding!!!!

Edited November 27, 2009 by HARRY CROSBY

[Jordirip]

Play to the 'floor' and not for yourself. Play requests even if you don't like them yourself.

Have a great time.

Julian

Why would you buy, let alone play records that you don't like? Stay true to your own tastes mate, you'll never please everybody anyway so don't try and 2nd guess the audience, you might as well play what you like and what you would like to dance to if you were in the audience. Requests? well if you've got them with you then you obviously like them so play them. Don't listen to any pissed up twat that keeps asking repeatedly for requests though because you'll end up focussing on her/him and not play what you wanted to play and you'll regret that when you finish.

Jordi

[Upthejunction]

Dont play the b side of a record, and dont play the slipmat!!! iv`e seen it happen many a time

Always amuses me when people play records on the carpet label

Edited November 27, 2009 by upthejunction

[Paul-s]

Play to the 'floor' and not for yourself. Play requests even if you don't like them yourself.

Have a great time.

Julian

Never carry or play records that you dont like yourself. You can hire a monkey or cd player to do that...theres no soul or honesty in it!

Play what you have a passion for and enjoy yourself. Theres always people who will moan about something...

[Suzannek]

Well there's an interesting view !

I mean, it's not as though a dancefloor pays to get in is it ? The dancefloor is usually there before everyone else, in fact it's usually there all the time, unless it's a portable dancefloor, or it gets covered with carpet at times.

So how can you rip off a dancefloor ? Unless there is now a faction that supports the human rights of dancefloors, you know, not to many dancing at once, no overweight people, a brush and polish once a week, that type of thing. Of course you have to be able to envisage a dancefloor as an entity in it's own right rarther than just some strips of wood laid down specifically for people to dance on.

I wonder if they have a Union with Union Reps that go round visiting them ? They must do surely, I mean to say, there are so many different types, big ones, small ones, round ones, square ones, oblong ones, wooden ones, tiled ones, the list just goes on and on. I bet the Dancefloor's Annual Conference in Blackpool is busy as well because dancefloors won't get much chance to go to the seaside.

Perhaps you mean rip a strip off a dancefloor, but that would be an infraction against the dancefloor's human rights, so you can't mean that.

I'm still puzzled.

To Greentangerine: In terms of your first DJ spot, keep it simple, but most of all ENJOY YOURSELF.

Class

[Guest WPaulVanDyk]

I remember my first DJing spot and was not told what i can and can't play. I was given 1st lucky so had the lucky spot and i played a mix of music what i thought i would like and let people hear my taste.

If i had any requests i played only what i had and likely you might not get too many requests so given that chance you can play more choices of what you pick

Have fun and enjoy it and try and get there early so you can get used to how to use the equipment and likely some good people will show you. You can't please everyone if you trying to play and not everyone is happy

lastly as people say play original only and if you don't know from collection what is original or re-issue have a look and ask people before hand.

[Northern Soul Uk]

VERY SIMPLE TIP!

PLAY TO THE CROWD!

[Northern Soul Uk]

I would add:

Que the records up (when the sound kicks in via head phones turn the record back 1/2 a turn) so when you press the play button the sound kicks in perfectly. Else if not queing in then put stylus on record and give it a half turn by hand to make sure the stylus is locked into a groove - else every now and then the stylus will fly off and hit the slip matt when you press the start button.

Ray

Unless you're using 'Technics 1200/10s' then you only need to wind the record back an inch, cos' they have instant start.

Make sure you don't take the arm off the record that's playing Done that before today.

Make sure you have the records on the right speed.

Don't get upset if someone asks for a tune that you don't have and they say "What? You haven't got it?" just say to them, "I could only bring a few of my collection of 20,000 records, I'll bring it next time, sorry", and they'll apologise and fuck off.

as above, play to the crowd, don't try to be a hero by trying to impress the other Djs by playing unknowns, it's the people that have paid to come in that you should be trying to impress.

Welcome to the world of DJing

[jocko]

Play to the 'floor' and not for yourself. Play requests even if you don't like them yourself.

Have a great time.

Julian

I love it, the Smashy and Nicey school of Northern Soul, no wonder I think all you old codgers have totally f***ed any semblance of a decent Northern scene.

i dont want to argue . we all love this music and thats all that matters

my advice new dj would be . if anyone comes up to you and wants to inspect what your playing tell them to f*** off

because thats what im going to do

So you are now ready for superstar DJ'ing, I love it, part 2, look forward to your reviews.

VERY SIMPLE TIP!

PLAY TO THE CROWD!

|Yes get a monkey suit and start telling jokes in between, Frank Carson and his Northern entertainment stylee will never be dead.

A serious answer to the original question is just say no thanks, say there are far too many egotistical wannabees filling up an already overcrowded space, I will just buy the music I love to enjoy it and go out to have a good time!

Or am I just an old fashioned romantic...............

Need something for this hangover before I say anything else, nurse pass that pint of Gin!

[Guest posstot]

Well then, how did ones' evening turn out!!??, Did one enjoy oneself?? Did you "smashitup" or did you "pppffftt" like a disappointing trumpet after a big tummy bubble??

Perhaps a playlist so we can all ridicule your spot and tell you where you went wrong.

All joking aside, i for one, hope you enjoyed yourself!!

mike

[Raym]

Hm,...if you keep doing that with your tunes for a while you get that nice ....ssssssssssssssssssssssss.... for the first few seconds.....I buggered so many records that way myself :ph34r:......Many Djs do it but I just try to fade them in now....

Be gentle with dem waxings!!!!!

I always turn the platter of the turn table back very gently by hand to hear through the head phones where the music start point is. I've never put any "ssssssss" (cue burn) on any of my records. If you've "buggered so many records" then suggest you doing something like what you see these commercial club Dj's do in night clubs 'winding back' 12" records at speed which might be ok for new vinyl but not so good for say 40+ year old vinyl. (anyway "so many"!! I would have thought you would have questioned your 'technique' after buggering up a couple! )

Suggested queing in as some records have a long (what can seem a long time) lead in from the first groove and looks a bit amateurish having 'long' gaps/silence between records.

Just my view.

Edited November 28, 2009 by Raym

[Guest pls1]

I did not put words into your mouth Sarah. I was taking you at your word.

You may not have mentioned Burnley by name, but you did state that playing OVO is "a cartel like policy that rips off the dance floor".

Burnley plays nothing but OVO.

As for boss you about? Behave

but i didnt mention burnley . i was speaking in general .

maybe i did come across as being a bit ungrateful , i didnt mean it like that though .

i have to say since iv got back into it i think the music is probably better than its ever been .

sorry if i was a bit snappy joan . lots of love

Edited November 28, 2009 by pls1

[Jumpinjoan]

but i didnt mention burnley . i was speaking in general .

maybe i did come across as being a bit ungrateful , i didnt mean it like that though .

i have to say since iv got back into it i think the music is probably better than its ever been .

sorry if i was a bit snappy joan . lots of love

Don't be soft!

That's the thing with forums, things sometimes get taken the wrong way.

Have fun tonight!

[Jumpinjoan]

Why would you buy, let alone play records that you don't like?

I have asked this question many times Jordi.

I think they are known as 'proper' DJ's as opposed to collectors who DJ. That's the answer I got anyway.

Not for me I must say. I can't afford records I like let alone records I don't

[Guest gordon russell]

I'm off

thought l could smell something

[Ian Parker]

look out, the OVO police are here

hope you enjoyed your DJ spot mr Tangerine, let us know how you got on

[Jumpinjoan]

look out, the OVO police are here

Says someone who was ranting on another thread about carvers.

Make your mind up