Squeezing D.j.´s Spots

[Guest sydney bridge]

Hi everyone,considering all the bickering on our beloved scene,I´ve often wondered..........Why dont promoters suggest that a completely across the board selection of d.j.´s all sit behind the decks ,each doing spots of four or five records alternately for the whole night?Extinct,modern,oldies,progressive,northy,downfront(dribbled beer),crossover etc. changing every 15 minutes.We wouldnt have time to bicker.What do you think y all?

[Dave Abbott]

bit too short IMO

steve cato does 30 min spots at his do's and it works very well

[Guest Stuart T]

Hi everyone,considering all the bickering on our beloved scene,I´ve often wondered..........Why dont promoters suggest that a completely across the board selection of d.j.´s all sit behind the decks ,each doing spots of four or five records alternately for the whole night?Extinct,modern,oldies,progressive,northy,downfront(dribbled beer),crossover etc. changing every 15 minutes.We wouldnt have time to bicker.What do you think y all?

I thought that this was going to be a patronising post about younger DJs and acne.

45 mjinutes minimum for a main set I reckon, allows you some leeway to play a mixture of sounds if you put your mind to it, doesn't always work but at least you get a chance. Shorter spots are sometimes used by promoters to stop people doing this aren't they? Four or five records would make you highly reliant for the first two to fit in with what was aplayed by the previous DJ to a certain extent, so you've then only got 2 or 3 records to do your own thing with, and on the basis that you'll kill a place with one unknown after another you're stuffed really. We do the first hour at Solid Hit Soul as 15 minute sets now, when the place is filling up, and I think it can work just fine early doors but not all night.

[pikeys dog]

Hi everyone,considering all the bickering on our beloved scene,I´ve often wondered..........Why dont promoters suggest that a completely across the board selection of d.j.´s all sit behind the decks ,each doing spots of four or five records alternately for the whole night?Extinct,modern,oldies,progressive,northy,downfront(dribbled beer),crossover etc. changing every 15 minutes.We wouldnt have time to bicker.What do you think y all?

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me...

"I'm on next"

"Bogger off it's me"

"but you've already done fifteen minutes"

"Feck Off, I want to go home at 4"

"but I've only just started playing...."

[uni ted]

got to agree about steve catos venue,a couple of 30 min spots for each dj,sounds strange but it does work well,maybe cos you really have to think about what you are going to try and cram into 30 mins.

just my my opinion.

[Guest Richard Bergman]

Having played at Steve's night...I enjoyed playing the thirty minute slots..it gives you the opportunity to play two contrasting sets ...a mid tempo spot early on and then a down tempo spot when they should be dancing...DOH!

[Guest dundeedavie]

Having played at Steve's night...I enjoyed playing the thirty minute slots..it gives you the opportunity to play two contrasting sets ...a mid tempo spot early on and then a down tempo spot when they should be dancing...DOH!

yeah i like the idea of 2 contrasting sets , at soul or nothing i done a 70's one early and an r'n'b one to finish ..

[uni ted]

whey hey,something people agree about.

well done steve cato.

p.s. i played 30 mins of s++t,followed by another 30mins of c**p,

oh yes lee fields tyras song

gonna plug it to death,cos its the right side ?

[asboannie]

bit too short IMO

steve cato does 30 min spots at his do's and it works very well

Yes it does work, and gives every DJ a chance during the course of the night, whether they be known or unknown DJ's .

[Guest Stuart T]

whey hey,something people agree about.

I didn't :angry:

[uni ted]

[Wiganer1]

Yes it does work, and gives every DJ a chance during the course of the night, whether they be known or unknown DJ's .

====

hi annie

i went to one such nite at wigan a few years back and it felt like a cattle market

that incident and last year at event i djed at i realised im not THAT desperate to dj at any costs and that type event is just that imo

but each to their own.and good luck to those that come out the right end!

[Guest Bearsoul]

SUPRISED NO-ONES MENTIONED CLEARASILL...BUT STILL I ENJOY SQUEEZING THEM...THE SPOTS THAT IS.............HALF-HOUR SETS DOES WORK AT SOUL-OR-NOTHING AGREED....KEEPS FOLKS ON THERE TOES AND YOU KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT TOO LONG IF IT'S NOT YOUR BAG,,,SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE......HOPEFULLY !!!

[Guest dundeedavie]

SUPRISED NO-ONES MENTIONED CLEARASILL...BUT STILL I ENJOY SQUEEZING THEM...THE SPOTS THAT IS.............HALF-HOUR SETS DOES WORK AT SOUL-OR-NOTHING AGREED....KEEPS FOLKS ON THERE TOES AND YOU KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT TOO LONG IF IT'S NOT YOUR BAG,,,SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE......HOPEFULLY !!!

well said chris , the only drawback for 2 half hour spots is if the dj in question is a 1 trick pony and can only do one style then you get 2 spots of similar stuff which i would have thought defeats the purpose

[Guest]

well said chris , the only drawback for 2 half hour spots is if the dj in question is a 1 trick pony and can only do one style then you get 2 spots of similar stuff which i would have thought defeats the purpose

Surely not as the DJ's inbetween his/her spot would be playing different type stuff

[asboannie]

Surely not as the DJ's inbetween his/her spot would be playing different type stuff

That what I did, first spot was Mid-Tempo & Crossover & 2nd Northen

[Guest dundeedavie]

Surely not as the DJ's inbetween his/her spot would be playing different type stuff

yeah but karen i don;t have the memory of a goldfish and i remember the last time they were on ... was just pointing out that the best way to use the break in your spots is to take the opportunity and change it , as most people have said .

Edited March 23, 2006 by dundeedavie

[steve z]

Hi everyone,considering all the bickering on our beloved scene,I´ve often wondered..........Why dont promoters suggest that a completely across the board selection of d.j.´s all sit behind the decks ,each doing spots of four or five records alternately for the whole night?Extinct,modern,oldies,progressive,northy,downfront(dribbled beer),crossover etc. changing every 15 minutes.We wouldnt have time to bicker.What do you think y all?

Hi ...............1 from the late 50s........1 from the 60s............1 x-over.........1...... 7ts...and a modern tune..........whom has those to play in a play box? ATB Stevie

[Guest dundeedavie]

Hi ...............1 from the late 50s........1 from the 60s............1 x-over.........1...... 7ts...and a modern tune..........whom has those to play in a play box? ATB Stevie

i could easily stevie would sound a bit weird mind , but whats new

actually i've often said i'd like to do a 2 hour spot and go right thru and see if i could do it and make it good , obviously no one will let me

Davie

Edited March 23, 2006 by dundeedavie

[Guest]

yeah but karen i don;t have the memory of a goldfish and i remember the last time they were on ... was just pointing out that the best way to use the break in your spots is to take the opportunity and change it , as most people have said .

Don't think I would mind if they played the same type of stuff both times they were on as long as it was good, plus would have the inbetween guys hopefully playing something different. Lucky for me if at such a night I could also do two completely diff sets

[Guest dundeedavie]

Don't think I would mind if they played the same type of stuff both times they were on as long as it was good, plus would have the inbetween guys hopefully playing something different. Lucky for me if at such a night I could also do two completely diff sets

i would hope so

[steve z]

i could easily stevie would sound a bit weird mind , but whats new

actually i've often said i'd like to do a 2 hour spot and go right thru and see if i could do it and make it good , obviously no one will let me

Davie

Hi Davie ,I too could play out in the same way........a set needs to be structured to FLOW from one era sound to another IMO .I do play out for two hours as resident at the Greatstone ....time needed to "string" tunes together from the late 50s to...............ATB Stevie

[Guest dundeedavie]

Hi Davie ,I too could play out in the same way........a set needs to be structured to FLOW from one era sound to another IMO .I do play out for two hours as resident at the Greatstone ....time needed to "string" tunes together from the late 50s to...............ATB Stevie

thats what i mean stevie , thats why i would need the 2 hours i think .

you're lucky to be in the position to be able to

Davie

[steve z]

thats what i mean stevie , thats why i would need the 2 hours i think .

you're lucky to be in the position to be able to

Davie

Hi Davie ...down to the promoters Tony Jackson and Mark Baildon.........promote as is IMO ATB Stevie

[Little-stevie]

Yes we have two shorter sets for djs at Soul Or Nothing...The crowd and the djs seem to like it that way..Gives a dja chance to play different sets at different times..Some djs with 1 early set could be playing to an empty place,a slot later on is good for them when the place fills up...Nothing set in stone though,i mix it up sometimes with a main guest having a i hour set...Keeps it fresh for us..All djs have a 30 min slot and a 40 min slot on Sat.....

[grant]

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me...

"I'm on next"

"Bogger off it's me"

"but you've already done fifteen minutes"

"Feck Off, I want to go home at 4"

"but I've only just started playing...."

got the t-shirt on that one mate - very well put

[Guest Bearsoul]

well said chris , the only drawback for 2 half hour spots is if the dj in question is a 1 trick pony and can only do one style then you get 2 spots of similar stuff which i would have thought defeats the purpose

TRUE BUT IF YOU LIKE THE FIRST HELPING THEN AT LEAST YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO SECONDS..IF SOME OF THE OTHERS DON'T DO IT FOR YOU..TRICKY REALLY..SOME DJs YOU WANT TO DO MORE THAN AN HOUR.....OTHERS ...WELL WHAT TIMES THE RAFFLE ???

[Jumpinjoan]

Half hour spots work really well at Soul or Nothing .... keeps things ... dare i say it ... progressing along nicely sorry couldn't resist that one!

I really like it .... seems to give the night an energy .... and sits well with both the DJs and the dancers.

... at Soul or Nothing anyway

[Guest]

Can someone please change the title of this thread !

I just can't get the vision out of my head !! (anyone got a smiley that throws up ?)

[Jumpinjoan]

Can someone please change the title of this thread !

I just can't get the vision out of my head !! (anyone got a smiley that throws up ?)

Never noticed that till i read your post .....

[Guest]

Terrible sight hey Joan

Though i'm sure it wouldn't be so bad if the DJ in question was you Joan

[Jumpinjoan]

Terrible sight hey Joan

Though i'm sure it wouldn't be so bad if the DJ in question was you Joan

[John May]

I prefer to do Half hour spots.......Can't manage more than that without needing to dash to the toilet........

[Guest marco i]

bit too short IMO

steve cato does 30 min spots at his do's and it works very well

Down here in Italy most of the soul clubs do 30 minutes spots and it seems to work quite well.

Our soul nights or allnighters are always one room events where a mix of 60s - northern oldies - crossover and 70s (and some r'n' is usually played, so we need short set to have a good number of different djs.

15 minutes seems to me far too short.

[Soul Shrews]

Hi everyone,considering all the bickering on our beloved scene,I´ve often wondered..........Why dont promoters suggest that a completely across the board selection of d.j.´s all sit behind the decks ,each doing spots of four or five records alternately for the whole night?Extinct,modern,oldies,progressive,northy,downfront(dribbled beer),crossover etc. changing every 15 minutes.We wouldnt have time to bicker.What do you think y all?

You're a card Sid!!!

[hipshaker 05]

we use a mixture of these things at hipshaker ...... we offer most guest DJ's 2 x 30 min slots (or a solid hour if they insist) which is sort of our preferred way of doing it. an early and a late slot as described before. as residents though we (me and the other chap) usually play 5 records at a time each all night .... keeps it fresh, keeps us involved and interested. but some guests join in with this arrangement instead of the 30 min slots. also makes it a bit more of a laugh as we often end up playing one at a time each towards the end.

[Ged Parker]

I like the 30 min format at SON as it does allow two different styles to be played. This can have a down side though I got comments like "What the f*** was that shite" (thanks for the constructive feedback Sid ) and "I never expected to hear you play a set like that I really enjoyed it" about my first set last time round. I like the chance to play some stuff out of left field but some people have fixed expectation of some DJ's.

I also; by accident rather than design; did almost 2 1/2 hours at the lifeline weekender on the Friday afternoon loved that too.

At the Neighbourhood we have always done one hour spots this works best when planning multi room venues IMO. People shifting rooms for 30 mins to follow a DJ is a little impracticle IMO.

[Little-stevie]

I like the 30 min format at SON as it does allow two different styles to be played. This can have a down side though I got comments like "What the f*** was that shite" (thanks for the constructive feedback Sid ) and "I never expected to hear you play a set like that I really enjoyed it" about my first set last time round. I like the chance to play some stuff out of left field but some people have fixed expectation of some DJ's.

I also; by accident rather than design; did almost 2 1/2 hours at the lifeline weekender on the Friday afternoon loved that too.

At the Neighbourhood we have always done one hour spots this works best when planning multi room venues IMO. People shifting rooms for 30 mins to follow a DJ is a little impracticle IMO.

Good to see that the 30 min slots hold well with most....I hope you all know that Joan as been squeezed in a few spots over the years... ..

[Guest stevemcmahon]

As we all know, Northern is a very unique scene in that it contains no DJs in the 'professional' sense of the word. Having been a DJ in NYC for several years and used to playing 6hr sets with regularity, 30mins seems hardly long enough to get warmed up !! Point being, a good DJ [and club] should be able to take the crowd on an emotional journey [and not just on a drug-induced house set]. THE DJ should have a wide enough spectrum of vinyl to warm the crowd up, hit them with favourites, educate with the odd newie and bring them back down to earth with anthems to sing on the way home.

On the Northern scene we seem to have settled for the odd 'I love this track', followed by a dancefloor blunder [albeit a very expensive one - 4th before end @ Prestatyn this year springs to mind. Don't ask me what it was, sounded like peter, paul & mary to me].

Point being, on this scene of ours we insist on all the vinyl to be original so it would cost mega £ for one person to be able to do the above. Irony being, we shouldn't really therefore be called DJs here, more 'enthusiasts with [scaleable], disposable incomes'.

Edited March 24, 2006 by deeve

[Winsford Soul]

got to agree about steve catos venue,a couple of 30 min spots for each dj,sounds strange but it does work well,maybe cos you really have to think about what you are going to try and cram into 30 mins.

just my my opinion.

Baz M on here used to give the guest DJ,s 2x 30mins sets so people wouldnt get fed up.For instance if one particular DJ was a modern DJ a lot of people would get fed up after 1hour so to stop this they introduced the 30 min spot followed by the other guest DJ with a different stlye. then when the 1st guest DJ came back on he would have to do a completly different set again. the Saints club leads the way again.

Steve