when does a ''wanna be'' DJ become a DJ?

[ajb]

all DJ's must have been ''wanna be's'' at some time, when do they cross the line to be called a DJ? 

[John Reed]

I'm unsure if they can any more, as the majority of the mainstream venues just seem to have the same names from back in the good old days.

[Paul Shirley]

Exactly ,  and totally agree

Edited May 12, 2017 by P S original

[Julianb]

1 hour ago, John Reed said:

I'm unsure if they can any more, as the majority of the mainstream venues just seem to have the same names from back in the good old days.

Unfortunately quite a few of the above are DJing with bootlegs, so what chance do younger DJs with originals have to get bookings?

[Geeselad]

21 minutes ago, JulianB said:

Unfortunately quite a few of the above are DJing with bootlegs, so what chance do younger DJs with originals have to get bookings?

Being under 30 seems to have worked for quite a few in recent years, not going to name the obvious name but a certain capitol venue has always seemed to want somebody to appeal to the younger market. Nothing wrong in that of course, but I have seen some resentment on FB from guys who been paying their dues for a little while longer.

[Julianb]

22 minutes ago, geeselad said:

Being under 30 seems to have worked for quite a few in recent years, not going to name the obvious name but a certain capitol venue has always seemed to want somebody to appeal to the younger market. Nothing wrong in that of course, but I have seen some resentment on FB from guys who been paying their dues for a little while longer.

We need younger folk to keep the scene going and if the younger DJs attract a younger crowd - fantastic.

I did an allnighter last year and it was great to see lots of under 25s appreciating the music and dancing the night away.

[Paul Shirley]

Hope it dies , just sold a large chunk of my records for a lot of money  because its now a joke , tv adverts films its f.... is this scene , the answer to the question is when they buy real quality records but then again it used to be about the records now its about mates and names 

Edited May 12, 2017 by P S original

[Geeselad]

3 hours ago, P S original said:

Hope it dies , just sold a large chunk of my records for a lot of money  because its now a joke , tv adverts films its f.... is this scene , the answer to the question is when they buy real quality records but then again it used to be about the records now its about mates and names 

ns itself rose from the ashes of mod, wonder how many were saying mod is f...... In 67, when hippies hit.

[Paul Shirley]

10 minutes ago, geeselad said:

ns itself rose from the ashes of mod, wonder how many were saying mod is f...... In 67, when hippies hit.

That is a totally  different scene from northern ,we are talking today not yesterday 

[Frankie Crocker]

Easy answer, when they stand behind the decks. Easily done too if you promote yourself to MC in the back room of a pub and can carry a small box, maybe with some popular sounds in, possibly a few on records that have a large hole in the middle of them, I think they might be American and I think they might have come off of a jukebox...

To be a proper DJ, you've got to practise. It helps if you have a stack of truly great records on original vinyl and maybe even a few one-off sounds. You need to have a deep love of the music and an ability to match the tunes in the playbox to the dancers in the venue. This comes with age and experience. If you have the talent, a Wannabe Promoter might give you a warm up spot. If overlooked, you have to grovel a bit and boast a little about your latest acquisition. Then comes the being ignored stage so now you have to really suck-up and spend stupid sums on auction records. After years in the wilderness and hours of practising on your own Technics in the bedroom, you become bitter and twisted, then turn to Facebook to remedy matters. Finally you give up hoping for a spot at a legendary venue and book up a back room in a pub so you and your mates can take it in turns to entertain each other. Now you are a DJ.

[Alan Bonthrone1]

When does a "wannabee promoter"evolve into a promoter ?

[dean jj]

I always thought you had achieved 'DJdom' when you got paid enough money to go out on a Saturday morning and visit every specialist outlet in Manchester, combined with having got Soul bowl list on Wednesday, and bought everything that appeals to you personally...and have money left to pay the bills. Before that obviously all your DJing funds go on records so its not really a professional situation but a hobby.

dean

Edited May 13, 2017 by dean jj

[Geeselad]

don't think there's been any djs under 30 that have broken into the mainstream and have introduced new tunes that have been taken up at multiple venues. Now THAT is what the scene really needs!

[Guest]

On 12/05/2017 at 09:50, ajb said:

all DJ's must have been ''wanna be's'' at some time, when do they cross the line to be called a DJ? 

I think that you become a proper DJ when you break new sounds to the punters they can dance to, using your own taste.

Trouble is most of the good new discoveries are really rare, and all the other good easier to obtain records have already been played!

If you can build up a reputation for doing a good spot using your own taste, and not just being a clone of a lot of other DJ's, you might have made it to being a proper DJ!

Edited May 13, 2017 by Guest

[Chalky]

I think the term came about because many today don't do the hard work many of us did.  Hours and hours spent scouring record boxes, lists, taken a punt on something blind.  Studying the labels, the credits the deadwax.  

Nowadays most seem to just buy a set, scour paylists and buy anything that appears popular.  Imagination seems to be a no-no with most afraid to play anything different for fear of not getting a booking.

Edited May 13, 2017 by chalky

[Baz1]

7 minutes ago, chalky said:

I think the term came about because many today don't do the hard work many of us did.  Hours and hours spent scouring record boxes, lists, taken a punt on something blind.  Studying the labels, the credits the deadwax.  

Nowadays most seem to just buy a set, scour paylists and buy anything that seemd popular.  Imagination seems to be a no-no with most afraid to play anything different for fear of not getting a booking.

Some old school djs are like that too chalky or they just swing tits about 

[Chalky]

6 minutes ago, baz1 said:

Some old school djs are like that too chalky or they just swing tits about 

Yep, quite a few mate don't do the leg work. 

[Tomangoes]

The question did not specify the genre of music, so therefore some aforementioned arguments might not apply.

The common denominator is to get a chance to get behind the decks.

Then you have to keep the dance floor full. 

Stating what every record is to a young crowd will be appreciated. To an old crowd, unless it's super rare, or unknown, may not work as they may think you are disrespecting their knowledge.

Try events like soul in the sun, where anybody can have a go, and with mp3 tracks, so it more about knowledge than ownership.

Back in the day, a weeks wages of £30 would get you a Bernice Williams or Virginia Wolves etc. I doubt today any big tune will cost less than two weeks wages for an under 25 year old.

Having said that cheap records like the bottle, try a little harder, I can take care of myself will always get a few on the floor.

Study the top djs and pick out the cheapies they play that fill the floor, pick up a copy, and copy them!

Don't play boots at a real vinyl venue or you will get slaughtered! 

 

Ed

[Markw]

On ‎12‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 11:53, JulianB said:

Unfortunately quite a few of the above are DJing with bootlegs, so what chance do younger DJs with originals have to get bookings?

I am sure I will get stick and abuse for saying all this, but on the main Northern niter scene, from what I can see (playlists, gig reviews, comments etc) all these younger DJs who are getting 'big gig' bookings just play the same tired old bollocks the old boys play anyway. They are trapped in the same bullshit "keep the dance floor full" mindset vortex which dominates mainstream Northern Soul niters regardless of quality, imagination and diversity. They are terrified of getting abuse from the old boys and girls on the dancefloor for "playing fooking B-sides", "that fooking funky shit" or any other "fookin shite we don't know" or that "in't proper fookin Northern".

[Richard Free]

Just got to let a few young ones in .Give them a chance to develop their own style .

 

[Baz1]

You were all wanabe djs at one time really winds me up the wanabe dj tag sorry

[SOULMAN62]

Ovo or boots who gives a toss, for me it's what's being played.Been dancing for 40 years,a £1 record or £100 record ,just wanna dance to a great tune, not what label is on it.

 

 

[Richard Free]

I feel that the ovo is essential at all the most respected venues .leave the boots for the local soul clubs .the young guys can find plenty of good ovo tunes cheaply .It makes you have to work that much harder to discover great tunes and be much more inventive playing original vinyl .There are so many great tunes costing under £20 

 

[Davenpete]

I think 'wannabe DJ' is a tag largely used by people who've been trudging round the scene for years without actually breaking through in a big way themselves (usually because they aren't actually very good DJs themselves) and by those with a great deal of money who think their cheque book defines their talent as a DJ trying to deride people they look down on basically coz they're not rich...

REAL DJing is about reading and answering the floor, understanding how to structure a spot properly, saying 'you like that one you know? NOW listen to this one that's even better that you don't'...

It SHOULDN'T be a pissing contest over hackneyed crap that's impressive simply because it's expensive - frankly there are numerous records that nobody would give a second hearing to if they weren't four figure sounds.

Dx

Edited May 13, 2017 by DaveNPete

[Tomangoes]

Ummm

Rare and brilliant is better than rare or brilliant.

For some rare is still better than brilliant. 

Still think and hope that the majority like brilliant above rare.... 

Ovo is a pre-requiste though to stand any chance, even if it's all £20 tunes.

Its an uphill climb to the point where the DJ is telling the dancers what to dance to as opposed to the dancers telling the DJ what to play.

Breaking a new tune must be the hardest dj task unless it's an instant hit. 

Good luck to the topic starter in any case. Take the leap of faith!

Ed

[Guest Spain pete]

Big up to all the crate diggers  whether or not their DJ's or just music lover's certainly made my world a better place 🎶🎶👏

[Twoshoes]

It's all about the question, the obvious answer like it or not as soon as they put a record on the deck they are D'jing ,  if you had asked when does a Dj become a good or respected Dj that's a harder question to answer. I've been asked a few times would I fancy doing a spot always refusing because although at one time I had some pretty decent tunes (nothing remotely rare or in demand) and could easily have put a set together much the same as anyone with a fair few records could it would have been no different to what's already being played by the majority of dj's out there so what would be the point apart from possibly ego.

      I've seen a good friend grow from if you have to use the term "wanna be" in a Northern sense to in my opinion a great dj. His journey was one of disappointment, hope, despair, empty dance floors, playing what was expected to finally taking his own path , searching out tunes in some cases yes paying a lot of money, not because rarity meant quality but to get the tunes he himself liked and wanted to play and hoped others would respond to.

     Even the dj's at the top of the tree so to speak sometimes have to play to the dancefloor, something I witnessed myself not long ago, speaking to said dj after the gig he said with an obvious tone of defeat "nobody wants to play to an empty floor".

  For me a good dj becomes a great dj when they can mix the rare with the popular, the cheap with the expensive, I'm sure we've all at one time or another thought as a dj leaves the decks that was a cracking set, I'm always one for going up to the dj in those circumstances and letting them know how much I enjoyed the set, going by the reaction more often than not it would seem few give feedback face to face.

   I'm a prodigious downloader and cd compiler and find myself constantly amazed by the amount of stuff out there, the great tunes that I never hear played out, as people have said on this thread there's a vast amount of tunes out there, I have no idea of price or rarity of 99'9% of them so to any "wanna be's "out there I'd repeat as stated by others do the ground work , be brave, be different, if it don't work let it go .

[Alan Walls]

A quick rule of thumb guide - which I have just made up, off the top of my head - to identify a bona fide, time served Northern DJ as opposed to a wannabe:

• the real thing doesn't need to use avatars of himself pictured hunched over a set of decks on his social media pages 
• he doesn't include the initials 'DJ' in his user name
• he doesn't shoehorn-in references to him being a 'DJ' in all sorts of social media conversations, regardless of the subject
• he doesn't use phrases like "never leaves my box" / "always a floor filler for me"
• he doesn't stage his own soul nights, for which there is no discernible local demand, solely to give himself a gig

Basically, a proper DJ's reputation speaks for him, he doesn't need to drop hints to get attention, which are a about as subtle as walking around wearing a sandwich board that says "I WANT TO BE A NORTHERN SOUL DISC JOCKEY, PLEASE GIVE ME THE FIRST HALF HOUR AT YOUR NEXT CHARITY NORTHERN REAL ALE FLASH MOB MINI DAYER".

Or something like that...

Edited May 14, 2017 by Alan Walls

[Davenpete]

Yes - as we used to tell one lad all the time - if you can't afford to pay for the big rarities and current in-demanders you need to make your own niche playing less obvious (and less costly) sounds otherwise you're just another soundalike also-ran (and there are FAR too many of them already)... And at the end of the day the DJs that are really respected by those who are not simply nostalgia zombies are those who have a musical personality and spin sounds that mark them out as different.

Dx

[Paul Shirley]

Big problem these days is the public. ask any decent dj wannabe or not , you can find a great record play it and no bugger is interested yet one of the top boys play same record  and the public all jump up to it . Some even take credit for said  record.  Another point is there are many collectors/dj's that have every thing the top boys have but never get asked blame the promotors and the public, I have seen many young folks that are garbage on at big events simply because they are on face book day and night creeping round bigger dj's and promotors . While the decent reserved lads with great records are redundant, this scene is finished for me , they want to be dj's for the wrong reasons mainly to be a face on the northern scene , I apologise to those that don't fall in to this bracket I acknowledge one or two that do it the right way letting there records do the talking but sadly unless your on face book giving it me me me then your not going to last long and it's part reason I left it and only go to a select few venues now and again 

[Julianb]

3 hours ago, P S original said:

Big problem these days is the public. ask any decent dj wannabe or not , you can find a great record play it and no bugger is interested yet one of the top boys play same record  and the public all jump up to it . Some even take credit for said  record.  Another point is there are many collectors/dj's that have every thing the top boys have but never get asked blame the promotors and the public, I have seen many young folks that are garbage on at big events simply because they are on face book day and night creeping round bigger dj's and promotors . While the decent reserved lads with great records are redundant, this scene is finished for me , they want to be dj's for the wrong reasons mainly to be a face on the northern scene , I apologise to those that don't fall in to this bracket I acknowledge one or two that do it the right way letting there records do the talking but sadly unless your on face book giving it me me me then your not going to last long and it's part reason I left it and only go to a select few venues now and again 

Bloody hell, how do I get on this 'facebook' thing?Might get a few booking in the future!

[Mellorful]

You are a bloody good DJ Julian, got the tunes and can puts a proper set together. You probably don't give a monkeys either whether you gat asked or not...

 

[Daz]

Shouldn't the thread be called wanna be djs turn promoters, then Kings of soul and local plebebrities.

The North East is swamped by these fraudsters. Most haven't got a clue and the majority play bootlegs.

I'm sure these people have self esteem issues. As soon as they are apparently 'recognised' they become like a silver back gorilla 😊

Pillocks of the highest order.

Give people that have original 45s a chance promoters....

[Frankie Crocker]

4 hours ago, Alan Walls said:

A quick rule of thumb guide - which I have just made up, off the top of my head - to identify a bona fide, time served Northern DJ as opposed to a wannabe:

• the real thing doesn't need to use avatars of himself pictured hunched over a set of decks on his social media pages 
• he doesn't include the initials 'DJ' in his user name
• he doesn't shoehorn-in references to him being a 'DJ' in all sorts of social media conversations, regardless of the subject
• he doesn't use phrases like "never leaves my box" / "always a floor filler for me"
• he doesn't stage his own soul nights, for which there is no discernible local demand, solely to give himself a gig

 

Brilliantly put Alan. A couple of other additions would be:-

has a large flight case with stickers on

cues up records using one headphone

keeps two spare adaptors in their pocket (or handbag in this age of gender equality)

pushes to the front of the queue saying I'm on the Guest List

is the worst dressed person in the venue

on the rare occasion they use the mic, never mumblemumblemumble

 

[Pjf]

Come to Durham Sat. 16thSeptember

Head Of Steam 

Sweet & Deep you might here some wanna be Djs 👍

[Daz]

13 minutes ago, pjf said:

Come to Durham Sat. 16thSeptember

Head Of Steam 

Sweet & Deep you might here some wanna be Djs 👍

Haha yeah I'll be there 🖒

[Pjf]

Daz Carr wanna be dj😮

[Guest Shufflin]

serious question - why would anyone WANT to be a soul DJ?

[Guest]

On 12/05/2017 at 09:50, ajb said:

all DJ's must have been ''wanna be's'' at some time, when do they cross the line to be called a DJ? 

There are two kinds of DJ.

1. Has a box of great records because they want to be a DJ.

2. Dj's because they have a box of great records!

The second is the only DJ I would want to hear!

[Markw]

Just now, solidsoul said:

There are two kinds of DJ.

1. Has a box of great records because they want to be a DJ.

2. Dj's because they have a box of great records!

The second is the only DJ I would want to hear!

There is a fella on here who DJs regularly who plays records he doesn't like just because they fill the dance floor. Bizarre. Truly bloody bizarre. 

[Guest Shufflin]

1 hour ago, solidsoul said:

There are two kinds of DJ.

1. Has a box of great records because they want to be a DJ.

2. Dj's because they have a box of great records!

The second is the only DJ I would want to hear!

2. Dj's because they have a box of great records!

 

lots of people have nice collections including rarities - my question was more about the motivation- ego, money, playing to mates, a laugh, exposure, no idea

 

what motivates that "wannabee"?

[Daz]

3 hours ago, pjf said:

Daz Carr wanna be dj😮

You must have been on the sauce - I am well established and have at least 3 gigs a year i'll have you know lol

 

[Guest Spain pete]

1 hour ago, shufflin said:

2. Dj's because they have a box of great records!

 

lots of people have nice collections including rarities - my question was more about the motivation- ego, money, playing to mates, a laugh, exposure, no idea

 

what motivates that "wannabee"?

Maybe, the music he loves he wants to share ,blame the promoter for putting him on or yourself for going to the function ,.lmo, that's why nowadays l would rather stay home and listen to the radio , go on the tinternet , or listen to my own collection what a sad state of affairs 🎶🎶🎶

[Eddiefoster]

What a great post that kicked off this thread..............so simple a question with the potential to conjure up a very emotive response, there have been some great ones already!

I tried to hold off, just because it is without doubt a subject where opinions will vary vastly and interpretation of response can easily be misunderstood; but here I am at the keyboard anyway 

I guess a response as simple as the question posed would be: When you've had the opportunity to get behind the decks and your asked to do it again (there could be a drawn out timeline in there)

Going back to the initial question posed "all DJ's must have been ''wanna be's'' at some time, when do they cross the line to be called a DJ?"

I'm not sure I'm qualified to say, but I do have my own opinion on the subject (a bit like taste in music - it's only your own opinion that counts). What I definitely do believe can be summed up partly by what DOES NOT make a 'wanna be' into a DJ - because a good DJ for me has to entertain, challenge and inspire:

• Just paying large amounts of cash for top tunes and not bringing anything else to the party (you can't buy soul) A not unfamiliar topic emotive in itself, it isn't a new thing I've seen enough examples of this over the 3-4 decades I've been around (I know I'm still a newbie - sorry)
• Simply cherry picking all the current big sounds (goes alongside no.1)
• Not being able to read the dance floor. The square wooden thing is there for the punters to spend time on, it's a hard job the strike a balance between keeping it going and trying something different (we can be a tough old crowd).
• Rapid changes of tempo - changing tempo gradually works best for me when on the floor, just my opinion again.
• DJing with records you don't even like - a good DJ needs to feel it for me and you can see when a DJ is enjoying what he/she is doing and it rubs off.
• Not bringing your personality and taste to the decks in terms of what you play and how you put it together - for me it's your job as a DJ to try and bring something different to the game, otherwise why are you bothering?; it doesn't have to (and mostly can't) be completely new discoveries, maybe just tunes played in a different context or simply overlooked tunes that deserve a spin.

Again all these are examples of my opinion and I accept there are many Northern fans out there who are happy with what they're getting for their money.

Slightly off topic but; It consistently confuses and disappoints me when punters only want to hear tracks from the top 500 - surely back in the heyday of Northern Soul there was a thirst for new discoveries and every track was played for the first time somewhere!, when/how did that change or am I missing something? That said there is definitely a market for it and I don't have to go if I don't want to so fair enough. I just can't help but wonder if  our DJs tried to push the boundaries would it work and even refresh things a bit?

Another point brought up by some, relates to DJs of lesser experience and years. It's nothing to with with longevity alone for me (within reason of course) it's simply about being good at the job and working at it, tracking down the tunes and developing the skill (which of course takes time anyway). Those out there with buckets of experience and time on the scene can gloat "we've been around since ............" (insert any big venue name from the past) for example, but we can't give that to the more recent members of our fraternity - it's not their fault.  Anyway there are plenty of DJs with decades of experience under their belts who don't cut it IMHO.

I think I've turned my response into a rant about what, in my opinion, makes a good DJ - but I suppose anyone wanting to DJ would like to be considered good at it!

 

 

 

 

[Stanley]

great topic ...i,m so pleased  i live away from the main venues and don,t need to get caught up in the mess it is today.    i,m a collector first but have done the dj thing at the bigger venues prestatyn and  with the top real deal biggies like  william powell esther grant etc and a few thrown in to say whats this hes playing now....but to be honest there is no credability anymore as bootlegs being played by named dj,s and anyone now, makes it impossible ...i,ve no intention to dj at any venue that ask any dj to play bootlegs .i can entertain the floor with genuine records rare or otherwise . lets go back to the start of the scene ..if you haven,t got the tune .rare or cheap but good  to play......then go away until you can ply your trade with proper records ...and stop prancing around as  you,ve done the biz with cd,s and bootlegs .i accept acetates as the real deal tho..but for goodness sake can we get some sanity back in the scene ...its come to something when a collector/dj has sold his entire mega rare records known and unknown because he can,t get a spot because hes not in the click........very sad ....the scene is on a downward spiral i,m sad to say .thank god i,m out by choice and content to play  my stuff at home ...i had a great night last night, good atmosphere and all genuine original vinyl at home.everyone a winner !!

[Tomangoes]

Quote:

 

but to be honest there is no credability anymore as bootlegs being played by named dj,s 

________________________

I must admit I had no idea this was happening.

The named djs who are doing this and are exposed for doing know that the very thing they want most :

'respect'

Will surely elude them. 

Ed

 

 

[Len]

13 hours ago, shufflin said:

serious question - why would anyone WANT to be a soul DJ?

Serious answer - To share the enjoyment they get from their PERSONAL taste (That's why I've always done it) 

Although it is a thankless task from time to time, and can be blo*dy hard work, so get ya point of why anyone would want to be a soul DJ - Especially nowadays, because it seems everyone is an expert! 

Len 

[Len]

11 hours ago, Daz said:

You must have been on the sauce - I am well established and have at least 3 gigs a year i'll have you know lol

 

I also have a window 

Brilliant! 

Len 

[Len]

On 5/12/2017 at 09:50, ajb said:

all DJ's must have been ''wanna be's'' at some time, when do they cross the line to be called a DJ? 

When they've been heckled! 

........Bitter experience talking here 

Len 

[Len]

For those that missed it, here's a funny thread that may have some answers 

Len