I don't honestly know why, but I feel an urge to write this article.
When you go out to a Wedding, Birthday, Club, Pub or other celebration, you will no doubt be confronted by a strange man/woman, no I am not talking about an ex you haven't seen for years, or even the mother-in-law of your best mate, i'm talking about the DJ or Disc Jockey, usually situated at one end of the room, hidden behind tables, lights, speakers and other unfamiliar DJ type equipment, he can seem quite a daunting person, surrounded by an almost fortress type set-up.
Well, on most occasions, that person stood behind the vast array of electrical plugs is no more than a genuine guy/girl earning money providing entertainment tailored to your needs.
Let's, just for a moment, take you back to when you booked your DJ, ask yourself;
1. How did you find your DJ?
2. Recommendation or Yellow Pages hunt for a random person advertising a "Mobile Disco"?
3. or did you use an agency?
On most bookings you look for a person quoting the cheapest price for providing you
with a "Mobile Disco" or "Karaoke/Disco"! Now the previous comment is not meant to offend, it is a fact of life, we will all look for the cheapest price, that is how society works, that's why you choose to shop at Asda instead of your local Corner Shop!
But, if you had 30,000 to spend on a car, would you spend it on a Kia Picanto or a BMW, Audi or Mercedes?
Well, in the DJ business, it is actually not far different, you want a DJ who will entertain, who will have the music at a respectable level, but not blowing your brains out, you want lights, but not so bright they blind you, you want a DJ who can build an atmosphere, but not fill the room with so much smoke you can't see your Sister-in-law (Ok! that might not be so much of a problem!)
Think to yourself, if a DJ can afford to drive 30 miles to your chosen venue, spend 1hr setting his "Fortress" up, Play music of your choice all evening and then spend another 1hr packing all the gear back up, to then drive 30 miles home again and all for 80, where is the money your paying them going, it can't be on the equipment, a single bulb for one of the Lights can cost up to 25, each CD costs 1.99 or more, even MP3 dowloads cost 0.79 or more again, plus the BPI now charge 250 a year just to use MP3 files for DJ/Entainment purposes.
But, more to the point of this article, when a DJ is stood in his "Fortress" he is usually thinking about the people in the room, looking at peoples reaction to the songs he is playing, working out what will work next, a good DJ will always look at the majority of the people in his audience, rather than 1 person sat in the corner, this will guarantee a better atmosphere and ultimately a good night for all.
In my experience alcohol has a lot to answer for, the questions you get as a DJ don't just happen to you, they happen to all DJ's, questions like;
Can you play something decent/good?
My query with the above question is, What is Decent or Good to the person asking is not necessarily Decent or Good to the rest of the room, usually this question is asked when a dancefloor full of people are bopping away to the tune you are playing!?
Have you got the song that goes......?
The above question is usually followed by murmering of an unrecognisable tune, often with no recognisable link to the actual tune the person is really trying to get you to play!
Can you play 1 more?
Usually asked at 02:05 on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, after you have already turned everything off and are starting to pack away! And with some annoyance factor as the person usually takes a good 10 mins to give up!
I might seem like a bitter DJ moaning about how drunk people react to the job i do, no, I just feel that if you have read this and relate to it in ayway, you will now have a better understanding of the job a DJ really does, and not the common misconception of "a bloke that sticks a few tunes on".
Thank you for taking the time to read this