jzafra
Hi guys, I know that this is a bit embarrasing cuz I should know what to do but, I have gotten to where I'm at now cuz of this community so I know that you guyz can help me. I have been DJing for two years now. I spind HIPHOP, REGGAE,REGGAETON, and trance. I have successfully established a mobile DJ company with an average of two parties a month. I have played at two clubs this year. I am seeking to really begin playing in the club scene because I just love the energy that a DJ can bring to the club. My mission now is to create a DEMO. This is where I am ignorant and have no idea what club owners or entertainers are looking for in a DEMO cd. How should I structure it? What kinda of songs should I put on it? What genres should I concentrate on? How long should it be? How perfect should it be?(<What I mean is, when I've made my mixes I sometimes feel that I could've mixed a song way better or started it at a different time and so on>) I've attempted to call local venues and asked if they were looking for a DJ. Is this good or bad? How should I approach club owners and what should I say and offer or demand? I bearly know anyone in the scene already who could hook me up, so I know I have to do some leg work but I know I can do it, even if I don't know anyone yet. Anyfeed back on this would be incredibly appreciated. Once again if this is all stupid let me know too, I just want to start getting my name out there and showing others that I can mix and letting people hear what I can do. Thanks guyz
Posted Wed 30 Aug 06 @ 11:45 pm
Timmyg1978
I don't have much experiance with dj'ing, but I do have some experiance in production and business. For the type of music you really need to know the clubs demographic first, once you have that do a search for popular (or top 100) songs for the matching genre. Make sure do the whole recording on the fly, and write up some fake announcments and such inorder to show off your vocal skills for addressing the crowd (vocal skills are very important for all professional dj's). Last thing I can think of for now, and this is mega important, place your contact info in as many places as possible both on the demo disc and in included documentation, this applies mostly for studio artist demos, but same principles as a dj;^]
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 12:09 am
A Man and His Music
First, the programming. If the club is all hip hop, you don't want to give them a cd with trance on it. So this means you may have to make a few demos, that won't take you long. You can give them a 30 min demo, but I usually give them a full CD. I put a few of my company drops on it so they don't use as their own. BTW, my drops were done professionally, so if you have them, let the club know, you will have some made to include their club. If the club does announcements, make a few, so they can hear how you sound. The mixes should be perfect, with some effects. If they play a variety of music, make sure you include some of each, and have great transitions. That's all for now, I have to pack my stuff up.
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 12:15 am
jzafra
Timmy you don't know how much I appreciate all the info you just gave me. But let me ask you a few more direct questions. For example, lets say I'm targeting clubs that spin HIPHOP, REGGAE,REGGAETON as their main room. On my demo, how many songs should I use? As far as the vocal part, I didn't know how important it was but I'll definitely try it out. How should I contact these venues? What approach should I use?
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 12:17 am
jzafra
First off , thank you "A Man and His Music." As far as the drops go, I've never done them so how could I have them done professionally? I'm definitely going to do the annoucements. Anything else you think I should do, please let me know.
Thank you so much
Thank you so much
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 12:35 am
Timmyg1978
Not sure about contacting the venues, but I'm sure searching the yellow pages will bring results. Always make sure you have everything ready (demos, documentation, etc.) before contacting any given venue (and dress nice but that goes without saying..lol), that way you will be percieved as someone prepared for the task and more importantly, serious about the task. Concerning the line up for your demo, length isn't as important as starting off with the right tracks, you can have an 80 minute cd but if they don't like the beggining the rest of the cd won't even be heard. That being said, a hot intro is always a goo idea, maybe using a "laides & gentlemen" sample mixed with a sample of a crowd cheering as you break into the mix. Start off with your hottest track being a demo (store ready cd's I'd recommend starting with your second hottest track), again keeping the beggining of the cd as hot as possible, get 'em hyped up & ready for the rest of the cd. Now that's out of the way, length should be no less than 30 minutes, but an 80 minute cd wouldn't hurt provided what I've said about the start of the cd.
Heh, it's my pleasure to help, no problem at all;^]
Heh, it's my pleasure to help, no problem at all;^]
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 12:38 am
jzafra
Thanx Timmy.
As for the venues, what I mean is, I already have the numbers and addresses of the ones I wish to contact, but what would you say when you go drop off your demo. (Ex: My name is @#$, I'm a local DJ and I'm looking to see.......) That's kinda of where I need the help. I had made a demo once and did what I thought was good enough. But I didn't think about the Intro part. And also about playing the hottest track first. I had this idea of starting off with a slow track and then speeding up the mix. But now I see what you mean. Man, I don't know where I'd be without this community. I love this program!!!!!!!!!
Thanx again
As for the venues, what I mean is, I already have the numbers and addresses of the ones I wish to contact, but what would you say when you go drop off your demo. (Ex: My name is @#$, I'm a local DJ and I'm looking to see.......) That's kinda of where I need the help. I had made a demo once and did what I thought was good enough. But I didn't think about the Intro part. And also about playing the hottest track first. I had this idea of starting off with a slow track and then speeding up the mix. But now I see what you mean. Man, I don't know where I'd be without this community. I love this program!!!!!!!!!
Thanx again
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 12:55 am
Timmyg1978
Hehe, no problem! I wouldn't recommend starting slow, unless it's only a matter of seconds, slow songs are best a ways into the mix. However, using a short slow intro can hype the first song even more. You could divide the intro bpm to be half the tempo of the first song so it still mixes properly and then hit the first song with a real bang. Concerning approaching the venue, now that I think about it, you might want to fill out the application first and then include the cd as part of your application. But that can go either way, it's totaly dependant on the persons running the club. I'd just say have everything prepared first & then approach them with the "dj looking for work" routine. Just try to be well communicative, tell them about your demo cd & they will let you know what else they expect;^]
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 1:06 am
jzafra
Cool man, I'm going to get to work on it. I appreciate all your help. I looked at your profile and man, I can see you have true music knowledge. That's what I'm trying to learn. It's just hard when you really don't know people who love what I love. But I'm learning from you. So thanx man. I greatly appreciate you actaully taking the time.
Keep mixing!!!!!!!
Keep mixing!!!!!!!
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 4:01 am
Timmyg1978
lol.. Well music has always been my number two;^]
I just posted a blog more into the subject if you wanna take a look, pretty much the same things I said here plus a few additions;^]
I just posted a blog more into the subject if you wanna take a look, pretty much the same things I said here plus a few additions;^]
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 4:38 am
jzafra
Cool Timmy, I'll check it out. Thanx man. Hey check out my setup. I'm now wanting to get into producing and remixes my own beats with popular songs, but I don't know what software I should get. Also, now that I have your attention, I would love it if you could check out my MYSPACEMUSIC page and let me know what you think of the remixes I made. Any pointers would be great. Especially from someone who knows how to produce.
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 4:51 am
jzafra
Sorry I forgot the address to my page.
http://www.myspace.com/akalightshow
http://www.myspace.com/akalightshow
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 5:01 am
Timmyg1978
Send me the link & I'll give you a critique when I get back from the game tomorrow.
Software, I've been told that reason is a really powerful software tool, I'm new to midi but I've got a copy of 3.0 on it's way, they say it's a great remixing tool and sequencer. I've been mainly using sonar 4 producer edition to record and master (thinking of upgrading to 6 when it's released) audio and cd architect 5.2 to master cd's. Sonar is great, gives you plenty of audio effect patches like compressor, graphic eq, flange, delay, reverb, etc.. It gives you a full soundboard with faders & meters plus waveforms. You can split the song from anywhere, create fade ins & outs, it's a very powerful audio recording and mastering tool. You can probably find the demo for it and cd architect if you search the web. I make my pre cd masters as one track for a whole cd. Then add track splits in cd architect plus any further restoration or cleaning needed. That way, you get to master the cd from start to finish to play seamlessly. Great software combo, if you don't mind all the installing & uninstalling it's good to try demos of differant programs, read the literature and play with the demos & find the one that best suits you and your needs;^]
Software, I've been told that reason is a really powerful software tool, I'm new to midi but I've got a copy of 3.0 on it's way, they say it's a great remixing tool and sequencer. I've been mainly using sonar 4 producer edition to record and master (thinking of upgrading to 6 when it's released) audio and cd architect 5.2 to master cd's. Sonar is great, gives you plenty of audio effect patches like compressor, graphic eq, flange, delay, reverb, etc.. It gives you a full soundboard with faders & meters plus waveforms. You can split the song from anywhere, create fade ins & outs, it's a very powerful audio recording and mastering tool. You can probably find the demo for it and cd architect if you search the web. I make my pre cd masters as one track for a whole cd. Then add track splits in cd architect plus any further restoration or cleaning needed. That way, you get to master the cd from start to finish to play seamlessly. Great software combo, if you don't mind all the installing & uninstalling it's good to try demos of differant programs, read the literature and play with the demos & find the one that best suits you and your needs;^]
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 5:06 am
jzafra
Awesome man, Once I find out and do my research I'll let you know. Awesome man. Thanx
Posted Thu 31 Aug 06 @ 5:18 am
wwe_rules
Awesome thnxxxxxxxxxx so muccccccch!
Posted Thu 28 Sep 06 @ 8:01 pm