First DJ gig

[Guest]

A good friend threw a house party the other day where I tried out my newfound DJ skillz that killz.

To be honest I didn't know what to expect and I pretty much went into it blind, having just messed around on the turntables for fun for about 2-3 months in my bedroom. I had seriously considered turning him down when he asked me to DJ for him because "I wasn't ready." I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of a bunch of people for no reason... besides, might as well practice by myself and get REALLY good, rather than going out and fucking up causing no one to ever want me to DJ for them ever again, bla bla bla, etc. JJE, if you're reading this, that's why I didn't want to DJ your party a month ago. Approach anxiety's a bitch, eh?

But I decided to screw it and just do it this time. Throw caution to the winds. Just go, put on some music, chill with the guys, mess around with the babes, whatever. If I fuck up, I fuck up, no one knows except me and 100 others. So yeah, I got over my DJ-anxiety and lugged my shit over to his house.

[b]It was awesome.[/b] There's something about being the DJ, especially at a smallish house party, that gives you instant social status. All the guys come pat you on the back and give you props, all the girls hang around the DJ table, take pictures with you, and sing along with the music. Every set's a warm set... even if they don't know you're the DJ, your vibe is so good from having fun that eveyone wants to talk to you. There were probably like 100 people who was there at one point or another (around 30-40 in that little house at any one time) and it was rockin. Even when I fucked up no one noticed. I even started spinning some random Asian pop songs later on to see what people would do... which was nothing much cuz everyone was hammered at that point, obviously me included. My friend got on the mic and I had to cut him off a bunch cuz he was shouting my name really loudly and drunkenly and then trying to hook up with girls on the mic. Anyways everyone had a lot of fun and the party rocked.

It was a great learning experience too - doing even a single house party taught me stuff that even a year of bedroom DJing couldn't. It also renewed my interest in becoming better and better at it. If I hadn't manned up and done the party despite my doubts and fears of "not being good enough", I would have never had such a great time and learned so much.

Anyone see any parallel to learning pickup? Throw caution to the winds, man... you've done enough reading, now's the time to put yourself out there and do it. There will never be a right time, except RIGHT NOW.


EDIT: Oh and if anyone needs a DJ for a party, I'll [i]probably[/i] be happy to do it in exchange for free booze. This offer stands until I decide I need to recoup some money from my hobby and start charging for my services.

[Guest]

way to go man!!

[Guest]

A friend and I used to do the mobile DJ thing back when we where in HS and we where charging usually around $300/hour (usually just something like $50-100 below what the going rate was.....it was a hobby, so any amount of money was profit).

We didn't spin or anything, but had a PA system + decent mixer + lights + computer w/ PCDJ Red....all of which paid for itself in a few months.

--Easiest money I've ever made in my life.--

We quit after it started being a hassle to pack/unpack all the shit and transport it everywhere (we mostly did middle/high school dances and a few birthday parties).

All in all though, if you can get yourself a few cheesy DJ lights and a good collection of music, you're looking at pretty good investment and some easy income on the side.

If practice (& money) are what you're after, I'd recommend calling around to the local schools and ask if they need a DJ...explain that you're willing to beat the price of whoever they already have. Some of them have deals with DJs for their dances for the whole year, but you'd be surprised how willing to hire you on the schools who don't will be.
The last year we did it, we wound up following suit and setting up a year long deal with one of the Duncanville middle schools to do all their dances.

Anyway, I'm not really looking to get back into it or anything, but I might still have some lights n crap layin around if you're interested in obtaining some.

[Guest]

DJ is the lowest rung on the celeb ladder. If you want to be "Famous" without all of the fame hassles it is the way to go. I figure the celebrity track goes DJ, local Model, Club Owner, Radio personality, local TV talking head.
I like AlphaMo's DJ gig idea, anything that I can do to make money where I don't have to have a regular job is cool by me.