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View Full Version : Getting bored at my Bar Gig



pumpitdj
02-16-2012, 11:58 PM
So I started this Bar gig about a month ago , which I dj from 9 to 12 every thursday . I hook up to there Projector and put on a VJ dance show for everyone . Well so far every week I have been there , they get like tops 15 people ,which most of them just play at the pool tables . A few people request songs , but I do not get any dancers . They request mostly Country or Classic Rock . I'm so bored and I'm not having fun djing at this bar , but I'm still getting paid . Don't know how long they are going to keep me around , I dont think they know how to advertise .

Unknown DJ
02-17-2012, 03:28 AM
That's almost 100% my story, I started less than 3 months ago. First Thursdays now Friday/Saturdays. Average about 20 people. New years was 5 yes 5 people at might night.

Evil Steve
02-17-2012, 05:10 AM
Stick with it. The owners are trying to figure a way to keep patrons in the bar. Fifteen is better than zero. As time goes on, if you please the fifteen, there will be more.
Make sure the music you're playing will satisfy you. If you're spending three hours of your life each week, playing music you hate, the money had better be phenomenal. If the music you hate is bringing in more patrons, you can guess what music you're going to play more of.
I've been in this situation myself. Usually a bar owner expects you to bring your own crowd with you. Then they expect to pay you a pittance. Then they expect your crowd to drink like sailors on their first day of shore leave. Then they complain about how much work it was to serve all those thirsty people, so you should be helping behind the bar, since all you did all night is sit around and spin music.
Hmmmmm. I miss those bar gigs.

DJMC
02-17-2012, 08:02 AM
Three words:

WET T-SHIRT CONTEST!!!

iammongo
02-17-2012, 08:49 AM
If you want to have fun then you need to help the bar out by advertising for them. Not by spending any of your cash but just doing word of mouth.
Tell your friends to come hang out. If they show up and have fun then ask each and every oene of them to bring some more people next week....etc etc.
Use facebook and post that you are dj'ing and wanna see people....make it fun for yourself.

Now on the other hand thursday night can be tough...at least where i live :lol:

pumpitdj
02-17-2012, 09:11 AM
I have been advertising alot , posting on Facebook , and classified sites , and yes even telling my friends , but they all work the next day , so they don't want to go out on a Thursday night . The area that I'm in is not the greatest either . I'm going to hang in atleast until they say that they don't need me anymore .

DJ Scotch
02-17-2012, 09:26 AM
I have been advertising alot , posting on Facebook , and classified sites , and yes even telling my friends , but they all work the next day , so they don't want to go out on a Thursday night . The area that I'm in is not the greatest either . I'm going to hang in at least until they say that they don't need me anymore .

Time to discuss with Manager to put you on Friday nights. Ask them to give you one Friday evening out of month and see how you perform. Bring you A+ game on that day and secure 1 or 2 Friday/Saturday nights there.

That's what I did with the place where we will be spinning every week Friday/Saturday.

DJAkash
02-17-2012, 05:53 PM
I agree with Scotch, friday nights, and get those people in there, make it bump. After that extra money i'm sure they drank up, you can expect a change of music tempo maybe genre and possibly a ra

djshawn
02-17-2012, 06:08 PM
You could talk with the owner and come up with some drink specials for the ladies, perhaps get a coyote ugly theme going with the bartenders as well. Somehow make your thursday nite the party place to be. How calling it a "Red Solo Cup" nite ??? Push booze on the ladies and the guys will come......just a thought:)

DutchApples
02-20-2012, 03:47 AM
I'm in the same boat as well. Bored with the gig, but it's steady but unlike this...I always have a dance floor of a few hundred people. I say stick with it if the money is good and agree with others who said it could eventually build. Just keep looking!

Windows 95
02-20-2012, 06:41 AM
So I started this Bar gig about a month ago , which I dj from 9 to 12 every thursday . I hook up to there Projector and put on a VJ dance show for everyone . Well so far every week I have been there , they get like tops 15 people ,which most of them just play at the pool tables . A few people request songs , but I do not get any dancers . They request mostly Country or Classic Rock . I'm so bored and I'm not having fun djing at this bar , but I'm still getting paid . Don't know how long they are going to keep me around , I dont think they know how to advertise .Remember you are playing at a bar, not a dance club.

I've always kind of liked Tuesday & Thursday. Usually Wednesday, is packed because that's "Ladies' Night". Friday & Saturday has the most pressure, because if there's a drop in patrons you get 100% of the blame. Never mind that the roads are pure ice that night, or the bar down the street has a popular Elvis impersonator that night, or there's a popular sporting event & all the regulars are at the Sports bar.

The thing I like about non-Wednessday, Friday, Saturday nights (I have Sunday & Monday nights off.) Is that you can do what you want how you want. Friday & Saturday is strictly Country, Classic Rock & some current Top 40.
Myself personally, Tuesday night is my "Funky Disco" night. I play Disco, Soul, Funk & Hip-Hop (Any dance music.) from the 1970s & 1980s.
Thursday night is my "Crazy Thursday" night. I throw every off the wall thing out there & see what sticks. Dr. Demento style novelty songs, Thrash Metal, Big Hair Rock, Polka, songs that are in Spanish, Techno, Classical, Psychedelic, traditional world music (Africa, Japan, China, India, Korea, Russia, etc.), 78s, Pop & anything else. (Just like your bar, most people are there to play pool & shoot darts, not dance.) I have an open mic between songs. If someone comes up to the mic. Instead of transitioning songs, I'll let them tell a joke. If I think the joke is funny enough, they get a free drink. The only down side is that Thursday nights are now a sausage fest.

Obviously the vast majority of bar owners are not going to let you do a "Crazy Thursday" format. But the important thing is to be creative. If people aren't there to dance, working the mic is probably going to be more important than what music you're playing. I can't stand the taste of beer or alcohol. But whatever overpriced swill the bartender wants me to push, I'll try to make sound like it is SO cheap & SO good tasting.

I would be worried about your numbers if they are as low now as when you started. If alcohol sales hasn't increased significantly higher, there's no reason to pay for you to DJ. Some bar owners are aware that it takes time for things to catch on. But they aren't going to keep paying for something forever, if it's not working.

whiterob
02-21-2012, 12:50 PM
I didn't read all the posts, but I was in the same boat. My story was, played thursdays at a bar in the boondocks that the owner (well one of three) wanted dance music. It was hit or miss, a few nights actually had around 50 people, others practically nobody. I tried a number of different things to get people there and to dance and whatnot. Well after a few months I got word that the owner that had hired me sold his part of the bar. I called up, and go figure the other owners canceled the gig on me. So I contacted the old owner (who loved me because of my personality) and just wished him best of luck with his new adventures. He calls me the other day and says he just bought 3 more bars, and wants to rotate me between them. So moral of the story is just stick with it, do what makes the owner happy, and good things will come. hopefully.

I also dj another bar that is out in the middle of nowhere on friday nights that has taken some time but is finally taking off.. Now the bar owner wants to switch bands to friday and me to saturdays as he thinks I can bring a bigger sat crowd than the bands. (I think its a bad idea as where this bar is, I don't have anyone who will follow me out there, as it is about 40 minutes from Minnepolis) But whatever, these small bars pay better than the big ones unless you have a huge following.

pumpitdj
02-21-2012, 01:27 PM
I also forgot to mention that the owner at this bar , stays there and plays pool while i'm djing so the only music he wants is country or classic rock , he does not want any of the top 40 music because he does not want to attrack black people , yes he said that !

DJ Scotch
02-21-2012, 01:53 PM
I also forgot to mention that the owner at this bar , stays there and plays pool while i'm djing so the only music he wants is country or classic rock , he does not want any of the top 40 music because he does not want to attrack black people , yes he said that !

May be you want to educate him in some ways that Top US 40 doesn't mean he will attract specific type of people. People wants to hear dancing music not country or classic rock on their night out.

pumpitdj
02-21-2012, 01:58 PM
May be you want to educate him in some ways that Top US 40 doesn't mean he will attract specific type of people. People wants to hear dancing music not country or classic rock on their night out.


Any suggestions ?

DJ Scotch
02-21-2012, 02:05 PM
Any suggestions ?

Make an appointment with him, ask him what type of crowd he wants to target, understand his view about his place. Go out and compare it with surroundings, competitors, explain him what needs to be changed based on your research. Educate him by taking certain steps, changes he can target xyz crowd, how that will be good for his business, his profitability will rise etc.

If he is a good businessman he will appreciate your efforts and hard-work. If not you know what kind of person you are dealing with. In either case it is beneficial for you. If he makes changes you will see the change in environment and everything will turn into interesting. If other route you know its time to thank him and move out of that place.

Cheers!!

whiterob
02-22-2012, 03:16 PM
start liking country and classic rock:freak:

I agree, best thing to do is get there early tomorrow and talk to him to discuss what he wants out of it. I have done that, and it at least gives you an excuse to tell people about why it is so dead. It might be ending your gig there, but explain to him that just having a jukebox would be enough to play the music you have been, and it probably doesn't pay to have you there. (that is if you are ready to be done, as I have gotten to that point where I really did not feel like going anymore)

VjQue
02-22-2012, 06:26 PM
start liking country and classic rock:freak:

I agree, best thing to do is get there early tomorrow and talk to him to discuss what he wants out of it. I have done that, and it at least gives you an excuse to tell people about why it is so dead. It might be ending your gig there, but explain to him that just having a jukebox would be enough to play the music you have been, and it probably doesn't pay to have you there. (that is if you are ready to be done, as I have gotten to that point where I really did not feel like going anymore) Why Quit a paying gig and not have a replacement gig lined up.

Ok A bar is not a club as stated and if your not having fun then your doing something wrong.

I been at a bar for 5 years for 4 nights a week and I don't have a issue like some club dj's where they wanna bring another DJ. the bar is loyal so I'm there. I don't play what I like till about 11pm. I'm there from 8pm till 2am. but from 8 to 11 its music I would not listen to on a regular but it keeps the bar packed with the older crowd that spend money.

then the younger crowd comes in cause there like its a club type DJ in there and now its a go. I still have the older folks in there picking up on young ladies and buying them drinks all night. and that's how my 4 night are.

It started like your night but they had regulars that was there till 9 then they went to the other bar that had a DJ. Once I got in that all stopped.

PS. That's where I met my now baby-momma at. And her and her friend keep it live as fuck.

mrkleen
02-23-2012, 08:54 AM
I also forgot to mention that the owner at this bar , stays there and plays pool while i'm djing so the only music he wants is country or classic rock , he does not want any of the top 40 music because he does not want to attrack black people , yes he said that !

Yup. Most bar and club owners are IDIOTS. Their only qualification for running a bar is they like to drink and have few bucks to take over a lease. So sad.

DJ Scotch
02-23-2012, 09:00 AM
Why Quit a paying gig and not have a replacement gig lined up.


PS. That's where I met my now baby-momma at. And her and her friend keep it live as fuck.

That's so nice dude!! My friends always comes no matter what to support me, they love the way I take care of my business. They always tell people how they love my work. They keep the floor packed. Some of my friends can bust some serious moves. All girls and all are hot and sexy ;)

Dave Daschofsky
02-25-2012, 09:53 PM
I run karaoke on thursday nights and it's been going pretty well. The downside is the cost of music, karaoke tracks can be expensive.