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Thread: Kind of sort of not a gig (read you'll understand)

  1. #1
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    Question Kind of sort of not a gig (read you'll understand)

    So I'm Part of a local youth organisation (I'm 18). I dj outside of the organisation in the bedroom. However last night we did a halloween party and i got to do the last 30 mins (sort of ill explain later) The most part of the night was done by boring staff members making sure that everything was how do you say - spick and span and what they liked was played.

    Anyway last half hour the boss comes and says hey DJYamAtree (I don't won't say say my real name) hasn't had a go yet let him on. So me and one of my best mates (who doesn't DJ) Grab the laptop which was running virtual dj and no controller through one channel of a mixer.- I forgot how hard it was to mix without a controller. So we start banging out the more modern edm - all the stuff you'd find in a club that these teenagers are to young to go to for another few years but know the lyrics and melodies to anyway - we were just pressing play when one song finishes I tell her how to press play in virtual Dj and when to press it and drag the crossfader over with the mouse etc. So I start looking at the external mixer (the audio was routed from virtual Dj to the one channel only remember) when mixing over tracks i start hitting the effects because beat matching was impossible with no headphones and the worlds worst laptop trackpad I have ever used. so yeah if its not right ill just put a bit of an effect over it. What the hell its only a few 13 - 15 year olds they like stuff like that anyway - well I did when i was there age and they weren't complaining.

    After a few tracks we were doing well. We got a few people dancing and I even managed to get a song (all of me - tiesto birthday remix) where i would cut out part of the lyrics and the 4-5 people that had been dancing would continue singing through it. All in all it was very good. In the whole half hour we only managed to accidentally clear the dance floor (all be it there weren't exactly that many people on it) once. (can blame my poor selection of a track that was to old for the younger ones to remember for that. apparently pendulum doesn't age as well as I thought)

    anyway when I finished the night I realised that even though the mixing was shocking because there was a crowd that kept dancing i wasn't as critical as i am when I'm mixing in my bedroom and theres no hype or crowd to try reading etc. Is this a common thing among Djs that without a crowd it can become hard to select tracks and you become critical of yourself?

    TL: DR;
    Even though I wasn't mixing properly and everything was off beat because of cr*p equipment i was less critical of my mix because there was a crowd. Is this a general thing among DJs?
    Last edited by DJYamAtree; 10-31-2014 at 01:21 PM.
    http://www.mixcloud.com/DJYamAtree/
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  2. #2
    Member kir mokum's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJYamAtree View Post
    apparently pendulum doesn't age as well as I thought)
    loooooooooooooooooolllllll.....

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    Quote Originally Posted by kir mokum View Post
    loooooooooooooooooolllllll.....
    Haha was a big one with the people my age back a few years ago XD and knife party are still fairly large with my age group. there virtually the same member from my understanding of how it was explained to me. correct me if I'm wrong.
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    Member J5k's Avatar
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    As far as bedroom vs club differences, and not having a crowd in the bedroom, I used to think like this too. One trick is to dance around a bit yourself. Another is to record the mix with the mindset of sharing it with others. That should make you think of a handful of people and their reactions to your song selection.

    I don't know about virtual dj, but in traktor, you can map controls to keys on the keyboard. It's still not as simple as using a dedicated controller but it is possible to put down a decent set. I've done it quite a few times after packing up my turntables and stuff while the late night crowd still wants more. It's always fun to throw yourself into a challenging situation. It sounds like you did a solid job, so kudos!

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    yeah. I always use the controller when I'm at home and I did take it that night but not my laptop and the guy who's laptop was there didn't have internet for me to log into my account thats got the license for the controller (he was using the free home version). Could of set up the headphones but for half hour it was just to much of a pain of going through his audio settings.

    Back onto the crowd side of things I do jump around a bit in the bedroom. the fact i have the kit set up against a wall probably doesn't help because its sort of hard to visualise a crowd when theres a wall where they would be lol. Ido record mixes occasionally but I don't share them if I feel like there not to good.
    http://www.mixcloud.com/DJYamAtree/
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  6. #6
    Member Tobias Enstrom's Avatar
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    hard to visualise a crowd when theres a wall where they would be lol.
    Well you know what ya gotta do…make a crowd! Find a crowd picture online and enlarge it and stick it on your wall.
    a picture like this maybe

  7. #7
    Great Story .... Sound's like you had a lot of fun ... And Really ... That's what it ALLL about

    Organize Your own night now with a few more grown up kids ... They will get it and understand the music more ... And if you have the same amount of fun people will feed off that and your gig's will be awesome

    Good luck with the future

    Peace

    Ps ... The Crowd picture is a great idea ... A crowd video would be even better

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    Quote Originally Posted by Usta_B_aDJ View Post
    Great Story .... Sound's like you had a lot of fun ... And Really ... That's what it ALLL about

    Organize Your own night now with a few more grown up kids ... They will get it and understand the music more ... And if you have the same amount of fun people will feed off that and your gig's will be awesome

    Good luck with the future

    Peace

    Ps ... The Crowd picture is a great idea ... A crowd video would be even better
    liking the idea, going to throw a house party some point just need parents to ok it. isn't living with parents such a drag lol. alternativly ill offer to do music for my mates house parties
    http://www.mixcloud.com/DJYamAtree/
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