Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: Why don't you get out to play gigs anymore? (experienced djs in mid 30s and up)

  1. #1
    Member Crushgroove's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Ghetto of Houston
    Posts
    582

    Why don't you get out to play gigs anymore? (experienced djs in mid 30s and up)

    Could it be your career? Kids?? Both?? Maybe the scene in your area is dead? Or do kids just suck nowadays? Lol
    What is it that's holding you back???
    Bored of it?? Or are you just being lazy?
    Maybe moving on to bigger and better things?
    Let's hear it.
    (((DJF member since 06')))

  2. #2
    Moderator pete's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    old orléans
    Posts
    2,527
    Quote Originally Posted by Crushgroove View Post
    Could it be your career? Kids?? Both?? Maybe the scene in your area is dead? Or do kids just suck nowadays? Lol
    What is it that's holding you back???
    I have moved to a rural setting. 0 scene. France is surprisingly unaware of decent club music, considering it is the origin of the first ever discotheque.
    I have a kid to look after (this is probably the major factor - when the baby was born the noise in the house had to be kept to a minimum to avoid waking it up, now any spare time is given to taking the kid out to experience the world).
    The kids these days go to the tiny local disco thinking it is good. It plays bottom feeder pop music and has overpriced bottle service. It makes the yokels think they are living the clubbing high life. God help them if they ever went to a proper club.

    I fully intend to take the world dance music scene over on my retirement. I think the world is ready for a 70 year old DJ partying harder than the kids.
    bored, curious, deaf or just bad taste in music?
    finally a mix by me
    and what's this, another shoddy mix...another dull mix

  3. #3
    Member fueledbymusic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Inland Empire CA
    Posts
    1,545
    Well. I'm a good example of who you are asking about. My interest in DJ and any sort of gigs is Next to nothing. Perhaps one big reason for it is because of the legal aspects of DJing. I don't like to think of any threat of complainers of my blasting music and cops coming over. Or more scary, the wrong kind of attention from the wrong kind of people. And to top it off, possible issues with copyright, even though its all private. The thought of music industry getting on me for no license to play their music to make money on gigs. All those thoughts is keeping me at bay. Don't Want ANY trouble.
    I am not a professional DJ. It's a backyard hobby I love! In the garage. Numark ndx-500, American Audio 10 mxr , 4 BFM tuba 24s, EV ZLX 12p's, Truss full of lights. I STILL have all my equipment as of January 2023!

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Teesside
    Posts
    1,228
    I'm 38... This is my career, no kids, the scene is dead in my area and the kids always sucked.

    Holding myself back being too lazy, settling for mediocrity, always aiming to fail, running with however it is. Got bored of mixing at home years ago, moved on to bigger things, built a digital scalextric, simulates tyre wear, fuel burn, weight etc. 6 cars on any lane, lane changers, pits, race analytics, the works. Revamped a few retro board games too (no joke, anything to avoid mixing).

    Back to DJ'ing... Every Friday, Saturday night at my local is enough. No more 4 nights a week or traveling. Some times it's good, some times not so. 2 seconds from my flat (which is falling down, practically derelict, worth it for the space, Jacuzzi still in the hall way). Free booze, low wages, it's truly amazing!!!

  5. #5
    Member dlove's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Dundee
    Posts
    2,339
    I gave up my club residency last September, and since then i've been asked to do festivals ect as miss dlove and I've turned them down - not because i've given up dj'ing, but because I'm in the process of getting a new venue ready to open for my specific kind of music & atmosphere. A risky move, and it's been a massive learning curve, but I felt it was time for a serious change.
    As an almost 45 yr old, my son runs one of the busiest nights now, the clubscene here is very youthful, and rightly so. We're not going to get any more 'youth cultures' if we don't allow them to run things!
    I'm hoping this new venue we're restoring will draw people of all ages, still a party with the music at the fore, but more relaxed, with somewhere nice to sit and something nice to drink. I've not given-up, i'm just moving on to somewhere more suited to my particular vibes now. It's my intention to be 'manning' the decks until i'm in my 70's at least!
    Last edited by dlove; 05-24-2017 at 04:18 AM.

  6. #6
    my 30s has been quite a busy time for me as a DJ

    my teens and early 20s was great too, but my 30s has surpassed it now.

    the low point for me was my mid to late 20s, (around the early part of 2000s) due to many factors such as my own changing musical taste, electronic music kinda grew up and became boring (to me) the shift in the industry away from vinyl towards cd and digital, the rise of the pirated Mp3...all that really made me disillusioned
    i remember the first time i turned up at a house party to see a guy "DJing" from an armchair, using traktor.... something died in me that day LOL

    but since 2010, its all picked up again. im playing different kinds of music now, all video (many custom made videos) and im as busy as i want to be a the moment, doing between 1 and 2 gigs a week :-)

    but then again i have no kids, so .....
    Last edited by DJ Matt; 05-26-2017 at 01:31 PM.

  7. #7
    Technoez Rek_Aviles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Miami, FL
    Posts
    2,486
    Relocated to Miami @ 28ish and just decided to retire but still had that itch, missed it too much. Tried to get back in; reached out to other DJs, got back into the scene and supported other DJs but starting back from the bottom really sucked. Plus the scene out here was very different, very commercial compared to the crowd I ran with in NYC. It was difficult finding DJs similar to my style.

    Didn't have it in me to keep do that grind and I started a family so couldn't really hang out til the early morn anymore anyway. Scratched my itch playing online and I started producing too, so both together helped remove that longing to play in front of a crowd again. Still would if the situation presented itself, but im not looking for it.



    Good thread.

  8. #8
    I moved and had to leave the culture where I was behind.

    I have no interest or motivation nor means to try and get back into the club scene here.

    I produce 2 breakbeat podcasts, Produce tracks, have a once a month spot on an online radio station, and continue to make mixes.

    I mobile DJ for money. Playing for every crowd is different, so it is an extremely different scenario.

  9. #9
    Batman andymunro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    North West - England
    Posts
    1,111
    My real ob completely screwed my DJing career up, that and a want of lots of nice things because I'm kind of materialistic and what I earn I would no way get from DJing. I've used DJing as a good chill out after being stressed from work in the evening at home. But I do miss DJIng in front of people, what I really couldnt be arsed with after 6 months of playing in Spain and having to play Lady Gaga every god dam night was playing somewhere where I'd have to play stuff I didn't like because of the crowd.
    * Follow me on Twitter * My latest mixes on Soundcloud / Hear This * All downloads on Hulkshare *
    andymunro.blogspot.co.uk for my tracklistings and links to my 320k mp3 downloads

  10. #10
    Member logisticalstyles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    103
    I left the club scene and got more into doing mobile gigs. I enjoy setting up my sound and lights while creating an amazing party atmosphere. I'd like to someday open my own venue. I already have the lights and sound system. As for the club scene, it's just gotten very lame to me. Everyone is on their phones it all seems very fake to me. Now I focus my DJing on mobile gigs, battles, production, bar/lounges. The bar/lounge gigs are few and far in between. I'm usually filling in for other DJs on those nights.
    My mission is to boldly go where no DJ has gone before

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
a