SHADOW BOOTED FROM THE DECKS
I don't care if I get kicked out of every rich kid club on the planet. I will never sacrifice my integrity as a DJ...ever #AllBassesCovered
2012 has been filled with similar incidents happening to high-profile DJs, including Mansion’s ejection of Dennis Ferrer, the widely-noted booting of Mark Farina from the decks of Marquee Dayclub in Las Vegas and last weekend’s removal of Tommy Sunshine from W.i.P. in New York City. But what exactly causes these incidents? Our friends The DJ Gospel might think it’s the apocalypse, but there’s a better explanation if you follow the money.
So @djshadow, @dennisferrer and @djjazzyjeff215 get booted from DJing, and @ParisHilton is asked to DJ. Mayans may be right #ATITG
WHEN DANCE MUSIC AND CASINO NIGHTCLUBS MERGE
If
you’ve been living under a rock, the last few years have seen an
immense rise in the popularity of electronic music and DJs have stepped
to the foreground of pop culture. We’ve seen DJs and producers have
success all over top music charts, on award shows, and in producing pop
music. This success has translated to superstardom for many – and as
festivals with electronic music headliners increased in number and
attendance, it’s been clear to venues of all types that there’s a
significant amount of money to be made.Las Vegas and Miami are both party destination cities – where casinos and nightclubs thrive on the business of out-of-towners coming to their city and partying all night long. If there’s a popular performer in America, you can bet that a casino in Las Vegas will try to book them – as the New York Times reported earlier this year, the new stars of Vegas are DJs. Miami has seen a similar growth in electronic music tourism, perhaps best exemplified by October’s announcement that the Ultra Music Festival will expand to two weekends.
But just because more DJs are being booked to get feet in the doors of venues doesn’t mean that they’re the biggest money makers once a nightclub opens. As Tommy Sunshine aptly noted in his letter to Vibe after last weekend’s incident:
Basically their #1 priority is their “clients” who spend money in bottle service & what they say dictates the music direction. The DJ’s who have to play to people who act this way don’t deserve this kind of abuse.For many of the big spenders in nightclubs, they’re not there to hear Shadow’s forward-thinking sounds. A quick perusal of pictures shot at the Shadow gig on Saturday night gives a good indication that the crowd on the dancefloor was into DJ Shadow’s performance – but they also reveal that Hugh Hefner was in attendance (see photo above-right).
The club already has all of the cover charges from the crowd once they’re in the door – but if a big-spending VIP like Hefner isn’t into the music and complains, the club and/or promoters will likely take notice (for the record, Hefner could be a huge Shadow fan – he’s just an example of the types of VIP patrons that spend money on bottle service in clubs like Mansion).
FIVE TIPS FOR PLAYING AT NIGHTCLUBS
Ultimately, DJing at certain venues can become a delicate balancing act for many working DJs. There’s a responsibility to maintain and enhance the environment, mood, and atmosphere of a club night – but that has to be weighed against your own personal artistic integrity and what the limits of your willingness to become a human jukebox is.
1) Play Appropriate Nights/Venues: This is one of the biggest tips a DJ looking to increase their bookings should heed. If you’re not comfortable playing a gig where the crowd might need non-stop top 40 to keep anyone on the dance floor, then don’t take a gig that’s going to be advertised as such.
Doing your homework is a big part of this tip – you should go to a club on the night that you’ll be playing and see what works and what doesn’t. This way you’ll have a good understanding of what the normal crowd is like at the venue and can plan accordingly.
2) Communicate and Network: As
the DJ, you want the nightclub staff to be on your side in any
situation, so make sure you know them. Talk to and learn the names of
the promoters, the owners, the managers, and the security – as they’ll
be the ones who will come up and let you know if there’s any issues
before things get serious. Ideally you’ll get honest feedback from them
about how the night is going from their perspective, and if you’re
friendly with them, they’re unlikely to come up and give you the axe
without any warning.3) Be prepared to change: It’s easy to get into a DJ booth and get separated from how the music sounds to the audience versus how it sounds to you. Be ready for feedback from the audience, because like it or not, it’s coming. You can be ready for this – if you did your homework and investigated the club previously, you’ll know what types of tracks to keep in reserve in case your selection isn’t going over well.
4) Turn the other cheek: If things go poorly and you’re asked to leave the decks, keep your cool. If it’s appropriate, you can let the crowd know that you’re done , like Shadow did in the video above – where the crowd’s reaction made it clear that they were not happy that this happened.
Remember that your best booking asset as a DJ are your connections, so don’t let the fact that you’ve been asked to leave the decks affect how you act towards the other DJs, the crowd, etc. These people might not agree with the decision to end your set – but even if they do, don’t act brashly and risk damaging your reputation just because this gig didn’t work out.
5) Live to
Credit : DJ Tech Tools
No comments:
Post a Comment