DJGold

djwak59 · Joined: September 21st, 2004 Posts: 200 Location: Dyer, IN

Hi everybody,

I just did a Phillipino wedding last night and could'nt seem to find a groove at all !

It seemed all they wanted to do was dance to the big hitters, Cha-Cha slide, Electric slide, YMCA......you get the picture. When that's what was playin', they were into it, as soon as I'd change it up, it was everyone for their seats. I could'nt even seem to get them on the floor with some ballads for a slow dance !

Most of the crowd, maybe 60%, were mid 40s to 50s. There were quite a bit of kids there too who wanted to hear Fallout Boy and Greenday. And plenty of little girls who wanted to hear the latest flash in the pan rapper.

I tried to stick to the B+G playlist, but that didn't seem to help, just luke warm response.

So, I'm feelin' like I should hang up the Tux and call it quits ! Any of you guys ever get like this? :(

Morale boosting is greatly appreiciated. See ya.

DJ Teddy Bear · Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 10:23 am Post subject:

Do you do Phillipino parties often? My guess is, NO, which may be why you had a bad show.

But that doesn't matter. We all get crappy shows once in a while that make us rethink our carreer choice.

And then the following weekend, you do a killer performance and forget about the prior week. Don't sweat it. And don't dwell on it. Learn from it, sure, but move on.

Just last week, I had a minor problem which I couldn't get out of my head. Then when I was doing announcements, I screwed up a name. It gets worse from there. It was like every time I got on my mic, I screwed up. Or so it seemed. I also had trouble concentrating, picking music. I DID have the crowd going, but I knew my performance sucked. Or at least not what it should be.

I was most definately not at the top of my game.

I got a big thank you at the end, along with a $100 tip.

Yesterday, I had a killer party. Everybody had a great time. Even the bartender said it was a great party and great music. What did the client think? Don't know. No tip, and barely even a thank you / good bye from them.

Whatever.

The point is, don't let one crappy show get you down. Learn from it.

msounddjs · Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 3:54 pm Post subject:

The Pinoys here like a remixed slew of latin, arabic and pop rap.
Basically upbeat latin stuff.
But then again this is the 20s to 30s crowd

dokai · Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 4:45 pm Post subject:

Ditto what Teddy Bear said: One bad show doesn't mean you suck. It just means that you didn't prepare in the correct manner. Or, perhaps, it was just a case of people not being in the mood to dance. I once managed to get only 10% of a group to dance after struggling all night, only to be told that it was the first time any of them had ever danced at that event. I guess in that context 10% wasn't so bad. :hahaha:

Analyze it, find the lesson (if there is one), and move on. Don't beat yourself up about it.

Joseph Ivy · Joined: August 16th, 2006 Posts: 133 Location: Glendale, AZ

I make it a point to ask if people expect a lot of dancing. I also wander around the room a bit to get a feel for the crowd.

I remember a graduation party that my mentor was hired at while I was still his assistant. It was a group of less than 20 people. Half of them were teenage band geeks and the other half were 70+ years old. We were going for about half an hour when Alex, the DJ, left me in charge of the music and went to ask why people weren't dancing.

It turns out that NONE of them liked to dance. They were all band geeks and they all liked particular music, but NONE of them had any intention of dancing that night. We ended up playing a few ballads for some of the older people but it was mostly 4 hours of classic rock and funk as background music.

In my opinion, that is a waste of great dance music, but they all said that they had a great time.

Go figure?

CJ Greiner · Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:45 pm Post subject:

Nuthin' to worry about -- it happens! And... it'll happen again.

It all depends on the crowd -- sometimes all people expect from a DJ is the same thing they're used to on the radio: play fun listening music.

Other times, you get a crowd at the other end of the spectrum: they'll dance to absolutely anything. You come out smelling like a rose no matter what music you play.

We always wish for the second type of crowd, but the reality is that being a Mobile DJ brings us in contact with a variety of groups with varying tastes, and we have to work hard to find the right combination of music to please them. Every once in a while, you'll get the kind of crowd you had the other night, and the best way to please them may just be to play their requests -- even if it means playing the same line dance song more than once.

There are things that you can "put in your bag of tricks" for situations like this, including interactive games and new line dances that they don't know yet. But, for those extreme situations where they really don't want interactivity -- you're stuck.

Keep doing great performances and the memory of that crowd will fade into the past... 8)

djwak59 · Joined: September 21st, 2004 Posts: 200 Location: Dyer, IN

Thanks a lot everybody ! :D

I did a 30th B-Day yesterday, a 4 hour show, just come in, do the playlist and take requests, says the wife of the birthday boy.

The show was at a VFW type hall with about 150 people, mostly ages 30 to 55. Well, long story short, the wife and her friends, about 10 of them, danced ALL night long to current hip-hop and alt. rock. They never seemed to get tired !

I was told NOT to play the usual wedding "stuff". I had very few requests from other guests, it was a BIG drinkin' crowd, and as long as my client and her friends were on the floor, it was good enough for me.

Thanks again to everyone who replied.

See ya. 8)

DJ Teddy Bear · Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 9:06 pm Post subject: Re: Need morale boost!

That'll be 5¢ please.

1stchoice · Joined: October 1st, 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Burton, MI

You Are Always To Have A Back Up Ready, Jokes, Gags Even A Little Magic Wont Hurt. Always Make Yourself Or Your Immediate Help The Butt If Needed In A Joke, This Will Create A Great Atmosphere For The Entire Evening. However Occasionally You Do Get Sticks In The Mudd That Cannot Be Easily Motivated -- Take A Step Back & Try It -- It Really Works..

Turk In Mid Michigan

djwak59 · Joined: September 21st, 2004 Posts: 200 Location: Dyer, IN

Teddybear.....where do I send it ? :lol:

Toneman · Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:04 am Post subject:

he only excepts wooden nickels

Joseph Ivy · Joined: August 16th, 2006 Posts: 133 Location: Glendale, AZ

Speaking of needing a morale boost, my last two wedding were extraordinarily lame.

At the first wedding, the bride and groom had a great time catching up with old friends but there was a vocal group of 5 or 6 people who kept complaining about the music. The problem was that I was playing all requests.

My last wedding was at a resteraunt that did not allow me to bring in my own amplification equipment. Their system kept cutting out the highs and the food was twenty minutes late. To top it off, the bride and groom decided to disappear for 20 minutes (which they called 5 minutes) when I was about to announce the first dance (just after I cleared it with them).

There were a dozen children there with parents who wouldn't stick them in the childrens' area. Of course, the kids just couldn't stay away from me. All in all, the couple (probably mostly the husband who compared me to an ipod at our first meeting) want to 'compare notes' on my performance. I haven't decided how I'm going to handle it.

Most of the stuff that went wrong was completely out of my control. However, there are three or four things that I would have done differently if I had the chance. For instance, I would have had the kids activities while the parents were in line for the buffet. Once the parents had eaten, we could have sat the kids down to eat in their area. Hopefully, the kids would have stayed there for a while.

In any case, I am now going to walk away from any event where the client compares me to an ipod.

dokai · Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:16 pm Post subject:

Joseph Ivy wrote: At the first wedding, the bride and groom had a great time catching up with old friends but there was a vocal group of 5 or 6 people who kept complaining about the music. The problem was that I was playing all requests.

Probably a "friend of the family" who's a DJ and was doing the "sour grapes" response to not getting the business. Or maybe they were only there because they "HAD" to be there, not because they wanted to be. Whatever their REAL problem was, it wasn't the music.

Quote: My last wedding was at a resteraunt that did not allow me to bring in my own amplification equipment. Their system kept cutting out the highs and the food was twenty minutes late. To top it off, the bride and groom decided to disappear for 20 minutes (which they called 5 minutes) when I was about to announce the first dance (just after I cleared it with them).

That's one of the main reasons I try to do the first dance immediately after the grand entrance of the B&G. Everyone already has their attention focused on the B&G, and they haven't had a chance to disappear yet! It's unfortunate that you had to deal with equipment issues when it wasn't even your equipment. Hopefully the venue accepted responsibility. (Yeah, like THAT happened.)

I know what you mean about the kids, too. Luckily for me, it seems that most of the people in this area have gotten tired of kiddies running wild during receptions, and either leave them home with a sitter or sedate them before arriving. It's getting pretty common around here for wedding invitations to specify that children under twelve aren't invited. Makes my life easier, but it's a poor statement about most parent's ability to control their children.

Like you said, almost everything was out of your direct control. However, it's a long running complaint that the DJ always gets blamed when things don't go well. I doubt that's going to change any time soon, unfortunately. The good news is that we seem to be receiving more of the credit for the good times. When that becomes more common, then we'll have fewer idiots comparing us to iPods. :roll: