Those that know me, are aware that one of my great loves is music; playing music is especially special to me. The hobby/occupation of being a disc jockey/dj/selector, is near and dear to my heart; without music, a lot of my relationships, both personal and professional would not survive or even exist, if not for the soothing, calming, teaching and inspiring power of music.
I LOVE MUSIC and I LOVE PLAYING MUSIC!!!!
I have never met anyone, and I mean anyone, who doesn’t love music, whether generally or a specific genre, we all love music; I love movies and TV shows; however, I know people who are not really fans of one or the other, but love music, suggesting that these other formats of entertainment, education and communication, are not as powerful as music.
One of my favourite communications coach, Vinh Giang, who I follow on Instagram; posted a reel, discussing the need for melody in your voice, I’ll link it here; in the reel, he asked someone to recite a single page of their favourite book, but they couldn’t; he posited that the page of a book has roughly 280 to 300 words, which is the same number of words in a song; however, we can recite multiple songs word for word. Why is that? Melody: songs have melody, and melody helps us remember.
There’s a saying I’ve heard many times; actors want to be singers and singers want to be actors; however, I believe it’s the former more than the latter, mainly because, as a live performer, you receive instant feedback for what you’re doing; remember, an actor performs behind a camera, in a quiet studio, with the only feedback coming from the director; when he’s finished, the film is edited and then goes through post-production, then marketing and a whole lot of other stuff before it finally makes it to the big screen; this can be from a couple of months to several years, depending on money, politics, contract disputes and any of several other factors, and when it’s finally screened for the first time, that’s the first time the actor knows how his fans feel about his performance.
For a singer, he’ll voice a tune tonight and tomorrow it’s on the radio and a few days later he’s performing it in front of a live audience; he knows right away if it’s going to be a hit or miss.
So, music is life.
Good, now that we’ve got that out of the way, to the subject matter at hand.
That feeling discussed above, about singers and feedback is oftentimes felt by DJs, if they’re doing it right; if you can understand that a singer will have an audience of thousands singing along to his songs, even if he’s not their favourite artist, so, imagine a DJ being able to collect all the audiences favourite songs from their favourite artists and present them in such a way that it triggers a continuous euphoric, almost orgasmic feeling throughout the crowd; that’s DJing done right, and that’s what I aim for each time I don those headphones and open my MacBook.
If you want to make me happy, tell me what you want to hear and allow me to present it; if I’m unable to give you what you require, I’ll let you know and, if possible, suggest someone more suitable to the task.
If you want to get on my f#$%#^*g nerves, invite me to play music, then have someone approach me and ask:
“Could you turn down the volume a bit? We’re trying to have a conversation.”
Please know that it’s proper upbringing and a sense of decency and etiquette that prevents me, in situation like these, from packing up my equipment and leaving.
EVERY SOCIAL GATHERING DOES NOT REQUIRE A DJ!!!!!!
That is the main reason for this post, to get that point across. Here’s a scenario:
Someone is having a ‘get-together’ for a co-worker, a schoolmate, or a long-lost cousin, and they sit down a make a list of what they’ll need:
- Juice
- Plates, forks, napkins
- Chicken Wings
- Rolls
- Jerk Pork
- Ice
- Etc, etc, etc.
To ensure they’ve thought of everything, they share the list with their bestie, because she’s good at this stuff; the bestie takes one look at the list and responds:
“What about the music? You have to have music.”
The planners original thinking for the gathering, led them down the path of ‘meet and greet’, not ‘gyrate and rotate’, but the bestie could be aptly described by the phrase:
‘Dem navel string cut a road.’
So, they want music, ALL THE TIME.
As a result, an unsuspecting DJ is hired; given a list of songs that definitely have to be played and also, the ‘rules of engagement’, that is, what shouldn’t be played, whether violent songs, profanity, heavy metal, whatever; the DJ says:
‘Fine, I understand.’
When the DJ gets to the venue, there are more red flags than on a racetrack or in a toxic relationship.
Red flags:
- There’s no space allocated for the DJ or his equipment.
- The venue is stuffed with tables and chairs; ‘where are they going to dance? Maybe they’ll clear them at some point.”
- There’s a very detailed order of service. “Shit!!!”
- The MC is very friendly and chatty; now, this may sound like a good thing, but trust me, it’s not. A chatty MC is more often than not, prone to spontaneity, going off script, which means, the order of service will most likely, not be in order. DJs like to prepare any requested music beforehand, so, an order of service assists in that regard, but if Mr. Spontaneous feels the ‘vibe’ for something not prepared, it’s left up to the DJ to match his ‘vibe’ as quickly as possible.
I have been tested many times in this fashion as a result of two problem causing wenches: Miss-Information and Miss-Communication; they’re terrible.
A lot of times, DJ YouTube is quite adequate for the task; allowing you to create personal playlists which you can connect to excellent Bluetooth speakers through your phone, tablet or TV; that same speaker can also accommodate microphones that Mr. Spontaneous loves, in fact, he should control the music too, that way, he can get what he needs when he needs it.
Listen, DJing is an art, and the work done behind the scenes to make it seem simple during performances, takes a lot of time, energy and creativity; so, to reduce that to a random YouTube playlist is downright disrespectful, as a result, the cost to hire a DJ has increased, partially as a deterrent to time wasting.
I’ll end by saying this, the simplest way to determine whether or not a DJ is required is to ask yourself this:
“Do you want people to talk to one another or dance with one another?”
If it’s the former, DJ YouTube is your answer; if it’s the latter, tell him what you want and get out the way, because, while you might not say “Last night the DJ saved my life”, at least you can say, “The DJ got us fallin’ in love.”
Later
Thanks for indulging my ramblings. If you enjoyed my deliberations, be sure to check out my thriller novels The Martial Art and On Jamaica Government Service on various platforms. They’re available in eBook, Paperback and Hardcover, and Audiobooks coming soon.
However, if you’re having commitment issues, check out my FREE short story, The Martial Art Origins: Severance, available as a free download.
You can explore my site for more interesting content.
Keep Reading. Cheers.
Dane