Confidence to start playing out?

First of all: You are ready. Even if you have little self confidence I hope it gives you some that I have confidence you can do it.

Then: Arrive early and start with a small gig, like a house party.
Arrive early and prepare your DJ booth to make it as comfy as you can and play a little bit before people arrive so you break the ice with yourself 😉
Have one of the following drinks (if you are legal to do so hehe) but ONLY ONE of those:
Either a Campari Orange, Small Vodka Martini, Cuba Libre or a small sip of Ron Barcelo Imperial
This is not to make you drunk (hence ONLY ONE) but to relax you a bit. Stay away from coffeine…
Drink plenty of water.
When the people come in, just start playing and feel the mood.
HAVE FUN and RELAX!

This is about sharing. Everybody makes mistakes, if you make one just go on and keep on HAVING FUN and RELAX.
Things also can go wrong, just make due, go on and keep on HAVING FUN and RELAX.

Here’s some old dutch courage for you : “wie niet waagt wie niet wint” (who doesn’t take risks doesn’t win)

😉

Hi again Kisscut, one good thing to keep in your mind when you finally get that gig is that pretty much everyone in the club/party/gardenshed/watever WANTS to dance, so once you get that first tune going, you’d be surprised how much you relax, i was always chronically nervous before gigs (and i’m no expert, only played in a club 6 or 7 times) but always find that once you’re up there and the tunes are playing you feel miles better, as a few people mentioned i think its a good idea to have at least your first 3 or 4 tunes planned, so you can focus as much as possible on your mixing and basically gettin the feeling for the booth.
With regards to mixing out of the last DJ’s tune, i always just be respectful, let their tune bop away for a few minutes while you get as close to their BPM as you can, , then just take the plunge and mix out of it quick as ya like! Then you’re away.
You’ll probably never lose the nerves entirely, but its totally worth it for the feeling afterwards when you’re finished , and drunk/out of it clubbers are shaking your hand and saying ‘great tunes’ etc. Havin a few mates at your gig will help your nerves too, as will defo havin that drink before hand! (but DONT get messy beforehand, it’ll come back to haunt ya!!!)
Best of luck and let us know how ya get on!

Terry_42, post: 34289, member: 1843 wrote: First of all: You are ready. Even if you have little self confidence I hope it gives you some that I have confidence you can do it.

Then: Arrive early and start with a small gig, like a house party.
Arrive early and prepare your DJ booth to make it as comfy as you can and play a little bit before people arrive so you break the ice with yourself 😉
Have one of the following drinks (if you are legal to do so hehe) but ONLY ONE of those:
Either a Campari Orange, Small Vodka Martini, Cuba Libre or a small sip of Ron Barcelo Imperial
This is not to make you drunk (hence ONLY ONE) but to relax you a bit. Stay away from coffeine…
Drink plenty of water.
When the people come in, just start playing and feel the mood.
HAVE FUN and RELAX!

This is about sharing. Everybody makes mistakes, if you make one just go on and keep on HAVING FUN and RELAX.
Things also can go wrong, just make due, go on and keep on HAVING FUN and RELAX.

That is really great advice. As a new DJ I feel that I will be going thriugh that myself.

Daryl Northrop, post: 35408, member: 2350 wrote: A few more pieces of advice:
1. you don’t have to be perfect – it is likely that whatever crowd you are playing to (large or small) is 98 to 100% non-DJ’s, so if you goof something up, they are not likely to know, care, or remember it.
2. You only have to be ok. For your first few gigs, just do simple mixing. Pre-arrange your tracks. Scout the locations ahead of time. All of these things will help steady the nerves.

True and true. I started djing at friend’s parties, because
1) Being in front of decks makes any guy 20x more attractive, and
B) Nobody cares about the skill level of the dj at a college party. If it has a dj, it’s a sick party. Period.

After that, I started busking and playing outside just for shits and gigs. If I mess up, it’s nothing; often people come up and think it’s awesome you’re out there and hound you for your card. It was a way to eat after I got laid off of construction and still do what I love (was averaging about 10-11 an hour outside, with the occasional ”This is badass, here’s 20/50 bucks at one time).

I’m in the 3rd stage now, where I’m working on playing smaller venues / paid parties/events. I still am nowhere near some of the DJs I’ve seen in person or on youtube, but at least I’m better than Guetta and that counts for something XD. I’m still unsure of whether I could hold it down if I was the sole DJ for a 6pm-2am shift, but everyday brings new confidence and new skills.