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First Gig Tips?

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  • October 26, 2012 at 3:20 pm #30835
    Will
    Member

    Show up at the place way before your gig to get an idea of their soundsystem and where to connect and what cables or accs you might need.

    Practice

    Don’t plan out your entire set, you are there to have fun and help others have fun. Nobody really cares about how tight your transitions are, just as long as the music is fun. Don’t fret too much about measuring up to anyone’s standards, it’s your first time out. They will be more forgiving than you think, and most will probably not even be paying attention if you are an opener anyways.

    Go for a piss before your set starts, just to be extra sure, haha.

    Best of luck to you. Knock them out of the park!

    October 26, 2012 at 4:28 pm #30846
    Hee Won Jung
    Participant

    Know the place you are playing at…Go there on the night that you are suppose to play…see what the crowd is like and what the vibe is like…Nothing worse than going to a place wanting to play Banging Electro and its a Hip Hop night LOL.

    Also make sure u know what equipment they have and what you need to bring with you…and have spares of whatever it is you need…extra cords etc. As well Take a CD with some music or a USB stick just in case things go south and you need to reboot your computer or whatever.

    The biggest lesson though is…HAVE FUN! oh and dont play music out of time slot…like Crazy Banging PSY Trance at 9pm…

    October 26, 2012 at 8:51 pm #30855
    Strictly T
    Participant

    Don’t worry about nerves – they are good and will help you focus!

    Learn from my mistakes though and dont get really drunk to make them go away! A drink or two is fine IMO as it calms the nerves and can get you more into the flow but a few too many and your brain cant count properly and it can all go wrong:)

    October 26, 2012 at 8:52 pm #30856
    Strictly T
    Participant

    Hee Won Jung, post: 31002, member: 948 wrote: Know the place you are playing at…Go there on the night that you are suppose to play…see what the crowd is like and what the vibe is like…Nothing worse than going to a place wanting to play Banging Electro and its a Hip Hop night LOL.

    Also make sure u know what equipment they have and what you need to bring with you…and have spares of whatever it is you need…extra cords etc. As well Take a CD with some music or a USB stick just in case things go south and you need to reboot your computer or whatever.

    The biggest lesson though is…HAVE FUN! oh and dont play music out of time slot…like Crazy Banging PSY Trance at 9pm…

    I couldnt agree more with your last point – one of the lads we DJ with plays really fast BPMs at the start of the night and doesnt think to build things up it can be quite annoying!

    October 27, 2012 at 4:22 am #30865
    Arthur Kokanov
    Participant

    Triple check everything. My first gig I forgot my headphones… and had to use the crappy headphones from the club owners.

    October 28, 2012 at 9:47 pm #30925
    DJ Menno
    Participant

    When I get the nerves I always think : “If I wasn’t nervous now, it would mean i don’t care about it. Since I’m nervous, I care, and will automatically do my best”. From there, just go with the flow and have fun 🙂

    Oh, for the material, draw all your cabling on a piece of paper and as you put the stuff in the bag put a tick next to every item. Can’t forget anything like that…

    November 4, 2012 at 7:05 am #31328
    Marcel
    Participant

    go to the bar and just listen to the music, observe the crowd, have some small talk with the resident DJ.

    If you bring your own Gear, make sure you can have a soundcheck and know how to connect to the clubs system and how to set your levels (if you have unbalanced output only)

    write a checklist what to bring

    dont prepare just a tight playlist, prepare at least double/tripple of the time you play

    bring some mints with you

    dont forget to pee 😉

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