DJ VooDoo
So I am turning 40 in May. I have been djing for about 17 years now. I was thinking when is it time to quit? I use to make fun of the old guys in the club and now I am about there myself. Djing is not my livelyhood. I am regional operations manager for DHL. So there won't be a major impact on my fianances. I mainly did mobile gigs and once in a while a guest spot in a club.
Lately I have been so uninspired and I find myself not liking some of the new music out there. I use to love rap and hip hop from the 80's all the way up to the early 2000s but now I hate most of it. I feel like my parents and how they hated the music I use to listen to when i was younger. I know i have said in past posts that it is a Djs job not to play what they want to hear but what gets the people dancing but if you truly do not like what you are spinning then I don't feel you are going to give it your all to sound great.
All the club music and pop music are all starting to sound the same to me as well. Maybe i am just in some funk and have to shake it off.
If any of you other veterans have gone through this let me know how you stay inspired.
Lately I have been so uninspired and I find myself not liking some of the new music out there. I use to love rap and hip hop from the 80's all the way up to the early 2000s but now I hate most of it. I feel like my parents and how they hated the music I use to listen to when i was younger. I know i have said in past posts that it is a Djs job not to play what they want to hear but what gets the people dancing but if you truly do not like what you are spinning then I don't feel you are going to give it your all to sound great.
All the club music and pop music are all starting to sound the same to me as well. Maybe i am just in some funk and have to shake it off.
If any of you other veterans have gone through this let me know how you stay inspired.
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 11:13 am
Martin FourS
I guess this is something that we all have once in a while. I had several, but I'm 48 now.....
I've found a solution in being a "genre-DJ", which means I normally play 70's and 80's music. That's what I grew up with and what I know best. If a wedding or something like a birthday-gig comes along, I update my music with some compilation-CD's to be able to play some current songs but I won't play that for a whole gig.
The big advantage of this is that my crowd is about the same age as I am. They mostly got the same taste of music so it's easier to keep the floor full. And that's what this game is about.
BTW: I am in the same situation. I've got a 40 hrs/week job so my mortgage and diner is safe. If I have to turn a gig down just because it's not my style or crowd life still goes on. But I still love what I do so as long as that's the case I will go on.
I've found a solution in being a "genre-DJ", which means I normally play 70's and 80's music. That's what I grew up with and what I know best. If a wedding or something like a birthday-gig comes along, I update my music with some compilation-CD's to be able to play some current songs but I won't play that for a whole gig.
The big advantage of this is that my crowd is about the same age as I am. They mostly got the same taste of music so it's easier to keep the floor full. And that's what this game is about.
BTW: I am in the same situation. I've got a 40 hrs/week job so my mortgage and diner is safe. If I have to turn a gig down just because it's not my style or crowd life still goes on. But I still love what I do so as long as that's the case I will go on.
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 12:06 pm
synthet1c
If you haven't seen this do yourself a favor, mind you I'm 28 so I still think it's funny...
http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/s15e07-youre-getting-old
http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/s15e07-youre-getting-old
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 12:18 pm
tayla
Damn, not available in UK or Ireland.
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 2:49 pm
Tear Em 'Up
Short answer. It's up to one person, if it's time to quite. You. Only you can answer these questions. But, you don't have to quite, to change....
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 5:41 pm
the southpark was great .....
i'm infected with the same disease .....
i've gotten to where i just won't play anything i strongly object to , however that is subject
to modification at times ..... for instance if the birthday girl wants , say Justin Bieber at a mobile gig, ok
i will play it, BUTT if the birthday girl is at the strip club . .... i play "Ain't My Job" ( to f*%k you on yer birthday)
(Bloodhound Gang) ( with my special video clip....featuring every filthy animal clip of animals at the zoo i could ever find)
so far no one has NOT turned beet red in embarassment from that one..... at the strip club i'm not playing
any bubble gum pop , period. On the other hand, i have a different set of red flags for the strip club, which goes like this
if it's too slow (lotsa current rnb),too weird (needle in the arm metal) or too stupid (Nikki Minaj, lil wayne), too self important
(lil wayne, kanye, jay-z)
so i think i'm saying that it does help to have a conversation with yourself about what is it that you do as a DJ
and what is unacceptable for yourself so that you can like what you do
you have to limit what you'll play not just for the circumstances , but also a little for yourself
using genres can work ......
i don't describe myself as a 70's 80's DJ mostly because it wouldn't be true in my case
i love 70's and 80's , but i just use my own crazy template or algorithm or whatever you want to call it
to make my choices, so genres wouldn't work so well for myself
as for the issue .....it sounds like sh!t , to use the southpark phrase , well .....
as we get older we have more and more ways to compare music and i think we get to be tougher
and tougher critics ........
in new music i often notice the "stretching" to make it rhyme or the infantile subjects (bling, i'm so cool) etc.
i personally can't seem to get past the appalling language of rappers
(i'm not the only one .....remember in Scarface when Tony's wife says "can't you stop saying f@#k all the time"?)
another issue is the obvious lack of a BAND many times ....you remember that, a band ... buncha long hairs with bad
attitudes ...... nowadays it's weird effects and noises , rudimentary drum machine,
singing way off key or using auto tune ... i will never like " music " ?? like that
i really wonder why we're going backwards sometimes ......??????????
for instance before mp3's all music formats were a step forward in quality ......?
before rap, for 100's of thousands or maybe millions of years , musicians were considered to be
someone who wasn't tone deaf and could play one or more instruments ??????????
i believe in general that there is a qualitative slide that has been going strong for maybe 20 years ......
people who can't sing , can't play, can't rhyme , can't talk about anything like an adult , "writing" "songs"
wow...... REALLY ??
this is a slightly windy rant , but i'm gonna keep on keepin' on, 'til the .......little dots run out ..........
i try to distract myself from the perceived shortcomings (of everyone else, those bums) by learning a little bit
of new stuff every day or having some fun with all the hi tech ....
for instance i made an amusing video clip by editing a youtube of a yellow nape parrot
singing " Who Let The Dogs Out" ........hey , it was either that or the valium and the straightjacket again ......
i'm infected with the same disease .....
i've gotten to where i just won't play anything i strongly object to , however that is subject
to modification at times ..... for instance if the birthday girl wants , say Justin Bieber at a mobile gig, ok
i will play it, BUTT if the birthday girl is at the strip club . .... i play "Ain't My Job" ( to f*%k you on yer birthday)
(Bloodhound Gang) ( with my special video clip....featuring every filthy animal clip of animals at the zoo i could ever find)
so far no one has NOT turned beet red in embarassment from that one..... at the strip club i'm not playing
any bubble gum pop , period. On the other hand, i have a different set of red flags for the strip club, which goes like this
if it's too slow (lotsa current rnb),too weird (needle in the arm metal) or too stupid (Nikki Minaj, lil wayne), too self important
(lil wayne, kanye, jay-z)
so i think i'm saying that it does help to have a conversation with yourself about what is it that you do as a DJ
and what is unacceptable for yourself so that you can like what you do
you have to limit what you'll play not just for the circumstances , but also a little for yourself
using genres can work ......
i don't describe myself as a 70's 80's DJ mostly because it wouldn't be true in my case
i love 70's and 80's , but i just use my own crazy template or algorithm or whatever you want to call it
to make my choices, so genres wouldn't work so well for myself
as for the issue .....it sounds like sh!t , to use the southpark phrase , well .....
as we get older we have more and more ways to compare music and i think we get to be tougher
and tougher critics ........
in new music i often notice the "stretching" to make it rhyme or the infantile subjects (bling, i'm so cool) etc.
i personally can't seem to get past the appalling language of rappers
(i'm not the only one .....remember in Scarface when Tony's wife says "can't you stop saying f@#k all the time"?)
another issue is the obvious lack of a BAND many times ....you remember that, a band ... buncha long hairs with bad
attitudes ...... nowadays it's weird effects and noises , rudimentary drum machine,
singing way off key or using auto tune ... i will never like " music " ?? like that
i really wonder why we're going backwards sometimes ......??????????
for instance before mp3's all music formats were a step forward in quality ......?
before rap, for 100's of thousands or maybe millions of years , musicians were considered to be
someone who wasn't tone deaf and could play one or more instruments ??????????
i believe in general that there is a qualitative slide that has been going strong for maybe 20 years ......
people who can't sing , can't play, can't rhyme , can't talk about anything like an adult , "writing" "songs"
wow...... REALLY ??
this is a slightly windy rant , but i'm gonna keep on keepin' on, 'til the .......little dots run out ..........
i try to distract myself from the perceived shortcomings (of everyone else, those bums) by learning a little bit
of new stuff every day or having some fun with all the hi tech ....
for instance i made an amusing video clip by editing a youtube of a yellow nape parrot
singing " Who Let The Dogs Out" ........hey , it was either that or the valium and the straightjacket again ......
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 6:33 pm
Simon Bailey
I teamed up with a DJ friend of mine to host a weekly radio show, that also turned into regular nights and is now leading down the remixing path...we only play what we like when we like :-)
oh...and by the way, we're both just past the 40 mark!
oh...and by the way, we're both just past the 40 mark!
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 7:56 pm
AsTheDJ
DJ VooDoo wrote :
So I am turning 40 in May. I have been djing for about 17 years now. I was thinking when is it time to quit? I use to make fun of the old guys in the club and now I am about there myself. Djing is not my livelyhood. I am regional operations manager for DHL. So there won't be a major impact on my fianances. I mainly did mobile gigs and once in a while a guest spot in a club.
Lately I have been so uninspired and I find myself not liking some of the new music out there. I use to love rap and hip hop from the 80's all the way up to the early 2000s but now I hate most of it. I feel like my parents and how they hated the music I use to listen to when i was younger. I know i have said in past posts that it is a Djs job not to play what they want to hear but what gets the people dancing but if you truly do not like what you are spinning then I don't feel you are going to give it your all to sound great.
All the club music and pop music are all starting to sound the same to me as well. Maybe i am just in some funk and have to shake it off.
If any of you other veterans have gone through this let me know how you stay inspired.
Lately I have been so uninspired and I find myself not liking some of the new music out there. I use to love rap and hip hop from the 80's all the way up to the early 2000s but now I hate most of it. I feel like my parents and how they hated the music I use to listen to when i was younger. I know i have said in past posts that it is a Djs job not to play what they want to hear but what gets the people dancing but if you truly do not like what you are spinning then I don't feel you are going to give it your all to sound great.
All the club music and pop music are all starting to sound the same to me as well. Maybe i am just in some funk and have to shake it off.
If any of you other veterans have gone through this let me know how you stay inspired.
YES the music has change from the 80's,but the new school don't mix the right old school with the new school.Getting out the game will be a change also,you can alway play to the people who enjoy your music ( your age it's called OLD SChool NOW).Get out the clubs/Bars for jobs the young Dj are there looking,were old school Dj now it time to do Private Parties and show Off are Dj Equipment & give the Private Parties A VIP PARTY,and be available to work the Club/Bars if they need your services one or two times.If they call you they know what type of music you Play.NEW School Dj /Old School Dj.O im 42/25yr Djin
It's The LOVE/enjoyment Of DJin
http://radio.virtualdj.com/djs/dj.php?dj=9000071
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 8:01 pm
sounds like a good gig to me Simon
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 8:42 pm
djplick
when the grape grows old it changes to wine... what i mean by this is, i always wanted to dj but never knew how and then discouvered a social vidio game (second life) in this game there are hundreds of online clubs playing multitudes of music and met a dj who is teaching me how.
so if you dont like your current spot in life but think you might still like your hobby (djing) try a different avenue, esspecially if you dont need the money. you could do a online radio statio (host your own using winamp) find one of the many social vidio games and play in there (you can even make real cash if your smart) or just give out a ip adress and let peaple just listen to you play music.
there are many ways you can do what you love to do you just might have to change your view.
so if you dont like your current spot in life but think you might still like your hobby (djing) try a different avenue, esspecially if you dont need the money. you could do a online radio statio (host your own using winamp) find one of the many social vidio games and play in there (you can even make real cash if your smart) or just give out a ip adress and let peaple just listen to you play music.
there are many ways you can do what you love to do you just might have to change your view.
geposted Tue 20 Mar 12 @ 10:46 pm
A Man and His Music
Forty?????? You mean like 40 years old???? You guys are too pucking old to be DJs. You should just kill yourselves now, and get it over with. Just don't blow your brains out all over the turntables, because it will be hard to get the brain matter off. It's a wonder you can even get the strength up to.............wait a minute..............I'm 59..........spinning for 44 years. OK, forget about that killing yourself thing. It's funny because I was thinking this same thing 2 weeks ago. However, it is not the first time. When you play at a club three nights a week, you can get complacent. What helps me is, "I love what I do". The music does suck. I can say that because I have been doing this long enough to know the difference between good and "shit". I have to remember not to care. I am not playing for me, but for someone who is paying me. There are certain things I will not play, but as Chuck said, there may be an exception. I never say never. Another thing that helps me is, I'm a performer, and it's the way I perform, and the programing of these "shitty" songs that keeps it interesting. The client doesn't know that I don't like the music. It looks like I'm having a great time. Also, a great remix will keep my blood flowing. I also only work in clubs where I can play anything, so there is always some old school mixed in. as for being too old, I will retire when Tony Bennett dies, then after Mick Jagger and the rest of the walking dead dies. Is Bob Dylan still kicking? Steve Tyler, the beach Boys. Or, when I can no longer stand for 8 hours.
Forty years old??????? Stop crying.
Forty years old??????? Stop crying.
geposted Wed 21 Mar 12 @ 4:41 pm
i'm glad i'm only 30 ......
geposted Wed 21 Mar 12 @ 5:31 pm
Tear Em 'Up
30...HA! I have vinyls older than that...and proud of it....wait..Chuck Norris is an immortal. When God said "Let there be light" Chuck answered "Say please".....
geposted Wed 21 Mar 12 @ 8:10 pm
it's all true......
geposted Thu 22 Mar 12 @ 5:53 am
bigicedog
ive been spinning 30 years. im 39. i just love it.it dosent matter if you do clubs private events or just dj in your bedroom. ive become a staple in our local hip-hop scene and i was thinking the same thing (maybe im too old to be doing this) but i read an article in a hip-hop mag that set me straight. most of the genres still-relevant mcs are over 35!! from jay-z to method man redman busta rhymes dr dre the beastie boys-who are pushin 50 by the way,are all still relevant and loved. if you love music then stick with it and dont let age hold you back. you got symphony musicians that play well into their 60s and 70s you got rockers still going strong in their "old age:(rolling stones,kiss anyone?) as long as the passions there then its all good.and as it applies to djing carl cox is around 50(i think) frankie knuckles is pushing 60,kool herc over 50,grand wizard theodore,around 50.q-bert 40 nuff said
geposted Thu 22 Mar 12 @ 10:38 am
AMaHM is not 59 ........
ya know the Dos Equis guy in the commercial , the world's most interesting man?? originally it was AMaHM ....
but his 3 brazilian babes wouldn't do the commercial .... so they got there #2 choice ......
so now he runs around claiming to be 59 so he can try again ..... and that's why he has a mountain lion
for a house cat ......
it's all true
ya know the Dos Equis guy in the commercial , the world's most interesting man?? originally it was AMaHM ....
but his 3 brazilian babes wouldn't do the commercial .... so they got there #2 choice ......
so now he runs around claiming to be 59 so he can try again ..... and that's why he has a mountain lion
for a house cat ......
it's all true
geposted Thu 22 Mar 12 @ 1:22 pm
A Man and His Music
I dropped the Brazilian girls, and am running around with 2 Russians and a Ukrainian. I also had to get a step stool. I hate my job. Can't you just hear how sad I am, poor old DJ.
geposted Thu 22 Mar 12 @ 4:50 pm
step stool ? oh yeah climbing to the heights of our profession
there was this tall swedish babe ....i had a pick , some rapelling cable (which apparently looked
like plain old rope to everyone else?) and i learned how to yodel ... i've actually turned down Ricola .....
last night i picked up a short pencil off the floor ......today with my glasses on i see it's a wet n wild
eyeliner ( not mine..... no really , not mine , i only do that on the 1st tues every month).....
so that means "Julie" dropped it ... she's a hot venezuelan str.....uuuhhhhh....Mary Kay consultant ......
i hate my job also .... work, work, work
there was this tall swedish babe ....i had a pick , some rapelling cable (which apparently looked
like plain old rope to everyone else?) and i learned how to yodel ... i've actually turned down Ricola .....
last night i picked up a short pencil off the floor ......today with my glasses on i see it's a wet n wild
eyeliner ( not mine..... no really , not mine , i only do that on the 1st tues every month).....
so that means "Julie" dropped it ... she's a hot venezuelan str.....uuuhhhhh....Mary Kay consultant ......
i hate my job also .... work, work, work
geposted Sat 24 Mar 12 @ 9:27 am
Justarrived
Hello I just bought Numark Mixtrack Pro when I go to the download center I can download the software for the controller but it still does not work what am I doing wrong. Also when I go in the skins the Mixtrack Pro is not there iis there someone here that can help me.
geposted Sat 24 Mar 12 @ 2:32 pm
Caliente123
I have been Dj iing since 1985 and i stll have a strong passion. I dont like the way the directions of where hip hop is going but, If they want it, Ill play it. Over the years, i have inspired many to become djs and that pushes me even further to do more. Djs are being recognized for there talents and are being sponcored by Hennessey, Dewers, Grey goose & Smirnoff. Djs are becoming superstars. If they can do it, so can i.
geposted Sun 25 Mar 12 @ 2:05 am
