Mobile DJ Gigs advice needed

DJ Master O

DJ Master O

New member
I'm looking to get into the mobile DJ gigs. I already DJ for a small club but being mobile at times really interests me. Such as Birthday parties, weddings receptions, private parties, etc etc. What's your experience and advice when doing these types of gigs. I have done Christmas parties before. Like what are some things to know. I know there is somewhat a different approach compare to a club where you already know for the most part the crowd.
Like what music to start with..What are some tips to look for when doing Wedding receptions.

I also see some gigs that want MC, Mic, Sound PA/system, and Dance Lighting. Now what kind of dance lighting works great and what are some tips on how to place them at the gig?
 
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Re: Music, if you want to do weddings, don't worry too much about flashy DJ skills, and beat-matching and mixing in-key 'till the cows come home... Concentrate on having the right music, which means not only the up-to-date dance stuff, but classic rock, hip-hop, oldies, lots of ethnic material and wedding traditional tunes (research play-lists for the last 50 years; they're available on the Web). You may be the coolest cat DJ, but if it's time to play "Old Time Rock and Roll," "The Macarena," "The Wobble," "Cha-Cha Slide," "Hokey Pokey," etc., etc. and you don't have it, you're going down.

Re: Lights, there are lots of resources and videos available out there as well. There's a distributor that has all kinds of Chauvet, American DJ, Eliminator (etc., etc., etc.) lighting demos on Youtube. Search "Mike/B2 Lighting FX."

There are a few standard ways of mounting lights (basically the same as any concert stage or club venue)-- T-bars or trussing.

Learn as much as you can about sound/PA/basic sound reinforcement. You have to become the "sound expert" for the folks that hire you.

And-- If you aren't interested in dropping a considerable amount of investment on lights/sound/equipment, this might not be the area for you to pursue. I'd start with at least $2-5K on-hand before looking to purchase necessaries, whether new or pre-owned.

GJ
 
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have to agree 100% with gj here - we built up a sound system and lights for my school to run their own student dances years ago now and would have spent in the vicinity of AU$6k all up stands, trusses, lights, dmx controller, power amps, speakers, mixers, crossovers, - ran everything from an Acer Desktop Computer with the built-in mobo soundcard too - shifted to using a lenovo (formerly IBM) laptop but still used the internal soundcard - worked very well, thank you

Hardest part is deciding whether to go with mirror balls and similar - some venues will not let you mount your gear on anything but your own stands, even if they have lighting bars in place - insurance and safety issues come up too often these days
 
rhythmgj said:
Re: Music, if you want to do weddings, don't worry too much about flashy DJ skills, and beat-matching and mixing in-key 'till the cows come home... Concentrate on having the right music, which means not only the up-to-date dance stuff, but classic rock, hip-hop, oldies, lots of ethnic material and wedding traditional tunes (research play-lists for the last 50 years; they're available on the Web). You may be the coolest cat DJ, but if it's time to play "Old Time Rock and Roll," "The Macarena," "The Wobble," "Cha-Cha Slide," "Hokey Pokey," etc., etc. and you don't have it, you're going down.

Re: Lights, there are lots of resources and videos available out there as well. There's a distributor that has all kinds of Chauvet, American DJ, Eliminator (etc., etc., etc.) lighting demos on Youtube. Search "Mike/B2 Lighting FX."

There are a few standard ways of mounting lights (basically the same as any concert stage or club venue)-- T-bars or trussing.

Learn as much as you can about sound/PA/basic sound reinforcement. You have to become the "sound expert" for the folks that hire you.

And-- If you aren't interested in dropping a considerable amount of investment on lights/sound/equipment, this might not be the area for you to pursue. I'd start with at least $2-5K on-hand before looking to purchase necessaries, whether new or pre-owned.

GJ
Click to expand...

Songs like this?
Playlist: 50 Years Of Dance Music That Doesn’t Suck, Vol. 1 | HIDDEN UNDER HEADPHONES
 
Some good stuff in there and that's a start. But don't ignore the obvious. Research actual wedding playlists. You'll have to play a few (or maybe many) "Dance Tunes that DO suck" as well... If you get into weddings and other common-denominator commercial gigs, you are giving-up any ideals about "only playing 'good' music" (whatever that means to you). You must play-to-the-gig, and never be THFTR (too-hip-for-the-room). That is why these guys make the big bucks(among other things, like expanding their business into lighting and some other areas of wedding planning and entertainment such as lighted centerpieces, photobooths, etc., etc.); you must put down your tastes as an artiste and submit to what the bride, groom, and probably more importantly, their crowd, want to hear. It doesn't mean you can't try to educate and elevate by slipping some Dap-Tone or lesser-known Marvin Gaye into the mix every once in awhile, but the bulk of your selections are driven by a) wedding reception tradition and b) the most currentest current (often insipidly stupid) top-of-the-pops hits...

GJ
 
Good to know. What about if I don't have a song on hand and I need the internet to download it?The club where I play has a Ethernet cable and I just connect it to my macbook and download what I need. Now on a gig that I'm not sure that has internet access or WiFi? I never needed to use WiFi on my macbook. How can I tell?

Has anybody ever done gigs out of state? If so how did you go about taking your gear? Or did you rent locally around your gig?
 
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If you do not have access to the Internet/WiFi, you've got to have the tunes on-hand. I have gone for grabbing something with my phone in a pinch, but I'm still using CD's (Numark CDJ's), and also some files (as the Numarks read thumb drives and HD's). If you are really talking doing weddings, the standards are actually a pretty short list. If you have 200 of the top wedding requests available, plus some of the latest hits, you should have no trouble with a 4-hour wedding. If someone requests a song, the answer is always: "I'll try to get that on for you."

As far as gigs out-of-state, do you mean flying? That's a pain to bring gear, but can be done. If you're talking driving, it's easy-- pack your stuff and go.

GJ
 
Options:

1) Bring your stuff; you may have to pay extra or special baggage fees... Make sure you have decent cases and locks, and make sure you're "prayed up"

2) Bring your stuff; buy or rent appropriate heavy duty flight cases... Have locks/prayed up, etc.

3) Bring your stuff; buy a seat for it

4) Bring your stuff; find a way to ship it out to the gig separately from your flight (air-freight, trucking, train)...

5) Rent gear in the town you're playing

6) Have a contract rider that specifies the venue/promoter/event will provide the necessary (itemized) equipment

7) Borrow gear in the places you're playing, or do a rent/borrow arrangement with other DJ's if it's a multi-artist show

8) Book the job at a venue that has gear provided (make sure it meets your needs and you know how to use it)


Options 1-4 (and maybe more) require a decent amount of insurance.

GJ
 
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