ECS/Lindy/WCS - Bridging the Gap

Message

mousethief · #151 Post by **mousethief** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 11:47 am

Real men don't spin niche.

Kalman

lindyholic · #152 Post by **lindyholic** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 12:19 pm

Like it's been alluded to already, you really need to know your book, because if you do, you can keep the floor packed no matter what it is you truly enjoy playing. It's possible to keep the floor packed with a large set of vintage. I just DJed in Vancouver on Saturday and played the stuff I really enjoy. But I have been getting to know my book a lot better and was able to play a lot and the crowd seemed to enjoy it, because the floor was ALWAYS packed except for the 2 fast songs I played (but I knew they would clear the floor).

Although, I did have a couple people come up to me asking for the usual neo-swing music. They didn't seem to understand how I don't have that music in my book.

So I think that it's possible to play music within your tastes at a scene or event that is very contrary to those tastes. It's all about having good flow with your music. If it flows, I find, then people will have no problem dancing at all.

Harrison

djstarr · #153 Post by **djstarr** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 12:22 pm

CafeSavoy wrote:Even if you want to change viewpoints, it's more successful as a seduction.

I like this....DJ as Seducer...come here little dancer, I will make you happy with my music

KevinSchaper · #154 Post by **KevinSchaper** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 1:17 pm

djstarr wrote:
CafeSavoy wrote:Even if you want to change viewpoints, it's more successful as a seduction.
I like this....DJ as Seducer...come here little dancer, I will make you happy with my music ;-)

Puppet Master:

You two, you'll stop dancing now and go get some water.. you over there, you're going to get really excited and go look for a partner in a big hurry.

gatorgal · #155 Post by **gatorgal** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 1:38 pm

mousethief wrote:Real men don't spin niche.

Kalman

And what about "real" women?

Tina

mousethief · #156 Post by **mousethief** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 1:41 pm

gatorgal wrote:
mousethief wrote:Real men don't spin niche.

Kalman
And what about "real" women?

Tina

Um... you mean unlike fake ones?

Kalman

Petitetonya · #157 Post by **Petitetonya** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:29 pm

I agree with just about every viewpoint...here is another side of it though. I have so many people come up to me after I dj down here and thank me profusely for djing old school lindy hop music cause they don't get to hear it often enough. There are a lot of dancers that really appreciate my djing style down here. When I dj at Memories for instance, it is not a problem...I can play all the stuff I like and it doesn't matter cause that is what people expect there.

I find it a little more difficult at LindyGroove for instance so I play a lot more Ellington (which is my favorite, so no problem there) and medium to medium/slow tempos. The crowd is a lot more mixed though so you have half of the crowd that came out to hear "Tonya's djing" and the other half who only know how to dance to Barbara Morrison and Diana Krall (I am being a bit facitious here but you get the point). Lance and I have discussed this a lot and I am trying to figure out what works for me and how much is appropriate to compromise (fyi, I think it is so awesome that Lance communicates so well with all of his dj's and brainstorms...he is very open to suggestions and opinions). If I split my dj set up into a little bit of everything, I know it would disappoint that half of the crowd that expect to hear "my" djing.

My "niche" isn't so narrow that I only play music from 1935-1937...I do play a wide variety of stuff...I just don't like to play 50's rock n' roll music or typical "groove" music (sorry for the labels, but you know what I mean). It isn't that I don't appreciate that music either...I LOVE Gene Harris to listen to and I am a pianist so I truly appreciate his genius, I just don't like lindy hopping to it so much. It truly isn't an ego thing either...I am about as far away as egotistical as you get. I love djing here and I have gotten SO much support from everyone...it is mainly the issue of what to do with my djing when I dj at LindyGroove I guess but I think the question is general enough to apply to all venues. Thanks to everyone who has posted, all of your posts have really made me think and have helped out a lot.

julius · #158 Post by **julius** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:48 pm

In my opinion, when one is hired to DJ (even if one is not paid), the music that one plays should be what the venue operator wants to hear being played at his venue. If you feel uncomfortable DJing at a venue, you gotta tell the venue operator why and even perhaps turn down the request to DJ.

In Lance's case with you, I know you are both pretty open-minded about stuff and you are communicating well on the issue, but Lindygroove is Lindygroove. It's not going to convert to "all classic swing" any time soon. So I don't think you need to feel like you are betraying your philosophies by playing stuff you don't necessarily like to dance to. Worrying about what "classic swing" aficionados think of your DJing is unnecessary, since all those people go to Memories and know what you like to DJ already, no?

Perhaps I am misreading you but it simply seems like you are worried you will be labeled a sellout or some such for playing Lindygroove-style music at Lindygroove. I think that's nonsense! Now if you played it at memories ... hehehe just kidding.

Nate Dogg · #159 Post by **Nate Dogg** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:07 pm

It has been said before, but I agree that "niche" DJs tend to be more successful / accepted in the larger and more diverse scenes.

That goes for any type of "niche," if people only get only one chance a week to come out and dance, it is no wonder that a "niche" DJ in a small seen can be viewed as controversial. I know I would not want to sit through a neo-swing hour. As a paying customer, that would annoy me. Unless of course, the dance was billed as such.

kitkat · #160 Post by **kitkat** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:12 pm

Well said, Julius.

I think part of what makes it tough to do that is that we're dancers as well--we've got a sentimental attachment to our own scenes, and we, like every other dancer on the floor, probably have something we'd like to hear more of. So when we finally get the chance to DJ that venue we want to see "improve," it's tempting to do things the way we like them and try to show by example that it's an improvement (or so we'd like to think!).

Still...you're right. :-Þ

Mr Awesomer · #161 Post by **Mr Awesomer** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:29 pm

I play to this small "niche" called Lindy Hoppers.

julius · #162 Post by **julius** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 9:14 pm

Friggin liar. I've heard you play Charleston music. And Michael Jackson.

#163 Post by **JesseMiner** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:19 am

I've gotten quite behind on this interesting topic, but there are two recent comments I really wanted to reply to:

kitkat wrote:Also, you really only get one shot per venue, maybe per city, to impose your style on a crowd that doesn't like it. I don't think that's too much damage done to the pleasure of dancers in the long run. Either they discover something new and decide they like it too, or you get a reputation there and don't get invited back. So what (from both a DJ & floor perspective)?

It means you've personally guaranteed that you'll only ever get one shot. Your goals seem shortsighted; making a bold one-time statement, a gamble that will more likely turn people off than get them impassioned about what you love. Wouldn't it be more beneficial to you in the long run being invited back from time to time to slowly introduce the music you love and perhaps get the crowd to enjoy and dance to more of it?

Petitetonya wrote:The crowd is a lot more mixed though so you have half of the crowd that came out to hear "Tonya's djing" and the other half who only know how to dance to Barbara Morrison and Diana Krall (I am being a bit facitious here but you get the point). [snip] If I split my dj set up into a little bit of everything, I know it would disappoint that half of the crowd that expect to hear "my" djing.

So what about the other half of the crowd who you might be letting down when you stick to "your" DJing? I know we don't want to disappoint our friends, but they usually aren't the only ones we are DJing for, especially at larger venues. LindyGroove has struck a nice balance over the years between a particular "vibe" and the flavor each DJ brings to the table when they spin. Just like many successful venues, much of the crowd comes out regularly because they expect and love that certain "vibe". Just remember that some of the music that doesn't inspire you to lindy hop might incredibly inspire many of the patrons. Since you do love some of that music and have it in your books and probably have a good ear for it, why not mix it in if it makes them happy? I'm sure most dancers who love "your" DJing would understand the mix based on the venue and all.

Success (keeping dancers with varied tastes happy throughout the evening) in both of these situations seems to involve some level of compromise.

Jesse

Petitetonya · #164 Post by **Petitetonya** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:15 pm

Thanks Julius and Jesse...your posts have really helped me out to think of things a little differently. Sorry to put my personal dj issue on the forum, I just thought it was great way to get a lot of advice from fellow dj "experts"...thanks everyone!

falty411 · #165 Post by **falty411** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:16 pm

JesseMiner wrote:Success (keeping dancers with varied tastes happy throughout the evening) in both of these situations seems to involve some level of compromise.

Jesse

How much should you compromise? People are being "inspired to lindy hop" to music that gets farther and farther away from swing and sometimes not even jazz. Should you adjust your DJing to fit those needs too in your effort to keep everyone happy?

Even more so, as a music enthusiast, doesn't it pain you to play music you dislike? Doesn't it hurt even more to shell out the $12 to buy music you don't like so you can have it to play at places where you try to keep dancers with varied tastes happy?