djing the blues...our job

[julius]

i just can't see you in the red and white fur-trimmed suit, dude. i just can't.

[mousethief]

You can't get in my lap after last time.

Kalman

[JitterbugJunkie]

I like blues. No, I mean I REALLY like blues. I have a ton of it! New, old, fast, slow, and everything in between. I just can't seem to get enough of it... (yes, I have a ton of jazz too...)

With that said I can't imagine a Blues Room that ONLY offers slow-grind-it-out-blues-dance blues. How boring for the DJ and, most importantly, boring for the dancers. I guess if that is what the promoters want you have to do it but how painful would that be (for everyone)?

It seems like a better way for the promoters to make a two-room split would be to say Jazz Room / Blues Room. Maybe they would/should specify that they would want some minimum ratio of Blues-Dance music in the Blues Room because Blues-Dance is a featured part of the event.

Maybe a good mix MIGHT look something like this.

* Really Slow - Trad or New Blues - PLENTY to work with for the blues dance crowd

* Slow - Trad or New Blues - Still PLENTY to work with for the blues-dance crowd

* Just Movin' - Trad or New Blues - Hopefully something to please the WCS/Carolina Shag/Slow Lindy crowds

* Jumpin' - Trad or New Blues - Something aimed at the (faster) Carolina Shagger/Lindy crowd

and then head back to Really Slow... (of course the DJ should determine the exact mix to match the mood of the room)


I think if promoters are considering ALL Blues-Dance (Slow and Really Slow) music in the Blues Room there are some questions they might be well advised to ask themselves:

* Do you hate DJs? Well? This is DJ-abuse isn't it?

* Will you provide No-Doze for BOTH the DJ(s) AND the Dancers?

* Won't everyone have a lot more fun if the DJ(s) mix it up? Fun IS what they came for, right?

* Is the mission of your event to help people like blues or hate it? I mean really...


Oh, this list could go on for a while. You get my drift...

[LindyChef]

Cute emoticons aside, I've seen DJs with this kind of agenda come into a blues room and do one or more of the following:

* Completely ignore the crowd
* Not take into account the size of the space and the number of dancers in it
* Ignore the quality of the floor
* Ignore what else was played during the weekend/evening
* Ignore what's going on in the other room/s

End result? People leave the room.

The worst example of this that comes to mind was latenight one exchange in a small, cramped, carpeted blues room where the previous DJ had setup a nice slow blues vibe. New DJ comes in and plays 180 BPM+ jump blues ... not exactly the stuff to keep a carpeted, crowded room dancing.

Not to say that DJs shouldn't play a variety of blues music (personally, I like to throw in the higher BPM stuff to remind dancers that the blues isn't just anything under 100 BPM), but you can't set an agenda like that and expect the dancers to follow. In doing so you've eliminated a whole lot of choices that you could have made, some of which the dancers might like more than what you've chosen to do. If they are open to it, by all means play it, but don't expect them to dance to your agenda and don't expect promoters (or dancers) to just want slow blues.

You might think a night of mostly slow blues is boring, but well, that's your perception. Every exchange I go to, whenever there's a blues room, its usually packed (notable exception is ALX's main dance blues rooms which are usually about half full). I never need "No-Doze' in an afterhours blues room, but hey, that's just me.

Every DJ I've met that loves blues music loves all sorts of different tempos and styles of blues. I haven't found one yet that doesn't want to educate the dancers out there ... it's just a matter of the way you do it. You can either say "This is how it should be done" i.e. play this mix of music, or you can say, "Hey, wanna come over here and check this out?"

Personally, I like being invited more than being told what to do.

[mousethief]

Really? Because the ALX rooms I've DJed have been packed with sweat humanity.

I dislike blues rooms as a must-have at events. Austin has been very good providing them as a value-add but I still dislike the notion that people that call themselves lindy hopper go into the blues room all night long. Live music, DJ music - doesn't matter.

Kalman

[Nate Dogg]

You might think a night of mostly slow blues is boring, but well, that's your perception. Every exchange I go to, whenever there's a blues room, its usually packed (notable exception is ALX's main dance blues rooms which are usually about half full). I never need "No-Doze' in an afterhours blues room, but hey, that's just me.

It depends on what time you are there. Early in the night, the blues room can be very vacant, later on it can packed like Kalman says.

After hours can be erratic, ebbing and flowing by the song.

dislike blues rooms as a must-have at events. Austin has been very good providing them as a value-add but I still dislike the notion that people that call themselves lindy hopper go into the blues room all night long. Live music, DJ music - doesn't matter. .

To each his own. We don't care what the dancers call themselves, as long as they have fun.

Plenty of other people spend there time at ALX drinking, socializing. Just watch Party Matt and his posse during a typical exchange. Our goals is to not be the purest "lindy" event. We do want to be one of the most entertaining and fun events.

[mousethief]

People talk like I'm some crazy purist who never did the Madison.

I think dances should be about having a good time. Drinking, dancing, chatting. Austin is very good in this regard, especially with regard to their blues rooms. Even so, having separate rooms does not make for sunshine and flowers or have you forgotten the Fast Room at ALX 2003?

Kalman

[Nate Dogg]

People talk like I'm some crazy purist who never did the Madison.

Kalman

Some of things you write are very much in purist speak. That is probably why you get mislabeled as purist more often that other people.

Regarding ALX:

The fast room did not work in 2003, probably because we had three dance rooms and a casino night all going at the same time.

I think the fast rooms worked when the DJs had their choice of the room's flavor (like you and Don's classic room in 2002). This year, we had a set Blues room during the main dances. However, during afterhours, we let DJs play anything they felt like (so they could contrast to the main room). That seemed to work ok.



Nathan

[Nate Dogg]

* Do you hate DJs? Well? This is DJ-abuse isn't it?

One DJ's hell is another's paradise.

[JitterbugJunkie]

* Do you hate DJs? Well? This is DJ-abuse isn't it?

One DJ's hell is another's paradise.

No kidding!

[Yakov]

Summary of this conversation:
"I don't like slow blues rooms."
"I do."
"There shouldn't be any."
"Why not?"
"People go to slow blues rooms because they can't get any. Plus they're a bunch of geeks and losers."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Yeah, well, I don't like slow blues rooms."
ad nauseum.

[mousethief]

For the record:

I love ALX. I have DJed successful blues rooms there in 2002 & 2003. In 2004 I was in the main rooms. Austin never fails to provide good bands in the main room - never once. Okeh, some where WAY better than others. I view Austin's blues rooms very much as a value add for their customers. But Austin also has a powerful blues scene locally and has had one for years.

What I call into question is the keeping-up-with-the-joneses scenario were everybody and their brother HAS to have a blues room at their event. If that is the case, I suggest that people hold events like Jerry & Kathy's Red White & Blues weekend in Dallas. STLBX, for example, makes no vague comments about what it offers and shouldn't have to.

Kalman

[djstarr]

I'm DJing a blues set in the blues room at the New Year's event in San Diego. (Except it's actually a 'blues and rhythm' room at my suggestion since 'rhythm and blues' has a totally different connotation.)

Lorraine has been trying to talk me into going down and if I needed more incentive than that I think I just found it. Perhaps I'll see you in a week or so.

[julius]

My set went OK. Heavily overweighted towards jazz blues instead of the guitar blues/slow dance pop/west coast end of the spectrum, but that's the way I like my blues.

I did play Barry White though. Because I love Barry White.

[mousethief]

You DJed again? What's that make - 3 whole times now?

Kalman