Familiar vs. unfamiliar music?

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Roy · #16 Post by **Roy** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 7:22 am

Since my original post I have come to the same conlsuion you have good is more important then familar . But I think that with new dancers everything is unfamiliar so nothing has become a favorite yet.

I now can easily play allmost all new stuff to a Lindy Hop crowd as long as I don't dwell into one genre, energy level, ot tempo for too long.

Shorty Dave · #17 Post by **Shorty Dave** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 5:02 pm

I've seen way too many people wait to hear if they know a song and then go "Oh goodie I love this, I'm gonna go dance" to ever play a night with "almost all new stuff".

On another note, there are songs like Smooth Sailing which was way overplayed in NYC three or so years ago, so everyone stopped playing it for awhile. And now when it's played, there's all these newbies that have never heard it before!

julius · #18 Post by **julius** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 5:51 pm

how much new (to the audience) stuff do you play?

*edit
sorry this question was meant for dave

djstarr · #19 Post by **djstarr** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 6:59 pm

julius wrote:how much new (to the audience) stuff do you play?

I'm maybe around 20% --- say I DJ 30 songs in an evening; it seems playing more than 5 or 6 brand new songs is a lot. I'm also a little leary of over-doing this since the worse set I've dj'ed has been where I played way too much new stuff.

It also depends on the venue; if I'm at a venue with more advanced dancers and an informal atmosphere I may try experimenting more that I would otherwise.

Swifty · #20 Post by **Swifty** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 8:15 pm

I like playing "new" versions of old local favorites to keep things fresh.

Soupbone · #21 Post by **Soupbone** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 9:26 pm

The question is.... "new" to whom?

I've been living here in Seattle for a few months now, and I've somewhat resisted DJing a lot because I'm still figuring out what moves people, as well as what people are familiar with.

In general it seems one can get away with playing less well known stuff here than in my previous hometown.

(edited to say -- this wasn't directed toward your post, Swifty... just coincidence that we both used "" around the word new.)

CafeSavoy · #22 Post by **CafeSavoy** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 4:19 am

i think of this question as asking if you want to only dance with new people every night. sure it's fun to dance with new people, but you also like dancing with your friends. And also as Gary noted, "new to who?" A song can go from newly discovered to overplayed and only you have heard it.

mousethief · #23 Post by **mousethief** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 6:48 am

I don't know. Sometimes, I'll buy a new version of a favorite piece based on talk on this board or just by pociking up new material. It's got to be good, though. I'm not going to replace a great, swinging piece just because I have some new version. I would rather take it out of my playlists for 2-3 events and bring it back.

I do maybe a little more than 1 in 5 songs as new material, whether new versions of favorites or just new stuff in general. Otherwise, I get caught up in the "must play new music" trap, instead of playing to the floor.

Kalman

Nate Dogg · #24 Post by **Nate Dogg** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 10:04 am

If the song is a provenwinner for other DJs, I don't mind playing a lot of "new" stuff. Some of these "new" songs are no doubt overplayed in other scenes.

If it is a song that I have not heard anybody else play or rave about here, I am a lot more cautious about how and when it is played. In those cases, I have to keep my enthusiasm for a new discovery from clouding my judgement as to whether it works on the dancefloor.

mousethief · #25 Post by **mousethief** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 10:21 am

Personally, even if a choir of angels posted about how great a song was, I wouldn't let it touch an event unless I had a chance to listen and dance to it beforehand.

Just me, though.

I always try to frame my new selections - either within a group of known favorites or whenever energy is highest.

Kalman

djstarr · #26 Post by **djstarr** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 2:29 pm

Soupbone wrote:The question is.... "new" to whom?

I've been living here in Seattle for a few months now, and I've somewhat resisted DJing a lot because I'm still figuring out what moves people, as well as what people are familiar with.

I struggle with what is "new" since I'm still a relative beginner as far as DJ'ing and Seattle has people who have danced longer than I have [6 years] and know music really well as well as having a broad range of musical tastes.

I found out last night that my favorite version of 'Sent for you Yesterday' [Count Basie w/Mills Bros.] is owned by at least 2 dj's in Seattle who have DJ'ed a long time -- they just don't play that song anymore - although it was new to me.

And I played Mack the Knife from Ella/Duke Cote D'Azur --- a new CD for me, and a great version of the song; one of my friends comes up into the booth and sings all the solos along with Ella ---- so, ok even though that's the first time I spun it, some people know it. It's a great song however, so I'm going to keep playing it as one of my "new" songs for awhile.

Gary and I are Dj'ing together end of the month at the Century --- I'm looking forward to it becuase I think Gary can throw us some surprises --- perhaps some Mound City Blue Blowers?

Shorty Dave · #27 Post by **Shorty Dave** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 4:19 pm

julius wrote:how much new (to the audience) stuff do you play?

*edit
sorry this question was meant for dave

Completely new songs - as in I've never ever played that version of that song at any venue I've ever DJed - maybe 1-2 a night. Unless, of course, I just got back from Amoeba

But that's getting too picky. To use a gross overgeneralization, I'd say about one third of my songs (at my weekly gig) are songs I've played 3-5 times in the past 5 weeks, one third are songs I've played 1-2 times in the past 5 weeks, and one third are songs I haven't played at all in the past 5 weeks, but still aren't new songs 'cuz I have played them in the past. But don't quote me on that...I'll have to pay more attention the next few weeks.

Nando · #28 Post by **Nando** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 12:36 am

mousethief wrote:I always try to frame my new selections - either within a group of known favorites or whenever energy is highest.

I think that's a really good guideline.

When I hear something new that I like, I always think about what other songs I like that might be good to segue it into. At least for starters. It also makes me remember that song when I play one of my more familiar songs that it's an option. I just try not to get too used to sequing those songs together after awhile, but it's good for starters and I think it's a good gauge if you have a full dance floor before you play the song to see how it's rated on the floor.

Soupbone · #29 Post by **Soupbone** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 11:20 pm

djstarr wrote: Gary and I are Dj'ing together end of the month at the Century --- I'm looking forward to it becuase I think Gary can throw us some surprises --- perhaps some Mound City Blue Blowers?

You got it!

And next time we see each other, we should talk about how you want to split the night.... I have a favor to ask in that regard! See you at One O' Clock jump or maybe the Puget Sounds Traditional Jazz Society gig on Sunday?

djstarr · #30 Post by **djstarr** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 1:34 am

Soupbone wrote:See you at One O' Clock jump or maybe the Puget Sounds Traditional Jazz Society gig on Sunday?

yep, I'm dj'ing at 11 at OOJ - see you there!