Pushing people in

[Jake]

Since I spend at least a few hours a week in the CD and record stores around here, I make a habit of buying good CDs that I already own when I find them cheap, and then I sell them at cost to interested dancers. I haven't spawned any new DJs that way, but at least it's helped a few people learn more about the music.

[julius]

I think you can create a music lover. It's possible to meet someone who is not knowledgable about the music but is enthusiastic and willing to learn and you can share your knowledge with them via listening sessions, shopping, and going to live music.

Getting a music lover to DJ is then a trivial step. :) "I must show the world my new love!"

[Platypus]

If I notice a long-time dancer taking an interest in music, I chat them up and try to plant the idea of DJing in their head. More than once. I try to give them ideas about how to break into DJing that might be less threatening than taking a full set right away. For example, they might want to join you in the booth and help choose music for a set (training!). Or to try a really short set (1/2 hour) at a low-attendance time of the evening. Or to consider DJing at a friend's house party (we have a lot of house parties here in Houston, to make up for the lack of weekend venues). Usually takes a few months, but when they actually start taking shifts, they are usually better prepared and are pretty committed.

[Nate Dogg]

To repeat the obvious, I started DJing simply because I wasn't happy with the music that the then-current DJs were playing. That has always been what inspires me to DJ, and seems to be the case with everyone. D.I.Y.

I guess how you feel about this question says a lot.

Why did you start DJing?

For me, it was not that I was unhappy with what was currently being played the DJs of the day. So, obviously not "everybody" started that way.

I started DJing because I thought it would be fun. It has been fun, I am glad I did it. There are a lot of other benefits to DJing, but fun is first and foremost.

I should start another thread based around this topic (if one does not already exist).

Nathan

[Toon Town Dave]

I'll add to the "I started because the other DJs suck" list. Basically, the (currently) only other DJ here (and only at the time) was starting to play a lot of the same stuff. He then tried to appeal to a broader audience and esentially started alienating a lot of people like me. I was the only one stupid enough to buy a bunch of music and talk my way into the DJ booth.

It takes time, money and motivation to be a DJ and a love the music and desire to share and appeal to the crowd that makes a good DJ. That combination is rare.

I don't think the size of the music collection is necessarily a factor to get started. I started with nothing, playing from the other DJ's book.

Many people who might consider DJing may not try beacuse they are afraid they may not appeal to the audience and don't want to bomb for an entire evening. Some may want to but are just too shy to talk their way in to a gig. The DJ battles which might end up with a lot of crappy music are great to let people give it a try in a low-risk situation while exposing potential new talent.

As far as Calgary, I suspect you are lucky to have 3 people willing to DJ that are good at it. There is also limited opportunity to spin so there isn't really room for a lot more. The number will likely increase naturally as the scene grows and the number of venues grows.

[lindyholic]

Generally the same here. The other DJ here just has the total opposite, generally, tastes then I do. I was hoping that I could hear more of the music I liked and so I decided I'd give DJing a try. That's why I started. I was never pushed, but I wanted to give it a shot, and I would say that personally my DJing has had, at least, a huge influence on my view of dancing and the music it is danced to. By exploring the music, I ended up exploring the dance and discovering the potential of what was done back in the day and how much there was to learn from the dancers of the past.

Harrison

[gatorgal]

It's interesting hearing everyone's "war stories" about how they got started. I'll admit... I personally don't do much to encourage others to become a DJ, because I feel like I'm still learning and really couldn't mentor someone else. When I started, I got a few tips here and there from our current DJs, but whatever "mentoring" I received came from my own drive to acquire CDs and learn on my own.

There is one particular dancer here who is always asking me for music and I happily oblige. But I've never taken the next step to discuss music in general with him, or encourage him to be a DJ, like Platypus suggests. That's my bad... I should probably talk to him about it.

Tina

[gatorgal]

In general I find that most people aren't too up on their jazz. They just enjoy dancing. Nothing wrong with that, but I think knowing and appreciating the music enhances the dancing too. Dancing to D+C in Blue from Newport '57 would be just a boring, long saxophone solo with some crowd noise if you didn't know the story behind the song, for example.

This is one of the reasons why I enjoy this board. I am not very knowlegeable at all about jazz music or the interesting histories behind certain songs. That's one of my goals for next year... improving that aspect of my learning curve.

Tina

[Lawrence]

In general I find that most people aren't too up on their jazz. They just enjoy dancing. Nothing wrong with that, but I think knowing and appreciating the music enhances the dancing too. Dancing to D+C in Blue from Newport '57 would be just a boring, long saxophone solo with some crowd noise if you didn't know the story behind the song, for example.

I agree with your point, but not your example. Knowing the music better DOES allow me to click into the music better, respond to breaks, respond to certain solos or melodic twists better, be able to "feel" changes in the music swelling up (even if I've never heard the song before), and so on.

However, knowing the story of Dim and Cres in Blue at Newport certainly makes me appreciate the song more, but it doesn't make the song more danceable for me. It could even distract me.

[Lawrence]

I'll add to the "I started because the other DJs suck" list.

Just to clarify... with the exception of one rockabilly-crossover DJ in Chicago who played too much at Liquid (not Riley, before him), I'm not in the camp of "I DJ because the others suck." I wrote that I wasn't happy with their music, which is significantly different. The lack of variety and focus on Neo Swing back when I started in Chicago (as well as when I first moved to Austin) was too much.

[Nate Dogg]

I'll add to the "I started because the other DJs suck" list.

Just to clarify... with the exception of one rockabilly-crossover DJ in Chicago who played too much at Liquid (not Riley, before him), I'm not in the camp of "I DJ because the others suck." I wrote that I wasn't happy with their music, which is significantly different. The lack of variety and focus on Neo Swing back when I started in Chicago (as well as when I first moved to Austin) was too much.

If you removed one DJ from the equation (circa 1999-2000), you would have removed most of the DJed neo-swing being played in Austin. He was the last hold out. You can check out posts on AustinSwing to see how upset he was about our music changing, he fought the losing battle.

The glory days of neo-swing in Austin had tappered off by the time you got here. Back when when we were dancing in clubs, swing music was Merchants of Venus, Lucky Strikes, Mr. Fabulous, etc...

I think the Austin scene's shifting from being a predominantly club based/live music scene to a rented ballroom/DJ based scene was a major factor in the music changing. The DJs were not having to DJ around the neo-swing oriented bands of the night, they had a chance to play alot more music and from a much deeper pool of music. Add the influence of other cities and visitors, you get the music evolution that occured more or less around 1998-99.

By the time you got here, around the first ALX in 2000, Austin had already made the transition into what it is today. There was more neo-swing then, but it was the tail end of the trend. Your arrival just encouraged things even more.

[Roy]

I started DJing in Tampa because all of the DJ's 4 years ago only played Neo, Rockabilly, or lounge. They never played big band even when we made requests. There was a burgeoning Lindy Hop scene and we needed some big band music to dance too.

[funkyfreak]

Is it actually possible to "create" or encourage new talent, or is DJ'ing something that someone gets into only because they naturally develop a love and sense of the music they want to share?

I think it takes both:

1) People need to already have a love of the music.

2) They need to be have the situation "created" where it's possible to share that.

Whether you have a large CD collection already doesn't matter, nor does having a desire to DJ. You need to both care about the music being played and have the chance to show what you love about music.


Whether that chance is "created" by sucky DJs and you muscle your way in, by current DJs dropping out, or general proving-your-worth during events like Amature Nights, you already have some level of care for the music playing and being danced to.

-FF

[Nando]

I've always had a love for music and a propensity to collect music throughout my life. Going from my tastes in HS and College radio days in Alternative music to working at an Classic Rock station out of college and even a love for theater and jazz from other stints in my life.

It was only natural for me that I would buy and find stuff that the DJs around NYC didn't know about or didn't play. Plus I was getting recommendations from the DJs and music lovers as well, ao my collection was growing.

One of the promoters in NYC (who didn't really have his finger on the pulse of the dancers in the scene) wanted to experiment with some new DJs and I was one of several who developed at that time.

I think the reason why I wanted to DJ was that I really wanted to showcase some new tunes and see the reaction. At that time most of the NYC played the same stuff every night. Even the promoter that let me DJ would usually just throw the same mixed CD on inbetween band breaks. After getting some positive reaction, I got hooked.

I think one of the things that would motivate new people to DJing is finding their own collection. Not to bring up the whole "clone" conversation, but it's one thing to get tips on what to buy, it's another to discover music and find what makes you want to dance. Even if you find the same music other DJs play on your own, it still means a little more because you found it on your own.

[JeremyLewis]

I cannot say that I started DJing because I hated the stuff local DJs were playing. Dancing in SF 5 yrs ago was a bit like being on the forefront of developing swing music tastes. This is not to say we discovered every good song- but everyone travelled everywhere, and if a good song was discovered elsewhere it was in SF right away. I'm in a scene that has never really had a shortage of DJs- our regular nights were all very established by the time I started dancing. So why did I start DJing?

I loved a lot of the music, and as soon as I started hearing particular songs I loved, I wanted them. I was constantly asking different DJs about who did a song, what album it was off of, etc. And then I found myself filling in once in a while at really small venues, sometimes with the DJ's own collection. And as I got more music, I would do little sets here and there when I travelled- exchanges were always a few slots short. It was years before I ever DJed for money somewhere, but I loved to do any set I could get here or there just to play the songs I really liked, and to see other dancers get into them too.

The moment that transformed me was deciding to make a mix CD for my gf at the time, and picking out my top 25 or so songs at the time. After that, I was always keeping a growing list of my favorites until I had another, then another CD. And then I had a starter kit to DJ with.

But I couldn't have done it without the encouragement and openness of all of our local Djs. Paul and Sharon, Chad Kubo, Marc D'Olympio, Erik Hamilton, and later on Jesse, and DJs from other scenes like Dave Jacoby.
I think different DJs bring very different skill sets- I personally have a very musical ear, and (I'd like to think) good taste in music that feels good. But I learned about very different types of music and subsets of music from each of the above.

And I apologize for the rambling- just wanted a slightly different story in this thread. Not the disgruntled dancer, but the bursting-with-so-much-music-he-liked dancer.

Jeremy