The Professional Approach to DJ Shows

Getting booked to play a nice club night or party and playing a banging DJ set is great but is it enough to make a real impression on your clients? As a DJ, how do you make sure that you always come across as professional and make sure that you’ll be recommended by every booker you work for? Guestblogger, Amar Amlani (AKA DiceDJ) shares some of his hard-won experience.

Three Phases

Every booking involves three phases: before the gig, during the gig and after the gig. For every phase, I’ll share my process which has been shaped by the feedback I’ve got from the people who have booked me, whether the booking was a wedding, a company party or a Christmas party. For festivals and clubs, things run a little differently but the core message remains the same: parties are made by more than one person, but the DJ has a big role to play in making sure the night’s a proper success.

What Do You Do Before a Gig?

If you want people to have a good night, there sometimes needs to be a lot of time devoted to the preparation. Here are a few points that are well-worth thinking about:

Voice Your Expectations

Whenever a potential client wants to book you, it’s important for both of you to state your expectations. From your side, you want to be able to deliver quality and, from their side, they want to throw a party that all of their guests or audience are going to enjoy. Big artists and DJs will usually send ahead their technical rider, which details all of the equipment they’ll need and the setup they expect to work with. On DJ Afrojack’s rider, for example, among other things, it states that he always works with Pioneer equipment and a set of three turntables and requests that two high-powered monitor speakers be set up at ear-height wherever he plays. If you’re playing at an event, you can also request that specific equipment is provided on location. Often, you are given the phone number of the venue, so you can call ahead and check what they have and see if something can be arranged.

The Professional Approach to DJ Shows

Who Are You Playing For?

It’s also pretty essential to know what kind of audience you’re going to be playing for. The age and demographic of your audience will determine the kind of music you’re likely to play. Once you have those details, then you can figure out, maybe together with the booker, a selection of tracks that best indicate the kind of genres that will work and that you can then build your set on using your creativity and music knowledge. It’s at this point that you can underline the tracks that are the must-plays, or even the must-not plays – the ones you know that no one will want to hear.

What Do You Need to take?

If you’re playing at a location that can’t provide any DJ gear, then you’ll need to bring all of your own equipment. Besides your DJ set or controller and your speakers, you could also bring some vibe-makers, like a smoke machine, hazer, a strobe light, maybe even a bubble machine and other effects and lighting. Just be aware that, while you can make yourself more appealing as a party DJ by providing the lighting equipment, even though you can provide it, it’s your client who will decide if and where it’s used. Always double check that it’s safe to use certain bits of equipment like smoke machines and lasers with the venue operator before you bring it.

What Will the Night Look Like?

Before it even happens, you can also discuss what the course of the night will look like. At weddings, your set will often be interrupted by speeches or a live performance, or you’ll be required to play a specific song when the couple cut the cake. As the DJ, it’s pretty useful to know the timings of all of these things so that you’re not cutting songs in half because the mother of the bride has just got up to speak. It’s also essential to find out when it’s best and most convenient to arrive before the event begins, so that you have enough time to set everything up properly. Other questions that you might need to ask the booker or venue are things like: is there a decibel limit? How late is the party likely to go on for? Is it possible that the party will be extended? If necessary, would it be possible to leave all of your gear at the venue overnight?

The Professional Approach to DJ Shows
Photo: Rich&Raw Entertainment

What Do You Need to Do During the Gig?

You can only prepare so much and the most important moment of the night is always when the party is really getting started. A big part of getting that important moment right is pure feeling. You need to have an instinct for knowing what’s really going to work and what isn’t. Are the event organisers ok with you using a microphone or do they just want you to play music? During the gig itself, there are a few things that are worth thinking about:

Stick to the Plan

Sticking to the plan could refer to a number of things. For example, make sure you arrive at the time you previously agreed with the venue or come early so you can build up and soundcheck the sound system and the microphone. There’s nothing worse for an organiser than having to work with people who can’t be trusted to simply turn up on time.

Be Accessible

Watching a DJ that just stands and stares at their equipment for the entire evening and never looks at the crowd is pretty boring. As the DJ, you’re not just playing the music, you’re bringing a specific energy with you, and that energy (maybe unconsciously) radiates out to the audience. For this reason, you need to make sure that you’re always accessible and part of the fun. Let the booker know that you’re open to getting feedback during the gig and maybe pick up the microphone every now and then and actually speak to your crowd. When it comes to your set you are, of course, in complete control, but it’s your attitude and your vibe that will ultimately determine whether or not the audience has a good night or a great night and whether or not your client is satisfied with your work.

Respond to the Audience

It might be that your audience has a different response than you expected. I’ve lost count of the amount of times that the event organiser had a specific idea about what kind of audience the night was set up for but then, during the actual party, things turned out to be completely different. This is why it’s also important to test things out on every audience and see how they react before going further.

The Professional Approach to DJ Shows
Photo: Rich&Raw Entertainment

After the Gig

When the party is over and you’re still in a bit of a daze, all you can do is ask if everything went well and if your client got everything they wanted (and hopefully more). While it is sometimes difficult, it’s worth asking for some feedback and getting an idea of what you could do better so that you can learn, grow and make sure that your next booking is an even bigger banger.

Are you a booked and blessed DJ with some experience under your belt or a complete beginner? Share your thoughts or questions in the comments!