Leaving the Bedroom

[Iceman]

I am no where near taking on any real sort of gig and neither do I want one. I have, however, spent a long time playing sports. And something that was drilled into me over and over again is that if you play crap competition you will not get better. And even if you get beat down in a game, you know where you need to improve so you can beat that team next time.

If you want to go for it, go for it. Your learning curve will decrease a lot faster if you push yourself like this and proverbially throw yourself into the big leagues.

[cheft]

My advice to get better is to record and listen to yourself every day. And watch other DJ's like a hawk.

On the microwave DJ thing.....
People are scared of new things. Hawtin took lots of criticism, even though he definitely "paid his dues" when he switched to 100% digital. This reminds me of the old hardware/software fights that happened back in the late 90's. EVERY DJ instrument, whether it be turntables, CD, or digital, has it pros and cons.

Play to your strengths and try to improve on your weaknesses. Get other DJ's to listen to your mixes and give you feedback. It's all about the music brother.

[luv2xra]

Practice!! It's the only word u should practice in life. Learn how to play without the use of the computer, by facing it away. Start with soft gigs like friends parties to get use of a crowd and the technical difficulties while playing. Learn everything about music and how it's compose. Last but not least djtechtools.com.

[djxsquizet]

pretty much just practice, record ya mixes take notes on what you did wrong go back on work on it, practice some more. Like luv2xra said do parties for ya friends it really helps with working with crowds and seeing reaction of people.

Pretty much how I thought about it, was like a sport, your gonna have to practice and work on plays and keep working on plays to make sure you get it right. Same for dj'n practice working on your beat matching and transitions until each one is clean. Then most teams have a scrimmage against another team or practice game, to see where there level of play is at. I call those house parties, use house parties to see where your skills are at.

[DvlsAdvct]

Every DJ needs to start at a certain point. In my mind, a DJ can be spinning for 20 years and still be a "microwave DJ". The paying your dues thing doesn't help anyone. If some kid comes up to me and he's been spinning for 6 months and can spin his ass off I'd want to give him a gig. If some guy has been spinning for 10 years aand has a huge name and just shows up and plays music with no logic, thought or skill, he gets no respect from me.

If you are not capable of providing the services required of you and take the gig anyway with no intent of improving yourself then yes, you are taking a gig from someone who deserves it. If you are going to a venue and working your ass off to improve yourself, learn new techniques and make yourself better than everyone else around you then I think you deserve that gig.

*shrug* Good luck to you, sir. Kick ass when you're up there and as long as you keep improving then I don't think you're a microwave DJ

[BentoSan]

In preparation for that article we did some top secret DJTT testing by placing dvlsadvct in the microwave for 3 min on high, the result was he came out how he went in. It was decided that "microwave dj" term was infact the correct terminology and so we proceeded with publishing the article. (@DvlsAdct - please dont hate me for telling everyone)

On a serious note though enjoy yourself, do you best and good luck

Also dont forget to tell us how you go when it does come up. In the meantime you could post some mixes in the mixes section for constructive criticism.

Most imporantly, get your playlists organised and keep practicing - dont do any last second midi mapping changes or you will reget it.

[DvlsAdvct]

oh... Bento... you promised. I just... I didn't want anyone to know

[Wuz]

It takes longer but you can acheive a crisper texture by oven baking.

[Damien1138]

As with all forms of entertainment, music is a business with some of the stiffest level of competition to be found in any industry. A key thing to remember is that there is ALWAYS someone better than you and you should be grateful for any and every opportunity you get to play whether it pays or not. As an artist, ask yourself these three questions each and every morning you wake up- Am I happy with my work? How does my work help society? And what can I do to push myself? An artists duty (according to Stanislavsky) is to educate and entertain. Granted, music may not always be educational but when you look at acts such as Evol Intent or even Rage Against the Machine, their musical acts have been vehicles for a depth of social commentary which at one point was reserved for Film, Television, and the Theatre. Whenever something happens in the world that I feel strongly about, I try to incorporate clips and samples to express my opinions during my sets without sacrificing musical structure and integrity. Sometimes, I'll incorporate live musicians into the project when tables and keyboard are not enough. As long as you keep on keeping on and striving for your personal excellence, you will find respect amongst your peers. And don't worry about the haters, everyone will have them; it's just part of the game. Just brush it off and keep on your own work. And remember, to stay competitive, you must always push forward. Cheers

-Damien

[tekki]

@Bento & DvlsAdvct:
I am just so glad I could stop you two before nuking my BCR...