How To Be An Opening DJ

[jaam]

Any advice on being the opening act before the headliner. Should we just set the mood? Is building the set/mood important or is it better to keep it low key and just chug along? Any help would be appreciated from both those who headline and those who have opened.Thanks Again

[BureOne]

Well I always thought playing nice moody house vibes would set the tone for any headliner. I dont know if it depends on what the "headliner" person would be playing, but you can never go wrong with lushy house. Build it up nicely were people begin to start dancing so when the main dj comes on he's got people on the dancefloor already. :p

[xeb]

Any help would be appreciated from both those who headline and those who have opened.

well i do both so i think that qualifies me to answer ;)

RESIST ALL TEMPTATIONS TO PLAY YOUR BIG RECORDS!!

if you do play some big stuff, DON'T finish on a big record, the main dj will hate you and not think that much of you.... if the crowd are up for it and you wanna chuck a few larger records in then do it at least half an hour before you finish and then bring it back down

like bureone said, moody house vibes. some quirky shit maybe. a good warmup dj will have a floor full of people all nodding their heads but not going at it

[Taylor Norris]

^^^^Yeah....u dont want the crowd worn out by the time the headliner comes on. Keep it chill but interesting. Its a fine line between keeping the crownd into it w/o becoming bored. Of course it also depends on what the headliner is playing. Just fill your record bag w/ the right choons and the temptation to drop the dancefloor destoyers wont be there cause, well, you didnt bring them.

These are the little things that get promoters to book you again and again. LOTS of people have the technical skills but playing to the crowd and your time slot is what will seperate you from the rest.

[groffhibbitz]

I just want to know how to get booked as the opening DJ in the first place :(

[thesightless]

I just want to know how to get booked as the opening DJ in the first place :(

do what xeb did. keep recording and making your mixes public. send them out to clubs, promoters, other DJ's, etc etc./

soulseek is a valubale tool. myspace as well.

keep recording, expanding and practicing.

[jeffrey collins]

Yep, and get to know a few of the bigger dj's in your town, hang out with them and see if eventually you can take a half hour on the decks at one of their shows.

[jaam]

I can't thank you guys enough. I think I was on the same page as you, but its always reassuring to hear it from those in the biz. The tip about not bring any big tunes was also clutch. Thanks again

jay

[Caley Martin]

always play Iio - Rapture

[Fangstick]

always play Iio - Rapture

John Creamer and Stephane K Remix !!!!

:D

[Caley Martin]

Deep Dish is where it is at... ;)

[jeffrey collins]

if you've got middle eastern/southeast asian women in the crowd, they will love you if you play that song.

[Caley Martin]

love you long time even

[BobbyJassi]

Deep Dish is where it is at... ;)

8)

[groffhibbitz]

I like that song, although it's too played out to, uh, play out.

[jeffrey collins]

hell I play out Flashdance every so often and people still go crazy for it. I like it but it has worn down on me.

[Caley Martin]

Jennifer Beals is rolling in her grave.

[jeffrey collins]

isn't that the girl in the movie...is she gone from this earth???

[Caley Martin]

no, but let's pretend that she is.

[DjSeanEsweld]

I`m in the same position as u are..But i record and send mixes all over..Clubs, Dj`s I sent even a promo to a Radio here in Amsterdam...
Allway Try It....Allways :D

[geoffgulley]

Last year I started a thread at GU about "opening dj's"... this is it: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

it, in my mind, covers all the bases from my original post to the responses that follow... It's not a guide mind you but just a discussion.

Cheers, Geoff

[soundsomething]

i would have to agree with the deep house vibe. i love walking in to a club and hearing those sounds knowing that the night can only get better.

[Caley Martin]

drumnbass at 33rpm is always good

[Glenn-Holmes]

well i must say it was cool reading your views here

im thinking recently about doing a promo set for a local club here that stands for progressive but also play electro and due to the end of the night it can also reach psy-progressive

my idea to open a night like this is starting with the deep house stuff with groovey bass play every few tunes a vocal tune and cause we are probably talking about a new dj that no one knows before that night playing one-two known tunes in maybe darkwer remixes can be helpful aswell

cheers!

[mjmedik]

always play Iio - Rapture


Hilarious!

The Deep Dish mix is still dope as hell, but reading your comment made me laugh out loud.

I'd say play Zombie Nation 7 times in a row and make sure you wear a wife-beater. :D

[Caley Martin]

zombie. zombie. zombie. zombie. zombie nation

[kassios]

Just keep it minimal .......some vocals would help to keep the crowd busy

[Caley Martin]

vocals with subliminimal messages..........

[ds]

:roll:

[Caley Martin]

:roll:

[ybhatti]

Jimmy van M does it best with easy grooves and a final build up before the dynamic duo enters

[Caley Martin]

unless he decides to play the Top 40 tunes off of Balance Chart back to back

[Lorn]

i would have to agree with the deep house vibe. i love walking in to a club and hearing those sounds knowing that the night can only get better.

agree with you on that one. Gets the choices flowing.

[enrique.vanegas]

Bill Patrick does a good job as a warmie...
A-Rod and Lance are also in my list.

[hulkhuss]

^^^^Yeah....u dont want the crowd worn out by the time the headliner comes on. Keep it chill but interesting. Its a fine line between keeping the crownd into it w/o becoming bored. Of course it also depends on what the headliner is playing. Just fill your record bag w/ the right choons and the temptation to drop the dancefloor destoyers wont be there cause, well, you didnt bring them.

These are the little things that get promoters to book you again and again. LOTS of people have the technical skills but playing to the crowd and your time slot is what will seperate you from the rest.

yeah but bring them in case the headliner is real late or does not show up ;)

[victorgonzales]

I think you are all wrong. The goal of being a DJ is to BE THE HEADLINER. If you EVER want to be in the position of poeple worrying about what they are going to play before YOU go on the decks then staying low key is the WRONG idea.

Surew you want to leave the headliner a mixable DJ friendly track but to dumb down your set so the headliner gets more attention is rediculous!!!! Most headliners at parties aren't much better if not worse than the best local DJs so why pretend.

You could either have poeple go home saying DAMN!!! that guy before the headliner fuckin owned the night!!! or Damn!!! that headliner was good but I was bored until he came on.

Tear it up as hard as you can before the headliner and leave them with a crowd just BEGING for more and the next time that promoter books a huge name you will be favored for the slot right before him.

THAT myfriends, is how you get YOUR name in bold letters on fliers and not in tiny letters on the bottom.

[hulkhuss]

yeah but the true art of a warm up dj is to build it up

[victorgonzales]

yeah but the true art of a warm up dj is to build it upEvery headliner is capable of tearin it up. You build it up and give them some energy to work with and they will throw a much better set. I know I play MUCH better when I down have to spend half of my set dragging poeple to the dancelfoor.

[BureOne]

I think you are all wrong. The goal of being a DJ is to BE THE HEADLINER. If you EVER want to be in the position of poeple worrying about what they are going to play before YOU go on the decks then staying low key is the WRONG idea.

Surew you want to leave the headliner a mixable DJ friendly track but to dumb down your set so the headliner gets more attention is rediculous!!!! Most headliners at parties aren't much better if not worse than the best local DJs so why pretend.

You could either have poeple go home saying DAMN!!! that guy before the headliner fuckin owned the night!!! or Damn!!! that headliner was good but I was bored until he came on.

Tear it up as hard as you can before the headliner and leave them with a crowd just BEGING for more and the next time that promoter books a huge name you will be favored for the slot right before him.

THAT myfriends, is how you get YOUR name in bold letters on fliers and not in tiny letters on the bottom.

:roll: Nigga pleazzzz. I much rather prefer to be in tiny letters on some fucked up flyer than having it huge bold and shit.

I dont care for peaktime tunes. Do I have some, yes of course. Anyone can play the big tunes. It's easy, they're all banging and full of energy.

The true art is knowing how to warm up the club. It's a lot more difficult than playing banger after banger. Unless you've established yourself in the industry/world; then you can do whatever the hell you wanna do and play the big tracks.

I love deep house. It comes in all forms, lushy, dark, funky, melodic, techy and you have to know how to put them together. I much rather be a warm up dj. Im not for fame or fortune, it's a dope hobby.

....and I'll tell ya what, you can mix up a proper warm up set that'll have the dance floor movin and groovin just as much as any headliner at 2am (maybe not to a full on capacity cause no one's gotten there yet) but the'll be heads nodding and smiles on faces... It's a whole different vibe.

[jeffrey collins]

Victor seems to me to be the dj who is opening up for dj's and then wonders why he doesn't get asked back to open again.

[Jeremy Micheal]

Victor seems to me to be the dj who is opening up for dj's and then wonders why he doesn't get asked back to open again.


lol..my thoughts exactly...

[BureOne]

:lol: :lol:

[SibuOne]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[day_for_night]

Just fill your record bag w/ the right choons and the temptation to drop the dancefloor destoyers wont be there cause, well, you didnt bring them.

while this sounds good as far a resisting temptation to play big tracks, its a very bad idea if you're opening for someone who is coming in from out of town. i can't count the number of times that i've seen headliner djs not be able to show for some reason or another (the old "airline lost my records" excuse). Thats when an opener needs to step up and play the role of headliner. always, always bring as many tunes as you can to a gig...

[jeffrey collins]

In these days of a lot of dj's out there playing just cd's. There should be no reason for not bringing a ton of good music to a club. In one 160 CD case I've got well over enough music to do an 8 hour set. Doubt i'll ever get that chance though.

[Yao]

One tip tho: never open for a hardstyle numbskull when you play prog...

[plexor]

Opening DJ sets are great because you get a chance to play interesting and different styles than usual peak time or killer tracks. I usually like to play different styles then the usual house or electro.

[Jayson]

Question: How to be an opening DJ?

Answer: Don't phuck up

[randall]

I think the best way to open is...

Start off slowly, maybe even start with a chill tune or two depending on the venue, and then work into some unique slightly more upbeat progressive, but not too bangin 'tunes. Set the mood, and try to work your set to END at the point where the following dj STARTS his set.

Jimmy V is known for having excellent warm-ups.

[lilsensa]

:roll: Nigga pleazzzz. I much rather prefer to be in tiny letters on some fucked up flyer than having it huge bold and shit.

I dont care for peaktime tunes. Do I have some, yes of course. Anyone can play the big tunes. It's easy, they're all banging and full of energy.

The true art is knowing how to warm up the club. It's a lot more difficult than playing banger after banger. Unless you've established yourself in the industry/world; then you can do whatever the hell you wanna do and play the big tracks.

I love deep house. It comes in all forms, lushy, dark, funky, melodic, techy and you have to know how to put them together. I much rather be a warm up dj. Im not for fame or fortune, it's a dope hobby.

....and I'll tell ya what, you can mix up a proper warm up set that'll have the dance floor movin and groovin just as much as any headliner at 2am (maybe not to a full on capacity cause no one's gotten there yet) but the'll be heads nodding and smiles on faces... It's a whole different vibe.

Agreed 8)

[jeffrey collins]

I'd much rather have my name on the flyer period. But yeah I wanna be on the top of that fecking flyer. That's why i've been working on my productions like I have.

[mw-1]

jvm and chloe are both good examples of how to open up a room.

respect.

[Caley Martin]

yes