Trust Your DJ
When deciding how to proceed with music for your event, you
may consider whether or not to book a professional DJ or to use a mate. If your
event is a special occasion you may want to consider some of the following
before deciding whether to use a friend / mate.
1 - Widest possible selection of music.
When I first started running the disco, I thought I was
probably already well set with a large collection of music. I had a number of
CDs with 101 Hits of the 80s, 90s etc. and the last couple of Now! CDs. I
figured I’d be well set for the evening. I had enough for the evening, but, I
left a lot of requests behind as I didn’t have the music. I have since invested
heavily in having the right songs. For example, when you look at a 101 Hits
collection, there’s a lot of good stuff on there. Try looking for the real
megastars of the age. Most of these collections do not contain Wham! Madonna, The
Police, Robbie Williams, Take That, Beyonce, Michael Jackson etc. The megastars
simply don’t get put on these sorts of CDs.
What you are briefed for isn’t always what ends up getting
played. I was DJ’ing a party where I had been given a long playlist. The person
who the party was for (it was a surprise) made a speech and then just as I was
about to re-start the music asked ‘could you do an 80s disco?’ This was nothing
that had been on the playlist. I grabbed the nearest start-off song I could
find and then re-configured the playlist from there. Result - Happy punters!
More warning would have been nice, but this is the job of a pro. In the end, it
turned out what the dancers wanted was 70s disco.
2 - Your DJ knows which tunes work
I don’t have to like a tune to know whether or not it will
fill the dancefloor. I’ve had brides insist ‘no Robbie Williams’ and I’ve
turned requests away. The bride leaves and everyone screams every word of
Angels. A party organiser says ‘no Macerena’, but you know what, everyone gets
up and dances to it (and if you don’t know how, I do).
It is tempting to let your personal preferences get in the
way of the right songs to make your party work. ‘Your mate’ will probably let
his/her personal taste get in the way.
There are songs out there that will happily span the
generations and there are songs that won’t. If you have a wedding or a family
party, that really matters.
3- The Right Kit
I went to one wedding as a guest. The couple had elected to
‘use a mate’. He had one speaker which was horribly over-driven and was
distorting and very harsh on the ears. He was selecting the tunes from his
iPod, so there was a pause after every song and most times an abrupt cut-off.
Everyone kept heading to the room next door to get away from it. The groom kept
going round asking everyone to get back in the main room. As soon as he went
off to round up some more guests, we all slid back to the bar again. In truth
everyone hated the sound and the choice of music.
Sadly, the cost of using a pro would have faded by now, but
instead the memories are of everyone trying to escape the ‘DJ’.
BTW – one of the key things I look for is if people are
leaning in too close to talk, then I know the music is too loud.
Does your event need microphones? Most pro’s will be able to
hand you one on request.
If someone has a song that I don’t have and they have it on
an MP3 player or a Smartphone, I can hook things up to play the song without a
break in the music.
4 - Backup Kit
When DJ’ing, I carry two sets of speakers, amps, CD players,
etc. If it has a plug, it can break. You don’t get a second run at your wedding
party. You could probably handle a 20 min break while I reconfigure the gear,
but not having the music stop altogether. Would a mate have backup kit?
5 - Lights
It easy to forget how much atmosphere lighting adds. Lights,
moving lights and projections can make. Depending on the venue, many DJs will
able to add strobes, smoke and other effects. All can really make a difference.
If you use a mate, will they have all the required lights?
6 - Requests
More often than not, there are one or two people at an
event, who would love to dictate the music selection. As a pro, they don’t have
any hold on you. I was DJ’ing at a family party and a teenage girl turned up
with lots of make up and high heels and highlights. Her cousin asked all evening
for me to play Barbie Girl. I knew it was a personal ‘get at’ so just told him
I didn’t have it with me. If the DJ had been a friend with an affiliation to
one side of this ‘dig’, the song may well have been played, no-one would have
danced and the young lad would no doubt have worked hard to make everyone aware
of what a great joke he had pulled. It could very easily have ruined her
evening and upset those close to her.
7 - Insurance
Finally, pro DJs will be insured. We will always do our best
to ensure that our equipment is protected and that your guests are protected
from it. If anything goes wrong and someone gets injured, we are covered.
Would ‘your mate’ go to that trouble?
Go Pro – you can relax and get on with your evening and let
your DJ create the atmosphere.
