It's Fine to Be Nervous Before Your First DJ Gig in Ages I Always Am!

0:04 My name's Jonathan Ellaskins, The DJ Tutor and this video is DJ relate

My name's Jonathan Ellaskins, The DJ Tutor and this video is DJ related. It's for everyone out there who's got back to work. Now let's just imagine if you're anything like me at the beginning of 2020 all of a sudden you stopped your career as a DJ and you had to become a florist or maybe you I don't know maybe you just decided you want to take the children to school and collect them and during the day twiddle your thumbs and become an alcoholic simply because You weren't allowed to entertain people, but if you're anything like me and recently you have been allowed to entertain people, you'll understand where I'm coming from. So this video really involves you. Now, if you have not done your first gig in a very long time and it's coming up, don't panic. I'm going to explain something. Firstly...

I've been in this industry for a very long time, probably longer than you've been born. In fact, if you're 10 then, or sorry, if you're 5, a 10 year old is old. So really it depends how old you are. But let's just say from the early 80s, I've been DJing and I'm never complacent. I'm always apprehensive before a gig. I always make sure I've got backup speakers, lights and so on. But I have to admit... My first proper gig, it was a wedding, was last Saturday in Aberystwyth and I was as nervous as, I'm going to swear now, fuck. I really was. I was very nervous and anxious because I hadn't done the event like that in a very long time. And what was going through my mind was, is the laptop going to crash? Is the controller going to have issues? Have I got the right music they want?

2:19 Make sure it's completely, totally and utterly updated

Is the lighting okay? Will the PA survive? And so on. Generally, the sort of questions you'd ask yourself at night while you're sleeping, not just before the gig. But what I did do, and this is my advice for you, if you've got your first gig in a very long time and it's tomorrow, tonight or in a week from now, this is what I suggest you do, alright? Check your laptop. Make sure it's completely, totally and utterly updated. Check your hardware. Make sure the firmware is updated. Make sure everything works with each other. Nothing worse and it's happened to me once. Once. It's not going to happen again. Hopefully. When I turned up at a gig, luckily I knew the clients and my laptop decided to reboot and reconfigure itself. But you see if you go into your laptop in this into the settings you can set your laptop so you can decide when it's updated and not Mr and Mrs Google out there just deciding on a Saturday evening at about eight o'clock that they're going to start destroying your computer while you're doing the first dance and everyone looks at you as though you're an idiot because in a way

You are an idiot if that happens. So I was actually really, really nervous because I hadn't DJed for a very... Well, I wouldn't say I hadn't DJed. I have DJed but not in that environment. And I suppose the main reason I'm saying this and making this video is because if you're a new DJ and you're about to have your first gig and you're very apprehensive then don't worry because I've been, like I said, in the industry a very long time And I get nervous before every single gig, no matter what. The only difference with last Saturday is I was slightly more apprehensive and nervous because I hadn't done that kind of event for a very long time. But I've burst the cherry, popped the bubble, done the all back and shoulder and add a bit of a side one and gone, here we go, and now I'm fine.

But not really, because I'm still going to be apprehensive for every single gig, because you never know what can go wrong. So my advice is very simple. If your venue is an hour away, then make sure you give yourself two hours to get there in case you have a flat tire. If you're concerned about your laptop, then take another laptop if you're concerned about your controller. Take another one. I'm not joking, OK? Last Saturday I had the XZ, but I took the DDJ-400 as well as backup with another computer. So if the proverbial hit the fan, I have got another setup. Maybe there could be a few minutes of silence, but it doesn't matter. All I would have to do is, with the music off, I apologise ladies and gentlemen, I'm having a few issues.

4:56 Don't worry, music will be back on very shortly because I have backup

Don't worry, music will be back on very shortly because I have backup. Now, if you say it that way, then you're going to make people more relaxed. On the other hand, if you run around like a mad lunatic going, what am I going to do? Help me, help me! Then you yourself are going to cause an environment, some friction in the room and people are going to start... are going to start to get very anxious as well as you because people will work off your energy so if you're happy jolly and vibrant and it's like well it doesn't matter don't worry about it i've got a backup then they will take that as you being relaxed acknowledge your professionalism and think this guy or girl knows what they're doing on the other hand if you're pulling your hair out and going oh my god

If the whole world's going to fall apart, then indeed you're going to pass that energy on to the public, which proves that you're not a professional person. Now again, passive or powered. If you take a passive sound system, make sure you've got a spare amp. Even if it's a small amplifier, even if it's like a hi-fi amplifier and you've got a couple of hi-fi speakers, it may sound stupid. It is in a way, depending on how many people you're playing to, if it's a thousand people and you're taking a set of hi-fi speakers as backup, then don't be a DJ. On the other hand, if you have got a relatively good backup passive system, fine. Alternatively, if you are indeed using a passive system and it goes to pot, then why don't you invest in one or two...

7:19 You cannot go to a gig with all that on your shoulders

Powered speakers, because it means then you haven't got to worry about the external amplifier. You just plug and play. Same with an active sound system. If one speaker goes down, hopefully you've still got the other one. If they both go down, there's going to be silence. Unless, of course, you've got a backup. Now again... We as mobile DJs are paid to do a professional job and it's our responsibility to make sure that night works 100% no matter what, alright? So let's imagine as well, today your dog died, alright? Your house has burnt down, your wife left you and you find out one of your 14 year old kids is pregnant. You cannot go to a gig with all that on your shoulders. Even though you have got it there, you have to go to that gig, smile and wave and be happy to the client. If, on the other hand, you have got that weight on your shoulders then I highly recommend you don't do the event and you pass it on to someone else because if you do the latter, great! Pass it on to someone else. If you do the first one and all of a sudden people realise that

You're depressed and anxious. You are not going to give of your best, and that's going to show with how you react behind the decks. Hopefully little things like this will help you. Anyway, like I said, it was my first event. I was very anxious. I've got a few more weddings to come, loads of gig logs and whatnot. And I have to say, the Tencel sound system from H&H really worked well. I was quite surprised with it actually, okay? Very happy with it. Nice sound, not boomingly... Oh, the cat's jumping around here. Not boomingly loud, but I knew it wasn't going to be because I was only playing to about 46 people. So if I'm playing to 46 people, I'm not going to be turning up with 18-inch subs, mid-top liner and God knows what. A couple of 12-inch will do. On another note, the rule of thumb, all right?

A set of 12 and horn will do your regular run-of-the-mill sort of mobile gig where you're playing a bit of dancey stuff and whatnot up to about 70, 80, 90 people. Anything above that, you probably want a set of 15 and horn to say up to 100, 120 people. But then anything above that, then I would revert back to the 12 and horn because they're a lot more efficient, but add a set of subs as well. Anyway, not going to digress too much, but it's a sort of vlog for you really. Let's check this cat out. It's just jumping around. I'll tell you what it is. There's a dot on the side that's just sort of like there-ish. There. And the cat thinks it's a mouse or something. No, not a fly maybe. Go on. Oh, bless it. That's smoky. Practice and enjoy. Thank you.

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