10:10
A roadshow in Shropshire
On YouTube this video is called Mobile Disco Roadshow gig log in Dorrington Shropshire
What this lesson teaches
A drive through the Welsh hills in the rain, a brand-new hall, and a few genuinely good ideas.
The bedsheet tip
The practical one, and it is specific to anybody who carries equipment in a car rather than a van.
With the gear in the back and visible through the windows, wrap blankets around everything - and then use a fitted single bedsheet.
The elasticated corners hook over the load: one corner at the front, one at the side, round the back, and the whole lot is covered. From outside, nobody can see what is in your car.
That is theft prevention for the cost of a sheet you already own, and it beats a tarpaulin because the elastic holds it on while you drive.
Using the room you are given
He has a small side room to himself, and does something with it: he puts LED cans in there, so the room flashes with the music, illuminating the space and him.
Small and effective - the same idea as the lighting-the-DJ lesson in stage 7, improvised from what the venue happened to offer.
Pristine, and a white box
His assessment of the venue is a useful observation about rooms.
It is brand new and in perfect condition, which is great - and it is a square box with white walls, which is a shame.
But then: once the lights are down, a star cluster effect will transform the place. A plain white room is a blank one, and a blank room is the easiest kind to light.
So a disappointing-looking venue at six o'clock is not a disappointing venue at ten.
Anything can happen
His description of why the job stays interesting, and it is the best summary of mobile work in the series.
You do not know what the venue will be like, or the room, or where it is. It is exciting to turn up down a back street and find a shack with one plug - or to turn up at a place like this and find it pristine.
Mingle before you start
He is set up by quarter past seven and will not play properly until half past ten. So he goes and mingles, films a bit, and gets the feel of the room - and chats to the photographer.
That gap is one of the things this course shows and nobody teaches. Three hours between being ready and being needed, spent usefully: meeting the people whose night it is, finding out what the room is like, and being visibly present rather than hiding behind the decks.
And the hardest part of the job
His closing reflection, and it is the honest one.
It is so difficult to play everything that one person wants. There is always somebody saying play house, somebody saying play modern, somebody saying play sixties - and you have to try to please them all.
His method: nudge. A little at a time. And the observation that makes it work - the ones demanding modern records will join in anyway because everyone else is dancing.
Which is the practical answer to the request problem. You do not satisfy every request; you keep the floor moving, and most of the people making demands end up on it regardless.
Contents of the video
0:00 Get your arse in gear and you do one as well
Alright folks, off on the way to a gig now in a town called Dorrington which is near Church Stratton, Shrewsbury area. I've got my satellite navigation system with me, which is all of that, and it's a lovely rainy day, very misty, and we shall see what happens. I'm going to pop into Midwells Music, say hello to Phil, and just do a gig log, which is what it's all about. And by the way, if you're a mobile DJ and you've got a camera... Get your arse in gear and you do one as well. Excuse me. Still driving. We're passing a place called Llanidlois now, and this is the bypass. And this is about half a mile of straight road that people normally go nutty on. I've got my supply of M&M's down there. That's my best friend that I take with me. And I've got some sandwiches and whatnot there. Right, where are you? Early, but...
Better that than the other. Okay, it's known as the new village hall. That is what I came in today. Here's a little tip for you. If like me sometimes you have to bring your kit in a car and it's all in the back and everything's showing well first of all make sure you wrap blankets around everything but then also check this out a single This is the bed cover that you put on the mattress. If you notice, you've got the bits here, the springy bits that go around the corner. Well, if you think about it, you can wrap that around there like that and then do the side around there, around the back and the back and then everything's covered and if you do it correctly no one can see what you've got in the back of your car. Another tip for you. Right then folks, here we go. This is the room.
Very new. And I am in, well, there, set up there. One T-bar, got a couple of lasers, got LEDs, got a set of 15 and horn on stands. Rather posh today. Got the 800 and those, and I've got that for backup. Well, I'll be using it anyway. And what is quite cool, I've got this little room in here to myself. There we go. And what I've done is I've got those LED power cans and I've got them in here so we'll have a bit of flashing light in here which of course will illuminate this room, illuminate me, and it should look quite good actually. I've got the smoking machine, I think there's an alarm but we'll see. There we go, we have someone over there playing the trombone later on. And that's where I am over there.
3:16 Must admit, I've always admired the sound of the trombone
Must admit, I've always admired the sound of the trombone. It's wonderful. Brings tears to my ears. Right, I'm all set up. They've got the trombone player... They've got the lady playing the trombone. She's going to be playing some serious dope electro-funk ACDC. Okay, right. Sorry, you've got to laugh. You have to laugh, it's so funny. Anyway, it's like a midsummer ball. It's the longest day, 2008. And I'm all set up. I probably won't do anything until about half past ten. So it's now quarter past seven. Exactly. So, you know, I'm going to mingle, do a bit of filming and get the vibe, the cool vibe going down, man. But anyway. It doesn't really matter because that's what it's all about. With this job, it's an element of anything can happen. You don't know what the venue is going to be like, you don't know what the room is going to be like, where the venue is. It's quite exciting sometimes to turn up and maybe to turn up down some back street and you've got this small little shack with one plug or like this place here, you turn up and it's just in pristine condition.
4:53 This gentleman here is the photographer for the evening
Which is great, but it does look like a square box with white walls, which is a bit of a shame, but then again I've got that nice jazzy laser star cluster, so once the lights are down that should transform the place, literally. Anyway, we shall see. Excuse me. Alright folks, here we are. This gentleman here is the photographer for the evening. What's your name sir? My name's Tom. And what's your website? My website is www.shorelineimaging.com So where are you going on holiday? Well, we've booked a gulay, which is a sort of sailing boat. Nice. In Turkey. Wow. We're going there for a week, hopefully better weather than it is here at the moment. Excellent. Okay, alright, well I'll tell you what we'll do, is during the course of the evening, I'll take a bit of footage of you doing your thing, is that okay? That's absolutely fine. Excellent, thank you very much. We'll do another couple. Seconds of bloody smoke. I filled the whole fucking place. Oh my god. As they say in Ireland, you've got to make sure
It is so difficult between playing everything that one person wants. You know, you've always got one who says, oh just play house, just play house, or play modern, or play 60s or 70s, but you've got to try and please them all. It is so difficult, but you're just nudging that little bit. The ones that are always saying, oh put some modern stuff on, because everyone else is boogieing and they just get in with it as well. So there you go, another gig log and I'm going home now. 24 times I get home the sun will be up.
This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.
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