What Sort of Mobile DJ You Want to Be and How to Be It!

0:01 Mobile maybe, blue note, become mobile

Right, thought I'd use the phone. So what sort of mobile DJ do you want to be? Now maybe you're already a mobile DJ or maybe you've watched mobile DJs and you thought I can do that, I'd like to do that, I'd like to get a crowd jumping around and buy loads of kit and have loads of lights and a lot of it is just the vibe and the euphoria. It looks great doesn't it when you see a mobile DJ with all their kit and flashing lights but just remember, there's cost involved, there's public liability insurance, there's everything that goes with it. When you see that mobile DJ playing music and having a full dance floor for four hours, it's a wonderful experience whether you are the DJ or you're someone at the party, you're a guest but what you have to remember is that DJ has not just turned

Up in front of a crowd and then as soon as you leave drunk out of your skull from drinking too much vodka, they're gone. Think again because they have to get there, they have to buy the kit, they have to insure the kit, they have to make sure the kit's well maintained, pat tested, make sure it's legal, make sure it's safe and so on. Now getting to a gig isn't just about leaving half an hour and set up in 20 minutes and that's fine. No, you have to make sure you're there well in advance, you have to make sure you'll make sure you're there well in advance, you have to make sure your vehicle is roadworthy. On two occasions out of my entire DJ career I've had problems with getting to a gig because my vehicle has just died on me or vehicles and that's two times after a very long time so the inevitable does happen but of course you always have to have contingency plans. Digressing slightly with the likes of Facebook now which has helped me on those two occasions, I have

Indeed found another suitable DJ to do the event because I have never let a client down. End of. So what sort of DJ do you want to be? Now if you want to become a mobile DJ then consider this, do you want to become a mobile DJ and play anything can ever think to all manner of age groups, peoples, religions, styles and so on. If you do then you have to have a very very good music knowledge. An exceedingly good music knowledge, because for example someone may all of a sudden say can you play some Bangra, someone may say can you play some drum and bass, some hip hop, some R&B, some soul, some salsa, some merengue, some blue note, sorry blue grass, blue note as well, 60s, 70s, Talamotown, Northern Soul, Reggae, Techno, Trance, Electro, Funk, Disco, Rare, Groove and even some 20s swing.

3:01 Being a wedding DJ

Can you do that? On the other hand, maybe you just want to concentrate on being a wedding DJ. Well if that's the case, you've still got to know all those styles of music because no doubt you're going to get all age groups, styles and manner of people who possibly will request everything. So for example you could have a little old lady walk up to you going excuse me and you're thinking oh here we go, can you put on reel to reel I like to move it. Because that little old lady may be 70 now but she was only about 50 odd when it was out and she probably rocked to it. So we always have to remember that just because we see someone and we look at their age does not mean to say that we should pigeonhole them and think that they're just into one style. Today you look at a person, you do not take them at face value, you admire them, you listen to them and if they want to take that, if it fits, play it. On the other hand if they want some Northern Soul, Tamalotown,

Red Groove or they do want reel to reel I like to move it, you of course hopefully should have that in your box and play it. Now a mobile DJ is about being mobile. You should be able to be completely mobile. You should not have to rely on oh excuse me, yeah I've got a gig, can I use your PA again please? I can't, oh right. Sorry you can't do the event, why not? Because I haven't got any PA. You're not a mobile DJ or oh it's alright if I use those lights from you, you know the light side last week. I can't, right. Sorry the lighting can't do it. No, okay. You have to have your own lighting, your own console, your own controller, your own laptop or CD players or turntables, your own PA system. You've got to have your own everything to be a proper

5:31 Modern-day music, people, something else

Mobile DJ. You need to have transport as well. You do not want to rely on someone else supplying you with the transport, the PA, the lighting or whatever. You've got to have everything. So again this video is about what DJ, what mobile DJ do you want to be? Now that's quite a tough sort of question because let's say for example you just want to do 18th birthday parties. That's all you want to do. You don't want to do 21st you don't do weddings bar mitzvahs deaths marriages anything you just want to do 18th birthday parties so you're probably thinking the average age is gonna be 19 you're gonna have 14 50 year olds come in even younger you can have your mums and dads who are going to turn up possibly until later on they get

Booted out they may not even be invited 18th birthday party parents are really embarrassing but you see I have done quite a few 18ths and I would say without shadow of a doubt comment underneath if you agree with me or disagree with me but most of the time the people who are 18 want to listen to the classic tracks yes they do want to listen to what's in the top 40 and modern music but they do like classic tracks so you're still gonna have to know about 70s 80s 90s disco funk rare groove salsa and sickness so on and so on unless of course you specify on your website Facebook page I do 18th birthday parties I will only play modern day dance music now if you're gonna do that you may have the phone ringing all the time but what

You're doing is that little pie which is anything can everything to do with mobile DJing you're taking away a big chunk of that because you are removing a lot of people that could potentially book you because you're a mobile DJ you may only end up getting a tiny slice of the pie because there could be a not many people who will be 18 who will want to book you and who will only want modern-day music because sure enough some of their friends who go to their party will say oh can you put some oldies on can you put some 60s can you put like Macarena or so and you'll have to go no sorry because I don't play that stuff you never know you might not even have it on the other hand you may be old in the tooth and you want to do 60s now if you're 18 and you want to do a lot of

7:59 Those kinds of parties will expect

Modern-day music you may want to do a lot of modern-day music and you might want to do a lot of modern-day music but if you're not a DJ you might want to do something else now this is slightly different this is definitely different because when you specify you are a mobile DJ and you play 60s music then guess what that is what you play so when people book you they will know you will only play 60s now again the trouble arises where people will come along to the party say well can you put something else on to the guests not the client the guests I'm sorry but I am a DJ who just plays modern-day music it is sort of different if you specify the likes of 60s or 60s and 70s or Tamela Motown all in Seoul because

Generally people who will go to those kinds of parties will expect to only have that type of music because there are many venues around the world that will only play northern Seoul Tamela Motown there are nights that spring up all over the place Northern Seoul night you don't go there and go excuse me can you play Robin S Show Me Love because they'll probably show you the door so really this video in a nutshell in a nutshell is about this if you want to be a mobile DJ and you're not sure about about what mobile DJ you want to be when you want to be a DJ it be house, hip-hop, R&B, soul, techno. Maybe you want to be a trance DJ, maybe you want to be a 70s DJ, maybe you just want to be I don't know a northern soul

DJ or maybe back in the day your parents used to love rock heavy metal and you've just got that inkling inside of you to play Def Leppard or Led Zeppelin or ACDC and something like that. Then really it's about one thing and one thing only, it's music knowledge. So if you're thinking about becoming a mobile DJ or you are already a mobile DJ not established but just getting in to being a mobile DJ more then I would say this and this is above everything and I am adamant every single person will agree with me watching this video it is music knowledge. You need to start listening to all genres, all styles. I do too now alright even at my age I will listen to all styles of music because until the day I die I will still be hearing a track and go wow I've never heard this before and

It would have been from 40 or 50 years ago. Wow I haven't heard this before and it would have been from 10 years ago. The same with you, the same with everyone we cannot listen to every single track but what we can do is listen to all genres but what we can do as mobile DJs is enhance the information and the knowledge we have about music all styles so when a new style comes along don't diss it and go that's crap alright I don't particularly like mumble rap but I will listen to it if I've got a track someone requests it and it fits in I will indeed play that track even though I may not like it because I'm there to please the crowd I am NOT there to please myself. So that's it music knowledge, is the key to become a good mobile DJ. That's it period thank you for watching

Practice and enjoy

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.