ever do a chick on the dj area?

I used to be a bedroom dj and the few parties I have played.

I can confirm it is easy to get laid when you're DJ.

Have you ever been so ****ed up you couldn't spin or so ****ed up that you train wrecked the whole set? and not in your early days.

I played surface and Helsinki and both were allot of fun but they were no Atomic. Heaven seemed to be more of a commercial venture. I was booked to play there once but had travel complications and never made it...One of the few gigs I have missed in my entire career! Ottawa really did used to be great for house music events.

I have not used ableton to DJ ever. It" did it for you", which I expressed my thoughts about in another reply RE house DJ's using auto sync stuff - However for what you do (mashup style) I'm sure it's great and I have used ableton to make quick cheap bootlegs to play out! It's def a cool prog and I heard it has evolved allot.

I have not been to the UK in forever. Last time was Herbal and a warehouse party. I am going to do a mini Euro Tour tho and am looking to find something in the UK. Probably smother small just to drop in and see old friends.

It's allot harder to find gigs across the pond now as it once was.

I'm glad you appreciate the mixing. Sorry you are not so into the tunes. I can't please everyone which is something I learned long ago. I don't remember all the tracks - I pulled it off an xHD. The first is more typical to what I do in a smaller setting and the 2nd as stated a bigger room. That being said even though the second was recorded live in a large room (800 capacity) I don't think the musical selection is something "NJ kids go crazy too at pasha". That almost hurt! haha. It's (the music) harder and appeals to a larger audience but there are Sneak tracks on there, Troydon, DC, Robsoul, Littlemen, Herbert etc etc. I'm not trying to defend myself or get defensive haha...I like all the stuff I choose to play but diff rooms require diff sounds. You make it sound like I am playing Benny Bennasi!

I def try to adapt to the room I am in which has become harder and harder lately. As a DJ being hired to play - I have a responsibility to do my best to move whatever room I am committed to do so...But I'd never play "bad big room stuff" I'm not into to do.

Tht Vox U hate is Crystal Waters btw - 100% pure love accapella and it's a classic house tune - But you might appreciate the rest of the mix more
as it becomes more twisted and then funky but...You also may not

I think you are more into the new deep / nu disco / soulful thing by the tune U shared with me previously...Which is not quite what I play. You sound like more of an elitist than I can be lol...And I don't mean that in a bad way. I can be one too...But again I have a responsibility and try to meet it while not compromising my own music taste...Ever.

Sorry you did not love the tunes. Mbe il send u a deeper mix

Not in the DJ AREA persay but def surrounding areas . I'm gonna answer bout the whole DJ getting girls / groupie etc etc stuff and tell some stories because there have been a few requests and allot of people are curious about that stuff...But it's gonna be a lol tl;dr and is gonna tke more than a few mins to answer so I will get to it when I have time. Promise!

I have never (cept once super early on : see below) been so ****ed up I literally could not spin / mix and never trainwrecked because I was UTI but there were a few times where I was just way way way too high haha. Like...Playing and thinking "This is fun but she looks like more fun" or something ******ed...Or just playing and having an E kick in way way way too hard and having to sorta let a few tunes ride out and normalize. I prob just stopped at some smaller more private things if I felt too high not because I could not play / function as a DJ but prob because I just wanted to enjoy myself in others ways more.

I have been really high when playing and the outcome be a positive one tho...Like just been really really really into what I was doing. It helped that the rest of the room was prob way higher than me and going insane. Pure MDMA is fun .

All that being said tho I if I played let's say 1000 gigs lifetime I's say I was high as I was playing maybe 10/1000 max and basically only on special occasions and a few times early on. I take what I do seriously and try to be as professional as I can. I'd never get high b4/during a gig where I had a serious commitment to the room (IE me in front of 500 people at an "upscale club") but at smaller more intimate / more friendly parties I think it's ok with prudence.

ONE time early on (even tho u said not early on) I did mushrooms (one of the first times I did if not the first) b4 I played and when I did I literally felt like I had NO clue what I was doing. That was not fun haha. I could barely beatmatch and was just entirely too ****ed up to play. That experience stopped me from doing anything like that again.

I agree with this sentiment as well sometimes.

Interesting thread, I am not that big a fan of house music, but still intrigued.
Have you played IBIZA (any experiences funny stories, loved that place)
You may not be the person to answer this but,
My friend is a really talented DJ, he won a DJ competition and got to meet Eric Prydz, and he played internationally in Spain last year. His major downfall is that he is waay too into drugs and he comes from a really tough area and only has a part time job/ welfare and he has a kid on the way. He is starting to doubt himself, Have you ever thought about quitting for financial reasons, is there any advice coming from a professional you could maybe give about sticking to what you love. I'd really like to see him make it

Sorry been busy. Have not looked in a few days.

Yes I have. Played once been twice. It's (Ibiza) just sex drugs and dance music 24/7. No particular funny stories other than them putting a spotlight on me as I walked threw the crowd as I tried to get to the DJ booth. Kind of absurd. The best parties are in the private villas and there are some really nice beaches / chill out spots on the island as well.

I'm prob not the best person to answer RE: Ur friend but I can say this. There are 100's if not 1000's of guys just like him trying to make it...And it's very very hard to make it as a DJ. He should DJ because he loves doing it and not because he wants to "make it". If he loves doing it he will enjoy himself @ home or just playing for friends / making mixes etc etc. Essentially it's fine to try and "make it" but u should do it because you love it...And if you work hard, have skill and are in the right place at the right time...Who knows. Everyone deserves there shot. In terms of $ and having a kid on the way and whatnot...He needs to get a job. It takes a long time b4 u start making decent $ DJing (usually). The drug problem...Well...That is just bad for everything in life so...He prob needs to get his act together imo. I'm not Dr phil tho.

There is hordes of DJ's who messed up a good thing by doing too many drugs. The scene is so drug infested it's insane.

So you're a poker playing DJ from Canada? If you spent much time in Toronto I've probably seen you spin. I was at the clubs/raves 4 nights a week for about a decade. Do you post on Tribe?

Thanks, appreciate the time to reply, it was a weirdish question, His love for music is there i think how hard it is for him to get a job is annoying him and making him lose confidence, anyway thanks for answering.

I have been to ibiza before, went there 2 years ago awesome place, and just got word from my friend he wants to go this year again, so hopefully he can find a place to do a little work.

going to sensation white this weekend, not really into the whole house scene etc, but this seems fun. Your thoughts on it?

Oddly enough it took me years to get my first gig in TO. I say oddly enough because I had played pretty much everywhere else in Canada but TO never called. It kinda bugged me as I really wanted to play industry and never did . Right after Industry I did start getting gigs in TO tho. Last gig I had there was a private type thing and before that I played, I think it's called sonic? But since then I have not been back which was 2-3 years ago. I posted on Tribe once - Not much of a message board guy but 2p2 somewhat sucked me in .

I did not know that when u said "work" it was always DJ related or u meant "Dj work". Early on to me, getting gigs was just about "fun". I remember my first paychecks and me thinking "Wow, so I come here, play for x ammt of people...Have the time of my life...And get PAID FOR IT???" lol.

It's hard for 98.8645% of DJs to get work DJing right now...So that should not make him lose confidence but it is somewhat frustrating if you really want to play out for a crowd / make $ doing it. AS I said before there are 1000's of people just like him trying to get "work" which makes it very hard. Before it became so "cool" to DJ it was easier (never easy though) because there was much much much less competition. Again, he and any DJ should DJ because they enjoy to do so. He needs to make $ another way imo.

I did not know what this was till I googld it just now. I figured it was exactly what it was tho. These are huge commercial "arena raves". Kind of like Rave concerts...1000s of people...Lots of drugs...Trance...And promoters making HEAPS of $$$. They seem to really have there **** together though in terms of putting together events. I'm sure u will have a good time if it's your first event of this nature.

My thoughts on these is I'm sure people have tonnes of fun @ them which is great but to me personally, it's absurd. It's just wayyyy too big and the sound is almost never good in these venues for various reasons (you are hearing 75% boom boom boom and 25% melody). It's def cool to be able to go a party with 1000's of people...There is a novelty to it...It feels special perhaps...But I find a room of a few hundred people much more special....2 very dif vibes obv.

If this was my first event tho and I knew nothing of dance music or not much...I'd either have a blast or hate it...So I presume you will have a great time or be like "wtf am i doing here" haha. Lemme know which it was after you go...Have fun.

Have you done a lot of drugs while partying? Have you ever mixed while on something, if yes, what kind of drugs do you like to do while you mix? Have you ever hosted private after parties for people that had been clubbing all night long?

thanks

I reread my post and I guess I was a bit of an a-hole (given that, your response was honorable). Yeah, it's not exactly my style (I like deeper stuff indeed). But I had a chance to listen to the rest of the 2nd mix and there are actually a few pretty cool tunes.

Hope you keep answering questions.

I have a bit of a naive one. I know electronic music is big in Canada. But what are actually the best cities to go out to parties? Montreal, I assume (never been)? What are the best places?

And a second question: do you take care of bookings yourself or are you affiliated with an agency that does it for you (or both)?

I pretty much answered in a previous post. See - Ever got to ****ed up to mix question.

I have never really hosted an after party so to speak. Maybe invited people back to mine to "continue". Def hosted parties in my own room for mostly 2 and sometimes 3 =). (brag). Been to heaps of private after parties though. Some are fun and a great time to attend or play @. Some are just sketchy / cracked the f out and u feel dirty just being there. After parties used to be the shiz actually but I'm 2 old now lol.

Fwiw I have done my fair share of drugs over the years but Ive never been a heavy drug user...There was a period where I was doing a bunch of MDMA but to me a bunch is doing it 2, 3 x a month max. I had a bit of a C habit for a while as well but again 2,3 x a month type thing...Not like...Ev week 2 x a week or anything like tht + the comedown from C is always pure hell. All this to say I think that recreational / responsible consumption of certain substances is ok but I in no way encourage it. I have seen it ruin lives.

Also, I don't really consider weed a drug haha...But I also don't smoke at all anymore. Kinda wanna start again .

It's cool haha. You were a bit of an A hole but it's super standard for people who are passionate about there house music and super standard via message boards to get tht kind of response / reaction. I have responded the same way at times in similar conversations. I just did not agree that it was "big room pasha music" . Also you like deep stuff...And what I do is not on that tip for the mostpart but there are def pockets of time within my sets where I do "get deep".

Montreal has always had a sick nightlife dating back to Disco and even pre disco. I'm talking like 1970 +. Montreal has an amazing underground scene in the 90s. Very strong community and lots of amazing parties. Early 2000 things started to get commercial but it was still going strong. For the last few years it's much more of a "nightlife" than a scene. 1000 channels of the same thing for the mostpart apparently but I heard there are still some cool parties.

That being said I'm not sure where exactly to suggest you go as my peeps tell me it's "completely over" and I sensed it was somewhat over last time I played in mtl but I'm sure some of that is "jaded feelings" speaking out loud...As mtl is such a crazy party city that I'm sure there is still stuff going on. Stereo was cool and where I played the most recently and then it burnt down. They re opened it but apparently it's not what it once was. I suggest going to MTL just because it's a great city and asking around and I'm sure u will find some spotz. Go see Christian Pronovost @ inbeat records.

I have had many agents or "agents". They all sucked. HaHa.Some of them tried hard but failed. Some of them just wanted to say they were my agent and did not do anything for me. Some tried to scam me lol. A few bigger agencies have helped me out and got me some cool gigs when I went on tour and some propper agents who took care of some friend DJ's did the same but noone who was ever my agent really did much for me. That sounds kind of bitchy and whatnot but it's been true for me. It's just such a hard market now as everyone is struggling for work as a DJ.

I pretty much always did it on my own with some help occasionally...Most of the people I play for now are people I have played for in the past...And keep having me back OR the people who have had me suggesting me to others...And the occasional random gig from someone who heard a mix on the internet or something like that.

Times are tuff in terms of getting gigs. Why the F do u think I play poker ? j/k but only partially haha.

You seem to almost talk about things being commercial as if it was a pejorative -- do you not prefer the scene moving away from sketchy establishments to more upscale places?

As a patron I much prefer going to something like This is London than Comfort Zone and I think that would also be better for the DJ in respect to pay and treatment by both venue owners and fans.

As a DJ professional, what are your biggest fears?

It prob does come off that way because I do feel that way to some degree about certain aspects of the nightlife world. On one hand I miss the exclusivity of it all for lack of a better word. We were part of something that no one else really knew much about and no one else really cared about. It was our own thing. A sub-culture if you will. Now it's part of mainstream culture and does not feel as "special" if that makes any sense. On the other hand nicer venues and better gear / sound and comfy DJ booths + better paycheks are gr8 - BUT the crowds are often less into it...Less passionate IE nights out used to be a special thing and now it's kid of the same ev weekend save that one special party.

It's kind of a "everyone had there back in the day moment and those days were the best and they will never be that way again" thing. I had my back in the day...And even though I do enjoy myself now as well...It's nothing compared to them. Conversely...People are having "there day" now and will look back in a few years and feel the same. Perception is reality?

I do like nicer venues (they dont always come with better treatment) but I would take a less "nice" venue and decent sound with a crowd reallllllllllly up for it over a super nice venue and sick sound system with a bunch of people socializing over loud music . Hopefully that puts it in some sort of perspective. This is just how I feel though. It prob comes off more jaded than I actually feel.