DJ's and Computers

[kevtherev1]

Nothing personal, but this is such a 'jersey' thing to say.

I've been sticking up for the scene in NJ for many many years, but I can't do it anymore. And this statement pretty much says why.

I don't live in jersey, I dj to more people in one night than most of you do in a month, and I get direct service from most of the major labels. Nightclubs are in business to sell alcohol, not play independent label tracks that no one knows. Owners care about drink sales, not the medium that the dj plays. New tracks are great but don't base your night around it. Familiarity breeds content in a music aspect and the ladies want to hear the same crap they hear on mtv and the radio at the club. Maybe one day if you get out of djing the converted newark go go bars that are now lounges you will see the light. Stick up for the scene all you want but its not gonna pay the bills at the club.

[djaldo]

I don't live in jersey, I dj to more people in one night than most of you do in a month, and I get direct service from most of the major labels. Nightclubs are in business to sell alcohol, not play independent label tracks that no one knows. Owners care about drink sales, not the medium that the dj plays. New tracks are great but don't base your night around it. Familiarity breeds content in a music aspect and the ladies want to hear the same crap they hear on mtv and the radio at the club. Maybe one day if you get out of djing the converted newark go go bars that are now lounges you will see the light. Stick up for the scene all you want but its not gonna pay the bills at the club.

You spin for more people in one night then most of of us do in

a month ? who are you tiesto? there's no reason to go back and fourth about this!you just want to make money and play commercial cheeeeeeeeeese

where we will make money and play what other dj's will

be playing 6 months later.

[johnnylaw]

Here is the future http://www.peaveydj.com/dai/ Every club with a computer in the booth, dj brings music on usb harddrives,cds,maybe some vinyl. But this is the way to go digital. I love vinyl, never really got into the CD dual decks, I was feeling the Pioneer 1000 tabletop, but then I saw this. Glad I waited.

[mkutlass]

I don't live in jersey, I dj to more people in one night than most of you do in a month, and I get direct service from most of the major labels. Nightclubs are in business to sell alcohol, not play independent label tracks that no one knows. Owners care about drink sales, not the medium that the dj plays. New tracks are great but don't base your night around it. Familiarity breeds content in a music aspect and the ladies want to hear the same crap they hear on mtv and the radio at the club. Maybe one day if you get out of djing the converted newark go go bars that are now lounges you will see the light. Stick up for the scene all you want but its not gonna pay the bills at the club.

what clubs do u spin at???????? i guess that's why there hire chumps like u to play, i bet u get paid by drinks........... ha ha chump

[mkutlass]

kev, any dj can do what u do................. your nothing special, your 2nd rate dj........... your friends probably promote the party, that's why u get work.......

[dtrave]

kev, any dj can do what u do................. your nothing special, your 2nd rate dj........... your friends probably promote the party, that's why u get work.......

If you only knew. Do you know any other DJ's with 3 weeks paid vacation,full

benefits, 401k, and an endless contract to play till he wants to retire.

For further credibility on Kev check with Eugene Introna, Joey Barcellona, Mike Accairdi, Jimmy Jabado...

[paradeatw]

this thread is sad (although it's good to see everyone has an interest in the subject)... every time technology advances, it freaks out those who don't understand it... when people become freaked out they defend what they know because they do not understand what is new...

it's the same argument everyone in the recording industry had when the CD came out... oh, it sounds like crap... oh recording on analog tape machines is the only way... UNTIL major manufacturers built several hundred thousand dollar DIGITAL TAPE machines... and then how about this, almost everything, if not everything, you hear on the radio was recorded DIGITALLY... either through multimillion dollar digital boards such as the CAPRICORN or 9000J and then routed to a DIGITAL tape machine (and or all who know what i'm talking about; yes i know there are also analog converters, etc but the point is that digital technology can co-exist with analog)...

so what is the problem then? in all reality, the music you hear IS digital... even though it may be "down sampled" to be sent to you through analog AIRWAVES (which will be gone one day too, ie SIRIUS or XM)...

so come on, does it really fuckin matter what an artist uses for his medium of expression? or is the real concern, how great of a result is achieved through the talent's craft and skill with a particular medium?

shit, i will take a a phat set from a lap-top any day over a poor mixed set from a vinyl purist... wouldn't you? and if you agree, then you might as well agree the medium makes no difference... it's the creativity and vision behind the technology that brings it to life... not the circuitry.

[mkutlass]

If you only knew. Do you know any other DJ's with 3 weeks paid vacation,full

benefits, 401k, and an endless contract to play till he wants to retire.

For further credibility on Kev check with Eugene Introna, Joey Barcellona, Mike Accairdi, Jimmy Jabado...

so what clubs does he play at???? and what is his dj name????????????

[johnnylaw]

That DJing has become such a mainstream business. I have to agree some club owners are all about the $, actually they all are, but some find ways to play great new music and make money at the same time, but they are few, not the normal. Digital djing has it's advantages and disadvantages, the biggest disadvantage is that it has enabled just about anyone with a computer to get into djing. If dj's still had to hunt down good music and buy it (vinyl or cd) or get promos from the labels or a record pool, the industry would be a little more pure. I bet half or more of the djs out there now, have invested the kind of $ and effort to build a music collection the way we used to before digital was mainstream. Just my two cents.

[nsigary0]

Computers area MAINSTAY. DJ’s use them as tools of the trade. Not just for looping a track BUT for Mixing THEIR OWN music. Some record labels send crapy remixes of songs. So it’s our jobs to create a more enjoyable remix that makes it our own. Something no other club has. A DJ is just not mixing vinyl beat to beat or scratching between records. Too easy. Technics even jumped the band wagon of making a CD player. After everyone else has, they where the top of the line for 20 yrs. When Denon, Pioneer, and forgive me for saying this, even Gemini came out with CD players. Technics lost out BIG TIME. Now where in the age of digital sampling, mixing, and COMPUTERS. KORG was one of the first company’s to come out with their toy box as I call it. Denon incorporated it into their CD player. Now you have all kinds of DJ programs and I have yet to find one that can beat match a song for more then 30 seconds when you want to carry the beat beyond that. Takes real skill to keep a perfect beat going for longer then a minute. Looks to me like everyone here except a few is what is called “A Bedroom DJâ€

You wonder why you can’t get a good paying job, you need the skills before you get paid. How old is Junior Vasquez? Or Robbie Tronco? Or even Scribble? They are at the top of their game due to the fact that they spend hour’s everyday in their trade. Not when mommy and daddy send them to their rooms and take away their cell phones. Us who have been DJing for 15 yrs or better have evolved and know how to use our laptops for more then MP3 swapping and instant messenger. Computers are tools for creating our signature nights. DJ’s are Musicians more so then 15 yrs ago. And what we have learned you can’t get a degree in. School of Hard Knocks. Learn how to use a pair of 1200 MKII, Buy a pair of CD players, Get a computer and stay in front of that screen till your eyes pop out. Then come talk to me.

[nsigary0]

CD Players are EASIER to mix then Vinyl. Not every CD Player Feels the same Denon is differant then Pioneer, as for Technics new CD player. I used them all. Unless you have a touch screen monitor in your DJ booth computers are only good for looping, sampling, and editing. PCDJ, AutoMIX, Tractor, are great programs for DJing that kegger in your dorm or frat house.

[djkevinj]

use what ever u want. a good dj is a good dj. Best computer solutions, final scractch or serato sratch live, evolutions acces with midi controller, Just using computer programs and mixing off of those dont seem fun to me at all but if the dj is doing a good job then that all that counts. and u dont have as much control when u are using those programs so i see no need to use them. but who cares.

[djkevinj]

Who cares about tracks you can't get?? Its not 1998 anymore its 2004. People want mainstream especially the ladies, and without ladies a club is nothing. No one is going to come to a club because the dj has secret white label tracks......they are gonna go to a club where the hot ladies are and i bet that club is playing mainstream hip-hop/ktu format.

There are those that go to clubs for different reasons. I go for the music. I'm into my own style so i'm not going out to hear secret tracks . I got my own shit. Most go out for a good time but some go out as a religion sort (just for the music) nothing wrong with whatever yoru reason for going out just have fun.

[DJWET]

wood is good ... but vinyl is final

Wayne ( DJ WET )

Forked River , N.J.

[johnnylaw]

but NSIGARY0, I didn't say I didn't have a gig, I just said there is alot more competition due to the digital technology. I have embraced the digital stuff on the computer since 1996 and love the creativity you can add. The point was the competition is greater because of the ease of getting music because of the digital technology. Being a dj is a mainstream thing now, like the song says, "my cat is a dj" Becoming a dj now is easy, but it just harder to separate yourself, and to become a worldwide super dj and starting out now is like buying a guitar and hoping to be a rockstar! I still gig and still love the music, PEACE!

VINYL has been dying for years I'm told!

It's still going strong! MP3's are the next 8 Track!!

[soj]

CD Players are EASIER to mix then Vinyl. Not every CD Player Feels the same Denon is differant then Pioneer, as for Technics new CD player. I used them all. Unless you have a touch screen monitor in your DJ booth computers are only good for looping, sampling, and editing. PCDJ, AutoMIX, Tractor, are great programs for DJing that kegger in your dorm or frat house.

This is obviously coming from a guy who doesn't know what the hell they are talking about. Tell me how easy it is to use turntables and do the following:

take the vocals from 1 track

overlay it with a melody from another

generate beats from another

warp effects from another

and great a crazy looped buildup

all using 2 turntables and make it sound right.

Impossible.

And it aint easy using software either. But it's possible.

It takes extreme creativity that people with turntables can only touch the surface of. Using software like Ableton Live opens up the creative possibilities. If people want to continue to live in the 2-D world, they can. But the next dimension in live music construction has arrived. Even the term "dj" is antiquated. It's now about live music production.

[soj]

And to the "dj" guy who spins hip-hop and ktu stuff, more power to you. There are two classes of dj's. The artist and those who are there for the ride. You are the latter. The manufactured "boy band" of the dj realm. You'll probably do well with your benefits and 401k plan, but you'll never get respect. You are probably right about playing to a larger audience, but that's what "boy bands" do. They play the most popular style catered to the unattentive. They are successful doing that.

But I wouldn't knock the others who are the real artists in the world trying to define their own space on their own terms.

[liqidtouch]

If things become so easy that anyone can do it, DJs will no longer be recognized for their true skill. 2 records and a mixer. the rest is all about how the dj uses them.

there are PLENTY of djs out there - and here i use the term "DJ" losely, that cant beatmatch the same two songs no matter what they are using.

So, using technology to me in no way means that everyone will be able to do it.

weater using cds - wax - or final scratch still requires specific techniques and learned skills. Some get it and some dont.

[liqidtouch]

Matt (reid) you do make a good point and i hear it all the time

"when you go to a club, with a good sound system. you can tell the difference between a cd and a vinyl"

but how many clubs have you and i spunn for and can say they had a good enough sounds system to tell if your

NOT A DJ ?

[liqidtouch]

you hit the nail on the head my friend - much respect for hailing these words!!!

This brings to point that earlier this year i was "CHASED" by KTU to go to work for them. I said no. Recently i have been working with two major artists in R&B and Dance music. In the first clause of our contracted aggrement, it claims that any audio even in it slightest portion, that i submit my time with in production with them, is NOT to be included in any way to KTU specifically for any portions of its public and private airings.

they asked why - as im sure someone else here might.

Yes it would be Great to have my work on the air to the tens of thousands daily -

Yes it would be HOT as hell to add to my portfolio

Yes it would even dress my wall up nice in a little "100,000 copies sold" plack.

but my answer to WHY i wont allow it is..................

........there is a defining line between FAME and RESPECT,

Id rather struggle and still have respect, then be

getting a ton of air play - downloaded 40 million times and hour

and my work only making me about 17% of the total sales

and still disrespected

but id be famous right? -- ill pass

[liqidtouch]

i don't mean only vinyl, u would be able to spin cd's at my club, every once in a while.............scratching is a art, now with cd players anybody can scratch...... no skill needed...........

There are a few things off here.

Thanks Tee.........

ok Kutlass, you say that scratching is an art...if thats so then how is anyone able to do it?

Take a trip down the the local Guitar Center, make sure they have the latest Pioneer CDplayer setup. Flipt it on, drop in a cd, and tell me again how easy it is to scratch with this unit?

i dont scratch records but i do know what ARTISTING scratching sounds like. You need to be Seriously skilled to do this right with CDs. Its almost nothing like scratching records, and i have tried Both

[nsigary0]

This is obviously coming from a guy who doesn't know what the hell they are talking about. Tell me how easy it is to use turntables and do the following:

take the vocals from 1 track

overlay it with a melody from another

generate beats from another

warp effects from another

and great a crazy looped buildup

all using 2 turntables and make it sound right.

Impossible.

And it aint easy using software either. But it's possible.

It takes extreme creativity that people with turntables can only touch the surface of. Using software like Ableton Live opens up the creative possibilities. If people want to continue to live in the 2-D world, they can. But the next dimension in live music construction has arrived. Even the term "dj" is antiquated. It's now about live music production.

You can't read. let me simplify this for you. turntable hard. cd easy. why? you ask? CUZ YOU CANT PROGRAM A LOOP WITH A TURNTABLE YOU MORON. Setting up a cue on a cd player is easy .. just push CUE. cueing up a turn table is not easy. WHY? cuz you have to put your hands on it and press play to hold the cue. BECOME A REAL DJ LEARN ALL THE SKILLS THEN talk stupid you bedroom dj. Tell your mom i said its ok for you to have your x-box and cell phone back.

[liqidtouch]

"Setting up a cue on a cd player is easy .. just push CUE."

actaully gary - pressing the CUE botton on a cd player only cues to the beginning of the track allocation. It does not Cue to the point of audio, or to the point of the song in which the dj wants to start.

Just like in wax - you need to find the point by hand, then as most djs i have seen, STOP the track there. Also with wax i see djs find this same point by hand, hold it for a sec, then they stop the platter from spinning.

[soj]

You can't read. let me simplify this for you. turntable hard. cd easy. why? you ask? CUZ YOU CANT PROGRAM A LOOP WITH A TURNTABLE YOU MORON. Setting up a cue on a cd player is easy .. just push CUE. cueing up a turn table is not easy. WHY? cuz you have to put your hands on it and press play to hold the cue. BECOME A REAL DJ LEARN ALL THE SKILLS THEN talk stupid you bedroom dj. Tell your mom i said its ok for you to have your x-box and cell phone back.

I find it easier to set up a cue on a turntable than a CD. I'm sorry if you think its harder on a turntable. I guess you need more practice. As for calling people names due to their opinions and stances on the equipment used to perform, well, that tells me a lot about you and its all I need to know.

Now step off and go practice turntables since you think its so hard.

[dtrave]

I find it easier to set up a cue on a turntable than a CD. I'm sorry if you think its harder on a turntable. I guess you need more practice. As for calling people names due to their opinions and stances on the equipment used to perform, well, that tells me a lot about you and its all I need to know.

Now step off and go practice turntables since you think its so hard.

Ha!