PRACTICE and PATIENCE

PRACTICE and PATIENCE are the two things I think are missing from the next generation of DJ's. The other day I'm out to lunch with a friend of mine, and he says "man you have it easy, all you do is go up there an play a couple songs." Yep...and all Michael Jordan did was shoot a ball through a net. It's a perception that people usually have with entertainment. I call it the "it looks easy" thought.

When I was 15, I started DJing in my basement. At the time, I was into hip hop and house and my CD collection was huge...later on I moved to records..but vinyl is expensive. So with the money that I made from busing tables and washing dishes, since 13, I went and bought 2 Pioneer cdj 100’s and Pioneer 300 mixer. A heavy as hell amp case and 2 JBL’s 15’s....and a vertigo light that my mom bought me. For hours and hours, days and days, I would be down there. Luckily, there was a DJ that lived in town DJ Klemp. He was older, and had been DJing for years by that time, and was running his successful entertainment company DJ’s At Large.  He took me under his wing, and before I knew it I was with him at every school dance, wedding, frat house, corporate party, nightclub, wherever. My fee for the lessons.....carry, setup, and break down the equipment.....which wasn’t that bad with 2 four foot high speakers with 2 15inch subs in each, 5 foot high rack system fully loaded, light trusts, lights...basically the biggest heaviest system you can fit in a van. With him and myself for years and till this day, I’ve carried and setup, and played and drivin thru snow, rain, sleet, flat tires, no gas, traffic jams...the list can go on. Most private event DJ’s know what I’m talking about.  Besides the private parties, then comes the bars and clubs. Going to foreign countries and walking through cities with a backpack filled with music, DJing at clubs where no one spoke English. Playing clubs til 5-6am to walk out with 200 bucks driving another 1 1/2 home to wake up in 2 hours to go to work. Or just playing for free most of the time. Playing anywhere, anytime for 10 minutes to 10 hours. Then promotion. Before the internet... passing out thousands of flyers every day. Going to school, working 3 jobs, and DJing all night. Still in the room for hours everyday practicing. Just years and years of trying to get that shot.

I mean I have war stories for days. We all do. Anyone that has ever had a passion for anything has them. Athletes, actors, singers, dancers, artists, corporate. But it’s part of the game. It’s a HUGE part. Especially for this business. The entertainment business is not all it seems to be. It’ll put you on stage then boo you right off. That’s why it’s important to respect the game. Ever since the digital age... it seems to be a little lost. All you need is a laptop, some turntables, a mixer, a Myspace or Facebook and your a DJ. See to me...that’s great. I love it when people want to become DJ’s and create new music and express there different styles and flavors....that’s cool to me. What’s not cool...is when the same DJ will walk in the same club as you, demand just as much money, with no history, no resume, and deliver a show..that’s not bad...but not at the level their ready for yet.  You hear this from a lot of DJ’s that have been through some of the same struggles. And the reaction back is usually... “don’t hate”  It’s not hating. It’s competing. The level of performance has dropped instead of raised. It’s happened to the music industry as a whole. People want instant stardom. No more practice, no more working to get to a certain level, no more grind....instant. I compare it to a micro-wavable meal to grandma’s cooking. The food on the plate might look the same and have the same names, but quality is  incomparable.  I’m not saying that one DJ deserves more than another. And I would never judge anyone without knowing their story.  But for the new DJ’s, be patient. Practice beat matching, scratching, playing different genres, remixing. Play parties...any parties. Play for free...for 1 person..play for 1,000 people. And when you’ve played and played and played..then you’ll be ready to play.

Till this day, I feel like I still have a lot to learn, and still practice everyday trying to become better and better...there are levels and goals that I STILL need to reach....but the advice is that if you truly want to be DJ or anything, do it for the love, for the passion, for the art...don’t do it for the title. Respect the title. Same goes for the fans. Don’t put the instant meal next to home cooking....it’s bad taste. I encourage everyone to go out and pursue their dreams. Anything and everything is possible for anyone if you put in time and hard work. But know when you take steps out of the ladder, it makes it a lot harder to get to the top.