DJing in New York City in the last few decades has not been easy. I remember going out in the late ’80s and early 90’s when the reason you went to a club was two-fold: the DJ/music and the venue. Of course, back then we had super-clubs like SoundFactory, Roxy, Twilo, The Tunnel and others to choose from. It was a time when asking, “Where are you going Friday/Saturday night?” was actually a valid question and a really hard one to answer.
But most importantly it was a time when you heard people say things like, “I’m going to go hear Peter.” or “Junior’s spinning so I wanna go.” and “Razor & Guido are opening so let’s get there early.” In other words, regardless of the venue, there was a level of respect for the DJ’s style and the journeys they took us on. Even with DJs who played smaller venues and bars, there was still a certain amount of respect for their style and when they were at these locales you went in with an idea of what he/she was doing and the energy they wanted to convey. This was just as true at neighborhood bars like G Lounge as it was at the super clubs like Roxy.
During a conversation with my friend and OVAH MAG owner, Corey Wesley, we remembered having been brought up in that particular era of nightlife with a level of respect for the DJ and the venue that has stuck with us to this day. “In the past, we used to follow the DJs we liked because we invested in them. However, today we see less of that…”, he said. And I couldn’t agree more. Whenever I, or my friends, go out we go somewhere where we trust that the owners and management have hired the person playing music because that person CAN take us on a positive journey and we look forward to enjoying wherever that musical journey may take us.
I started pursuing DJing as work back in 2006 at G Lounge and have been working fairly consistently since. I work at small venues, here in NYC, with the exception being Feathers in NJ that I play at every couple of months. Since I’ve started working, I’ve developed the same pet peeve that tortures many of my colleagues: requests. Because of the easy accessibility of the DJ in small venues, some people feel an uncontrollable urge to approach the booth and make requests, usually for songs that in no way fit the format of the existing party or vibe that the DJ has worked so hard to achieve.
Recently, I had a real shock of experience when an actual DJ, yes a fellow DJ, came up to me TWICE to request Latin music (merengue and bachata to be more specific) at a bar during a party that was advertised as an RnB / Funk Throwback and Classic House event. Never mind the level of disrespect for a colleague but requesting something that was so clearly not meant for this event was particularly insulting.
Thinking that perhaps I was overreacting, I reached out to some of my colleagues who work in establishments both small and large, in and outside of NYC to see how they felt about this. It was interesting to get some of their reactions.
For the most part, we all agreed that we spend a lot of time putting together sets for these parties. It’s amazing how many hours of prep go into an evening’s set. It’s that prep time that is most important to how the vibe of the night will go. Most of the time, a person makes a request that will either a. not fit into the vibe of the set at all or b. is something that DOES fit into the vibe of the set and is probably already planned in so doesn’t really need to be requested.
Another fellow DJ reminded me that a lot of times another DJ’s come into the club or bar with some of their own original work to promote and that sometimes they will request you play their track. Of course, if the track is hot and fits the vibe, we agreed that we would most definitely accept that kind of request.
While talking to another DJ friend, he mentioned that perhaps this DJ that made such a strange request just didn’t really have a grasp of how other DJs work. Maybe she had no awareness that some of us have a planned vibe ahead of time that when successful (as it was that night) could lead to disaster if interrupted, kinda like this…
As DJs, we work hard to make sure that our audiences are having a good time. That is our job. Whenever we have the dance floor pumped and really great energy going in a place, that is a major high for us and that is always our goal. If you or your small posse of 4, are not having a good time but the other 98% of the crowd is happy and enjoying the vibe, it’s important to not take it upon yourself to tell the DJ that you want to hear something else. Chances are you might hear something you like and take in a new style and vibe you otherwise may have missed out on. Trust the DJ and the people who hired him or her to take you on a positive journey. The payoff can be amazing.
Enjoy these summertime beats by contributing writer, Ted Bishop Nieves a.k.a. DJ Ted Bishop
