Tip #1
Do prepare your first hour of music. Select the exact playlist in the exact order you will play them. Also, practice your transitions in between all of those tracks. As I mentioned before, you WILL be nervous. So having your first hour of music prepared will help you work through those jitters!
Don’t beat yourself if you mess up. Listen, everyone messes up. It’s called being human. So if you do mess up just keep it moving. The truth of the matter is most people won’t notice. And even if they do they will quickly forget. After all, you are at a venue where people are drinking alcohol and possibly eating too. They are schmoozing and hopefully dancing away. Therefore, they won’t hold it against you for too long, promise!
Tip #2
Do invite your friends! If you are lucky enough to play a cool club or lounge where it is open to the public, make sure to invite your friends! This way the venue sees you as someone who will bring people who are ready to spend money. If your guests spend money then the venue will see you as an investment that will bring profit to them.
Don’t drink too much or at all. This one circles back to those first time jitters you will be feeling. Yes a drink might calm your nerves down. If that’s the case keep it to just one drink. I personally recommend not drinking at all. The reason for this is so that you stay in control and don’t get sloppy at that first gig.
Tip #3
Do ask the venue what their DJ setup is. The last thing you want is to show up and not know what you are djing on. There are many different DJ setups these days. It can vary from a DJ controller, to Turntables or CDJs. So you want to make sure your DJ software (if you are playing on a computer) is ready to go with the setup. You can always ask the venue if you can come early or another day to check out their setup. This way you know for sure what you are getting into.
Don’t be rude to people who ask for requests. You never know who might be asking for that request. If you’re rude to the owner’s daughter then you can probably kiss that gig goodbye. I have the perfect response to tell guests who ask for requests. You will need to watch the video tutorial to grab it though!
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