I watched a video Friday where a guy described a DJ’s job when playing out is to “make everybody dance….period”. To paraphrase his thought, he stated that a DJ should play the songs that makes everyone want to dance; that our job is to give them what they want to hear. That we are there for them, not for ourselves…
Not sure I agree with that 100%…..
Now, don’t get me wrong. Above all other things, a DJ’s job is to rock the spot. Our stated goal is to entertain our audience. It’s in that regard that I agree with the statement. Still, the part that says “We are not there to entertain ourselves; we are there to play the songs that they want to hear”….well, that’s where I take a bit of an issue.
A great DJ knows that the true goal of any DJ set should be to find that zone where the audience and the DJ connect. In a sense: The DJ is the ringleader of a nightclub circus on any given night and our challenge is to find that place in the universe where ‘where we want to take our crowd’ and ‘where they are willing to go’ intersect. You cannot do this by simply throwing Top 40 hit after Top 40 hit at them. It may seem like that’s the winning formula to a successful set but, in reality, this manner of set programming makes a DJ nothing more than a living, breathing………………………….iPod.
That brings me to Adam….
We can all agree that DJ AM was a wildly successful DJ, right? We can also agree that, even prior to his untimely passing, he was considered a legend, correct? If so, let’s consider why both of those statements are fact and why it matters.
Beyond who he dated or what celebrity party he played for, Adam was a stellar party rocker. Therefore, even though he became the first real ‘celebrity DJ’ of this era, few of us clowned his tabloid-ready notoriety. What mattered to us was his skill set. Here, he was unassailable.
Still, what I personally feel gets overlooked by many was his DJ philosphy. Though DJ AM came to rock the party; He also took great pride and enjoyment in throwing the audience a curveball just to see what happened. I mean, what crowd do you think really came to a club wanting to hear the theme from ‘RENT’ or the theme from classic fight film ‘ROCKY”??
Zero.
However, if you look at YouTube videos of the nights where he dropped these gems on unsuspecting celebutantes and frat boys, the crowd went nuts. It takes elephant cojones to play something like a grimy, Wu Tang set in a club filled with bottle-service types but Adam had the chutzpah to do that type of thing on the regular. Yeah, they may have come to the club wanting to hear Lady Gaga but he, by the sheer will of his talent, made them react to a Biggie medley just as energetically. It was in this manner that he inspired me….inspired us. In my opinion, we were better for it. Open Formant was truly “OPEN”, led by one of the bravest DJs many of us had ever seen.
Then…………..he left……………too soon.
In my opinion, the impact of the loss was felt immediately. It’s almost as if we went from the “Do It Live So They Know It’s Real” mentality to simply a sea of Crooklyn Clan pre-fab mashups & transitions. Additionally, it also appeared that many DJs, without a steady stream of new YouTube vids from AM sets, lost the inspiration to widen their personal playlist pallets. Started playing things a bit to safe. Playing only “what they want to hear”…
Hence, things have gotten a bit lame in the booths in recent times people.
To close, I propose this: In honor of Adam, let’s rewind the tape and pretend it’s 2008. Let’s re-ignite the fire in our community that led us to do battle with our crowds to see who would come out alive by the end of the night. Let’s dig a little deeper, be a little braver. AM gave us the blueprint. We owe it to him, ourselves, and our crowds to carry on tradition. Don’t just give them what they want; give them what they need: A Challenge.
Ante Up!
P.S. - We miss you homie…
ROS
ROS
ICONIK 360 DIGITAL
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Aside from the poignant words by ROS, I too have to agree on DJ AM's skills from my own experience at the club Pure at Caesar's Palace on St. Patrick's Day 2009. R.I.P. Adam
Aside from the poignant words by ROS, I too have to agree on DJ AM's skills from my own experience at the club Pure at Caesar's Palace on St. Patrick's Day 2009. R.I.P. Adam
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