All right folks. In this selection of videos, this, myself and a guy who does not even know that he is going to take part in this yet but he already really has actually and that is Bryan S. Red. So, between the two of us, and we have not even met, but he is one side of the pond and I am the other side of the pond. We are going to make you think either one of two things. Yes, you would love to be a mobile DJ, or no because you have realized that it is damn hard work. So, the choice is yours.
First of all, mobile DJ, what is mobile DJ? It is not the DJ that you see in a nightclub who turns up with a bag of record, an entourage of 20 people all around his feet groveling and puts his hands in the air. And, as soon as he puts his hands in the air, the crowd go, “Hooray!” And, he plays a few records for about two to three hours and walks away with a lot of money. Not at all. A mobile DJ is basically someone like this. Even if I said the barest of kit, you would need two speakers, one amplifier, a mixer, something to produce the music as in CD player, DAT player, turntables or PC.
Then, you need your lighting. You have to have some form of lighting, microphone, headphones, relevant T bars, etc, insurance, public liability and transport. Now then, consider this, even with all of those said items, imagine this now. Let us say that I am doing a function 50 miles away. I would have to lead and I have to set up by 5 o’clock. I have to leave at least by 2 o’clock. To get there, I clasp an hour for injury time, flat tire or maybe a bad traffic. So, you have to bear that in mind. You turn up at the venue before anyone else has arrived. Then first of all of course, you have to take all of your equipment tied to the hands. You have to put it in the transportation or in your van. Then when you get there, you have to take it out of the van, put it in the venue.
Occasionally, often than that, it is great because you turn up and you have not really got far to set the gear up. But quite often, you will find that you have to go through about half of a dozen doors, up to a flight of stairs, through a corridor, through another door and there you go. Not just once, because then, you have to go downstairs and you have to get another speaker. You have to do it all over again and downstairs. And then, you have to get an amplifier up and downstairs. And, you have to get your lights upstairs and downstairs. Bryan, you know exactly where I am coming from.
So of course, when you have set up and you leave the room, maybe leave the background music on. And then of course, you do your three to four hours. That is when the punter see this mobile DJ. And occasionally, “Wow! How much are you going?” “About 150 pounds.” “Wow! That is brilliant.” And they think, “Wow! So, he is there for three hours he has a 150 pounds. That is 50 pounds an hour. That is wonderful.” No, because you started a long time ago.
And then, 12 o’clock or 14 o’clock, when all the punters, a pest, falling about the place or just being completely obnoxious, you still have to be very polite and say, “Yes, please. No, thank you very much.” By this time, you are asking them, “Excuse me, can you move out of the way. And, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.” Because you really want to get home. You have had enough and you want to get home. You cannot say, “Look. Bug off out of the way.” You got to say, “Excuse me sir. Excuse me madam.” And quite often enough, what you will find, if there is a particular person to the door that you have to go through to leave the venue, they will stand there. It is not through ignorance, it is just because they are drunk and you are nobody. You know, “Excuse me.” And then you actually think, “Well look, I am here trying to carry the speaker through the door, could you move please.” And, they will move a little bit. Not a lot, but they will still be there when you have taken the other speaker.
By that time that you have loaded the car, the van or whatever, then you drive home. And then, you have to unload all the equipment back into the house. So, being a mobile DJ is not easy. It is a lot of work. There is a lot of work involved. And hopefully, between myself and Bryan, we will basically inform you. We will give you as much information that we can. We have been in the industry for a long time. We do not know everything. But then again, if I was in the position that you are now, let us say that you want to become a mobile DJ and I was looking at me, I would listen and I would learn. Because years ago when I actually started the same as Bryan, we did not have this sort of opportunity so I would take this with open hands and practice and enjoy.
So, listen up because Bryan and I are going to get it and make it really light. Thank you for watch and see you soon. Bye-bye.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services