My first thread!

i started my first thread, do i get a medal? hahaha

ive been wanting to get into school dances, but im not sure about setups. who are the big "school dance players" here?

Search for Valerie Ruste, you'll be surprised :D

Watch out Jacob, y'all spelled Val's last name wrong -- Bryan is on his way :sqerr: :sqlaugh:

...and is leaps and bounds above anything anyone else on the board can do with school shows. But to come even half way close to her show, you'll be spending thousands and thousands of dollars!

...and is leaps and bounds above anything anyone else on the board can do with school shows. But to come even half way close to her show, you'll be spending thousands and thousands of dollars!

I AGREE 100%!!!

i hope she chimes in. id like to see what she has. is she the only schooldance person here? ive been wantn to find a school dance forum

i hope she chimes in. id like to see what she has. is she the only schooldance person here? ive been wantn to find a school dance forum

Nah, she's not the only one who does the School Dance but, she has the biggest setup... I mean she has to hall her big system in a semi trailer... does that tell ya anything?

Search the forums you are sure to find pics of her setup and semi.

wow. do you mean the biggest setup for any mobile dj?

i went on youtube and searched for school or dj promos and i saw some impressive things, have you all done this?

Val has an incredibale set up,,,, far and beyond anyone on this board, but she is not the only player in the school dance market...

There are a lot of DJ's here who do and I am hoping some will chime in.... I used to do a few back in the day, but now on Maui I only do a few....

Breaking into schools is hard,,, gotta be persistant, mailings, calls and more..

But the main thing starting out is you have to deside the market you are going for,,,, bigger schools usually mean bigger money, but alone with that means a bigger system.

If you are just starting out, look more towards the middle schools, you can get by usually with a smaller system.

Know your area, when I was doing schools, I stayed away from the more Urban areas, not what I did, you don't want to go into a school unprepared, they will eat you alive.

Schools are NOT for everyone, people think that they are easy gigs, nope, far from it.... if you can't handle have 300 kids yelling at you that you suck, don't do it.....

Val has an incredibale set up,,,, far and beyond anyone on this board, but she is not the only player in the school dance market...

There are a lot of DJ's here who do and I am hoping some will chime in.... I used to do a few back in the day, but now on Maui I only do a few....

Breaking into schools is hard,,, gotta be persistant, mailings, calls and more..

But the main thing starting out is you have to deside the market you are going for,,,, bigger schools usually mean bigger money, but alone with that means a bigger system.

If you are just starting out, look more towards the middle schools, you can get by usually with a smaller system.

Know your area, when I was doing schools, I stayed away from the more Urban areas, not what I did, you don't want to go into a school unprepared, they will eat you alive.

Schools are NOT for everyone, people think that they are easy gigs, nope, far from it.... if you can't handle have 300 kids yelling at you that you suck, don't do it.....


Been There.... Trust me He is right

umm if theres 300 kids yelling that u suck maybe its because u do. no offense, but 300 is a large number. hahaha

Homer you get the big DOH of the day for that funny.

Homer, I work around 10-12 HS and JH dances each year...here is the key as far as I've figured out. A killer light show is a must, these kids watch sweet 16's on MTV and expect a lot of "bling"....video is nice, throw up at least one screen an show a dozen or more videos throughout the night, keep up to date on the hot 100 charts BUT don't expect to be okay with just those, you will get 15 requests of songs you've never heard of before every dance...write them down and listen to them for the next dance. If they have a decent beat and you can get them in edited versions (tough sometimes) get them...it will keep the kids happy. Play 90% rap! If you play what you think is a floor filler and not what they think is a floor filler you will bomb. Don't give into the heavy metal crowd that says "this music sucks" and play some obscure goth band just to get them to shut up. No matter how crappy the top 40/rap stuff is, it has a great beat and that's what makes people dance. Find the "party starters" of the party...the group that's dancing up front and listen to their requests seriously. When they dance, the rest follows. Fall back onto some "cheese" to get the kids dancing, cha cha/electric/cupid are all good line dances to get everyone going....heck even jump on it, cotton eyed joe will get em going. Save the really popluar songs for "power hour" don't waste them early just to get them on the floor. Make sure to include a hot techno set (3 songs max)...the heavy metal kids secretly also like techno, it will give them their fix of alternative music to bounce to. Have fun with them, don't talk to much but get on the mic and point out the dancers, talk about the end of the year, the senior class, the teachers with their flashlights....make em' laugh. Dedicate a song to the senior class. Tell the seniors to make requests throughout the night and you'll play the most request JUST for the senior class. Get them on your side and NEVER hear boo's. Give away some glow stix....spend $15 bucks for some throw out stixs for those dancing...incentives are good. If you have a screen, projector, you might as well hook up a digital camcorder as an input and project some live video...everyone likes to see themselves on the big screen. Lastly, get ready to work your A$$ off for not a ton of pay. Most schools are willing to go with discount DJ's....so take a pay cut if you have to in order to get your foot in the door for prom, or bigger paydays once they see what you can do.

Good luck...I have a big 6A (1000 kids likely) Sadies Saturday, I'll post a playlist and some pics Sunday.

Remember these are all just suggestions, things that work for me in Kansas City, find out what works for you and go with it.

Good luck bro!

I'm having some issues with video on my website, but you may be able to check out a video on my site

www.platinumsound.biz

You can find Valerie's rig here:

www.squareonesd.com

Kris excellent thorough report. I have a couple things to offer from many yrs doing these and lately less frequent but around 5-6 per yr.If you know the local teen favorite radio station the top 30 if available is the most concise as some songs on the Billboard chart may have not broke in your region versus my region and the variety of pop music will be determined by what format the local stations play. Stuff like Hinder would be a must play in the past here as our local top 40 station plays alternative and rock cuts along with current Euro and Techno songs. What Im saying is get to know your radio stations playlist even if you have to listen a few weeks prior to the event. The big thing I found over the yrs is that the younger kids know the latest songs first and even stumped me the first few times doing rec center dances versus the High School kids who enjoyed even some classic rock cuts. Remember one key to getting away with playing that Marilyn Manson style song or Rock is to play it before going into a slow set or out of one. If your floor clears it will auto rotate with the slow set same thing coming out. I also found that if I play a couple heavy hitters and keep hitting em throughout the event not letting them get to faqr away from another slammin one and here I have really avoided the You Suck DJ tag by keeping them on their feet and as soon as a song is bombing find a break and slip into another guarantee.
Learn the current and new bangers in your area. We also have a thread in the music forum about songs ahead or something like that where myself Cam and Sue and anyone can list songs we think will be the next hot one. Check it out.

any of u have videos on youtube? ive seen some awesome ones and i wanted to see if u had any.

any of u have videos on youtube? ive seen some awesome ones and i wanted to see if u had any.

I may have a couple on there, not a good turnout AT ALL for their dance but some decent set up shots. Same as on my site I think...

YouTube - AAA Dance 2007


YouTube - Platinum Sound Club Package

urs was one of the ones i saw!

urs was one of the ones i saw!

It's a small world afterall.........

Hey SimpsonHomer (are you dyslexic?)
Sorry I didn't see your post. Been scarce here lately. We do primarily school dances. We set up our business plan to only do big systems; the semi is our only means of transportation. Yes, it is one of the largest mobile DJ systems around I suppose, but our success isn't purely based on a big stereo. In order to do well in the school market without just pimping yourself out for peanuts, you must deliver a show. Not a stereo and some lights. Everything needs to work together to create that something. Lights are cool. Stereos are cool. Bringing them all together creates an experience that the school will not soon forget, and is willing to pay for. If you deliver such an experience for your faculty AND students, you won't be dealing with "the dj sucks", but instead might garner the occasional tip, lots of referrals, and many loyal customers.

Any specific questions, there are a lot of people here who can help you out. A lot more than just me has been there-done that in the school market. We happen to like it there and make it our primary business.

Oh, and we have a couple video clips on our website. New one coming soon.

Me...I banned middle schools as of this year....no more...they are the most nasty little buggers to play for..they dont appreciate anything....Highschools I dont mind...middle schools...nope. You can have them.

I wish you luck my friend.

Me...I banned middle schools as of this year....no more...they are the most nasty little buggers to play for..they dont appreciate anything....Highschools I dont mind...middle schools...nope. You can have them.

I wish you luck my friend.

I hear ya. You can't have a big enough stereo to drown out 100 grade school kids screaming. We've tried. It can't be done. High schools I LOVE.

Perhaps Canadian Middle Schoolers are more respectful but the only challenge Ive had with them is to be damned sure my music is ahead of the game. It seems to appease them and yes I get a request now and then saying play music that doesnt suck. I play the Curly Shuffle if I get multi requests and highlight the ones who have made such wonderful requests. I then say no further requests will be taken if I recieve another. I do this with profanities as well. Rarely do I have much issue after that if it occurs initially.

Jon
I've not experienced disrespect really. They are just squeal-y kids. Ack. Give me teenagers any day! The little ones scream and screech when they're happy/sad/glad/mad/etc. Ugh. Again, gimme teens. If you want rude & disrespectful, look for adults.

For what its worth there are many big Baby's amongst most adult guests.