Hey kids, welcome to the new place to discuss everything school/youth dance related! Talk about gigs, post show pics, get help with your marketing...we'll do it all here!
Class is in Session!
Class is in Session!
The New School/Youth Dance Forum!!!!
- Thread starter chaos
- Start date
ccasion14:Sounds good to me. I understand Jay Tea is buying! Give me a shout or PM me if you don't have my number.
Alright, here's the report from my first gig evar... (Back to School Dance @ High School)
The good:
Faculty member in charge of the dance told me that they're using me for next year's back to school dance.
Was told by several of the students (most of whom I knew) that it was one of the best school dances they'd been to.
Received a standing ovation when the dance was over (they were already standing cause I kept them dancing all night).
Most students I'd ever seen stay til the end (it was the high school I graduated from... that's where I base my comparison), I'd say maybe all but 20-30 out of 250 stayed until the last song was over vs. 20-30 left for the last 15 minutes back in my day.
Nobody once told me that I sucked.
The Bad:
First time to ever set up my lights and was only able to get about half of them up before the dance started (amounted to seven lights instead of twelve).
Left fog juice at home, only had enough in the tank for about three uses.
Learned how slowly a song goes by when it isn't received very well.
The Ugly:
Lost my car keys... lucky enough to have a spare on me... hopefully they're in a box and weren't thrown away or grabbed up by a student.
Other:
Will be starting a thread for school dance playlists as soon as I get mine together... saw a similar one under the wedding category. Had just enough power for the event. Still hyped up... hope I can go to bed soon... have to be up around 7am tommorrow due to my soccer coaching responsibilities.
The good:
Faculty member in charge of the dance told me that they're using me for next year's back to school dance.
Was told by several of the students (most of whom I knew) that it was one of the best school dances they'd been to.
Received a standing ovation when the dance was over (they were already standing cause I kept them dancing all night).
Most students I'd ever seen stay til the end (it was the high school I graduated from... that's where I base my comparison), I'd say maybe all but 20-30 out of 250 stayed until the last song was over vs. 20-30 left for the last 15 minutes back in my day.
Nobody once told me that I sucked.
The Bad:
First time to ever set up my lights and was only able to get about half of them up before the dance started (amounted to seven lights instead of twelve).
Left fog juice at home, only had enough in the tank for about three uses.
Learned how slowly a song goes by when it isn't received very well.
The Ugly:
Lost my car keys... lucky enough to have a spare on me... hopefully they're in a box and weren't thrown away or grabbed up by a student.
Other:
Will be starting a thread for school dance playlists as soon as I get mine together... saw a similar one under the wedding category. Had just enough power for the event. Still hyped up... hope I can go to bed soon... have to be up around 7am tommorrow due to my soccer coaching responsibilities.
Nice work...any pics? I don't know why I expect others to post pics, I'm so bad at taking pictures at my gigs. Last night I had a killer set up in are sweet venue but remembered pictures once I was half torn down. I did get a picture of my new trailer and let me tell you the best investment yet.
Nothing like a great performance to keep you up all night
Nothing like a great performance to keep you up all night
No pics. Took my camera... but was too pressed for time to snap any. Have a middle school dance coming up soon. I'll try to streamline my setup and snap some pics of the event.
Trailer sounds like an extremely great idea. It's quite the puzzle to get all my gear in my SUV. I'd like to see it, get an idea of what I might need when I graduate to trailering my equipment.
Trailer sounds like an extremely great idea. It's quite the puzzle to get all my gear in my SUV. I'd like to see it, get an idea of what I might need when I graduate to trailering my equipment.
Search the forum for a thread on trailers. There is a good discussion on all the things to look for in a trailer. I've been doing the same puzzle thing in my van for years but with some new trussing I had to go with a trailer. I'll post my pics of the trailer later tonight if I get a second.
More good news (needed to tell someone and always have received positive feedback here).
My first gig was last Friday. I get off from the 9-5 today (Monday) and find a voicemail on my cell. It's from the high school's cheerleading boosters (cheerleader parents)... they're in charge of the football homecoming dance and they want me to DJ the dance. I know it's only my second gig to book, so it may not seem that fantastic. But they had contacted the school to get my information, which makes me think I must have impressed someone.
I think I'm going to have to drool over trailers for a year or two before I can take that step.
Anyway thanks for the open ear.
My first gig was last Friday. I get off from the 9-5 today (Monday) and find a voicemail on my cell. It's from the high school's cheerleading boosters (cheerleader parents)... they're in charge of the football homecoming dance and they want me to DJ the dance. I know it's only my second gig to book, so it may not seem that fantastic. But they had contacted the school to get my information, which makes me think I must have impressed someone.
I think I'm going to have to drool over trailers for a year or two before I can take that step.
Anyway thanks for the open ear.
Word of mouth is everything in this biz. Work well with the sponsors, respect the administrators by playing all radio edits, stay in touch with the latest hits, and rock the gym and you'll have more gigs than you can deal with.
I actually just got an email from a school that was desperate for a good DJ for thier homecoming dance in three weeks. I was already booked that friday night (5-7 outdoor gig for elementary school) but thier dance didn't start until 9:00. So I told them I would take the day off from my day job (teacher) set up my big rig (20 foot global truss, two 9X12 rear projection fast folds.....) at noon at their HS, drive back and work the smaller event with my #2 rig, drive the hour back and work the dance.
They are so happy with me going the extra mile that they are already talking prom ($1300) a much bigger payday.
It pays to be the nice guy sometimes.
Good job on the booking Zman.
I actually just got an email from a school that was desperate for a good DJ for thier homecoming dance in three weeks. I was already booked that friday night (5-7 outdoor gig for elementary school) but thier dance didn't start until 9:00. So I told them I would take the day off from my day job (teacher) set up my big rig (20 foot global truss, two 9X12 rear projection fast folds.....) at noon at their HS, drive back and work the smaller event with my #2 rig, drive the hour back and work the dance.
They are so happy with me going the extra mile that they are already talking prom ($1300) a much bigger payday.
It pays to be the nice guy sometimes.
Good job on the booking Zman.
Most of the school dances that I get are all by word or mouth, however each September I always send a company post card to all the local school PTA's.