On Being A DJ

A lot of people ask me what my DJ name is. I don’t have one. To be honest, I can’t yet confidently call myself a full-fledged DJ, probably because I’m still discovering what it takes to be a successful one. By definition, a DJ is a person who “plays recorded music at a club or party.” But I’ve found there’s so much more to it than put-the-needle-on-the-record-and-get-people-dancing. Here’s what I’ve learned this year about being a DJ:

Not all DJs are the same. Some DJs spin a very specialized selection of tunes. Others can please a crowd with the latest remixes and club jams. (Someone recently asked me to “play something hot!” and suggested Usher. Sorry, I don’t have any, but I can play you some Hawaiian boogie.)

Selection reigns supreme. I used to tell my friends, “I don’t know how to beat match!” (That’s the ability to blend records with varied tempos together into a seamless mix.) I’m still not very good at it, but I’ve learned that track selection trumps technical ability.

“For me, it’s always all about selection,” London-based DJ Patrick Forge told me earlier this year. “No matter what the context — on the radio, in a bar/restaurant, in a club — the music you choose to play creates an energy and determines the mood.”

DJs must be prepared. It’s rudimentary to bring all of the essentials to any gig: needles, headphones, and slipmats. (SuperCW was there when I used cardboard slipmats because I’d forgotten mine at home. I’ll never make that mistake again.)

Having a few formats on hand is smart, just in case things don’t go as expected. I love playing vinyl, but I recently played outdoors under a tiny roof, and it started raining. Luckily, I had my laptop and some CDs. I stashed my records and went digital, keeping the LPs safe from the elements.

One thing Bong likes best about being a DJ is discovering music and then sharing it with others ROGER BONG PHOTO

Building a library of music can take time. It might be convenient to download a few gigabytes of MP3s to get started, but sometimes searching for months or years for a particular song can be satisfying for both the DJ and the audience. Additionally …

… You might not know what you’re searching for until you find it. Which is the case of a particularly funky Christmas-themed Hawaiian vinyl single that my friend, DJ Oliver Twist, found recently. As it turns out, “Christmas In Hawaii,” a flute-laden mid-tempo groove by The Naluai Brothers, is the perfect tune for us to spin this Thursday, Dec. 18, at Bevy’s annual Christmas party.

But what really matters the most, I’ve learned, is having fun. If it’s not enjoyable, it’s not worth it. Because DJing, like everything else we do in our lives, should be a fulfilling experience. That I know is true.

For more from Roger, check out his blog at alohagotsoul.com