Picture taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingdiamondkid/ and displayed under fair use.
I wanted to give a big shout out to everyone who came out to Midsummer Nights last Friday. I had a good time overall and especially enjoyed hearing all the props afterwards, it made my night. However, by far the most annoying part of the evening was setting up all the sound equipment for the performers who just don’t understand how their shit is supposed to work.
I’m a fairly technical guy, I love knowing how things work…I think Vanilla Ice put it best: “If there’s a problem, yo, I’ll solve it.” But that love ends when I’m stuck at a gig trying to figure out everyone else’s shit. If you don’t know, tell me you don’t know instead of having me play 20 Questions and get incorrect answers because you just don’t understand anything. If you want the privilege of playing out, at least understand your own equipment and bring all the cables you need so we don’t have to hunt shit down because you just assume it’ll be there. It’ll keep people like me from writing posts like this about how big of a fucking moron you are.
Many people talk about the lost art of DJing, and having been a DJ for almost 12 years myself, I understand. There seems to be a difference between using technology as a tool, or having the technology make you a Tool. Serato and Traktor can be used to an amazing degree, allowing great DJs to do things that would never be possible before. However, it seems like a lot of DJs these days are allowing the software to do all the heavy lifting. Beatmatch syncing blows, it’s stupid, it makes you look like a moron, and has an unmistakable perfection that any real DJ can pick out after your first “mix”. Now that Ableton has come into the picture, the landscape is changing even further. Track selection and feeding off the crowd and making a great environment for everyone has completely gone out the window.
The picture of DJDT above is not from Midsummer Nights, but from Beach Dazed, a party that happened a couple weeks ago. They played at Midsummer Nights as well using a similar setup. This time it was a laptop running Ableton and a mini-to-RCA cable running from the headphone jack. No MIDI controllers, no Samplers, no control surfaces of any kind. Just Ableton. And one long, premade set. Click the pic above if you don’t believe me.
And as much as this bothers me and many other DJs out there, I’ve come to the realization that nobody cares. The crowd doesn’t care, the venues don’t care, the promoters don’t care. The only ones who care are the ones who have spent a great deal of time working towards an art that seems to be dying. It’s now a commodity to see a DJ playing a “SPECIAL ALL VINYL SET”, even though that’s what DJs were doing fairly exclusively up until a couple years ago.
Arguments about records being too heavy are understandable. I admit, switching to Traktor has saved my back quite a bit. But most of the people making that argument are the ones who don’t buy records, don’t mix by ear, and think that beatmatching is just making sure the numbers on each side of the screen match up (Phase? What’s phase? It’s a filter, right? Wait, where’d my bass go?).
Soon, it’ll just be CD listening parties with the “DJ” only pressing play and then proceeding to jump up and down on stage with the enthusiasm of David Lee Roth, doing the physical equivalent of “Dude, you have to hear this part coming up, it’s so good!” When the tools were harder to get and harder to perfect, the end result was much better.
Accessibility breeds mediocrity. And that leads me to the picture caption, the peril of Ableton is that someone might actually try and get a crowd shot and accidentally capture the fact that you aren’t doing anything other than jumping around like a lunatic.
16 replies on “Or, why “DJs” in LA suck.”
Nicely put. I have been using vinyl for 9 years. It took me a long time to even consider Serato, when I did I realized that it is pretty helpful. I used to argue with a buddy of mine who had American DJ and just used the auto beat match feature. I was looking into Ableton for live performances, not DJ’ing and came up on your post.
Good to hear some people actually appreciate the craft, art, and time it takes a vinyl dj to get good.
In LA everyone with a mac is a DJ.
laptop djs suck ive said it over and over again and i hope people get it already if u need a laptop do do the work 4 u you are not a dj….the whole problem is that companies that make the dj software know that if they make it easy for everyone to do they will make more money so they put as many tools in the programs as they can to make it easy and bam we are in the money..but they dont realise is that they are making a bunch of fake wannabes in the process…that is if these people that rely so much on the software that if they didnt have it they would not be able to mix at all….
Hey, the art of DJ-ing, like Deadmou5 so eloquently put it, is becoming extinct like the “Dinosaur.” I am now an Ableton DJ and will never go back to those archaic days of bringing my CDs to gigs and wasting my time beat-matching (when I could do so many other things with my time than to do that stupid stereotypical one year in the head-phone dance for 5 minutes). Anyway, go digital DJs….
This article says it really well,” most of the people making that argument (that records are too heavy) are the ones who don’t buy records, don’t mix by ear, and think that beatmatching is just making sure the numbers on each side of the screen match up.” I use the CDJ 100, 1 step up from vinyl. Lugging around 100 cds in 1 huge cd case is way easier than lugging around 100 records. But i have no tools for mixing and beatmatching except for my own ears. I hate seen so many so called “DJs” in clubs and parties using their Macs and what not to do entire 5-6 hour “sets” with really no effort what-so-ever. I miss the times when a DJ would actually have a set and did all their beatmatching by ear. You can always tell a great DJ by how fast they can fix a mis-beat. Long live the true DJ’s out there.
Hahahaha look at the poor superstar DJ suddenly relize that putting one record after another doesn’t take that much talent….
So your gonna have to work a little harder to get your beer money now.
Digital DJ’ing is revolutionising the way real DJ’s now put music together, It is allowing us to do far more than just fade one track into another, or stick an accepella over the top of a different baseline, or create the odd mash up… etc.
Don’t get me wrong, there are talented DJ’s out there, but beat matching by ear and phase shifting is not that big a deal, If you practise you can pick it up in a day and perfect it in a week. so why not let a CPU take care of it. .
Not taking any props away from Scratch mixers like A-Train, C2C and Hype etc, they are the truely talented DJ’s. The rest of you get the nat – DJ’ing has never really been that difficult.
And when you refer to “Tools being much harder to get and perfect” – Get a grip – Technology just found you out….!!! hahaha….Face it bro – your getting old like the rest of us. Deal with it, and move on…
Whatever format you use to convey your production is irrelevant, you just have to work harder to get a following.
How ironic that lazy wanna be pop stars now have to actually be creative to get people to come and see them….oh well, should sort the wheat from the chaff.!!
Bring on technology….The SL1200 changed the way I listen to music – Ableton changed the way I make it……
IF YOU WERE TO TAKE AWAY THE LAPTOP AND THE GIMMICKY AUTO MIXING MUSIC PROGRAMS ALL THAT IS LEFT IS A PERSON WITH NO REAL MIXING SKILLS, NO SENSE OF MUSIC PROGRAMMING AND THE IDEAL THAT IF IT HAS’NT BEEN PLAYED ON EVERY POP RADIO STATION (35 spins per day or more) AND IS NOT AVAILABLE AS AN MP3 IT IS NOT REAL MUSIC. THESE TYPES OF NON- DJ’s HAVE MADE IT ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY LOCAL TALENT HERE IN THE EAST VILLAGE FROM GETTING ANY WORK AT ALL. IF YOU DON’T HAVE A LAPTOP, A SLEAZY PROMOTER AS A FRIEND OR PERSONALLY ARE A FRIEND OF THE SUPERSTAR BARTENDER OR THE EQUALLY SLEAZY CLUB OWNING EMPRESARIO YOU DO NOT EXIST. I WORKED AS THE RESIDENT DJ (ROCK/RHYMES/ELECTRONICA/JAZZ/R&B) FOR THE LEOPARD LOUNGE AND ALL OF IT’S SISTER CLUBS HERE IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE FROM THE YEAR 2000 TO 2005 ALL VINYL ALL THE TIME. THE CROWDS LOVE TO SEE A HANDTRUCK STACKED HIGH WITH MILK CRATES OF VINYL RECORD ALBUMS WALTZING INTO THE CLUB. I THEN SETUP THE ALBUMS IN FRONT OF THE CROWD SO THEY WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS MUSICALLY ABOUT TO HAPPEN. AS A RESULT I AM USED TO NOTHING LESS THAN STANDING OVATIONS FOR PLAYING TRACKS FROM ALBUMS THAT MOST HAVE ONLY READ ABOUT IN MOJO OR ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE, THE FEELING THAT COMES WITH KNOWING THAT THE ARTISTS THAT YOU PLAYED OUT WITH WILL BE SOUGHT OUT BY THOSE WHO HEARD IT AT THE CLUB AS PLAYED BY ME IS A GREAT FEELING. YOU BRING YOUR LAPTOP WITH ALL OF YOUR POP CRAP AND YOUR GENOCIDE PEDDLING HIP HOP DOWNLOADS AND I WILL BRING MY ALBUMS DOWNSTAIRS FROM THE 5TH. FLOOR OF MY WALKUP APARTMENT AND I WILL HAPPILY CRUSH YOU WITH A JONI MICHTELL ALBUM CUT FOLLOWED UP BY THE ULTRAMAGNETIC M.C’S THEN LOVE AND ROCKETS AND THE WE WILL SEE WHAT’S WHAT AND WHO IS TRUELY WORTHY ON THE DJ DECKS.
PLASTIC PEOPLE…OH BABY HOW YOUR SUCH A DRAG! (FRANK ZAPPA-R.I.P)
KEEPING IT AS REAL AS RAIN ON A SUNNY DAY!
NIGEL S. CLAYTON—-A NEGRO WHO SPINS CLASSICS 1949 TO 2000and?….ALL VINYL FOR ALL PEOPLE
damm it a lot of insecure haters on here LOL! these old azz DJ’s still using only turntables is like Old farts still using checks instead of a debit card LMAO! Upgrade ya self it is the new world if you don’t like dig a hole a lay in it.
Good point. But..
what if you have already know how to mix vinyl & cdjs? and still choose to spin digital
I love the flexibility of looping and being able to search and get the track I want in an instant & browse around.. also I’m able to mix faster without running whole tracks, mixing just at the last 20 seconds of every song like MOST “true” djs I see in my town.
By the way, I do agree that picture is truly pathetic. I mean, come on.. there’s a difference between mixing and just pushing play on a computer & acting stupid.
Wow, I never thought I’d really get much traction on this blog. This issue is certainly divisive, some people love ableton/traktor/serato, etc. and some people hate it…fair enough. There’s a lot of good input here, even with the haters 😉
Not every DJ is going to garner respect from every person, deserved or not. Even great DJs get shit from time to time, it happens. 95% of people who go to parties don’t give a shit if the DJ knows his shit, they just want to dance and have a good time. They don’t even notice trainwrecks (seriously, try it out, trainwreck on purpose…it’s incredible how people don’t even think twice). Technical proficiencies aside, if you’re going to get in front of a crowd to rock a party, then goddamn it, bring the heat and make me dance.
ps. how the hell did all of you find this blog post? 🙂
Hey Nigel – I feel your pain bro – I own in Excess of 10,000 pieces of Vinyl all of which are now happily collecting dust in my garage – So I embraced the tech and moved on to get work…I would suggest you rip your crate of rare vinyl to MP3’s and start using Ableton and an Akai APC 40. You sound like a man of age dude….save your back the grief…
oh and Dustin – type ableton hater into Google and see what page ranks 1st….=]
I understand what you are saying, and that picture is fucking hilarious, it is just sad that people like that can get gigs. I started on vinyl, switched to ableton and recently switched to serato. Vinyl is the best and sounds the best, hands down, but I do not think it is completely fair to say “Accessibility breeds mediocrity”. In my job I have to listen to small minded co-workers tell me how hip-hop is not music and how “real” music is made with “real” instruments. “Accessibilty” is what made it possible for hip hop to get started, people couldn’t afford guitars or drums and wanted to have fun so they used what they had and made something amazing. What that douche did in that picture is inexcusable, that is just a sad way of doing things and maybe it is not how it was done before, but don’t blame ableton for idiots like that “dj”. Ableton is a different instrument from two turntables and you can do alot more with it than just make a premade mix. Like i said though, I just switched to serato and it was for that reason, ableton just felt to stiff and rigid and sometimes I just like to switch genres or bring a track to a screaching halt and you can’t really do that on ableton. It seems to take all kinds, if I can blend tracks but can’t scratch, am I a shitty dj? What if I have all the technical skills in the world but play shitty music? Would you rather hear someone playing awesome songs from his ipod or someone playing worn out vinyl just because he’s been practicing the same set for 5 years? Being a good dj is a multitude of things: technical skills, being able to read a crowd, and having great taste in music. Awesome post by the way, I would have never guessed that people actually can get away with what I saw in that pic.
oh and btw, I found this blog post by googling “ableton djs suck” to see what people thought about it, I have a gig this Saturday and haven’t played out in a while, just wondering what the consensus was.
MOST LA DJ Suck… however if you are over 25 you prolly have found the real underground, where vinyl is still king! Most DJs have been forced to go digital (not because of their back) because producers are NOT pressing vinyl. THEY are where the cop out starts…. Im from Detroit and although we may not have the crowds that LA has…our DJs ALL make CA look like amateurs… There is ONE record pressing plant in Detroit left (Archer)
and had the new hot records actually been vinyl.. maybe more of us would still be luggin (or having our friends do it) Technology is great and totally a part of this (supposed to be) PROGRESSIVE music, however the SOUL of the music CAME from MIXING 2 RECORDS LIVE… thats the soul, thats the show, thats what makes you NOT the next guy. Computers are fine for mixes and producing… but LIVE? unless you’re “performing” LIVE PA…. play some fucking records already…. parties have become no more than “whos got the space and flyers?” if you ever want to see some real DJs… book Detroit Techno Militia or Bang Tech 12 Dj’s
yeah but these dj’s produce there own music that is loved everywhere so why are you hating?
They are producers, not DJs…which is my point. If all they are going to do is play a whole set of their own music, premixed, then all they really need is this: http://images.apple.com/ipodclassic/gallery/images/image1_20090909.jpg
It would save them the trouble of carrying an iMac out to a party…and it wouldn’t be nearly as misleading.
After almost a year of leaving this thread open, I am now closing comments. This debate will continue to live on, but I think there are better outlets for it than here. Thanks for everyone’s input, it’s nice to see a wide range of ideas on the subject. Ultimately, it’s all about the music. So I suggest going out an supporting those who you move or who make you move.