stuff you've been DJing

[howlin' hoosier]

i dj maybe once a month. and it's a mix of garage r&b and some soul. but predominantly on the rocknroll vein. most of the places are small divey bars with a small space for dancing.

some of the records i spun last week.

the marauders - hi di hi di hi di (coulee)
thee midniters - i found a peanut
screaming lord sutch - dont you just know it
mighty hannibal - fishin' pole
midknights - pain
bobby fuller - shakedown
shapes of things - so mystifying
benny easley - danger signals
dave caflan - you came to me
the unknown - shake a tail feather
king rock and the knights - send di
andy and the live wires - maggie

Bobby Fuller's early home studio work has plenty of hoof shakers to choose from...

 

[Northeastbeast]

I hence think that many of the playlists above are actually made of stuff spinned in bars, not for dance-floors. I'd never dare to spin The Squires' Goin all the way to a regular crowd, and the break in the middle of Born Loser is impossible to handle. One of my favourite records ever, but at home !

Quite correct, my set above was a mid afternoon bar set during one of those cursed EuroModGroovyWeekenders so despised round these parts. Like I said though, it was great fun.

I used to run a very successful indie night and despite the images portrayed by of some of the most established regulars, the dancefloor would always be most packed with the various "guilty pleasures" I'd throw in. There is always context though, you're trying to create an environment and atmosphere as well as just a dance floor, for me, I'm playing to everyone in the venue, not just those shaking their booty at a particular moment in time. With the hope that my good taste will win them over in the end whatever I play, of course.

I will always remember playing a midweek "60's night" for a friend. I was covering as the regular dj was away and I was helping out the venue owner (who also runs my local record shop). I turned up with my usual box of 60's soul. Before the gig, the owner flicked through my box. That's not a euphemism. He said "great records, some amazing stuff. They'll hate it". He left me a box of beat up chart hits, nothing in that box was worth more than a quid. After a few of my own tunes bombed, records I'd probably spent hundreds on, I flung on "My Boy Lollipop" and the place erupted. I stuck to the chart stuff for the rest of the night, only occassionally testing the water with a few of my own favourites, rarely with much success. A good lesson in knowing your audience. I've had similar experience playing friends birthdays/parties/etc, they maybe say "I love your weird 60's shit, come play my party" but when you actually get to said party and the place is crammed with 40 year old nurses wanting the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, I pity the fool who tries to force a Detroit funk rarity on that turntable. Be warned, stilettos scratch faces, not just records...

 

[sylvain]

some more favourites of mine garanteed to please everyone.
Stuff selected has to feature a pounding beat all over, no breaks, and if possible, no black influence. Not that I don't dig soul, I'm spinning some at home, but that's not my taste when spinning for punks.

mixed with stuff like this

With stuff like this, you're packing any floor all night long. That's what I call DJing !

 

[sylvain]

some more ?

 

[familiar quadrangle]

Pretty much anything that sounds like this:

http://youtu.be/p3ESqBMhm64

Still working on my go-go line though.

 

[nadorozny2001]

joey
how do you know that the place was empty. seems like everybody hung around. i'd get tired of listening to soul 45's all night long.

 

[Frantic]

joey
how do you know that the place was empty. seems like everybody hung around. i'd get tired of listening to soul 45's all night long.

aaarrrggghhh:confused:

 

[nadorozny2001]

so what do you spin joey ?

 

[Frantic]

Garage, northern soul, mod, early uptempo r&b, New Breed, Rockabilly, early funk etc. Anything you can dance to. Usually each club or party has it's own theme or style, so I usually don't mix a lot of this stuff.

 

[nadorozny2001]

i it all up, some rockabilly , garage, soul , surf etc. i even threw in a frank sinatra christmas song at christmas. everybody quieted down , then clapped after the song was done

 

[Frantic]

i it all up, some rockabilly , garage, soul , surf etc. i even threw in a frank sinatra christmas song at christmas. everybody quieted down , then clapped after the song was done

Sounds like your talking about your local watering hole. I've done those kinda places 100's of times. I think Sylvain and most of us out talking about clubs with dance floors.

 

[nadorozny2001]

hav'nt done a dance floor but i'd figure it out

 

[sylvain]

damn, been tryin since a few days to retrieve the posts where somebody here featured the way-cool posters he designed for some garage parties. Are those pics gone ? what's the name of the G45 dude who was behind ?

 

[ShyC]

Hey Sylvain, do you mean these?

http://www.g45central.com/forum/ind...rage-compilation-series-pipedream.1384/page-4

 

[Monster Mike]

It seems a lot of people forget the R&B/blues undertones that are in most garage 45's. It's all a matter of playing the right tunes next to each other. Which, like it or not, is a DJ's job. Some recommendations would be:

The Sonics - Shot Down/Psycho/Don't Be Afraid
The Romancers/Smoke Rings - Loves The Thing
The Ovations - Pop Me Too
Danny & The Sessions - Mojo (as previously mentioned)
Bud & Kathy - Hang It Out To Dry
Mad Mike - The Hunch

I usually kick off my sets with The Arondies - '69 and The Emporers - I Want My Woman which kinda "sets the mood". After that, everything sounds like a dancer!
Also, I know a lot of "purists" who never touch the pitch controls. So many records just need a little push or vise versa to make give them a more danceable pace.

 

[sylvain]

It seems a lot of people forget the R&B/blues undertones that are in most garage 45's. It's all a matter of playing the right tunes next to each other. Which, like it or not, is a DJ's job.

fully agree with you. I consider myself a bad DJ, when I see what *real" DJs manage to do, when they have the "magic touch"... like putting everybody on the dance floor with some stuff I'd never ever dared to spin before.. but they manage to, only because they managed to *build* the right architecture, playing the right tune next to each other.

Some recommendations would be:
The Sonics - Shot Down/Psycho/Don't Be Afraid
The Romancers/Smoke Rings - Loves The Thing
The Ovations - Pop Me Too
Danny & The Sessions - Mojo (as previously mentioned)
Bud & Kathy - Hang It Out To Dry
Mad Mike - The Hunch

Cool stuff. Didn't think before to Mad Mike's The Hunch, perfect choice. Will fit right near Ralf Nielsen's Scream ! The Ovations' 7'' is great too, but that's my own limit. Not "obvious" enough in my opinion for non garage crowds, but once again, would probably be a sucess if spinned at the right time !

 

[sylvain]

here's an example of some pretty well known stuff, but perfectly mixed

 

[Monster Mike]

here's an example of some pretty well known stuff, but perfectly mixed
YouTube Video

That is one of the best mixes I've come across. Found it a few months back and regularly throw it on at work. You really have to know your records to blend them together like that. Although I have some suspicions it was done with software....it's almost "too good".