I do get nervous sometimes before or at the beginning of an event. That's about what to start off playing at the beginning of an event. Once the event gets under way I normally calm down and get comfortable at doing the event.
Absolutely, and anxiety too.
What do you mean when you say they were funky?I tend to be fairly anxious until I'm on site and fully set up. My nerves stay elevated through the ceremony. Once we're at cocktails and beyond I tend to be pretty comfortable.
However, I've noticed my instincts don't feel as well tuned right now as they used to. It started feeling better last Saturday... I was flowing more. But in the early weddings back I've felt like I'm not coming up with ideas very smoothly and I'm overthinking my sets a lot. I've also had a couple of funky weddings that are not really in my sweet spot which has affected that... but I'm looking forward to feeling like myself again on the decks.
What do you mean when you say they were funky?
This is one of the best post ever on here. These things have happened to me as well. I do my best to find out what styles of music the client wants and anything special they want. Sometimes that doesn't happen. UGH! I guess some see you as the professional and you should know what to do. I don't like guessing. Here it is someone I've never done an event for, so I don't know what they would like me to do or the crowd attending the event.First Example:
I had a few things that made it a challenge. The bride and groom weren't particularly excited about dancing themselves. It was a mostly dry wedding (which doesn't always stop dancing, but sometimes it does). And it was an incredibly beautiful night on the DC waterfront... so the patio was a strong draw for guests that pulled them away from the dance floor. The result was modest dancing most of the night, but the crowd was very finicky. They'd leave in a heartbeat without any real pattern to it. Even a song like Walk the Moon - Shut Up and Dance absolutely cleared the dance floor which is normally a can't-miss banger.
So I spent most of that set feeling a bit confused and off my game. It turns out the planner barely expected any dancing and was shocked I kept them on the floor as much as I did. Couple was happy, planner was happy, but it was a difficult night for me.
Second Example:
I always ask how someone find me since I'm based entirely on referrals really. The bride that hired me told me her parents had been guests at another wedding I did and thought it was great. She had very few questions for me and booked quickly. But in my head I thought they had a sense of the types of weddings I normally do and my style.
In planning, I asked about her music taste... and all she told me was "play typical wedding stuff, and the line dances." That's very far from what I normally hear, probably 85% of my clients don't want line dances at all. And even my "easy going" clients typically give me a little bit more in terms of their taste and vision for the night. No biggie, moving on.
It turns out this wedding is basically in a bingo hall. The ceremony is at 2:30 (off site) but cocktail hour isn't supposed to start until 5. I arrived at 3:00 to set up... the building is locked. By contract I require 90 minutes - but I don't ask because this has literally never come up in more than 15 years of doing this. The building attendant finally shows up around 3:45 to begrudgingly unlock the doors. I get started setting up.
I had warned them that with a ceremony so early that guests can be inclined to arrive on site early. Sure enough... 4:14 people start pouring through the doors. I'm still in shorts, dripping sweat, working as fast as I can to make up for the abbreviated set up time. The father of the bride couldn't have been nicer, he knew they were early. But I was super frustrated. I also asked him which event they saw me at... and they had never seen me perform. They were referred by someone else at work, so it turns out nobody at this thing had any idea of what my weddings normally look and sound like.
Sure enough, they basically only danced to line dances. Including I got asked for the chicken dance, which I almost thought was a joke. I hadn't played it in probably 15 years and it ended up being the most full the dance floor got the whole time.
I did my best for them and they seemed very appreciative. But I was not the right DJ for that wedding. I skipped over some things in the booking process because I thought the family knew what they were getting in hiring me that I should not have.
To agree to do it? Date location and times. My pricing and videos kinda do the rest on qualifyingLet me ask this question or questions. What details do you try to get from a potential client that determines if you will agree to do an event for that person or not?