15 events a year?

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i think the scientific answer is......it depends.

If you are a really good DJ and a good learner...then doing more is going to help you. But if you are not a good dj and don't learn much from past experiences, then doing more isn't going to do much for you.

Some wedding dj's can do 10-20 weddings per year and be excellent at it. Some wouldn't. Some need to do more to stay sharp....some don't.

there is a fellow DJ in my area. Very nice guy. Been DJing for over 25 years. He's done a lot of weddings on his own, and for other multi-ops. I went to see him to see if we could put him to work. He was aweful, very boring, monatone, didnt keep things moving, didn't seem in charge, just not a good mc. very outdated equipment. When I told him he would need to come to me to learn how we do weddings, he said no thanks...he's got enough experience.

So, all in all, I would say it's inaccurate to say that someone doing 15 weddings a year can't be good at it....and it's inaccurate to say that someone doing 50 weddings a year must be good at it. It does show they are good at booking shows...or getting multi-ops to hire them.

As far as physically being able to move gear, if you are smart enough to realize the best way to move gear around without hurting yourself, then it really doesn't matter how many you do.
 
Request Line Productions said:
Although the subject and others like it, are interesting to consider, the only thing that really matters is that we're all working ...period.

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and the client is happy.

Here is a real world example:

The fact is I have already booked the event (and it doesn't matter if you have 15 or 200 on the books) and I don't advertise, nor do I have a website. All my bookings are from WOM or a guest in attendance at one of my gigs.

Answer to #1 & 2

If the person booking the event has based their choice on judging me and other competitors who they have seen in person, then I am not only "any good", I'm better than my competition.

#3

Not in my case. I'm 6' 2" and 225 and in the best shape of my life at 46. I rarely work out, but my day job is very physical. So if a guy moves his equipment 200 times a year for maybe two hours (an hour set up and one hour tear down) -vs- my 15 gigs, plus moving heavy equipment every day for eight hours a day, I am in better shape than that DJ.

The rest of the questions are soley dependant on the person. See my answer to #1 and 2. :sqbiggrin:
 
When I had the club gig, I could boast about doing "Over 120 events per year"

Of course when you are doing 46 Fridays, 4 Wednesdays, 1 Sunday, and maybe 1 or 2 Saturdays (and a couple of NYE's that fell on a M-W over that 7 year stretch), its EZ to inflate your numbers.

Once that Friday club nite went away, I was down to 60 events. Last year I did about 45 but will probably beat that number EASILY once Xmas season ends.

IMHO the optimum number of events (for me) is around 50 (mobiles performed by myself) and then perhaps 30+ "extras" (ones that I book for other DJs, where I collect a retainer to help defray my Overhead Costs).

As I age beyond the normal DJ life, that will reverse itself: I'll do less than 30 events per year and "farm out" the other 50.
 
1cdj said:
Zac do you play the same venues/clients repeatedly? I used to worry about the stale aspect but then again most of my consecutive gigs are for NON-repeat clients so they have no idea i did the same mix the night before and they end up loving it just as much.

Kyle
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Kyle - Throughout the summer, I have several campgrounds that I will work as often as 5 times over the course of 3 months or so. For the most part, these camps are "RV resorts" and thus cater to vacation crowds that turn-over once a week or so.

Of course there are always seasonal campers who get to see me repeatedly throughout a season. THOSE are the folks for whom I work to remain "fresh."

It's just very easy, when working with varied crowds ranging in age from 2 or 3 to 70 or older, to repeat patterns that you know work in most cases, tweaking slightly as you go and based on requests...
 
DJ Xpress

Can a preacher who speaks one time a month be very effective?

Can a Fireman who works one day a month be any good.

Those are the questions you should be asking yourself if you are going to post on this thread.
---
Hiredpower

At what point would you find the statement unbelievable

I'm doing 15 events a year and I'm doing great.
I'm doing 13 events a year and I'm doing great.
I'm doing 11 events a year and I'm doing great.
I'm doing 9 events a year and I'm doing great
I'm doing 7 events a year and I'm doing great
I'm doing 5 events a year and I'm doing great.
I'm doing 3 events a year and I'm doing great.

I'm really curious where you draw the line on the believability of the statement?
 
Cesar,

I can't answer the question because the number of my gigs hasn't reached below that. For my sake, I hope I don't have to find out.

I think it is obvious that more gigs can make you better. Some DJs may be inherintley better than others though, even with the same number of gigs per year.

Since I am where I am;

I log on here to further my knowledge and keep current on the topics of the day.

I go to conventions 1/2 times a year. In fact, the single day I spent at Mobile Beat Chicago this week was a networking bonaza with my peers.

Read indusrty periodicals.

Practice my mixing and speaking skills.

After every job, I will critique myself on set up, flow, music selection, mixing and crowd interaction. I use this to always improve.

KAIZEN!
 
The famous pianist, Victor Borge once said "If I miss one day of practice, I notice. If I miss two days of practice, my wife notices. If I miss three days of practice, the audience notices."

Whether one DJs a show every night of the year or once per year, practice is important. I should think it's safe to presume that the majority of us don't have a show every day of the week.

Even in his prime, Victor Borge wasn't performing every day of the week either. But when he did, he was at his best. He may not have performed every day but he practiced every day. :)
 
Scott Hanna said:
i think the scientific answer is......it depends.

If you are a really good DJ and a good learner...then doing more is going to help you. But if you are not a good dj and don't learn much from past experiences, then doing more isn't going to do much for you.

Some wedding dj's can do 10-20 weddings per year and be excellent at it. Some wouldn't. Some need to do more to stay sharp....some don't.

there is a fellow DJ in my area. Very nice guy. Been DJing for over 25 years. He's done a lot of weddings on his own, and for other multi-ops. I went to see him to see if we could put him to work. He was aweful, very boring, monatone, didnt keep things moving, didn't seem in charge, just not a good mc. very outdated equipment. When I told him he would need to come to me to learn how we do weddings, he said no thanks...he's got enough experience.

So, all in all, I would say it's inaccurate to say that someone doing 15 weddings a year can't be good at it....and it's inaccurate to say that someone doing 50 weddings a year must be good at it. It does show they are good at booking shows...or getting multi-ops to hire them.

As far as physically being able to move gear, if you are smart enough to realize the best way to move gear around without hurting yourself, then it really doesn't matter how many you do.
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Hi Scott,

As usual, i enjoy your posts to the fullest, and always learn something new from them, thanks to your positive attitude.

When you wrote:

"He was aweful, very boring, monatone, didnt keep things moving, didn't seem in charge, just not a good mc. very outdated equipment. "

It is to respect you opinion, since you've been in the business for a long time, by the same token, I have seen dj's who get paid a lot of money and come in with a lot of flashy equipment, but they are overly cheesy, they clown around a lot and don't have any mixing skills.

I would not judge a dj on ONE performance, because what if they bride and groom requested a solemn, quiet disc jockey? Now, the outdated equipment, i find no excuse for it. How did it sound?

Great reading you Scott.
 
In Contrast shouldn't a dj who manages 15 events on a saturday be like stick thin?
 
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