Reply With QuoteThe answer is emphatically YES! to both questions. I used to take it personally, so now I'm getting my own back on these boards by dissing everything I was ever asked for.
:lol:
Platinum Record [Level 8]
I was curious if any of the current or former dj's on this board ever had an obnoxious customer (punter) come up to the booth and insult your programming. (e.g. "play something we can dance to" or "why are you playing this ****?") or request something so off the wall that you would never play it.
No Longer Charting
The answer is emphatically YES! to both questions. I used to take it personally, so now I'm getting my own back on these boards by dissing everything I was ever asked for.
:lol:
Chart Hit [Level 6]
No, cause I cant hear them with the music playing so loud!! :lol:On 2002-08-28 10:57, nrgbeat wrote:
I was curious if any of the current or former dj's on this board ever had an obnoxious customer (punter) come up to the booth and insult your programming.
And (of course), even being an occasional DJ, I'm not so bad at all.
Peace :grin:
SENHORES DO GROOVE - BRAZIL
Platinum Record [Level 8]
I was hoping you guys would elaborate.
Here's a story I heard. Many years ago a dj was playing a teen party and this girl kept coming up and requesting "Rock On" by David Essex. The dj told her he would get to it as soon as he could.
A few minutes later, the dj happened to step away from his equipment and when he came back "Rock On" was sitting on one of his turntables. He was so pissed at this girl's nerve he took the record and broke it in front of her.
If anyone has an interesting story to tell, please share it.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
OK Nrgbeat.On 2002-08-28 14:09, nrgbeat wrote:
I was hoping you guys would elaborate.
Here's a story I heard. Many years ago a dj was playing a teen party and this girl kept coming up and requesting "Rock On" by David Essex. The dj told her he would get to it as soon as he could.
A few minutes later, the dj happened to step away from his equipment and when he came back "Rock On" was sitting on one of his turntables. He was so pissed at this girl's nerve he took the record and broke it in front of her.
If anyone has an interesting story to tell, please share it.
Seriously, I dont have a story like that to tell (wow!! BTW)but, in one occasion I was playing a tune from Kool & The Gang and almost at the end of the song somebody came near to the cabin and ask me: "Hey could you put to play something by .......Kool & The Gang!!" :lol: What a Jerk!! :lol:
Peace
SENHORES DO GROOVE - BRAZIL
Gold Record [Level 7]
Breaking a David Essex record? How could he?
No Longer Charting
The worst incident I remember was back in about 1984. I had just had one of my 'megamixes' issued on Disco Mix club and I had just started at a new venue. For some publicity for my new gig, I sent in a brief press release to the local newspaper, which subsequently made a huge fuss over the whole thing.
So the night of the newspaper article I was doing my usual thursday night job, which revolved around hen nights having free admittance and thus a fairly commercial night. Anyway, this one young guy bugged me and bugged me saying things like "so you're the great DJ?" "what is all this crap you're playing?" "thought you were a good mixer?" etc etc. He stood right by the DJ booth and even tried to psyche me out when I was mixing and stuff. He just bugged me constantly and really got me upset, so much so that I eventually snapped and told the guy to either shut the **** up or I'd get him thrown out. He didn't shut up, so the doormen ejected him. Thankfully I never saw him again. What a jobsworth!!
Gold Record [Level 7]
So, Quinny, this was a punter too?
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Yes, to all your inquiries and all too often. And they'd do it with that "You're here to entertain me" attitude which really would get under my skin.
Stories --- I'll use the same two records I was so tired of in that other thread. This will let you know why.
A NIGHT AT THE ANVIL:
It's somewhere between 4:30 and 5 AM Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. "Evita" by Festival has already had it's run. (What that means is that we've had the album long enough where I'm no longer running the entire side but playing selected cuts.) My intent is to use "Evita" in some fashion after the second show which begins about 5:30. This jerk has asked me at least four times in the past hour to play it. When he comes to the booth again I ask him to hold on. I do my mix to whatever and then reach into the crate and pull the lp. He's smiling, I'm smiling and I ask him to keep his eye on the record. "What?" :???: I stand up, lean over the booth and sail the vinyl across the heads of the dancers. People start cheering. I look down and tell him Evita just died.
A NIGHT AT PETER RABBIT
The bar is open but the dance area stays 'gated' until 9 PM. I'm in the booth setting up before then and at 9 open the place up. In less than 10 minutes someone has asked me to play "Dr. Love". THE FUCKING PLACE IS EMPTY! I tell him sure, a little later. Before 10PM I'm asked again and another 15 or 20 minutes after that. Finally, when he comes back with that look of exasperation on his face and asks me again, I politely take the album out of the crate, hand it to him and say, "You can take the bitch home with you because you won't be hearing it here tonight!"
Love Has No Time or Place
Nicky
Chart Hit [Level 6]
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!On 2002-08-28 16:58, NickNack wrote:
A NIGHT AT THE ANVIL:
It's somewhere between 4:30 and 5 AM Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. "Evita" by Festival has already had it's run. (What that means is that we've had the album long enough where I'm no longer running the entire side but playing selected cuts.) My intent is to use "Evita" in some fashion after the second show which begins about 5:30. This jerk has asked me at least four times in the past hour to play it. When he comes to the booth again I ask him to hold on. I do my mix to whatever and then reach into the crate and pull the lp. He's smiling, I'm smiling and I ask him to keep his eye on the record. "What?" :???: I stand up, lean over the booth and sail the vinyl across the heads of the dancers. People start cheering. I look down and tell him Evita just died.
A NIGHT AT PETER RABBIT
The bar is open but the dance area stays 'gated' until 9 PM. I'm in the booth setting up before then and at 9 open the place up. In less than 10 minutes someone has asked me to play "Dr. Love". THE FUCKING PLACE IS EMPTY! I tell him sure, a little later. Before 10PM I'm asked again and another 15 or 20 minutes after that. Finally, when he comes back with that look of exasperation on his face and asks me again, I politely take the album out of the crate, hand it to him and say, "You can take the bitch home with you because you won't be hearing it here tonight!"
I CAN PICTURE THE "FLYING VINYL"...LOL!!!!!
"YOU CAN TAKE THE BITCH HOME WITH YOU....LOL!
THAT'S RIGHT NICKY YOU MADE IT CLEAR THAT YOU WERE IN CHARGE!!!!!
*DISCO DELIGHT*
No Longer Charting
NiickNack: that could have been soooooo dangerous, but not as freaky as this.
Back in '72 or '3 very near to guy fawkes night (Nov 5th) at the end of a particularly busy heaving Saturday night the punters wouldn't leave the Disco. We kept on announcing over the PA system for everone to clear the premises ('cos all the staff wanted to truck on down to our favourite Chinese restaurant), but to no avail. Well, that afternoon I'd bought some mini rockets and gone straight to work and suddenly a dim glow flickered in myine and the other DJ's brains. Let's light the rockets, that'll get 'em out. Without much furtherado we lined about half a dozen of these mini rockets on the stage facing the masses and Whoosh 1, whooosh 2, by three the place was empty.
Ain't it a bitch being young and carefree?
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I know. I could have taken someone's head off! I was lucky. And they seemed to love it. Drugs... a 'real' sense of well being. :roll:
Love Has No Time or Place
Nicky
Underground Hit [Level 5]
I am sure that all of your remarks about the rude and crass comments and requests by the club members were very deserving and legitimate...but on the flipside, you also had to put yourself in their place....
I was never a professional jock, only having played at some of the WestSide Discussion Group Saturday night parties before the days the disco mix came into Vogue, and I not only bought my own records I also welcomed requests from the dancers as well as the wallflowers who just came to stare and/or been seen and stared at......After all, to follow the old expression, the fish stinks from the head down, so if you had a sucky night, it is no one's fault but your own....why not help the little guy or gal out who smacked down a $20, plus drinks and may have just lost his/her job or boyfriend that day and is hoping that that one little tune by WHOMEVER will come over the sound system and pick them up!!!..You will receive endless applause and kudos and what did it cost you?
What harm could it do? Especially if only two or three requests come to you that night - not like it is a weekly occurrence by the same few, which would be understandable if they were turned away by you or ignored.
On one such occassion, I brought Rick Summers "Born To Be Alive," to 12 West, in NYC and DJ Jim Evangelista not only dissed us by NOT playing the song after acknowledging that Rick was in the club, but he went on to play the more popular, yet less interesting Hernandez version instead....Also, not once that night or on subsequent evenings did he ever play anything on Emergency, the label I worked for and supplied with any amount of promotionals they requested...not ince did I ever hear DD...nor...Kano, Easy Going, Billy Moore or Max Berlin....he chose, instead, to wallow in his monotonous Euro-saturated sets...none of which came from requests and all of which were repeated weekly ad nauseum, until folks would call up and make sure that he wasn't on the particular night they would go out to the clubs so they could make alternate plans....
so it works both ways.....I love jocks who play good music, weave a magical evening for everyone and leave the TUDE at home....the only divas should be the ones whose records you are spinning!
I Believe In The Boogie, But Lovin\' Is Really My Game.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
*applauds*On 2002-08-28 16:58, NickNack wrote:
I stand up, lean over the booth and sail the vinyl across the heads of the dancers. People start cheering. I look down and tell him Evita just died.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
What I hated most of some DJs is when I made just that one special request on a hot selection, he'd reply that he agreed to play it soon and never hear it for the next couple of hours. Maybe it would have been easier to say that he doesn't have this record.
If you buy this record your life, will be better.
Indie Release [Level 4]
DJ's are not juke-boxes where you insert a coin and wait to hear your song.
You let him/her do their thing and if you don't like what you hear you leave and never go back there again.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
DanceMan and Disco1999,
Don't misunderstand. Of course I took requests and I really didn't mind people coming up to the booth and asking. What annoyed me were the repeat offenders or those whose 'asking' came across more as a demand. Plus, as DeepBeat noted, we are and were not jukeboxes. Just because you asked doesn't mean I can work it in within five minutes. I would usually tell those whose requests were not 'where my music was' at the time that it could take a little while. Sometimes I even asked people if they were going to be around for a while. If not, and I thought it would serve the entire dancefloor, I would shift the mood to get to their song. I wasn't and arrogant diva 24/7
DanceMan, I also wanted to comment that it sounds as if Mr. Evangelista treated you very rudely. No need to dis the recording star you brought with you or your label. That was like having John Paul Young come in your club and playing "Love Is In The Air" by Marten Stevens. As our dear HustleBaby would say, "EXCUSE YOU!"
_________________
When you're under the Love Spell, be sure to Catch The Rhythm
Nicky
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: NickNack on 2002-08-29 12:14 ]</font>
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Thank You NickNack for your clarification/qualification....not that I ever heard anything but the highest of compliments regarding not only your talents but also your courtesies to the Anvil's clientele...I doubt that you were ever intentionally nasty to anyone, but we all do have our limits...some people can be very demanding and insulting if they don't constantly get their way...I agree that DJs are hired for their musical tastes, and prowess "behind the wheel" and if their artistry is constantly interrupted then those who are not being the "pests" will think the DJ is a hack or lacking in creativity and it can hurt his reputation.....I have to say, for the most part, the jocks that I visited were extremely hospitable and with the exception of the occassional 'prima donnas' I always came away from a club experience with my musical needs being met....
I Believe In The Boogie, But Lovin\' Is Really My Game.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Nick
I love your Anvil story! As you played there you might be able to help me. There was a DJ who played there (Sunday mornings) whose first name was Michael but I just can't remember his surname. This was '81 & '82. Any idea who I'm thinking of?
Sixty minutes is nothing special (but it\'s all the world to me)
No Longer Charting
Of course, the biggest pains in the neck could be the management or the directors of the Disco/holding company who'd come into the club and insist that the DJ played a different mix of records, use the light show more, (in the U.K.) talk more and project more personality, wear better clothes,dance more between everything else that was going on, not drink so much, smile more etc, etc.
I tell you, DJs WERE SUPERHUMAN or at least meant to be. :lol:
No Longer Charting
One thing else why were on this subject.
Generally I found punters to be 'tunnel visioned' when it came to their requests. They just weren't interested in anything else, but that one tune that they WANTED to hear. Very rarely did I find that requests were records that could easily be slotted in (something that was more difficult for a mixing DJ). Invariably they'd ask for the complete opposite of what was filling the floor at the time of requesting. I quite often would take it as a cue that I'd perhaps been too long in a certain groove and MAYBE it did need changing. I was always looking at least 5 records ahead at any one time, so sometimes, yes, it could take a while.
And all this while the management was hovering around looking in my direction very apprehensively 'cos the big cheese was in that night and "Gawd it isn't as busy as last night/week" syndrome.
WHO'D BE A DJ?
Underground Hit [Level 5]
My favourite management quote came a few years back when I was playing at a club opening night. They'd spent a fortune on it, most of the money going on the most appalling light system you can imagine. However they forgot to spend anything on soundproofing so when a neighbour complained I was asked "Can you play music without a beat please?". I didn't work there again..
Sixty minutes is nothing special (but it\'s all the world to me)
DiscoMusic.com Owner / Administrator
... and thus the birth of Ambient music.On 2002-08-30 08:17, PhyllisHyman wrote:
"Can you play music without a beat please?". I didn't work there again..
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Did the record hit the back wall and smash to bits? :lol:NickNack wrote:
A NIGHT AT THE ANVIL:
It's somewhere between 4:30 and 5 AM Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. "Evita" by Festival has already had it's run. (What that means is that we've had the album long enough where I'm no longer running the entire side but playing selected cuts.) My intent is to use "Evita" in some fashion after the second show which begins about 5:30. This jerk has asked me at least four times in the past hour to play it. When he comes to the booth again I ask him to hold on. I do my mix to whatever and then reach into the crate and pull the lp. He's smiling, I'm smiling and I ask him to keep his eye on the record. "What?" I stand up, lean over the booth and sail the vinyl across the heads of the dancers. People start cheering. I look down and tell him Evita just died.
Australia mate! The land of many great funkateers!
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
If the dj was a young black kid and you're talking Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, you're probably thinking of Michael Watson. If he was white, could be Michael "Copa" Haines on a guest thing before he went to Crisco Disco. I wish I could keep my years in order. Lance Weis was the Sunday Morning dj but he might have left in '81 or '82.On 2002-08-30 07:50, PhyllisHyman wrote:
Nick
I love your Anvil story! As you played there you might be able to help me. There was a DJ who played there (Sunday mornings) whose first name was Michael but I just can't remember his surname. This was '81 & '82. Any idea who I'm thinking of?
You sure you're not talking about me?
Love Has No Time or Place
Nicky
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