in search of entertainment

Another Friday trip to the local Commie centre.... yeah for a pint of Guinness and check out the local competition. We were worried it would be Barrie's saga tunes again... as 'apparently' he gets booked once a month. But we were rather cheered to find a different DJ set up on the stage. This one didn't talk even once.... no vocals at all. His lighting set was OK but as for the blocks of colour that fronted the stage? Well, all they did was make him totally inaccessible.
But the main thing for me is of course the music.
It started off with an extremely bad warm up mix of songs I'd heard maybe once many years ago. Instantly forgettable and totally undanceable.
The room started to fill slowly. Some people came to the door and walked away. Obviously not drawn in by the insipid music mix.
We sat there and misery filled my head. I'd left my job yesterday. I wanted an hour out to forget stuff. Nothing he played inspired or lifted me at all.
Then as if it couldn't get worse he played FUCKING RONAN KEATING. I thought I was going to vomit. Suddenly the drink tasted like shit. The smoky room felt oppressive and everyone looked totally miserable.
I wanted to go.... we stayed... could it get worse?
Yep, the next track was Atomic Kitten.
We left.
Today I've been cleansing my ears with our mix of Enter Shakiri, Akon, JT, Coolio, the lovely Fedde and The Gossip... BTW the new track is excellent. Total Danceability.
Thank you world for Beth

"Now listen UP!
oooooo on the playground! x2
you learn so much now listen up!
now gather 'round now listen up!
now gather round now
1, 2 ,3 take it from me,
3, 4 so much trouble in store
4, 5 get it right,the first time
(o!)
count it with me now!
1, 2 ,3 take it from me,
3, 4 so much trouble in store
4, 5 get it right,the first time
(o!)
count it with me now!"

"Listen Up" (The Gossip 2007)

wow!

Friday night was disco night at Hartcliffe Community Centre.

It actually seemed quite promising when we got in. A nice restrained light show covering the floor and the first three songs were good - from the last year or so.

It seemed that Barrie's Saga Show was an aberration and that booking policies at the HCC had improved enormously.

So me and Trin took to the floor. I'm developing a hip-hop/Ian Curtis hybrid dance so I tried it out.

And then ... some tosser takes to the mike IN THE MIDDLE OF A SONG and on a moving dancefloor and starts waffling. The whole dancefloor STOPS and glares at the fucker. The music restarts and somehow the dancefloor is saved. But the wanker did it again in the next song, and the next ... you get the picture. A dead dancefloor, lots of angry punters and you just wonder what the tosser is thinking of.

We sat down through a lot of our favourite songs. Every song had this wanker jabbering in the middle, and at the end of each song, hiding his awful mixing. We left as he desperately put Status Quo's Rocking All Over the World On. It was VILE! Clueless tosser.

So why? Did he, like Barrie, have a lesion and think he was a radio DJ? Or does he have the one thing no DJ should have - an ego?

barrie's saga saga

Off to Hartcliffe Community Centre to check out the 'opposition' last night. Unfortunately Barrie was there with his fucking Saga Roadshow again. Barrie seems to be under the illusion that he's a radio DJ, playing undanceable obscurities with slabs of inane chat between tracks.

Barrie mate, mobile DJing is about DANCING, about giving people a GOOD time. It's about finding those tracks that people want to hear. It's about leaving your audience wanting more, wanting to come again.

You claim to have been in the business for thirty years. But to the untrained ear you seem to be DJing for the first time, making the mistakes we all made back in the dark recesses of history.

Barrie mate, you just haven't got it. It's time to give up and find something you CAN do, and leave music to those of us that love it and live it. You're extinct, but you just don't know it yet. We're only trying to help you ...

le snippets from the mind of a DJ

"I could be brown
I could be blue
I could be violet sky
I could be hurtful
I could be purple
I could be anything you like
Gotta be green
Gotta be mean
Gotta be everything more
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you walk out the door"

Mika 'Grace Kelly' 2007

Last night a DJ saved my life... if only. Things are quiet on the Disco front. We did have 2 gigs this month. Two birthday parties. One for the younger element and one for teens. Both were really successful and fun. Every time we go out we learn more stuff. That's what I like about DJing. That you do learn every time you gig.
The younger disco were full of praise for our party skills... come on you lot. You're talking to a party expert.I love parties!
We got tickets for the NME awards tour in Bristol. The Automatic, Mumm-ra, The Horrors and The View. The View are at number three in the charts with 'Same Jeans' which is pretty brilliant. The charts are so dominated with reality TV trash. It's heart warming to see something really new get in there at the top.
I am also loving Mika. He took a while to seep into my consciousness but he's now in there. I love his wacky style and voice. He's destined for good things as long as he doesn't sell out to commercialism.
And finally a big up to the wonderful CSS. They are rarely off our decks. 'Lets make love and listen to death up above" I wish!

N.YE. F.U.N

New Years Eve was brilliant fun.... yep the word was fun. That's what I love about DJing. That the whole event is unpredictable and bloody enjoyable. OK the setting up is hard work, but Brassey has it done to a fine 15 minute art. Then I get to play all the tracks I love for the evening.
NYE was a bit different. The clientele were merry, actually rather classy. One had a real kilt on. Then there was the mix of locals who turned up dressed as superheroes. Super girl and wonder woman with thigh high boots. Batman who really wasn't the shape for the Lycra. Least he was game.
Then some villagers out for the night, not knowing what to expect.
The classy contingent went upstairs for a gala dinner. They left their kids who'd had dinner earlier. I was gravely told by one 8 year old that they'd only had 8 chips on each plate. They weren't impressed.
So we entertained for an hour.... did they want The Pussycat Dolls and Cha Cha Slide? Feck off. They wanted The Frattelis and The Kaiser Chiefs. The 6 year old in white cotton was terribly frustrated I wasn't playing cutting edge NME new bands.
Midnight came but without a TV the countdown was hazy... oh well the talking clock at least told us when 2006 ended and we launched into Andy Stewart's Auld Lang Syne. The room burst into song and dance and drunken kisses and celebration. Then we did something that we'd never one before. A whole hour of total party. 70's 80's 90's Le Chic, Abba, Bobby Brown, Celebrate good times COME ON!
They lapped it up and the room was packed. So, rethink guys... was this tross? No way. This was fun, this was giving them a damn good night, reading the crowd, playing them what they needed. Then we slipped in what we like to play and the night ended on a high.
So our New Years resolution? To do more of what WE want to do. More DJing. To explore more new music. To be the best.
Not much to ask.
Loves you Brassey.

neujahr angst

A unique perspective to all of those of you digesting the minutae of tracks and tracks ... pre NYE party nerves and preparation from the mouth of one of Britain's top DJs!

Firstly note the new layout of t&t - thanks to an error by Blogger transferring data from the old site to the new one the sidebar was nobbled. Rather than whinge we've redesigned it, giving it a better feel and look. Displacement activity of course!

We've got the Bath Arms do tonight, and in our normal professional way we've been trying out new tracks over the last two nights, putting in 6 hours practice. Today we slept late and have tried to not play anything! NYE is a funny event as you're up so late so it's not a good idea to fall asleep at the decks. And there's stuff like doing the countdown and putting on Andy Stewart at midnight. And balancing a certain amount of grade A tross with the good stuff.

Last year's NYE do was at Horningsham Village Hall and was well tacky. We had a 70s DJ who had never used two decks before, and in a one hour set played one song three times! We also had a couple of geriatric teenagers playing all through the break the same record (some Bob the Builder tross that was number one last year) until I went up and threw 'em off the stage. And when twelve o'clock came everyone started going home! So you can see why I'm a little apprehensive about tonight! Truth is though everything's totally different this year - I'll be sharing the set with Trin, it's an 11pm start and it's in much more salubrious surroundings - and we're getting paid well for it! Last year was a freebie ...

And New Year morning I'll be up in time for the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna.