What is your motivation to DJ poll?

[imadje]

So I just read this ad for a DJ School in Brisbane: courtesy of (melodyilliterate)

"Aaah the lifestyle of the Superstar DJ…sipping cocktails beside the 5 star pool in Ibiza before ascending to the diamond encrusted DJ booth and delivering a performance that makes the loving crowd beg for more."

^This is how they try and attract young people to get involved in a creative artform... It got me thinking about all kinds of things... but i'll not go into them until a few of you have posted your thoughts.

I know this question has been asked in several guises before but I'm really interested in how you all answer it.

I am a dinosaur and apart from a few exceptions most of you are a totally different generation to me so have had totally different factors acting on your development as individuals, hence why I'm so interested.

As usual there is no right or wrong and there'll be no hating here... but please look inside yaself and have a think before posting...

So vote and discuss

[SourceRaver]

Gonna think about this one...

[Lurk6r]

I like the power you have to make girls do things to each other.

[LabRat]

I developed a passion for electronic music since I was about 12 and fell into the world of the DJ. I didn't really know what a DJ actually did then but I knew whatever he was doing that I wanted in. I stuck to djing and the electronic scene because from that moment I was 12 til now at 21, there has always been an energy that no other genre is able to give. It's unique and you're able to write your own rules.

[styga]

i think everyone would agree with me on this that they would love to choose every option up there

we would all love to make it big and be a world famous dj, which would be awesome but the chances are unlikely

and we all love to dj cause theres infinite possibilities at how creative you can be with just a mixer and 2 decks, making every mix you make creative

and every one of us would love for djing to be our full time job cause if everyone is like me or similar when you are mixing it puts you in a happy place where all you can here is the beats and the rhythm and the rest of your life disappears for the one moment

so yeah i dj cause ive always been creative somehow and this helps me be who i am, even though ive only been mixing for a short time now, so yeah i mix cause it allows me to be creative and also puts me in a happy place away from the world

[tommykesh]

Foolish this is with outa doubt the most thought provoking thing I have seen on ADJF bravo bravo

For nearly as long as I could remember I was un happy and completely unstable. My child hood and teen age years where pretty hard to deal with. I'm not going to go into the details gaining attention through pitty is some thing I can't stand.

During a particularly low I began to explore my creative side and instantly a wave of relief washed away most of the hurt, anger and frustration bolted up inside me.

It was about this time I began listening to electronic music, Hard Trance Cosmic Gate in particular this opened up all this positive emotion and energy I had never really felt before.

With in a year I bought my first set of Turntables (CDJ'S where still in the infancy and yet to become the norm).

The 1st mix I attempted was Walt & Feliz - Funk'd and Alex Fakey - Painted Black. A good friend who acted as my training wheels had little to do mixer wise as my sub conscious 4/4vclock took over.

A few parts of my brain click into place that day and changed me forever.

Where I wanna take ? It would be nice to reach the big stage but I don't think thats for me all I really want is to get as good as I can, not so I can say I'm better then others but for this little talent I have been known to quote the" better I get the more fun I have and the more fun I have the happier I am the happier Im the better my life seems to be".

Thoughts on the adds lure to kidys into becoming superstar DJ's . It seems like every body is having a crack at it these days the technology is making it more accessible and although you can do allot more with it kids these days are can skip learning the of the fundamentals. It also seems that a huge chunk of people are doing it for the wrong reasons ie image "Look at me I'm a DJ" where is it should be "LISTEN TO ME I'M A DJ" I do like to slip it in from time to time it is cool and lets face it we are all pretty proud of what we do but it shouldent make up for being shallow.

Right all this talk of mixing making me wanna do just that so I would like to finish with "Your mother your mother your mums a WHALE she smokes on the pole like I smoke a phily blunt"

[SourceRaver]

Nothing wrong with being a dinosaur!

When I was 18, I was pretty lonely and didnt fit into any particular social scene and wasnt into music at all. A friend of mine took me to a small club in the city one night and they playing this stuff called 'Acid House'(did I mention dinosaurs...). The place was going off and everyone was REALLY friendly (took me a couple more years for the that penny to drop) and I'd finally felt like I was part of a 'scene'. That scene exploded and I made a huge number of friends who were all experiencing the same thing at the same time time. I was always amazed at the power the Dj had, how he/she could make people do things they normally wouldnt do. After about six years, the music had split into a number of genres and it was had to find somewhere that would play the stuff I really liked. I decided to buy some dj gear, do a worthless course and started collecting vinyl. My goal at the time was to just play the music I loved and hopefully find a crowd who would appreciate it. It was all about acceptance I guess, finding people with a common interest and feeling like I was part of something bigger and better.

[Gandy]

for me its my creative outlet, something to look forward too after the grind everyday, i always joke around and call my setup the sanity station, if i make big thats just a bonus

getting feedback on my mixes is also a really nice feeling, knowing the fact that for the length of my mix they forgot all of their problems and rocked out and loved life to my work, that feeling never gets old

[pundaddy]

It all stems from my love for electro music, little did I know that I could play the music that gets me going to 10's, hundreds or thousands of like minded people and have them dancing and enjoying themselves. Then theres that possibility that you could make something big of yourself, so why not go for it?

[OxyKon]

For me music is just my sanctuary, ive always had it in my life, their hasnt been 1 day in my life where i havent been listening to music, i was raised on all the old stuff, Jimi Hendrix, Dire Straits, The Doors, Santana, etc...i always had a small passion for electronic music, wasnt too long before i got into heavy metal, then ove a course of a few years i started hanging out wid some peeps that dj'd and they started showing me the ropes, from that moment on i was hooked, and then thats when i discovered the wonderful world of dubstep. Im 25 now and the only thing that i wasnt happy wid is that i didnt discover dj'n earlier in my life, but everything happens for a reason

[Jaz]

would love to earn a living doing something i love and making people happy

[MelodyIlliterate]

music has always been a big part of my life, first it was guitars and school bands, guess this is just the next stage...

everyone has to have a hobby to express self creativity right?

but my favourite quote so far on the topic i've seen ...

Q. so why did you wanty to start djing,

A. Some one told me i'd get heaps of chicks... they lied!

*Ravine

[fackedd]

The bitches.

[SolDios]

For me it's just that I love music, and DJ'ing is a great way to enjoy it.

[awesome88]

I voted I want to be a megastar.... because let's face it... who doesn't? lol but that is basically dream land. Still a motivation though...

At the moment i'm happy playing for fun and at parties etc. and for some money here and there as a bonus

[Mitch]

I suck at most creative things, but i feel music (specifically DJing) is one creative outlet that I can do and I really enjoy. Good stress reliever, and takes your mind off things. Nothing else really matters but the moment when your right into it. I get a buzz even just in my bedroom pulling off a good mix, and also feel good when your playing for other people and they are dancing and enjoying the music that your playing for them.

Money for something you enjoy is always a bonus too

[anditz]

im just a club rat. djing was a no brainer

[tubby]

just like i kick a football in the park knowing a liverpool scout is going to spot me and sign me up, I dj in the bedroom knowing fame isjust around the corner.

i dj for fun and relaxation, immerse myself in the mix. i know it's never going anywhere and I've no interest in putting the miles in that it takes to get gigs or get anywhere.

[imadje]

wow, what a thread, i guessed most wrong

For my part I'm pretty similar to most of you (although I'd never speak for you ).

I Love music, always messed with it. Was def a social outcast. Too geeky to hang with the cool kids but apparantely too cool to hang with the geeks too. Always happy even when I was blue as long as I had my music.

I guess the thing that got me thinking about it all was this celebrity culture that's come up with the DJ life now. I see a fair few of you have posted that yeah you'd like it, or maybe you're not chasing it but would love to fluke on it etc... fairplay to you, i aint gonna hate as I said before... but I posted my thoughts on the topic on my blog recently.. it's a bit of a trawl (too many words) so jump to the bottom or fuck off if you want... but here I go anyway:

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I don't want to be famous.

I have actually had a go a few times. The largest crowds I played to was about 4000, I've done band work and regular club nights in a venue that held 300 for long enough that I started getting recognised at other bars etc… the sensation was horrible, intrusive, and disconcerting. Some random comes up to you to say "hey, aren't you that dj?" and they want to rep you. They could be the nicest person on the planet but all I can think is "uhoh, they have ideas or preconceptions about me due to whatever genre or style of music I was playing when they heard me DJ, they have no real idea about me but worse any preconceptions generated by the music i played when they heard me will have been confused by whatever state of mind they were in at the time."

I think quite deeply you see. To me music can change lives, it has changed mine. As a purveyor of this power I have learnt that I really want to be anonymous. I have always felt that my role as a DJ is like a messenger, the musicians who made the music I play are the purveyors of real power. Yet the modern dance music and DJ scene has hailed the DJ as being the power, not just the messenger. I know some DJs live up to this role to some of their fans. I don't want the responsibility, I just want to pass on the messages.

I also know that lots of people "in the business" are so insecure of their positions that they often become sycophantic. I'm thinking here of promoters, agents, scouts, critics, T.V. personalities as well as DJs and all the wannabes desperate for a first step up etc... Although they are only trying their best to make a living in an artform or scene they love they come across as fake and two-faced just in day to day conversation, even when they aren't. This really weirds me out. So anytime I've approached or been approached by an opportunity for the next step up the ladder of fame I've found myself facing someone who could open doors for me, but who comes across as quite untrustworthy simply due to their own insecurities, or because they are untrustworthy. I live for love and i think love is based on trust so people who don't appear trustworthy or worse, prove themselves unreliable, really don't turn me on.

Finally, I love music, and I feel it always needs to suit a mood. I try and practise at home, but to me the biggest part of DJing is reading a crowd and following their vibe. I cannot have a crowd at home, i wouldn't want one, neither would the wife and kids. So I end up practising with music that fits the mood of my house not the mood of a dancefloor. The only time I really get any practise for a dancefloor is when I'm playing to a dancefloor. Sure I can practise technical DJing and sort playlists of ideas until I'm blue in the face. I can pre-listen to tracks and catalogue them away in sub genres in multiple playlists so that hopefully they come to light at moments when they will be applicable, and sure I can listen to music all the time, well, all the time my kids aren't glued to the box, and all the time I'm not listening to someone else's mix to offer mentoring. But I cant actually get practise for a dancefloor without really being there.

I also feel that each dancefloor is different, but the bigger the crowd the more homogenous the music has to be. In a small party or room you can actually see people respond to your selections and your mixes. With bigger crowds it seems DJs have to go straight to the lowest common denominator. I prefer the connection I get with small rooms.

So I feel I'll never be a superstar because the only time I'd be getting enough practise to play at the level those type of dancefloors require would be if i already was a superstar. But I'll never be a superstar because as soon as i start getting noticed, or worse; approached by people (and god forbid if they are people who are "in the business") I just start to automatically shy away from the weirdness and unreality of it all.

I still love DJing. I'll always love music. I love making a living from it... but i honestly feel that the celebrities who go mega famous lose their personal life, their ability to connect with a crowd, and their option of choosing to play the music they want to play. In other words mega DJs arent really DJs anymore, they are celebrities, and I think these are very different things.

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So for anyone who got all the way down here just a reminder I totally believe it's a case of each to their own... hence making this a poll not a rant.

[MelodyIlliterate]

scary stuff man, just makes we realize, i get weirded out when people come up to me in the shops and goes "oh man your that bartender from (x)" or "you were doing the cocktails at (x)'s wedding"

to think about that on a massive scale, where ever you go... kinda scary..

[imadje]

^ i wish i could have explained it in that many words lol.

[MelodyIlliterate]

ha ha ha... im a bit of a simpleton

[imadje]

being straightforward takes more sense than rambling mate, thats why my name's foolish