Knowing Your DJ Set Times In Advance

There are some annoying things about DJing.

Actually.  Let's get this right, there are some annoying things about promoters.

Firstly, I want to know what my set time is in advance.  I can perhaps understand if you are booking several international jet-setting DJs and are juggling around flight times, etc or their agents are being a pain in the arse, but if you are doing a local night in Reading there is no excuse for telling your DJs the night before, what time they are playing.

Of course some DJs will just play the same set no matter what time they are booked.  Some DJs have their pre-planned and practiced set that they will not change no matter what.

I like to think about my sets well in advance.  I am sat here at my desk all day, listening to music and constantly coming up with ideas of tracks to play.  This applies to all of my life as I am rarely without music.  I am always thinking about what to play.

I don't plan my sets in detail but I do like to have a pool of tracks in my head that excite me, that I want to play and that I think might fit the moments.

The second thing that annoys me is short DJ sets.

It was fine when I was first starting out and nervous to be playing, to be playing just an hour.  But unless you are just bashing out the big tunes, then an hour isn't enough with the kind of music I play.

I have seen some promoters, two particular ones who are two individuals that I really like as people, offer 45 minute DJ sets.  How the hell can you create and perform your musical vision in just 45 minutes?  What do the crowd think about having such a schizophrenic line-up?

We all know why they do it, I am not exactly letting go of a secret here but the more DJs you book, the more people you have in the club as they will all do your promoting for you, at minimum by bringing their friends.  At least that is the theory.  I'm not sure it works - I promote more when I feel special.

I am a DJ.  Not a promoter.

I now refuse to play for less than an hour and a half.  If I am going to DJ then it has to be something special - I'm not interested in the merry-go-round.  I have to be able to do create something artistic - at least in my brain.

Thankfully I am working on a regular basis for two promoters that are well-organised and running decent nights with set times advised well in advance and where I can play for longer than an hour.

This coming Saturday 14th March, and then Friday 20th March.

Please come.

I think that is my promoting duty done.