Rant: So You're A DJ, And...

So I was talking to a fellow DJ about how several of our other DJ friends are finding it increasingly more difficult to navigate through the current DJ climate. 10 years ago well before the saturation of laptop based DJing there was still an element of investment and experience intertwined in the whole DJ persona. You were buying vinyl and/or CDs, carting them around everywhere and you had to be more selective with your collection. You had to get paid to DJ because you had to turn around and invest money back into music.

Fast forward to more recent times. Most people have a laptop, most clubs have a Serato box or mixer or at least CDJs. A DJ basically needs to pack a laptop, headphones, needles, and control vinyl into their Headliner gig bag and they're ready for a gig. Notice I did not include experience, paying dues, technique or even their own gear sometimes.

Some of my DJ friends that have been kicking it for awhile (10-20 years) have started to come to certain realizations:

1) How long you have been spinning is in not a major factor in your value as a DJ now. I constantly get statements like "I've been spinning [insert genre] for 20 years so why am I not the go-to guy or bigger then these young cats just getting in the game". Well, if you've been at it for that long and you still haven't solidified your place and status then it's time to look at exactly what you've been doing for those 20 years. Longevity should give you confidence and experience but if you don't step your game up and follow what's currently happening in your market you become obsolete.

Nowadays with the ease of acquiring music and equipment anyone with the initial investment of a laptop can pretty much claim to be a DJ and start seeking gigs. As more clubs and bars close and new ones pop up with different owners who may not know a DJs past history or name the playing field has been somewhat leveled. I see more and more jocks making noise with only several years (if even that) under their belt getting shots at the top nightclubs becasue of their drive and affiliations. Remember the old saying "It's not WHAT you know but WHO you know".

2) Just being a DJ anymore doesn't cut it. More and more I see the frustration with veteran DJs feeling almost left behind. Back in the day all you needed was a reputation, but with the dawn of the Information Age it's easy to create an entire persona online that looks great to prospective clubs and bars even if you don't have a lot of realistic experience behind it. It leaves you battling with owners and managers saying "But I've been spinning for 12 years and I'm the best at this style" to which they counter "Yeah, but THIS guy has a slick website with cool photos and a podcast and sells swag so he must be a rockstar". Walking in with a mix CD as your demo anymore is so 2000 and late.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of DJs that have gigs where they can just show up and do their thing and that's all good for them. Not every DJ wants to be a superstar but many also make a very simple mistake, forgetting they have a marketable product. Many of the DJs in my city including myself take advantage of every possible marketing avenue via social networking, websites, twitter, and so on. They make mass produced mix CD's (not homemade ones), they have podcasts, and have taken the steps to brand themselves as a marketable product. I have a website, Facebook, MySpace (remember that), Twitter, soundcloud and the list goes on, and I UPDATE them. Having a Facebook account you haven't updated in 3 months doesn't really help you. I do my own flyers, graphics and web development so I don't have to wait for anyone to update or facilitate my promoting.

3) I've done all I can with this DJ thing I think it's time to start making my own music. Slow down there Sparky. My usual reply to the above statement is either "Why did you wait until now" or Do you have any idea what that entails?" Anyone can buy a hammer but building something with it is a whole other story. Many of my DJ friends have gotten something like Abelton Live and have tinkered around with it, even making their own edits and mashups. Making your own edits is a definite first step towards production, and I usually do edits on 80% of the music I play either to make it more usable for my crowds or to take it up a notch and add my own production to it.

The good thing is currently, the investment financially is nothing compared to what it was when I started in the late 80's. Back then you had to buy a mixer, speakers, outboard gear for all the different types of effects and sound design, different drum machines, samplers, synthesizers and a sequencer or computer and most likely a DAT machine to bounce it down. You don't need ANY of that anymore. With the power of computers and plug-ins you can have a decent laptop replace (theoretically) all of the hardware.

But the step from edits to production is a big one. When you edit you're cutting, pasting and re-arranging a piece of audio that already exists. When you do production, you have a blank canvas. In theory, you can grab a sample or a sample CD and just take some loops and hits and call that a song, heck some of the best tracks have been a loop with some drums and a vocal (think Stardust "Music Sounds Better"). Depending on the genre of music you want to create, that may work for you. Hip hop is a very sample based genre, and some of the greatest hip hop tracks use nothing but. As a musician I find the ability to actually play opens up whole new worlds of possibilities. Again, thats not necessary, some of the biggest artists in electronic music aren't musicians (deadmau5) and plot notes on a grid or piano roll and collect checks. But even so, you need ideas, creativity, and some engineering skills. You need to know what sounds a genre uses, where to get those sounds, how to arrange the sounds from the drums to the bass and all the music. Learning automation is imperative for things like effects and filters to add some interest to even the simplest of arrangements.

I tell people one of the best ways to start producing is to grab an acapella of something they like or is popular, sync it up in their DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and have at it. Even things like doing a mashup help you learn arranging and things like keys and harmony (something way too many mashups ignore). Production is a process that takes time and dedication. It's not a quick fix for a stale DJ career and waiting until you have a wife and kids is not the ideal time to start. That said better late then never.

I Caved In

So a friend of mine let me know he had an extra iPhone4 reserved at the Apple store and if I wanted it to go get it. So I caved in and got myself the newest but not flawless incarnation of Apples plan to take over the world better known as the iPhone. I tell you, trying to find a case for this thing that didn't look like it was made out of recycled Cylon armor (Battlestar Galactica reference) was less thrilling then a yearly physical. Now that Apple is going to offer free cases it seems like everyone stopped restocking/selling/manufacturing the things. I was NOT going to carry this thing around naked so I got the cheapest case I could find and some screen protectors.

Now comes the fun part of the restoring and populating...

WTA - Btr Whn Im Drnk

Have to be cryptic or these RIAA cats will swoop down on you. Here is the latest remix from Strobonic (Strobe & Bonics), the dance-pop-rock-electro hit "Better When I'm Drunk". Check the .zip files for the radio and mixshow mixes in MP3-320kHz format.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jflz9f

heres the preview:

To iPhone 4 Or Not To iPhone 4?

It's no longer a rumor or a sporadic problem, Apple's iPhone 4 has an antenna issue. Now for the lucky people who live in a super hot spot probably haven't or won't experience the "dropped calls" problem but enough people have experienced it that every tech blog and major media outlet has tested and reported this issue, most heatedly when Consumer Reports said it could not recommend the iPhone 4 due to the antenna problem. Even a US Senator from NY wrote a letter to Apple urging them to address this issue with a recall or free solution beyond the software patch or "hold it a different way" solutions.

Apple is holding a press conference Friday to most likely address this issue. If they had to do a recall, it would cost them about $1.5 Billion. They could also offer to give away a "bumper" for free which they now sell for $29.95 which would only set them back about a dollar a phone. There is currently no disclaimer anywhere on Apple's site so they are accepting orders knowing full well there is an issue, even if they have not publicly admitted it, yet. I had planned on ordering one today, but decided to look into the issue beforehand and I am definitely going to wait until after I hear what Apple has to say tomorrow.

Apple devotees have long forgiven any of Apple's issues in a cult like manner, but I think even this might snap a few people out of it now that there is major competition from Google with the Android.

White Tie Affair

So Brandon (Bonics) and myself were commissioned to produce a remix for The White Tie Affair's new track "Better When You're Drunk". It's a fun party song, already at 128 BPM and in the dance/retro/rock genre seemed easy enough. I think I tried to make it too musical assuming everyone else would do more electro/LMFAO/MSTRKRFT style remixes. I eventually got so frustrated trying to make it something it wasn't that I threw my hands up in frustration.

Fast forward a few weeks, I get the mixes they did receive from the label via my Billboard gig and preceded to pop the CD in my car. I was expecting to be bummed and wishing I had tried a bit harder, but after listening to the mixes they ended up using I felt both regret and even happy. These mixes neither payed homage to the original, followed any conventional structure or production, or were even really club friendly. The bar was set pretty low. I knew then and there I had had had to finish this remix. Apparently the label felt so as well because they were like "Uh, did you guys ever finish the mix?"

I'm mastering today, you'll hear and hopefully everywhere else soon.

Invasion Of The Time Snatchers

A friend just pretty much told me straight up I actually do things someone else might want to follow so I joined Twitter...

twitter.com/strobemusic

I promise not to tweet every move I make.

I'm On A Boat

July 4th was epic. In a few words, there was a barge, a tugboat, and Uncle Ray. Let me clarify. So two weeks prior, the brainchild of Uncle Ray Matthews and Nokturnal came up with the idea to throw a party on a barge. The city jokingly said "sure". Fast forward two weeks and here we are with a barge, a tugboat with a DJ booth on it, supreme weather, Vitamin Water as a sponsor, and 6 of the cities hottest DJs (including yours truly). Other then my DJ drive melting in the sun and having to pull a set out of my you know where the even was a huge success and definitely one of the most epic parties ever in the city, and will certainly be repeated next year.

Peep some pics:

My set

Tom Brown

Keebs

Nugget

Bonics

Samantha James's Subconscious Invasion Of Our Minds

OM Records artist Samantha James has a new album called "Subconscious". You should not hesitate to acquire it.

I was fortunate to get the chance to remix the title track. Being a die hard fan of both Samantha James and OM Records this was a dream opportunity. I struggled at first with what direction to go. I was sitting in front of my computer staring at the stems of the track trying to decide if I should go really deep or more commercial, back and forth for a couple of days. I wanted to do a mix that felt like it was an OM Record, and not just a remix. I thought about the things that made me like OM Records and the artists and tried to channel that through my own vibes.

I probably over thought this mix more then a few others simply becasue of the artist and label but what I ended up with I think achieved my goal. In the end, the label and Samantha liked it so Christmas came early this year. Miss James even called me to tell me she liked it, I can't say I wasn't a babbling fool, but that was one of the coolest things I've experienced in 20 years of doing this, and she's so cool and down to earth I hope to meet her in person.

You can check out a snippet of the remix HERE

Check back for info on the mixes, which also include expertly crafted mixes by Eric Kupper & Marquis Wyatt.

Prince and the Who Cares Generation

Prince boycotts the Internet saying it is "Completely Over".

People might have noticed if anyone cared. No online digital distribution. YouTube banned from distributing any of his content. Prince's website, gone. Tumbleweeds abound for digital Princedom.

Prince is a legend, which usually means that the music at one point reached legendary status. Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999. Those are untouchable. All this new gospel religion influenced garbage he's released in recent years can almost be chalked up to the works of an eccentric once genius artist. He made a statement that he's embarrassed by his older work and how sloppy they are and that he feels he keeps improving. Prince, stop.