No Crowd, No Problem 🎉

This week on the Grow My DJ Business Podcast, Cream & Gary discuss: 

• The importance of maintaining high energy and being a team player in a slow night.
• The process of finding one's mic voice, developing mic phrases, and managing mic levels.
• The significance of using the mic as a weapon and improving mic skills for DJs facing similar situations. Microphone use should be strategic and sparingly used to enhance energy and engagement.
• The evolution of country music has led to a crossover with EDM, creating a new genre of pop country music.
• Engaging with the DJ community through events and community platforms can lead to business growth and collaboration opportunities.
• The impact of BPM on music popularity and the use of strategic remixes to cater to diverse audience preferences.

Time Stamps:
00:00: Introduction and Setting the Stage for a Challenging Weekend
02:59: Navigating a Slow and Challenging DJ Set
09:03: Mastering Mic Work: Using the Mic as a Weapon
27:22: Strategic Microphone Use for DJs
38:08: The Evolution of Country Music and its Crossover with EDM
46:50: Community Engagement and Business Growth in the DJ Industry

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage for a Challenging Weekend
• 2:59 Navigating a Slow and Challenging DJ Set
• 9:03 Mastering Mic Work: Using the Mic as a Weapon
• 27:22 Strategic Microphone Use for DJs
• 38:08 The Evolution of Country Music and its Crossover with EDM
• 46:50 Community Engagement and Business Growth in the DJ Industry

Transcript

0:01

All right, what's up guys? Welcome to the 152nd episode of the Grow My DJ Business podcast brought to you by the Grow My DJ Business Discord and Digital Music Pool. My name's Kareem. That intro is more and more of a mouthful as we go here. that is a mouthful. It's a whole lot. man. All right. Let's let's get right into it because I want to talk a little bit about this past weekend. I had a really unique, slow, weird, weird weekend. And I was texting you and I was like, man, I can't wait to talk about this on the podcast because I've never I don't remember having a weekend like this for years and years and years and years and years. And it's a holiday weekend. It's a Memorial Day weekend. We always talk about how, you know, all the the customers go to sort of those holiday vacation areas. I played up at a casino up in Connecticut at Mohegan Sun that I'm a resident at. It's generally always very good. And I wasn't really sure what to expect on the holiday weekend. But it was like the slowest, hardest DJ set I've had in a long time. while you're there, as this is happening, what is your initial thought? Are you thinking like, okay, we're gonna get better? Are you playing, what was your knee jerk, like, this could be a slower night and I might need to readjust the way I'm thinking about my set. yeah, I'm gonna paint the picture because leading up, you know, the casino, how busy the casino is, is always a pretty good indicator. And also, they have a huge event space. So sometimes there's like Connecticut Sun games, sometimes there's big artists. I'm trying to like, there was a huge Latin artist the last time I was there, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons play there. But then they'll have like Shane Gillis at the Comedy Place. So if you line up on a weekend where there's a big act that's, younger, like, I don't even know, Kelly Clarkson, like they have big artists sort of all over the map. And then you sort of get a spillover into the nightclub afterwards. There were no events in the event space. The casino was really slow. I go to dinner at Tao a lot when I'm there, they have a Tao. And like for me to just walk into Tao and the bar to be wide open, I'm like, damn, like, usually I'm lucky if I can grab one bar seat. So like all the signs leading up were saying to me like, it's gonna be a slow, it's gonna be a slow go, but We'll make the best of it. We always do. So when I get in there, I walk into Avalon and the DJ who was there was like, yo, the DJ at the other place, this place, Vista, that's in the hotel was a no show. They have nobody there. So when you go on, I'm going to go play Vista. So me being me, I'm like, all right, well, let me go tell the manager I'm going to go on right now. It was like 10 15. The place opens at 10. wow. so yeah, so Dak was like, shout to Dak. He was like, I'll run over there. I go to the manager. I'm like, I'll jump on right now. I heard there's no DJ at Vista. So I start playing at 10, 15, which I've never done there before. I've only ever played there as a headliner. So now I'm opening for myself on a really slow night. You know, I usually get in there early enough to see what Dak's playing and it's usually always like hip hop. And sometimes he'll go up for a little bit, but mostly plays down tempo. because he knows I'm gonna go on and play a lot of up tempo. So I sort of did the same thing. I played a little Latin, played some hip hop. I went up and did like a dance set and then went back down. And like, we're getting to like 11 .45 where I would have already been on as a headliner and playing my intro and playing big records. And there's like 30 people in there. There was a table or two and there were some bottles coming out. So I was doing my normal, you know, my normal routine. I think that was important for me to present myself in the way that they always see me there. Still get on the mic, still do the birthday shout -outs, still do the bottle call -outs. The music was the thing that I struggled with the most. well that stuff is, that is probably more important in an empty room, right? Like you still, like those people have spent that same money that they would have spent that if it was a packed room, you still wanna make them feel at home and you wanna make them feel special and welcome. And so that part of it's big and that's probably, like you're saying, it's probably the easiest part of your night. The music. to match 30 people in a big space is very difficult. Right, so, you know, Dak is also the light guy. So I lost my light person on top of all this, which always helps to create a vibe. We had some presets and one of the bar backs actually helped out on the lights towards the middle to end of the night, which was great. But, so we just had so much kind of going against us and I still hit big EDM stuff. I still hit some tech house because that's what... people who go to that room expect, you know? I still played open format. I played way more open than I normally would. I played way more sort of mainstream than I ever would there. And I was still getting like strange, weird requests. Like someone asked me to play, not the Cha-Cha slide, but like one of those. What's another one? I can't think of it. I'm trying to think of some of those line dances, but yeah. The one that's like the... I'd say the best at all of those. Whatever that one was, they asked me to play it. it's alluding me, but yes, I know what you're talking about. And I know how people are screaming right now. You can't remember this. But yeah, I know me there. told the girl that the same thing like, you know, like, I don't even think I have that song because I just don't play it. the Cupid Shuffle. Was that the one that they asked for? I don't know. No, but you're in the right world. It was... like a I do have played like a tech version of that. That's pretty good. I considered singing the song right now, but I will not do that to you guys. Like your typical request, you're like, I don't know the name of the song, but like it goes like this. I'm about to do that to us. But yeah, but it was, it was a challenge, man. And it was, it was really hard, but like you said, it really was a team effort and we, everybody stepped up in the building to just try to make the best of the night that we could. And I really think the manager appreciated. me, you know, jumping in and saying I'll jump on right now, even though I wasn't supposed to go until 1145, appreciated me still doing all the things that I would normally do in the room, even though we, you know, at max probably had 50 to 75 people at like the height of the night. It's just a tough situation to be in, right? You know from walking around the casino and going to grab a drink and some food at the restaurant, you know that it's not gonna get better. There's no hope in it getting better. You know this is what you have in front of you and you're going to make the best of it. And you know it's even, it's a huge testament to the other employees in the room that moved around and decided hey, I'm gonna go help out and go do. something with the lights or I'm gonna bounce over to this place and go play and you going on early and having that collective effort even from the bartenders who you know aren't making any money that night. Like that's a huge L for them. Now is it? me like 50 or 100 bucks and I gave it to the bottle server who was working. We have two huge setups next to the DJ booth and there was nobody there. So she brought me some waters and a drink and I was like, here, just take this because I know you're not making any money. Right, right. I mean, it's just it's a collective effort. It's tough. Those are tough weekends and especially in Connecticut. You have so many options, right? Like they're there. What we would call the shore in Jersey. That's where we go. All right. People go out to the Hamptons. I'm sure from Connecticut you either go to the Hamptons or you can go north, right? What is their vacation spot for the summer? Do you know you go to like? That's true. a whole shoreline of places that people go, I'm sure. That's true, I forgot about that. But yeah. Right, okay, right, right. So, yeah, so like. let's so I explained what I did and how that night went. But but if you're listening, what are some things that that DJs listening should kind of take into consideration when they're faced with the same thing, right? Like we have July 4th, we have Labor Day, like we're going to run into the same thing throughout the rest of the summer. So what are what's some advice that you would give DJs that are going to run into this thing again here? I would say what I normally do in a bigger room that's empty is focus on the people that are there. You really need to hone in on, and I do this normally I think too, when I'm beginning my set. We've talked about this a little bit, where I jump around a lot. I find myself moving every 10 minutes to genre to genre to find out, till I find one that really hooks a group. You can see there's a big reaction out of them, right? And it's like, Okay, this is great. That's what they're into. I can really lean into this for the next 20 minutes, right? And then maybe bounce out of it and try to find something for the next group. But back pocket, I always know that that group really loves that kind of music, right? And I can always lean back into that. Requests are another big one, right? Always take those requests. I know that you were handed probably not the greatest request in the world. Would I have maybe played that? I don't know. Maybe I would have tried. Okay. So like, I just, right, that person didn't match the rest of the people in the room. I just felt like it wouldn't, it wouldn't have helped my cause except to make that one single person happy. It's different if somebody comes up and asks for that and they have a group of 15 and you have 50 people in the place, right? Then you do it and then they could start doing their line dance and maybe all 50 people are doing this stupid line dance, right? And that's you just highlight like that could be the highlight of the night, right? So I think requests are another big one. so I don't know. I would say those are the two major ones. Really focus in on your groups. and make sure that you're taking requests from anybody who's in the place, as long as they make sense for what you're doing. They could be left field, but you never know. I mean, really, realistically, you just never know. It could work great. Yeah, I think there's a fine line of being able to do what you normally do in that room, but then sort of also, I'm going to say dumbing it down, but just making it more mainstream so that it's more approachable to anybody that shows up. I think that's, that's the fine line that you need to figure out, right? You still have to sort of do what you do in that room on a normal basis, because I'm sure there are people that have been there before and know what happens there. But then you also have to play the room to what's in front of you. And if you're in an EDM room and the Latin Bad Bunny and Fade and whatever else is working, you might have to lean into that a little more to keep your crowd, right? So I think that's the first thing is like, be open to adjusting what you would normally do to do what is best for the room, but still be able to maintain like the identity of the room. that's more important, I think, in your role in that space. Specifically, DJ Cream in Mohegan Sun needs to still do what DJ Cream does at Mohegan Sun, right? That is most important for your brand and also for the brand of the nightclub, right? You wanna still stay on brand for yourself and the space. But then also be a DJ and play the room. I think that, and if you are a local act, and you're not being booked for your name, you need to be a DJ, period. Now, if that space has an identity such as, and I'm gonna just name places in our market because of what they are, such as a DJ's in Belmar, the Jersey Shore, you still have to play the house music in the room for that stuff, right? But if that... If that place was just so happen to be dead as empty one day, you'd be trying to play what, you know, what's going to keep you going. same thing, like I used to play slower time sometimes at DJs too. I used to do Happy Hour there and sometimes Happy Hour was jam packed and I was playing, you know, the big EDM records and sometimes it was slower and it was filled with older people and I was playing Whitney Houston dance remixes, you know what I mean? So like, no matter the gig and no matter the venue, you're still dealing with this sort of back and forth. But I wanted to make a distinction that make sure that, you know, you're speaking of more artists, DJ Cream, who's booked at Mohican Sun as DJ Cream, and you need to still do what you need to do as that headliner. Right? There's a bit of a difference between that. You really need to make sure that you're doing the headliner cream thing to some extent, a little bit at least. Right, right, right, and that's why it's important to do that. So the next point that kind of goes along with that is your energy and your body language is really important in these sets too. You still need to bring the same energy that you would get if there's a thousand people in front of you or if there's 50, you know, it's your job to go and perform and being a professional is putting the same effort and energy into a slow night that you would in a big night, especially in a big room like that. So, Like I said, still jumping on the mic, still doing the three, two, one jump. I'm like all the stuff that I would normally do, maybe not as much of it, but still doing it and still trying to create some energy with the microphone and you know, dancing around and doing my thing that I would normally do. And this, I think that goes for the same thing in a bar, in a nightclub, any level of DJ that you're on, that your body language and how you're approaching a slower night. people are gonna see that. And if you're approaching with high energy and the same energy as you would as a higher energy night or a busier night, the people who are booking you are gonna appreciate you and it's gonna further solidify you with that venue and that ownership group. This is probably more important than ever. When you play a slower set, just be engaged and be involved and don't be on your phone. Our two most popular DJs right now are our energetic, very energetic behind the decks DJs, right? And they do that no matter how many people are in the room, both of them. Right. And. they're always having fun, no matter how many people. And it's so important, and it's so important because it creates energy in the space. And if you're gonna put your foot up on the wall and you're going to text, you're going to be replaced by a playlist real quick. Do not be that person that loses the DJ account because you're the lazy one that just showed up to collect a paycheck. Because that's happening right now where people are like, I mean I said it the other day, I forget where I was talking about. I'm like, I don't understand why they have a DJ here. I think I was out somewhere here locally. Like there's no reason for them to have a DJ here. There are plenty of online radio stations and whatnot that I could build a Spotify playlist and have it mix into each other and to make it, make it, and build it cleanly so that it just sounds like there is somebody curating something here. And that is able to happen now more than ever. And people are becoming more privy to that. you know, management and ownership's becoming more privy to that. And when you're looking to cut corners, you know, if you're going to look lazy up there, well, I'm gonna cut you first because you're replaceable by something that's completely free. So stay, you know, right? So like, so be engaged and if it's dead, like you could put a mix on, go walk around and talk to people. Like engage with people, right? Be entertaining. Hey, you know, like it's just. Yeah, like it's super slow. What do you guys want to hear tonight? I've done that before. Like, like what do you guys want to hear? Like there's 20 people here. Let's all acknowledge it. What do you guys want to hear? I'll play some of that for you because you're here and maybe I can keep you here. Absolutely. I've definitely done that before. Or on a night where someone comes up to make a request like, hey, like, I don't know if you take requests like, bro, there's 20 people here, I'll play whatever you want. Like, as long as it's decent. Right? requests. Keep coming back. And then that's how you establish fans, too. Like, that's a great way to have people come back and be a fan of DJ Cream, right? And I'll follow you on Instagram and I'm download all your all your music. And he was such a nice guy. I'm going to go to all his events. These are just easy things to do. To take advantage of a bad situation. Right. How how could you turn this negative into a positive? The other takeaway is that aspect of being a team player, like me jumping on super early because I knew we needed a DJ at the other venue. How much more money did they make at the other venue because there was a DJ that showed up than if there was no DJ until 12 o 'clock or whatever time that he would have got over there on a regular night. It would have been two hours of not having a DJ in a space that normally does probably made them a lot more money. I was gonna say they probably, in a normal space, like that space closes, like they're just gonna close. There's not gonna be anybody in there. There's no DJ, there's no entertainment. On a slower night, what's gonna happen? Like nobody's coming in. There's nothing to keep a crowd, so. space ended up having a really good night. Now, it only, it fits a lot less people. And it's more of like wedding music kind of thing. Like it's definitely more like you're playing like pretty mainstream, pretty like stuff people know. Right. Right. All the pop, you're playing pop music in there. So on a slow night, that's gonna work better than cream playing whatever. yeah. Yeah. In the big room that's empty when you walk in and there's 50 people and you're like, I'm gonna go somewhere else because there's nobody here at 1230, you know? a hundred people, actually if there's 50 people, same amount of people in that other space, it looks more crowded because it's a smaller space. So everybody's gonna be drawn to that space naturally anyway. So right, so just being a team player and being willing to put your ego aside and just be a human and be a DJ and help the cause. Like, I knew I had a really good relationship with the team at Avalon beforehand, but I think that that will help even further my relationship for doing that, you know? And I didn't do that for any reason other than to help the night and help the team. I mean, what are you going to do? Sit there in an empty room and be like, right. I hope that everybody listening would absolutely step up and do the same thing. You know, without question, without thought, you just go and do your job. You just do it for a little longer. So I had a similar night the following night back home in Jersey. We won't get into it, but first time ever playing there, like sort of a brand new party, and it was just like equally as slow. And I'm just like, dude, I think this is the least amount of people that I've played for in six years in a weekend or in two DJ gigs. just natural that, you know, the weather up there has been the most amazing for a long period of time and everybody's just really, really, really excited about the summer and getting things started, so. all good. That's gonna be a good party once it gets going. So I'm excited to be a part of it over at Pier 115 in Edgewater in Jersey. So, you know, something positive you can take no matter what. And something positive for me for that one was just furthering our relationship, playing a new room, you know, meeting some new people, and hopefully bigger parties down the line. say this year after year, but this is the time, guys. This is the time that you can further relationships that you're looking to build into the fall. As everybody shoots out to those vacation summer areas, we've said this time and again, and it's a broken record, but it's just a reminder now that the time of year is here, that. Any place that you're interested in getting into that maybe those big names have now gone out to those vacation spots. Well, go step into those places, frequent those places, get to know the people who make the decisions in those places and try to further some relationships while the big headliners are out of town, right? Yeah. And actually got to hear a DJ that's been kind of popping around some of our events and he played great. So that was a positive too, you know, maybe somebody that we could work with in the future. It was good to hear him play. Awesome. Alright, so let's move on to our next topic. This is a request from a listener, Shout to Torso, one of our DJs. If you guys have questions or want us to talk about a specific topic, shoot us a DM, shoot us a text, an email, whatever it is, and if it fits into what we're doing here, we're happy to talk about it. So, Torso wanted us to talk a little bit about mic work and kind of how you can use the mic as a weapon and how it can... it can improve your performance. And then also on top of that, how, if you're not very good at using the mic, how do you get better? Because unless you're doing it, it's really hard to get better. So I guess let's start at the top, just, I don't know, how can DJs use the mic in a positive way throughout their sets? Well, I think we should really start from the very beginning. Like, okay, what if you're not a great, if you don't use the mic great, and why aren't you using the mic great, right? Like, if you're inexperienced with the mic, well, how can I get better? First of all, I think you really need to find, like, what is your mic voice and what is your style, right? Because everybody has a little bit of style. Some people, especially from New York, you have like a hip hop, more of a hip hop style, slang. of the world to the Gary W's of the world. Right, well right, you have that as well. But I think finding your voice, knowing my mic voice isn't how I normally speak, let's say. Literally, the voice that I'm using while I'm speaking might be a little different. Because it has to sound good within the room and within the space and with what I'm playing. Some people have the announcer voice, some people have the. wedding DJ voice, some people, you know, but you have to find, you have to find what's most natural for you, what sounds good for you, what you're comfortable with. I think that's first and foremost. Some people are like a little too screechy, you gotta kinda figure out what's working, what works for you. I think that's first and foremost, and getting comfortable with using that, and then getting comfortable with just certain phrases that you might use. that don't sound too cheesy, that work with your brand and what you're doing. I think that's the very first thing to think about from a novice perspective. And I think a tactic that you could use to sort of try to figure out what your sayings or what your voice might be is go listen to DJs who use the mic heavily. Go watch a Camillo, go watch a Nicky Riz, go watch a Flex, go watch anybody in your market who uses the mic heavily. Go watch, take one thing from that person, two sayings from that person. I think especially when you're starting out, you don't really need to have... a million phrases in your in your bag, right? Have one or two. Have one or two that you can learn really well and feel comfortable using. And then once you're good on those one or two, add a third one and then start using that one and get to know that one, master that one. And now you have three phrases in your bag. Once you have three phrases, find another one, add that fourth one, try something new. And I think that's the only way to get better on the mic is to to use the mic and practice. And the only way to really practice unless you're in your shower or in front of your mirror with a fake microphone is while you're DJing. Yeah. You know what I find? was terrible on the mic. My friends all made fun of me. You just gotta do it. What I find most difficult about, especially people that don't use the mic often is finding your levels of because oftentimes I hear DJs and they're way too loud and they're screaming and it's distorting the music and it's terrible. And that's probably like 70 % of the DJs that I ever see using the mic. And this even goes to like EDC. Go watch a bunch of EDC sets and like those guys are just screaming. It sounds God awful. Right, like you need to, I think, you're planning on using the mic that night, you need to level out your microphone preset. You don't wanna be doing this during the set, right? Have an idea of where your volume levels are at on your mic, and if you're redlining your mic, it's going to sound awful. And that happens way too often. So balance that stuff out early. And if you're at a place where you're doing sound check, definitely do it where you're. turning your levels all the way up and you can balance your mic out there. I think that's overlooked, that's never talked about. And it's more often than not like ear bleeding decibels and it ruins anything that you're saying. Yeah, if you're an opener or you're starting the night, you can you can test it beforehand, right? And just like the volume of the music, as there's more people in the room, you're probably going to have to turn the mic up slightly throughout the night. And then as a headliner, you know, when I jump on, if I don't have if I don't sound check, I'll literally just give a check like a check one, two, one, two, just to get a quick level real quick before I say the first thing or introduce myself. So. You could do it no matter at what point of the night you're you're DJing, you know. And it is super important because like Gary said, if you're blowing people's ears out, it's not gonna work. And if they can't hear you, what's the point? So you have to be in that sweet spot for sure. that's like an instead of building energy, you're taking energy away. You're doing the opposite of what the microphone should be doing. Right, like your first impression if you're jumping on as a headliner and you're cracking the mic is probably not the best first impression for people that don't know who you are. That's funny. So with mic work, as an opener you're gonna use the mic or if you're starting the night and playing the full night, you're gonna use the mic a lot less or maybe not at all than if you're playing the main set or a headliner or it's getting later and it's now go time kind of thing. So... early in the night, you really don't want to use the mic unless a venue is saying, I want you to use the mic every time a bottle comes out or I want you to give this happy birthday unless someone from the venue is telling you to use the mic. I wouldn't even touch it until 1130 12 o'clock probably until you start to feel the crowd change and get ready to go and you start to increase the energy of your music. Like at that point, I think it's then time to consider starting to use the mic. What are some ways for DJs to like, we sort of talked about this, like, if you're not comfortable on the mic, what are some ways for you to get comfortable? Is it just you using it in your sets? Is there another way to get comfortable? I think it's just using it in your sets. And I would really focus on maybe not overusing it, but really practicing in maybe your smaller spaces. Not your biggest gig of the week, right? But maybe like one of your smaller gigs of the week, one that doesn't have as many people. Maybe that's a really great place where you can, you know, really, maybe somewhere that's like your home, maybe your residency. something that's really used to you and it's not going to mess up your relationship with the venue, that's always a great place to practice anything, right? You're practicing, whenever you wanna test new music, your residency's a great place to do that. You wanna test out different phrases on the microphone, your residency's a great place to do that. It's not gonna hurt your relationship. So I think that's a really, really great place, that's a really great practicing ground, and then you carry that stuff into your bigger gigs. Yeah, I like that. I think that's great advice. And thinking back on my career, that's exactly what I did. Use the mic in those places where you're comfortable, you know, because if you're comfortable, you're gonna do a better job on the mic. And from someone who was very self-conscious and was scared to use the mic, I was more likely to use it in places where I felt comfortable. In your residencies, you're gonna feel the most comfortable. That's a great confidence builder. Yeah, it's hard guys. Like the mic can be used as a way to supplement your sets, right? It's a way to increase energy. It's a way to kind of get the crowd to react in a way that you want them to react. And it's super important. And if you're not using the mic, you need to figure out a way to work it into your sets, even if it's just sparingly. I know Gary, you for a long time, you never use the mic and more recently, you've kind of gotten into using it a little bit. And... It's funny, like, I don't get to hear you play a lot, but when I walk in and I hear you jump on the mic, I'm either like, Gary's either feeling really good about this set, he's a little drunk, like something. went to do it last week at at Ashford because we had really great energy in the room and they and you know what honestly it's it goes along with the rest of DJ you get that feeling that all right now's the time that I need to be using it now's the time you know it's just like anything okay I'm feeling it in my gut that we're gonna go time right now it's gonna be peak hour Same thing with my mic work at least. I feel it like, okay, we need the microphone here. We might have a little absence of energy for this last five or eight minutes. We could pick it up in this area. I feel it out more than I do that I'm not thinking about it overtly or on purpose. It's more like I get this feeling like I need to get on the microphone. That's kind of how I use it. I still use it sparingly. I still like to get people moving by my music and keep people moving by my music where I don't leave areas, I don't leave dead spots where my use is needed. That's how I DJ. It's my style. But. everyone find your find your style of how the mic can fit into your your DJ sets. I think that's the best advice, right? yeah. But like yeah, like when you're playing a five hour set, there's gonna be a lull somewhere. So guess what? Use the microphone, because you're gonna need a little boost in energy. the venues, the few venues that don't have mics or don't want the DJs to use the mic, I feel like I'm missing one of my like weapons. Like one of the tools in my toolkit is taken away and I don't like playing in those places because it's like, the mic is a way for me to help make you more money. I'm not going to be Camillo on the mic. And I know that's why places don't want microphones sometimes because some DJs overuse the mic and Again, like maybe they think you're overusing the mic, but maybe that's just your style and that's how you DJ and like, and that's it, you know? that's on the venue to do their homework and know, hey, just don't book that person. That person's style doesn't fit your place, so just don't book them, right? But that is, like we keep saying now, it is a stylistic thing, and it's not your problem if the place doesn't like mic work, that's part of what you do as a DJ. This conversation, it's like mirror, the same conversation can be had for DJ drops. Like the same conversation we just had about microphone use, it goes for your DJ drops too if you have them and if you use them. I heard an opener like overly using DJ drops the other day and I'm like, do I tell this kid to like not? But why are openers even using a DJ drop? Like you're not, that's not your space. I don't know. is that controversial? Is that a controversial topic? Should openers use drops? Yeah, I think it's okay for openers to use a DJ drop as long as it's sparingly. If they're not going to use the mic, then I think it's okay to drop your DJ drop every once in a while. But as an opener and earlier in the night, use it very sparingly. Once, maybe twice kind of thing. I've now run into a few different bartenders in different venues that make fun of our DJs for using them. And we'll say whatever the drop is in the drop. And I'm like, my gosh, I know that drop. And they're like, yeah, that's all we heard last night. I'm like, shh. think that that's gonna be said when it's overused. So even even during your peak hour set, like sparingly guys use it sparingly. I'll use my cream ones if there's you know when I use them if there's a song that I'm not quick mixing out of and it's going into the second bridge or build or vocal, that's where I'll use it because I need to fill some space, right? I'm using it strategically. So there's no dead air. It's like the microphone, right? You're right, you're right. These are parallel topics. It's the same exact conversation. man, there are some good, some of our guys have really funny, amazing DJ drops. Like Dario's is real. Dario Valley, shout to Dario, he's got a great one. His one's amazing. But that can get stuck in your head bad. His can really get stuck in your head. I'm trying to think who else has really good ones. ToneSet has got a good one. I don't know tones. I don't know tones. an effected tone set of one. Timo uses the city boy, city boy one. man, let's see what else here. I think the final thing I'll say, I was the first time I ever started to feel comfortable with the mic was when I was forced into going and being an MC for a private event. And I've never been more scared in my entire life than being a host or DJing and introducing everyone on a mic at a wedding of people I didn't know. Like most scared I've ever been probably as a DJ. But after you do that a couple times, Like you could do anything, you know? I got forced into DJing, not forced into DJing, so I was DJing my buddy's wedding, who's also a DJ, a pretty good DJ. Remember Tall Nick that we used to work with. So I go and do his wedding and he's telling me like, there's not really much mic work, and then I get there and I have to do like all the announcements and like everything. So not only like, and he knows I don't like the microphone. And. not a lot because he's a wedding DJ. Right, so not only do I have to do this, I have to do this for another DJ who's an excellent DJ and wedding DJ. Pulled it off very well, they said I did a great job. But I don't know if they were just being nice, but still. But still, you gotta give, sometimes you just have to get thrown into it. think your inner voice is telling you you're not doing a great job when you're probably doing a pretty good job. Nobody feels that fear or nervousness that you might have, except for you, really. Yeah, that's true. I think actually a good, one technique I used to sort of get over that fear was I just wouldn't look into people. Like I would just, I would look down at a paper for a wedding, right? I'm announcing names, I'm looking at the paper. In nightlife, I'm looking at the mixer on the mic, not into the crowd where I can make eye contact and feel some type of way. So that was one, another technique that I used was like, just don't look, don't look at people, look somewhere else. Yeah, I mean that works. That works. sometimes, you can't even see out there anyway because the lights are bright. Yeah, which I'm sure helps. All right, let's transition. We're seeing more and more country events. We're seeing DJ Big Country now playing all over the place, opening for Vavo and for some other bigger acts, playing some festivals. We're... Right. Like, this ain't your grandmother's country music anymore. so I'm driving in the car this morning, right? And Morgan Wallen's new song comes on. And I've seen this creeping into country for a long time now. We've always had this hip hop kind of element to country ever since Nelly started to do crossover 20 years ago, right? Remember he had that huge track when we were in college, I guess I think it was. And that was like the first real, that I can remember in our time, crossover hip hop country music. And now you're having more and more just, it's not even hip hop crossover, it's just straight up pop country has become like the new R &B, if you will. pop country has like that hip hop R &B beats, right? more and more produced songs in, you know, that you can produce, let's say on Ableton, just like straight up with like hip hop beats that don't have any kind of real instrumentation. It's not a ton. So I listened to like the top 50 today and there's still plenty of, you know, acoustic guitars and real instrumentation. Right. Right. But along with this pop country movement comes this pop, I don't want to call it instrumentation because we're using that in a different context, but like the instrumentals are now, are produced via Ableton or just on a computer. And it just, it sounds like hip hop and it sounds like R &B and it just has somebody singing over it with a Southern accent, you know? But also Morgan Wallen's almost kind of rapping and almost kind of pushing the envelope on a cross -genre scope. So it's really interesting, and that's why I wrote This Ain't Your Grandmother's Country Music or This Ain't Your Grandpa's Country Music, because it's not, right? This is not something that they would listen to. Do you think that that's why it's become so popular? Do you think that is that the main reason it's become? more popular because it's more accessible. educated and well -known country music hater, so it's tough for me to say, but here's what my guess would be. I think, would you say that a lot of these like pop, hit, country records are like in the 100 BPM range? that one I listened to today and then along with like the tipsy, the tipsy shaboozy one that was redone that like I said, I'm into, I'd say, yeah. And then there, yeah. And I think that lies your answer. Like that 100 BPM is always your sweet spot for like just party, sort of party music, right? So I think producing in that 100 BPM range, not only does it create good original pop music, but also you see the EDM rage and it allows for a lot of edits and remixes with country vocals. which is sort of making the genre more popular among people that don't necessarily listen to the straight up country. So maybe if you hear a Morgan Wallen over Avicii, you might be more likely to listen to Morgan Wallen's album kind of thing and vice versa, you know? So maybe that sort of is one of the reasons. I think also you have an artist like Morgan Wallen who's massive, who can cross over to being more of a pop star and not just a country star. Yeah. Like, are there more Morgan Wallens? Like, I don't even know. Yeah, there definitely are, right? Yeah, I mean, there's plenty, but Morgan Wallens, he's it right now for the last year. And he has reached across, across genres, into pop big time. Like he's a major pop star at this point, he's not just a country star, so. other thing too, I think it's just like, it's feel good music. It's summer music. It's like party music. It's... Yeah, drink a beer, hang out by the pool. I think that just works with sort of where people are mentally right now. I have to say, I mean, I put country on when I go to the beach down here, I put country on when I go out to the pool, but that's, you know, it's what my friends listen to down here as well. And it's, that's kind of, it's always been on my summer playlists, always, to some capacity, especially, and that's dating back to that Nelly record. And then I kind of got into Kenny Chesney back then, and then have kind of dabbled here and there. Because it is, you're right, it is feel good music. I want to crack a beer open and hang out, right? And that's exactly what that music is. I just think that it's really interesting that the crossover, it's not even crossover anymore. Like they're producing records to sound like hip hop that are country records. And that's. you know, I think collaboration is always a good thing. And it's creating this new country sound and people are into it. And it's working. So we're going to see a lot more of it. We're going to see more EDM parties, we're going to see more country parties. The country venues we work with are crushing it. Like, they're the busiest bars around, you know, it's very popular right now. You're it's going to be a wave. We're in this country wave right now for sure. I'd like to see more country EDM producers, honestly, because I enjoy Vavo and I'm... Life's another one. They're signed with Disco Fries. Disco Fries played the EDM stage at, I believe, it was either EDC or Coachella, I'm not sure which one, but I know they just played a huge festival at the EDM stage. to hope, I didn't know that. Yeah, I mean, I'd like to say, I'm sure we're gonna see more and more of it, and I'd like to see, like I said, I like Vavo and I like what they've done for that genre, kind of making that genre up almost, pioneering it, but I'd like to see it almost on like a next level up of energy kind of a thing. Yeah. He, you know, I think he was the headliner at Stagecoach this year for like the DJ stage. Yeah, I mean Marshmallow's been in the game now for a minute. He's produced producing some of the biggest Yeah more and more EDM artists producing either EDM or just straight -up country music. Yeah, I was saying a little dark, right? He's got a couple records I really like. So. Listen, it's not my cup of tea, right? It'll never will be, but I think it's good. I think it's cool. It's something new. It's something different. It gets people excited. It's a new, you know, new parties and new venues, and it's just something different. So in that aspect, I like it. Are you going to catch me playing any country music? No. Meh. But that's because I'm old and stubborn and it's just part of who I am at this point. it should be on everybody's radar. It should be in everybody's arsenal because somebody's going to ask for it. a Morgan Wallen EDM remix or two? Yeah, I will if I really need it. All the Avicii ones are my favorite. All the Mark and Wollin Avicii crossovers are my favorite. Remixes. But... stuff was the only stuff that I've even considered playing in my sets. Because it's so pop. Right, because I had to, because so many people are requesting it or wanted it. What was the last huge song? I don't even, I don't remember the name. Last Night, that song. That was the number one record in the country. You have to have a remix of that and be ready to play it at any point. It was like for months you had to do that. I only remember it because it's just so catchy and it's so like that first line is just so southern and so country to me that I just like make fun of it all the time. And the new Post Malone track that's number one right now, like that's another big one. And there's a bunch of remixes of that. That's great. over the years, but I just think it's more prevalent right now. Yeah, for sure. All right. All right, let's wrap. I gotta run to a meeting. So I would like to invite everybody to join the Grow My DJ Business Discord if you have not already. Gary and I are really growing this community. We are trying to put cream exclusive edits, get down edits. I'll put my stuff in there before I send it out to DMP. Gary's doing curated playlists where he's putting Dropbox folders together of all different genres. You name the genre, Gary's creating it. We're putting open gigs if you're a Tri-State New York City local. We're doing some coaching videos. There's all kinds of cool stuff happening in there and we're gonna continue to do cool stuff in there. You might see, you know, early access to the podcast. There'll be some cool stuff as we continue to grow out the community. So definitely come join. The other thing I wanna promo, Tuesday, June 11th is our next B3 Open Decks and networking event. Again, for anybody that's Tri -State New York City. Hoboken Wicked Wolf starting at seven o'clock. There's an event, right? If you want to RSVP to either potentially be on the open decks or to just come hang out. It's free. We've met a ton of really cool people, ton of DJs over the last year we've been doing this. So yeah, gonna continue doing these and excited to meet some more people. So we invite you to come hang out, meet some DJs. Alright guys. Alright guys, thanks for listening to this episode. Talk to you guys soon. Peace.