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Heed warnings to DJ’s everywhere, Lawrence Welk and Goofy 50’s songs should be exempt from your playlists.
My suggestions would be to play more Classic Rock from the 70s. Led Zepplin, Boston, Journey are all acceptable. Even toss in a little Uriah Heep and Black Sabbath in between a Deep Purple set. If my 63 year old Dad can tolerate it, so can Ma and Pa Kettle.
Im wide open on 80s songs, especially the hair metal and thrash metal I dearly love (though I dont really expect to hear any Slayer tunes at a car show). The rock music of the decade really has an upbeat feel to it, and 9 times out of 10 will please a crowd.
With newer music, my suggestion would be family friendly tunes, rock, country, contemporary, etc. I personally despise rap music as it sends the wrong message to the kids with all the N word use. But who doesnt like Carly Rae Jepsens ” Call me maybe? “
What say you? Also, what are the pros and cons of certain music being played at shows? How many prefer shows with no music? Who would rather supply there own tunes audible only in a confined area?
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This was asked once before on this forum. I DJ car shows, I do not do weddings. I love mixing it up a bit….ask anyone who has been to my cruise nights. The one thing you do not realize is the guy who pays the DJ has the final say as to what’s played. Tonight, I went into a 60s vibe with not one single 50s song played. Got into a bit of my song list that rarely gets played. The last hour or so of the night, I play random things from all eras. tonight was Billy Idol, Las Ketchup, Clairy Browne and the Bangin’ Rackettes, ZZ Top, Blondie and more. Earlier I did play some of those “goofy” songs like Tie Me kangaroo Down Sport and Seven Little Girls.
I am with MoparKid on this too. The 50’s era songs are played out. They were played at car shows in the 70’s and 80’s and 90’s and still….enough already. Most of the car show crowd is now born in the 60’s and 70’s…a few from the 80’s. So music from our teens fits well. Also some newer top 40 radio is acceptable too. Some upbeat country too. Mix it up. No slow dance songs or wedding favorites please.
Working in clubs for years, I saw first hand how too much of the same thing, even if it is your favorite genre, gets very old, very quickly.
I really do agree with you guys. You haven’t had to deal with angry old buggers, though. They make your life hell, and it’s worse when they have an in with the organizers. I liked DJing for the guy that ran O-town Showdown before he was otherwise engaged. Aaron Hoff was willing to go beyond the normal music styles. . He wanted me to play outside the box as it were and even gave me an iPod with music to insert into my own playlist. There are shows that have been around for so many years that they hardly don’t expect any changes. On my own cruise night, if I see a bunch of younger guys come in with late model stuff, I move the music eras up a bit. I ain’t doing rap yet but I do try out some newer tunes of differing genres.
lordairgtar wrote:I really do agree with you guys. You haven’t had to deal with angry old buggers, though. They make your life hell, and it’s worse when they have an in with the organizers. I liked DJing for the guy that ran O-town Showdown before he was otherwise engaged. Aaron Hoff was willing to go beyond the normal music styles. . He wanted me to play outside the box as it were and even gave me an iPod with music to insert into my own playlist. There are shows that have been around for so many years that they hardly don’t expect any changes. On my own cruise night, if I see a bunch of younger guys come in with late model stuff, I move the music eras up a bit.So if an “angry old bugger” comes up to bitch about the music you are playing, you play it to accomodate him? That should be done for everyone who has a special request. Some people at shows ( organizers and participants included ) want hear what they like only. A DJ should get a feel for the crowd, and go from there. Yes, I have been beat to death with the Nash Ramblers BEEP BEEP, and if I never hear it again it wont be soon enough.
As much as I hate to say it, the times they are a changin. Newer music needs to come into the fold, save the doo wop for back to the 50s.
How about this question to ponder: Would shows be more enjoyable with or without music at all? I am in no way taking anything away from any car show DJ, but Ive been to a few shows that had no music and found it to be rather enjoyable…
moparkid25 wrote:lordairgtar wrote:I really do agree with you guys. You haven’t had to deal with angry old buggers, though. They make your life hell, and it’s worse when they have an in with the organizers. I liked DJing for the guy that ran O-town Showdown before he was otherwise engaged. Aaron Hoff was willing to go beyond the normal music styles. . He wanted me to play outside the box as it were and even gave me an iPod with music to insert into my own playlist. There are shows that have been around for so many years that they hardly don’t expect any changes. On my own cruise night, if I see a bunch of younger guys come in with late model stuff, I move the music eras up a bit.So if an “angry old bugger” comes up to bitch about the music you are playing, you play it to accomodate him? That should be done for everyone who has a special request. Some people at shows ( organizers and participants included ) want hear what they like only. A DJ should get a feel for the crowd, and go from there. Yes, I have been beat to death with the Nash Ramblers BEEP BEEP, and if I never hear it again it wont be soon enough.
As much as I hate to say it, the times they are a changin. Newer music needs to come into the fold, save the doo wop for back to the 50s.
How about this question to ponder: Would shows be more enjoyable with or without music at all? I am in no way taking anything away from any car show DJ, but Ive been to a few shows that had no music and found it to be rather enjoyable…
I do not play music to accommodate that one guy. I usually tell him to be patient and I’m sure music he loves will be heard. Or I ask him if he’s got a favorite song he’dd like to hear. But some don’t care…it’s 50s or nothing. I work my best around that problem without being snarky or rude. You mention do-wop. I don’t think I’ve ever played it at my shows, unless that is the generic name you call all 50s music. Not all 50s music is do-wop. Another question, as I particularly do not care for Beep Beep (Nash rambler), I rarely play it. If it’s a request, then I play it. Are people not allowed to make requests of songs they want to hear? I did a show today where I played little 50s era music. I mean, it was there as filler but my playlist was a lot of 70s rock, 80s dance and new wave with 60s and some soul and funk R&B thrown in. It was pretty cool. I had a few requests for the old stuff, but not much. I even did some modern pop music and some stuff from a new CD by Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes. Look that one up, it’s pretty cool.
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