I'm writing this as a way to debrief and talk through my dj failure tonight and hopefully improve.
Should of done more research as to what was to be played. This could of been done by visiting the club before hand & running buy a mix with someone to see what they think, if it will fit in.
Second problem was not being familiar with the equipment. This place was using a set of pioneer cdj 1000, which are the latest model compared to my older cdj 200, and Pioneer DJM 800 4 Channel Mixer. The mixer I wasn't 100% with, and would prob need more time and experience with one to feel more comfortable using it. Also another way of conquered this would be to do a dj course, this would also help with mixing of tracks as this was a fail. Martin who was djing after was giving me some good tips with fading, consistent volume levels, and suggested to keep the tempo up, more party tunes.
The third and major dilemma for the night was my nerves. The gradual build up to this got my gut turning. This is so stupid as I've been in front of a crowd before, and with all those exhibition openings i had in the past, but this is something different. I was this nervous going back to when I dj'd at high vibes in front of a large crowd. Basically as soon as I started my legs were shaking and my sight started getting fuzzy, if that all makes sense, luckily Martin came to save my failure. I think pressure that was built up during the week, wanting to please and not wanting to fail all got to me and made me freeze up. How I could overcome this would be having one or a few friends around for support, I definitely shouldn't of gone by myself, and as perviously mentioned more confident with the hardware and suitable music would build up my confidence, which was lacking tonight.
I think this has been a great help writing this down straight after coming home. Hopefully I can improve my skills and get over my nerves.
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