This is one of those areas of life that is all about your
brain. You know the phrase "fake it to make it" - well, I'm
not actually recommending that you fake anything, but what
I am saying may surprise you (if you're still an
inexperienced performer).
As an inexperienced DJ, I used to hang out and study the
professionals in my area. One DJ in particular - actually,
and sadly unusually, a young woman - took pity on me and
began to befriend me, mentoring me a little. She would chat
to me in-between tracks, checking out whether I was able to
explain back to her why she had made particular sequencing
choices; asking me what tune I would be planning to play
three records ahead; or getting me to tell her which
segments of the audience that were not dancing at that
moment she should aim some tunes at within the next 20
minutes or so.
(You do think in these ways yourself, don't you, when
running your set? A pro-DJ should be highly audience-aware,
and be planning ahead to ensure that as many segments of
the audience as possible get to hear tunes that suit them.
That's good business. It also takes a lot of gigs to get
your antennae working effectively!)
Anyway, what happened is this: one night, in a moderately
busy club at about 1 p.m., my mentor popped to the toilet.
Except she didn't pop; she disappeared altogether. I was
standing there waiting for her to return as the track -
"You're putting a Rush on Me" (what a joke!) - neared its
end.
Suddenly, I knew exactly what she had done. I knew this was
a test; I knew she was watching from somewhere in the club.
I also knew that the club's staff, and the regular
customers, had got used to seeing me nearby or alongside
the DJ, and that they would assume I was taking over while
Susie took a break.
So I did. The next record was ready, and I faded it in; and
for the next 30 minutes I was in heaven. I selected the
tunes, monitored the audience, and tried hard to look as
cool and unexcited as I could. And just as many people were
dancing when Susie came back half an hour later as had been
when she left!
What did this teach me (apart from enduring adoration for
Susie)?
Authority, composure, being in control, professionalism,
even coolness - they're in the eyes of the beholder. The
audience and staff that night treated me like Susie's
deputy, and so I was. I even treated myself like it!
It's as though there is a real you and a cartoon you. The
audience sees the cartoon you, not the real you. Stay with
that thought and use it: the cartoon you - the stage DJ -
can have a different persona to your private self.
Even if (like me) you're actually a bit shy, the cartoon
you needn't evidence any shyness.
If you act confident then your confidence is basically a
matter of fact. After all, how does your audience know
you're nervous unless you transmit that to them?
I couldn't have picked a better way to learn that lesson,
and it has helped me make performing relatively easy ever
since.
By the way,if any of you are involved in training, or even
in the same situation that I used to be in and you have
identified a mentor - the type of interaction I described
earlier is, I now have learned, one of the most powerful
and enduring training methods known in the business world.
Most people don't get that sort of detailed, specific,
practical, real-time mentoring. If you can organize it for
yourself from a pro DJ you admire, rip his or her hands off!
----------------------------------------------------
Carlton Brown
http://www.djequipmentsecrets.com
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