People often say to me DJing is an easy job, after all, you just turn up, play your tunes, have a couple of drinks and go home. As the Meerkat would say – Simples!
My response to that is quite simple… here is what a mobile DJ faces for a wedding:
Pre-Event Advertising then getting the bookings, confirming all details and play lists, getting confirmation from the venues for access rights and times available.
MorningCheck dates for tonight; ensure you have correct contact details for party and venue, then check that all requests/play lists are complete and the collection that you will be taking tonight. Double check that your first dance selection plays including a second copy of it as back up. Check for any extra items that have been added for the event.
LunchtimeLoad up the transport with all the equipment required, check to make sure you have enough spares in case something breaks down. Get to the venue to rig up to find that the space you were told you can have is no taken up by Uncle Bob who has set up his video camera on the stage for the afternoon meal. Negotiate with staff at venue to get gear loaded up and put in. This takes time and when you have a number of locations to rig up increases the stress as you know you have to get everything in before the evening.
Find that the plug sockets are further away than you thought, the lights are too tall for the room, the speakers are too near the table where they’ve put all the old people, etc.
Leave everything there ready to go in the hope that no one decides to interfere with the equipment while you are out of the building. Sticky pieces of wedding cake on the CD players are normally a good giveaway.
EveningReturn to the function with all your CDs ready for the evening, all suited and booted looking good and ready to rock the party for a solid 4 hours then go home, easy isn’t it? Except during the course of the night you have to face:
Dealing with kids whose parents think you are a children’s entertainer and that it’s ok to stick their heads in the speakers.
Drunken guests who demand that you put Megadeath/Iron Maiden on straight after the first dance.
Getting paid for the evening before the groom/best man is too drunk to remember that they owe you money.
Distant relatives wanting to sing on the mic because back home they are professional singers (in reality they normally destroy ‘Simply The Best’ at the local karaoke night and the regulars there are glad they’ve got rid of her for the night).
The Groom and Bridesmaid going missing just before the first dance and reappearing together (and I’ve had this happen more than once).
Going to the toilet and coming back to find someone looking through your records.
Oh, and the little task of thinking every 3 minutes or so what record to play next to keep the dance floor busy all night.
Then after the event’s done and the B&G have thanked you (occasionally), you’ve got paid, survived another night and everyone has gone, there is still the rig to dismantle and load back up into your transport, get home, put into storage. It’s normally about an hour and half after the gig has finished by the time you get home, then back into bed to do it all again the next day on 5 hours sleep! Not forgetting that most of us have families that would like to see us once in a while at weekends.
So yes we do have it easy and just turn up and go – don’t we???????
