| People come to DJing from different places and for different reasons, but they can be split into those who love the music, those who want to make money, and those who think that DJing is cool and want to be famous. You may fall into one, or all three of these categories, but the most important one is loving the music.
If you’re a good DJ, and get lucky, you may become rich and famous, but when you’re starting off, if you don’t love the music, you may become easily bored and impatient with the time and practise you need to invest in your skills, and quit. Even if you do manage to get good at DJing, if you don’t love playing and listening to the music, night after night working in clubs will start to feel too much like work. DJing isn’t work; it’s getting paid to do something you love.
When I started DJing, I already loved the music, but the first time I experienced the true skill of a DJ working a crowd (Sasha, Ibiza 1996) I fell in love with DJing, and knew I wanted to be one. The mechanics of it didn’t occur to me until I first stood in front of two turntables and a mixer, all I wanted to do was play other people’s music and have control over a crowd
About the Author John Steventon is a successful club DJ and the creator of Recess.co.uk, a leading online resource for aspiring DJs. |