I see it both ways. I absolutely agree that it gets kind of weak playing in places that are only looking to boost their chic factor. You only get to play music that is easily digestible so you might as well be a jukebox or sirius.
On the other hand though, I played at a museum a while back. It was pretty good except for the handful of people asking for stuff which obviously didn't fit in with what I was playing. I've looked at playing in places like that as a challenge to get a handfull of people to dance even though that's not necessarily why they went there. Besides, certain settings can put you in a position where you are the first person to play "techno" to a given audience. I guess it depend on the situation but it might not be a bad thing. my 2 cents... -ant- -----Original Message----- From: diana potts [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 9:37 AM To: 313@hyperreal.org Subject: Re: (313) DJs in restaurants I agree with Tom. (sorry Michael)I like seeing a DJ, though my mind instantly goes in to 'what are his tracks' huffpuff;it's sometimes more human than a Serius feed. I've always wanted to be the DJ in the back of the room setting the mood.The chilled eatery with dim lighting and dimsum. Perhaps I just I figure my skills are safe from deconstruction over the sounds of plates and dinner conversation. Also just to get to that one person, who is like me, trainspotting in the middle of dinner conversations even if it is a satellite feed. It's a win win- nice music, little stress, chill environment and the occasional listener. btw- We walked in to crate and barrel the other day and they were playing Four Tet. I exclaimed 'I have this!' geek meets chic.;) spring break! diana --- "Thomas D. Cox, Jr." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On 4/10/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I'd like to know other people's opinion about > this. > > I was discussing this phenomenon with a friend - > DJs playing in restaurants > > and other types of places (cafés, some types of > bars, etc.) where dancing > > is clearly not a possibility and the DJ is not a > necessity. > > > > My opinion was that, overall, it's annoying and a > negative side affect of > > the popularity of "DJ culture". As I'm sure many > of you can attest - the > > human jukebox gig can really be a drag. I had one > gig that ran for a while > > and was good but eventually turned into that. > Near the end of my stint I > > was told that someone there was about to threaten > me with bodily harm > > because I played something that was a bit > leftfield. Essentially you > > couldn't just ignore it. I was trying to tell my > friend this - these types > > of gigs allow trendy restaurants to bank on DJs to > raise their hipness > > factor and charge more for mediocre food. I know > one local DJ who ranted > > about DJs bringing down the "scene" by playing in > coffee bars. A few weeks > > after this I saw him spinning in a "upscale" > beauty salon! Turns out he > > seems to have a regular gig there. > > > > His opinion was that he's been turned onto a fair > amount of music by some > > DJs in his city (Vancouver) that he's heard in > restaurants. Now, he's a > > producer himself and isn't shy about finding out > about music he likes. I > > doubt most others in restaurant would do the same. > They eat, they talk > > over the music, they pay their bill and leave. My > friend is not a DJ, has > > never played records to an audience anywhere so he > doesn't know the > > experience. > > > > I suppose if you're getting paid you're getting > paid but I feel there's > > something just not right about DJs becoming so > ubiquitous. > > a (good) deejay has the power to set or alter the > mood and atmosphere > in any room. now, i dont know about playing > somewhere where > conversation is supposed to be going on at a normal > level, such as a > restaurant. at that point a deejay would be > essentially doing muzak. > but in a bar or coffe house or something like that > where music can > play relatively loudly without bothering anyone, it > can be very > powerful, even if the people that it is having > effect on are not aware > of it! > > im much more skeptical of stuff like corporate shops > having deejays in > them. the puma store in the yuppie outdoor urban > mall in the south > side of pgh does that, it is extremely weak. > > tmo > ____________________________________________________________________________ ________ Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545367
