chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

this is probably a long shot, but here goes.

people on here know im insanely unhappy and physically sufferign doing my current warehousing job. but im struggling to find alternative work on similar money.

i do my art work, but that simply wouldnt bring in enough money, unless i threw serious hours/increased my prices considerably.

something else i do, and have been doing for over 5 1/2 years is djing. not weddings/barmitzfas (sp?), club djing etc.

ive been trawling the net for a little while looking at dj agencys to see if it was worth joining one/two. but they require experience of playing in bars/clubs previously, which living in s****horpe i dont have. the night life here is abysmal unless you like cheese and/or gangster rap.

id like to think im good enough on my trusty 1210s to give it a real go, and can obviously travel thanks to the scoob. does anyone have any advice etc, as this along with my artwork could be a way into another career, or something to subsadise lost earning sby getting a job elsewhere thats less physical than my current one. for the record i play trance and progressive... none of the chesey pop crap you here.

im not looking for a pick-me-up or a confidence boost any serious advice is welcome....

thanks guys

andy

Sonic'

Have a word with this guy DJ Welly Dot Net: Home

Worked with him for quite a few years, only lives down the road from me too, actually that reminds me he has about 30 of my drum sample CD's

ScoTTyB

I wouldn't recommend a career as an English teacher. Caps lock broken?? I know your shift key works.

No excuses, see me

PaulC72

a) what salary do you require
b) what geographical area do you live in / can travel too
c) what would you like to do

these may help the few who do not know you very well then we can all start helping

ScoTTyB

errrr,

b) which living in s****horpe (I'm guessing S****horpe)
c) i do my art work, but that simply wouldnt bring in enough money, unless i threw serious hours/increased my prices considerably.
something else i do, and have been doing for over 5 1/2 years is djing. not weddings/barmitzfas (sp?), club djing etc.

How did you miss half the post???

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

so past the sarcasm, serious advice please

im in scunny.

can travel reasonably say 10-20 miles as a daily commute, unless im working away say for days at a time...then im not bothered.

im on around £21-22k annually, but i take home about £320-330 after tax. doubt i could sustain a serious drop in that, but i would try manage.

i would like to do something thats not to do with heavy lifting. i have 11 gcse's and the equivalent 2c's in a-level (art & design)

no i dont wanna become a teacher ScoTTyB

apart from my artwork, and maybe djing, theres not really a lot i could do, as everywhere requires i.t. skills. im ok on a pc, but cant take one apart and havent any written qualifications to back me up.

if you want any more info, please ask, as im looking for genuine help rather than a kick up the ****.

subaruturbo_18

what do you mix mate? ive been mixing all kinds of house for a few years, and have been mixing trance before that. iv always wanted to get into mixing in clubs but its just so difficult. this thread could be of interest to me

PaulC72

Setting asided the obvious sarcastic post, which I might add I found quite amusing since the items listed were more hobbies than serious careers based on my interpretation.

Now to the point of my post...

Firstly don't put yourself down re IT skills, taking on apart and putting things in it isn't difficult and anyone who says it is, has either never done it or an IT person who likes to charge loads for the priviledge

Most companies require basic knowledge in IT normally Excel, Word, Outlook mostly things you would use every day TBH, and for the things you didn't many of them would have a training programme in place to give you the extra skills required or even a friendly person who is willing to help.

With the art and design A's you could maybe look into something to do with design, within an architects, obviously this would probably mean a certain amount of training {maybe even university on day release} and age would not make a massive difference {not knowing your age} it would be a starting point but I am not sure if there are many in your area.

I would also think providing you are willing to start at the bottom and work upwards you should find something relativley easily, it may be worth speaking to some agencies who could help place you.

As far as salaries would go I would imagine a trainee would expect to start at 18k upwards depending on abilities etc etc...{only a guess mind}

If your passion is heading towards artistry or djing then good luck but I would think as a full time career it would be very hard work.

HTH

Also YHPM.

dnc

Andy,
No helpful advice really for you but I'll make some comments.

I'm a bit of a bedroom DJ myself (breakbeat mainly). As you will know if you love the music, the only thing to rival the buzz of listening/dancing is being behind the decks and you can develop a Superman feeling (in a non-egotistical way). When I first started and couldn't beat match fro toffee I was peed off and left it. Then tried seriously and the feeling when you can actually mix is amazing - and then you also agree with others in the know that beat matching is the easiest part of the DJing role. I could almost certainly hold my own on a club night and I'd F*****g love to do it, great buzz playing at friends house parties. I've got a few years on you and I have a decent career so DJing was never a career proposition for me, just something to enjoy - if I were 15 yrs younger though........ I'm sure it would be the ultimate in job satisfaction

What I'd say to you is if you think you're good enough, then go for it, though I'm sure it will not be easy. If you've not done so, have a read of 'How to DJ properly' by Bill Brewster, it has lots of info on getting breaks/seeking out opportunities.

Hope things work out for you
dnc

ps let's arrange a 'Scoobynet Special' night somewhere, have seen there are a few DJs on here

robby

Mate of mine is a complete numpty who started working PT as a DJ as his dad worked at the local grab a granny club DJying.
This lad can't tell jokes and has no gift of the gab at all (his admission as well) but did odd birthday parties, etc at £80 a pop?
he rang around and got interviews in blackpool at bingo halls, bowling alleys, etc with owners wanting regular DJs for weekends and holidays, he turned them down when i refused to drive him there every weekend (i'd have to pay my own beer money, room, etc - tight w4nker that he was) so if DJing is what you enjoy try ringing around other places than clubs

dnc

pps
C-o-B would be a **** of a good DJ 'name'

Spoon

Quite handy being a DJ and an artist because you can draw in your own crowds.

dnc

Forget about being a stand-up comedian

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

lol @ spoon.... you get away with that because of your mrs ample chest

to everyone else thus far, i appreciate the advice.

paul thankyou for the pm, replied to is asap

ive also been chatting a fellow dj and one of my best mates tonight. hes about the same level as me djing wise but also has a thing for pc's and music production. lets says hes a little more technically minded than me.

were gonna try get some cd's together and maybe a couple tracks as a side thought and see where it could take us. id like to try all sorts in life and experience as much as possible, but obviously with my age and commitments im slightly restricted.

Odds on

Try to look at it from an employer point of view. An hour's worth of traveling each way is fair, not distance. If you live well out the way, dodgy area for traffic etc, expect to do more.

If you go for the DJ route, then price everything per venue. Basically, charge what you can. 1 club may pay very little for a 4 hour set, where as another will pay twice as much for 2 hours and give you loads of bookings. Working out your rate early in is what you need to do. Be prepared to suffer the lower paid gigs though to get your name about and work out what others are charging.

Goodluck fella. Go for it.

EXSCOOBY

forget turntables for a start m8
things have moved on light years in the last few months
look here for an example

YouTube - James Zabiela Pioneer CDJ-1000 Mk.II Promo

ive been to clubs and seen 16 yr olds doing similar stuff
im sure given time i would get to grips with cd turntablism but to be honest im too old now 37!
without real skills on decks like this you are not going to get any joy
vinyl is dead and no real djs use turntables anymore

druddle

Djing is a tough business to get into. I have been doing it for over 15 years now, admittedly part time around the proper job. I did the weddings, birthdays, etc. mobile scene, and local clubs, and did the Ibiza thing too. Its all about who you know, I found. You have to get out there and talk your way into places, if they say no dont give up. One warning about mix CDs, unless you can replicate what you have done on the CD live then it could backfire for you (PC production also sometimes sounds too perfect and lacks the live feel).

I now mainly do corporate VJing, which is another ballgame where you need many pairs of hands, and thats thanks to a very good friend who is a production manager at an events company.

Good luck anyway mate, if its what you want dont give up on it. And be prepared to go where the work is.....

Dave

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Without putting a huge downer on your plans, the problems you have are :

1) DJ'ing - there are very few professional DJ's in the country, lots of people who DJ do it for extra money at the weekend, and have a normal day job. Is there anything special about your skills that would set you apart and really make someone want to book you rather than DJ X, Y or Z ?

I know a couple of professional club DJ's and they also do other studio work and bits and pieces as they cant get enough work just from the DJ'ing to get a decent income.

2) Probably the only way to make the same money you are now as a DJ is to sell your soul and do weddings and birthday 'Dodgy Daves Disco' sort of things, which I dare say isnt what you have in mind !

3) Artwork - I've seen some of the pics you've posted on here, and you undoubtedly have a talent for it, unfortunately most of the jobs available are for people doing PC based design work now, not old fashioned pencils or paint, so your skills would only ever be of limited commercial use for a narrow market.

Also, there are a LOT of very talented artists in this country, and I'll bet 99% of them dont do art for a job, unless its teaching, which is what most 'failed' artists end up doing.

I cant fault you for wanting to change your career and do something that interests you, but unfortunately both the things you have mentioned are in 'The Arts' and it is notoriously hard to make a living doing it. ( I was a professional musician for a few years, and would have loved to have earned £22K a year ! ).

Unless you are prepared to spend a few years basically earning nothing while you work to build up your reputation, then its unlikely you'll ever get a career out of it.

If you really want a change, I would seriously think about teaching art - you'll earn more than you do now, and would probably find it rewarding, even if the thought of it is quite scary.

Abdabz

THE DJ WELLY???? OMFG!!! The guy is a legend!!! I am sure I have some tapes of his from the Sh1thole in Ashton he played in back in 1990... I also think he DJ'd at the Pleasuredrome in Farnworth around that time too when I used to go and play with glowsticks

EXSCOOBY

again sorry for putting a downer on your ideas
but................
i used to dj and have played most of the bigger club nights or tours etc
love 2 be
moneypennys
lemon
etc
but i realised that the **** had gone out of it when kids were turning up with
EXACTLY the same tunes as me (and remember I was on every promo mailing list in the uk.
To get a break now you would have to be able to beat juggle , scratch, phase and effectively remix a track live . All of these things are possible now with cd turntables . The scene has changed so much that I am sitting in my loft conversion/studio looking at my poor 1210s and realising there day has come and gone.
You say your are good on the 1210s but no new promos are pressed on vinyl so modern house tracks would be cd only
id look for a job you could do in scunny or take the plunge and learn to dj with modern kit

Sonic'

Yes THE DJ Welly

Even Donna's old school in North Wales pass his mix cd's around the playground for a fee

He is mainly resident at Wigan Pier along with doing his own stuff too

I should get back in touch with him again really