The Pros and Cons of becoming a DJ - Ep #12

Ever felt like the life of a party can be the loneliest place in the world? That's the paradox Nino and I unravel as we spin a new narrative on what it truly means to be a DJ. Amid the bustling crowds and pulsating beats, we expose the solitary side of the industry—an emotional journey that demands self-reliance and personal growth. We swap stories from the trenches, highlighting the backaches, late nights, and the occasional shellfish allergy that throw us off our game, all while maintaining the rhythm of our careers and personal lives.

This twelfth episode isn't just a track list of our trials; it's a candid mixtape of life's unexpected moments. We candidly discuss the occupational hazards that come with our craft—like safeguarding our hearing and navigating tricky advances without missing a beat. I share an intimate tale of an overly friendly client's sister, a test of professionalism and proof that integrity is the secret beat behind every successful DJ. Our conversation turns the volume up on the realities of heavy financial investments and the competitive edge needed to spin heads in this game.

Wrapping up, we waltz into the world of wedding DJs—the stress of hitting every cue, the pressure to make every moment unforgettable, and the ultimate reward of contributing to a couple's best day ever. Balancing the highs and lows, the episode crescendos into an appreciation of the joy that fuels our passion, setting up the stage for the grand finale of the month. So, plug in and let Nino and I take you behind the decks for a session that promises to be as enlightening as it is entertaining.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:22

Welcome back to another episode of a clever DJ with Ilya.

Speaker 2: 0:26

What's up guys? My name is Nino and this is episode number 12. Number 12. Yes sir, we got a nice episode lined up for you guys. Hope you guys enjoy this one Lot of bantering going on.

Speaker 1: 0:40

Lot of bantering, because today we're going to talk about the pros and cons of DJing. We're going to focus on the cons just because, not because we're negative, just because everyone always thinks, oh, being a DJ is so awesome, you make so much money, it is. Oh, you just play music and they pay you for it.

Speaker 2: 1:00

Yeah, it's true, though.

Speaker 1: 1:02

Yeah, like how many years were you doing it before you got to that level? Oh man long long time man.

Speaker 2: 1:07

Right yeah yeah, I can't even see there's a lot of good stuff, but there's a lot of downsides to DJing as well.

Speaker 1: 1:16

And even now, when you're doing so well, the downsides are just more emphasized.

Speaker 2: 1:22

Sometimes you're in the middle of a gig and you're like why am I still doing this?

Speaker 1: 1:27

I mean I have enough money, I can start a different business, I have enough capital, but you just love it yeah you just love it.

Speaker 2: 1:34

Playing music for people, it's a passion. And music man, music makes the world go round. There's a lot of good stuff, but we're just going to emphasize more on the bad stuff.

Speaker 1: 1:49

Let's start with the first one. Let's do it. It's a lonely job. Now you're surrounded by people, but you usually don't know who they are, and normally they don't care about you other than the fact that, oh, he's a cool DJ he's going to play music for us, but you're not with the people you want to be with pretty often, right. I mean, that's what we were talking about before we actually started recording. Yeah, it's true.

Speaker 2: 2:15

Now, sometimes certain gigs you can bring a friend along, right. But a lot of the times they're going to be busy because you're usually doing gigs on the weekends, right, they have family functions and other stuff, so they're not going to always be around for you to come with you, right? So a lot of times you're going to be doing gigs alone, and that's the fact in the matter. It's a lonely gig. You have to learn everything on your own as well, unless you weren't learning with friends. Honestly, to get better, you got to focus on your own.

Speaker 1: 2:48

Yeah, and that's something I learned firsthand. I did a lot of stuff with you, but until I just kind of branched off and it was scary when I realized we're going to do less things together, I was like, maybe that's like, is that the end of an era you couldn't let go of my hand? Is that like, is it going to be so hard to do it on?

Speaker 2: 3:14

my own, but it became easier. It's like a kid Like I'm tearing this ice cream away from his hand. You are crying.

Speaker 1: 3:22

You are really flattering yourself it was fun it was fun though, but at a certain point I realized we're just hanging out, I'm not learning anymore. And I was like you know what it's a weekend. I could be getting gigs right now, or you could be practicing yeah and getting better. Yeah, and getting gigs, and I branched off right and I started doing things about myself and you go to different cities you, as a beginner especially, you don't really have somebody to come with you.

Speaker 1: 3:51

And even if you do, they're busy. Usually they have a regular job and a regular life where on the weekend they're seeing their family or they have some fun plans somewhere. So here I am, by myself and brand new in this industry, and just trying to make it You're happy by yourself. You're scared before a gig by yourself. You're having this crazy beautiful moment by yourself. So that's why I'm happy that it's recorded, Because then we can share it with each other and you upload it online and whatever. But it's a very lonely industry.

Speaker 2: 4:28

Yeah, especially when you're starting out.

Speaker 1: 4:30

Now the thing is, I'm not just talking from experience, right, because experience-wise I can't talk much about this stuff, but I watched a lot of documentaries about big, big-time DJs and how they tour around the world and they don't have time with family friends, they're just playing, gig, playing, gig, playing gig. And they take pills to fall asleep, to wake up, and it's just. That's the next.

Speaker 2: 4:55

That's the life. It's really hard on your body or sleep schedule.

Speaker 1: 5:02

Regular sleep schedules. Usually you are up at night Always, but it depends until what time it really throws your system it does.

Speaker 2: 5:14

And the flying different time zones and stuff. It really takes a toll on you once you Even driving like we drive for two, three hours to one location.

Speaker 1: 5:25

You usually can't stay because you have another gig the next day or you have other responsibilities, right?

Speaker 2: 5:31

Always. You've seen it firsthand. I've done it like.

Speaker 1: 5:36

So you had that gig, so personal life you were moving, yes, and I helped you move.

Speaker 2: 5:44

And I was already done.

Speaker 1: 5:46

I was done Because I also wasn't sleeping because I was preparing for other gigs and then helping you in between.

Speaker 2: 5:53

And then I had a gig in between. No sleep before I just, like you, drove all the way, I'm not even going to sleep, I'm just going to go stay awake and just go to my street in my gig and I drove two and a half hours up north Niagara Falls oh yeah, niagara.

Speaker 1: 6:07

Falls, niagara Falls, holy crap, and all the way back as well.

Speaker 2: 6:10

All the way back as well. No rest.

Speaker 1: 6:14

Stayed up all night with me Prepared for the gig in the morning. Just all the things you ain't to do.

Speaker 2: 6:18

Drove there, drove to Niagara Falls no wedding and then drove back and then packed again and moved. Yes, the next day we finished moving, oh my gosh. And then you slept for like two days, remember? Yeah, two days straight.

Speaker 1: 6:33

So yeah, that was really straight. Nina was incapacitated for a couple of days. But first two points. Very lonely, and I'm not trying to complain here or whatever, but it really is, and not good on your body, very stressful when it comes to your body, irregular sleep schedule. You usually believe like, whether you want to admit it or not, you usually eat.

Speaker 2: 7:02

Terrible. Terrible Because usually you eat. You're done a gig at like two or three o'clock if you're in a club and then you're hungry, of course. Right, you've been DJing the whole time, so you're hungry to grab some McDonald's.

Speaker 1: 7:16

Or you eat there, and I'm not saying it's not high quality food, but it's restaurant food or venue food.

Speaker 2: 7:22

It's just like, yeah, it's not good for you.

Speaker 1: 7:24

It's not good for you Like pizza or like tacos or something, not even that Like even the steaks and risotto or whatever Like to eat that every day, like every weekend. It's fattening. I mean, yeah, you can stick to the vegetables or whatever they have, but you're not going to? No, of course not. So, again, it's really hard to just focus on the negatives, because all of this stuff is also so much fun. I can say, oh, the food's amazing. Or it's fun to be up at night and DJ and you know like celebrate with people.

Speaker 1: 7:54

It is right. It's nice to have your own business and you don't have to go with people all the time and you can do things by yourself. But you know it doesn't always feel so. So much fun. Irregular income.

Speaker 2: 8:08

Irregular income especially when you're starting out. You can have you're gonna have a gig here like a month, and then next month you have no gig. And then the next month you have maybe one gig, a bar gig that's like pays like a couple of hundred dollars and you just have to do it. There's no, yeah, just have to do it. And then, of course, you're not gonna be doing that full-time. You're gonna have a Full-time job because you can't support yourself. Yeah, literally right. So irregular income Definitely until you start getting very regular. You have to be promoting yourself, marketing yourself properly and stuff. And it takes a while. It's not something that just comes right away. It takes years for people to to To get to know you, your name and to to give you the word of mouth as well.

Speaker 1: 8:54

So, yeah, to like I have a brand, to actually be recognizable, to really have consistent gigs and To be paid well for it takes a while, so it takes time, it takes creativity and you gotta be good man.

Speaker 2: 9:10

Yeah, like nobody's gonna hire you if you're not a good DJ. Like re hire you, of course, like you got to make a good impression. Yeah, it's irregular, irregular.

Speaker 1: 9:21

This is a big one missing family functions, important life event.

Speaker 2: 9:26

Yeah, that's. It's happened to me so many times that I've missed birthdays, big birth birthdays. My sister had a how? The 18th birthday and I wasn't there. I was, I was DJing, right, and, yeah, I felt bad, I couldn't do it. And the thing is I could have canceled it, but I booked it already Couple of years in advance. So I was like, oh man, and they, the couple, really wanted me, so I couldn't back out. There was there's no way couldn't say I couldn't say no.

Speaker 2: 10:01

I was already committed that that time. So it happens a lot.

Speaker 1: 10:05

You're gonna miss a lot of family functions, life events like Even if it's, you know, like dinner, like your weekly dinner with your parents.

Speaker 2: 10:14

Yeah, you feel, you feel guilty because you can't, you can't, you're not present, right with family.

Speaker 1: 10:20

There it is. That's the word. You're not present, you're just You're. You work all the time and when you don't work, you either rest or prepare for the next big thing, or it's. It's also a hobby like sometimes I don't have to do anything, but I still end up, you know it is looking for new music or learning a new skill just because I enjoy it, Not because I have to at that moment right, and a lot of things are on the weekends, of course. We're a lot of where, a lot of family functions happen.

Speaker 1: 10:47

You said you don't do New Year's Eve anymore.

Speaker 2: 10:49

Yes, I was actually gonna say that I did New Year's Eve for the first baby, five, ten years. New Year's Eve gigs.

Speaker 1: 10:56

He means yeah, gigs New.

Speaker 2: 10:58

Year's Eve gigs. Now I I I overpriced my, my, my New Year's Eve gig just to get out of it. So I don't feel bad if I don't get a new year's Eve gig. So because I don't, I feel guilty not spending it with my family instead of spending it with Fred, like, not even friends, people that you don't know, like imagine this, like the, the, the countdown 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy new year. Everybody's like hugging and kissing each other, toasting each other champagne toast, and you're there by yourself. Yeah, happy, you're happy. It's sad, it's sad. So it's like, yeah, I don't take New Year's gigs just because of that and a lot of Right now, a lot of life stuff, like birthdays, my like daughter's birthday and stuff like that. I try to book it off just for that, but it's it's hard sometimes right.

Speaker 1: 11:58

Sometimes, like you said, even though you have a team, even though you know you have this whole like serious business and you can, you can be flexible.

Speaker 2: 12:07

They want you they want me, so it's your set. You can't, you can't sway really from that.

Speaker 1: 12:13

You know I was thinking. You know, once I get to a level where I have a whole team, it's gonna be a bit more relaxing, but it actually gets worse because now you have so much more responsibility, right? Yeah, no more, we can't think about that.

Speaker 2: 12:30

Yeah, you don't you have no more social life really right.

Speaker 1: 12:34

Last time I saw my friends. You're my friend, but I mean, like Last time I saw my friends.

Speaker 2: 12:43

I Just I'm your friend.

Speaker 1: 12:49

Oh man, that's long, you know it's a long cricket oh. What was it? I mean, there were a couple of times here and there, but, like it's, it almost never happens, because during the week they're busy and we're older now, right, so everyone has families like you know, kids own jobs and stuff. People spend way more time with their parents too. Now, once as we are getting older too, so, Sundays are like for if you don't have a gig on Sundays right, it's family days, family days so even with us, right, we can't record on Sundays usually, so yeah, so that's, that's a big one no more weekends.

Speaker 1: 13:27

Next one is no social life.

Speaker 2: 13:28

We kind of just kind of, but then again, the upside of that is your DJing is your social life as well. You get to meet people out in public.

Speaker 1: 13:39

Keep in mind, we're just being negative right now. Well, I'm trying to be positive right now. No, like this, this episode, this whole, yeah, this list, this list right, it's negative. I mean you could find that I could. Just, you can turn it around.

Speaker 2: 13:52

So the contrast is that, yeah, you, your social life is your, your your DJing and meeting people right, because obviously you're going to be DJing for people and people are going to make requests. You're going to talk to people and they're going to come up to you and you can socialize with them, right?

Speaker 1: 14:08

I think when that movie came out came out Oppenheimer. Did you watch that? I didn't watch it. So you know why I didn't watch it? Why my buddy who I, who I I haven't seen him in a long, a very long time. He moved back. He moved away from Canada and moved back and one of the biggest things that you know we were going to do together was like go back to the movies, because we used to watch movies a lot. And he's, he was here maybe for like a month or two, back from where he moved to, and that was one of the first hangouts with him and all of our friends. And he's like, hey, I bought like five or six or seven tickets to Oppenheimer. We're all going out and I had a gig. I couldn't oh right, so it's not a big deal to to, to miss going to the movies, but what this was was really special, and then I just never ended up watching it.

Speaker 1: 15:06

Yeah, Maybe, well, hey, you want to watch? It Isn't like a three hour movie or something I hear, I hear this, I'm gonna fall asleep.

Speaker 2: 15:11

I'm watching it for sure.

Speaker 1: 15:13

I don't know if I can last three hours, three hours, but that's what I mean. Like, there's just a bunch of examples, right? I mean my gig was awesome, it was a lot of fun, but yeah, I just like I was thinking, oh, they're all there now having a good time. Yeah, I mean I was having a good time, but by myself it's different, right, and I just wanted to hang out with him, like he was away for two years and then he comes back. I see him once, right, and then we're all busy all the time. And then the next big hangout was to go to the movies, maybe a bar after, and I just like you know, I couldn't go with them.

Speaker 2: 15:47

Life happens, man, that's people are busy.

Speaker 1: 15:50

Yeah, as we get older, of course, no social life again, or very limited social life. Let's say we spoke about this sleeping late, late hours, weekend immune system, yeah, and because you're sleeping late, of course it gets sick.

Speaker 2: 16:09

You get sick easier.

Speaker 1: 16:10

You get colds.

Speaker 2: 16:11

Your allergies are like just flaring up, you have bad allergies, right yeah?

Speaker 1: 16:16

I got to take. I got to take like my allergy medicine with me everywhere I go, or like I could start sneezing like 20, 30 times in a row and I can't stop.

Speaker 2: 16:25

You don't sneeze at gigs when it happens.

Speaker 1: 16:28

No, I make sure I am at my best before I go to a gig. Do you take allergy medicine? And I take one before and I take a couple with me, just in case. Okay, so far, so good. I never had, like you know, like like a sneezing outburst or something.

Speaker 2: 16:45

And this guy's also allergic to shrimp or shellfish, I always try to give him shrimp. So we make sure that there's a hospital nearby, like five minutes away, so he's just in case.

Speaker 1: 16:57

You're good about it. He actually realized I'm about to eat shellfish a couple times.

Speaker 2: 17:02

There was one time, no, there was one time that you did?

Speaker 1: 17:05

you did eat it. That was at your friend's baby shower.

Speaker 2: 17:09

No, there was a wedding too. I remember you actually ate like that was a calamari or it was lobster. It was lobster and I was like yo, you ate it. And then you realize it, and then you start to say, oh, my throat is starting to close up. I got to get some air. I'm like oh shoot.

Speaker 1: 17:25

I remember what the police looked like.

Speaker 2: 17:26

I forget what it was called the Guild, the Guild in. Okay, that was it.

Speaker 1: 17:29

Yes, and your friends with the photo booth were there.

Speaker 2: 17:34

Yes, and it was outside the main hall. I remember that day very clearly.

Speaker 1: 17:41

Funny enough, I was never allergic to shrimp. I used to love to eat it and lobster and crab and calamari. And then one day, boom, just red lobster.

Speaker 2: 17:52

I don't know what happened. I don't know, was it red?

Speaker 1: 17:54

lobster. No, it was actually my ex-girlfriend. Yeah, it's a funny story. So I was like I'm going to go in person, I'm going to end it nicely. You know it was. We were kids, man, early 20s, maybe 20 years old. And I said, okay, well, I think today is the day I'm going to tell her and her family invites me over and I'm like kind of awkward, Fine, Okay, Like maybe for a few minutes. And then they make dinner and they ask me oh, you want to eat them with us? Yeah, I just.

Speaker 1: 18:31

It was such a situation where I couldn't say no, and then I eat with them and we jump, or shrimp, and then it just like we went out for a walk so I can like talk to her and I'm like I won't say her name, but I'm like I feel like I just swallowed a bee or like like a mosquito or something. It was just such a weird new feeling. And then within like half an hour, I could barely breathe. So, yeah, and then just one plus one, and I realized that it was a shrimp allergy. Oh man.

Speaker 2: 19:03

I don't know how you can go through life with a seafood. I love seafood. I don't know if I can go.

Speaker 1: 19:08

I can have a little bit of calamari and I feel like it's starting but it's not really doing. It's not like really like full force.

Speaker 2: 19:15

You should just go all out and just eat all you can, so you can get me into it.

Speaker 1: 19:19

I want to find a way to do that, but apparently it gets worse. You should just eat seafood at the hospital. Just be in the emergency Like an EpiPen. Yeah, it's ready, ready to go. I'll let you guys know if one day, I beat my shellfish allergy. I just decided to.

Speaker 2: 19:38

I'm just going to sneak one in your food next time A shrimp.

Speaker 1: 19:43

I wish I just. I mean, it's just shrimp.

Speaker 2: 19:46

I don't know how I can go on without eating shrimp ever again.

Speaker 1: 19:49

We're foodies, we love food, we love to eat, and I, just I love sushi. Right, I could eat sushi for like months. So fish you're OK with, but not shellfish, so yeah, not shellfish and specific type, I think, lobster and shrimp, specifically. Other stuff too, like scallops. What was I try? I try like a small piece, like a tiny piece, like, like like half your finger.

Speaker 2: 20:17

No tingling.

Speaker 1: 20:18

No, no, no, tastes really like salty and funky, but yeah it's. And you know what? When we were at your friend's baby shower or like reveal.

Speaker 2: 20:34

Yeah, the baby reveal.

Speaker 1: 20:35

Yeah, that one, the gender reveal, that's what it was. I had that Filipino food that, like, what was it? Was it a punsit? Punsit with the shrimp in it. So I'm like this chicken is awesome, I'm like whatever, and I'm like I haven't had, like I don't know what this is, but this tastes really good, you know, and I'm like because you haven't had it in the longest. Yeah, like many years, right 34 now, so at least over a decade. Oh man, wow, it's been a while.

Speaker 2: 21:04

So 10 years without shampoo.

Speaker 1: 21:07

People who actually suffer from like serious, like illnesses are probably looking at me like this guy is talking about, like his shrimp allergy, like it's something. Yeah, no, I'm serious though, like it's just like I had it and I thought Did you realize it?

Speaker 2: 21:22

No, I told you I feel funky, like I feel on that day you looked at my plate and you're like oh shoot, you had some of the punsit, because it always comes with shrimp, that that not that one last time, wherever we ate it oh yes, chicken, there was one time that it where was it? I have no idea. One of those.

Speaker 1: 21:39

Filipino functions. But you know, oh yeah, you know what's at the, at the one the community like festival thing you're doing. Oh yeah. But here's the thing like I wasn't feeling like I'm about to choke there, it was more like I was about to hurl why my body was rejecting it. But I was like, if that's all I'm going to feel after eating shrimp, I'm cool with like you're allergic to chicken. Feeling like crap for for about half an hour to an hour, but not breathing. No, that's, that's a game changer, yeah.

Speaker 2: 22:11

Yeah, ok, moving along, jesus shrimp allergies and affect my life, man yeah. Yeah, so that's what DJing does to you. That's what you get shrimp allergies way before I was a DJ, but hearing loss. Yes, because of loud music. We, we, we live beside like speakers.

Speaker 1: 22:33

So literally usually that's how we're my, my, my, like, my head, just like that.

Speaker 2: 22:38

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 22:40

My, my, my headphones, and at the end of the gig I feel like they're still on my, on my left ear.

Speaker 2: 22:45

Mm, hmm. And it's like, there's this like high-pitched tone, because yeah, usually one side we keep on so we can hear what we're hearing in the mix, and then one side we want to hear the actual speakers that are coming out to the crowd right, yeah, or if somebody's going to talk to you, you're going to have to open it, or they're announcing the shrimp buffet.

Speaker 2: 23:07

So we have to listen to loud music all the time and the speakers are usually beside us, so they're blaring at us and then, yeah, sometimes tonight is right, you have some high-pitched sounds.

Speaker 1: 23:21

So you can, it could happen.

Speaker 2: 23:23

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 23:24

And you know, if you're friends buy you very expensive earplugs and you don't wear them. That's kind of your fault.

Speaker 2: 23:33

Yeah, I know, you gave it to me. I just forget, man, but I have them still. Yes, there's two of them too. I was like should I?

Speaker 1: 23:39

take one. I'm like no, I'll give them both. This way you can keep one here. You don't even use them Because these are noise-canceling earphones already. But it's not about that. It's not about noise-canceling. Yes, that cancels certain frequencies. Yes, I know, to not destroy your hearing. You bring it out to concerts and stuff too, right, so it still sounds the same, almost or the same, but your ear is not getting affected by it, it's not getting that piercing sound that damages your ear.

Speaker 1: 24:06

Literally, what I hear off your gig is yeah, and you know what I mean. It means that you're literally lost some hearing. You're still good. You're still good, I know, but I find myself sometimes going like what Bro? Wait. After like five years You'll be like, oh my gosh, no, I'm going to get those for myself too. Actually, wear them, though.

Speaker 2: 24:29

Yeah, me and Nina. On the other hand, my hearing has gone down a lot and I notice I have to repeat myself and people talk to me and I'm like what?

Speaker 1: 24:40

And they're like we're beside me, so I'm like yeah, it's a problem Vision, Vision yeah, you're staring at your computer screen the whole time.

Speaker 2: 24:51

You know not engaging with the audience. You're stuck, your face is stuck to that and it's very bad for your eyes.

Speaker 1: 24:58

You're like looking for all the requests. People just decided it was a good idea to come and ask for a bunch of tracks, thinking about the next song to play.

Speaker 2: 25:08

You're looking at your library at the same time sweating buckets because the song is ending while you're looking. So yeah, bad eyesight, bad hearing, Back problems.

Speaker 1: 25:19

I remember because I don't have all the gear you have, I don't have that. I was going to get it Boxing, it was a big sale and then I didn't get it. The memory foam.

Speaker 2: 25:32

What a different standing on it. And then not standing on it.

Speaker 1: 25:36

So I don't have that. That's not that expensive. I don't have that. I don't have the flight case.

Speaker 2: 25:41

It's like as expensive as my controller it makes your controller weight like three times more heavier than it actually is. No, I'm saying it raises it.

Speaker 1: 25:49

Now I don't have to like bend over the table Trying to like right. So sometimes after a gig I feel like I was like doing back workout for like an hour, but in a bad way, like like I threw off my back or something. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 26:08

Well, in general, if you're standing for, and we have to stand for hours on end.

Speaker 1: 26:13

Yeah, long, eight hours.

Speaker 2: 26:15

Eight hours, yeah, five hours, six hours. And if you're not used to it, of course, and if you have your bad shoes and stuff, bad insoles, it takes a toll on your back.

Speaker 1: 26:24

It does way more overweight back than two, so that really it adds to it, it really does so.

Speaker 2: 26:30

Weight loss, what else?

Speaker 1: 26:33

is there. That's a big one jealous girlfriends or wives.

Speaker 1: 26:37

So it this will DJing will really put a damper in your relationships, your romantic relationships. We already spoke about friends, we spoke about family, but we wanted to kind of separate this one. So I used to see my girlfriend every day sleep over most of the week, or she would sleep here. So I was still busy I'm still a busy person, but but it was, it was doable with some creativity, flexibility, it was doable. I don't see her for two, three weeks at a time. Now I either prepare for a gig or I do. I don't just do gigs. You know, I started a couple projects and expanding, doing different things, more revenue streams, and it takes time to prepare for them to, to build relationships Right, and all I do is DJing now in one way or another, and it just requires so much of your time. And there's a lot of industries that are like that, but we're specifically, specifically talking about DJing.

Speaker 2: 27:45

Yeah, you know, you know what it is, especially if you meet your girlfriend or your wife at an event like a club. You met her there, right, and then your relationship formed and you know you're, you're, you're maybe a month or years into your relationship and you have to work at the club again. So there's that inkling, that feeling that if he met me at the club, what is a?

Speaker 2: 28:15

personal experience, bro. Trust me, it's happened to so many of my friends. And yeah, no, it's not a personal experience, but I know it's happened before. But think about it, right. If, if, if you met your girlfriend at the club or an event and you're always out on every weekend at events, it'll make her think like it raises like flags, right, it's like, oh my gosh, what if this guy's, especially if you're fighting, if you're fighting with your girlfriend at the time and then you go out I have to go to my gig what makes you he's?

Speaker 1: 28:49

going to be surrounded by all these women. Women is going to be so happy DJing, so it raises flags. Man, make you guys fight.

Speaker 2: 28:58

And that's the thing right when you're in this industry. There's the trust. It's very hard to build that.

Speaker 1: 29:05

Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say something else. I forget what it was, but it's definitely something that I Think everyone experienced. What this?

Speaker 2: 29:20

oh yeah, as DJs, for sure jealous Partners for your friends, boyfriends, husband's wives especially if you take them along at your gigs, right, sometimes they'll be girls that request. There's always gonna be girls that request. They're not gonna know that. Your girlfriends behind you watching you. And then this hot girl comes in, request a song, and she's talking to you for like two or three minutes what is? And then your wife is, or girlfriends, like what are you guys talking about? And she's coming like really close Requesting songs, and then meanwhile you just can't hear her. That's why she's coming real close and Jealousy comes, you know and you know what.

Speaker 1: 30:01

Like one more thing, and you correct me if I'm wrong.

Speaker 1: 30:04

Yeah one more thing when it comes to this stuff, you can't be all like, even if you wanted to, even if you really feel like they're in your personal space I don't know many guys who would do that, or anyone but hey, don't get so close to me. Or like, hey, my girlfriend's right over there. No, you got to be charismatic, you gotta be fun, right? If they're like Smothering you, I mean like beyond, like a reasonable like putting like their arm around you, then yeah, like the stuff you don't need to do that right what I told you.

Speaker 1: 30:39

I want those gigs. What she said to me, mm-hmm, I know.

Speaker 2: 30:42

I mean that was that was messed up.

Speaker 1: 30:45

I'm not gonna say it here, but I'm like wow. But I still had to keep like fun with her because she is the sister of the client. She's the client sister, oh yeah and if I, if I go, like she was flirting with you hard.

Speaker 2: 31:03

Yeah, and she was drunk.

Speaker 1: 31:04

She was really drunk.

Speaker 2: 31:05

You can tell.

Speaker 1: 31:06

And. But like she was still very aware of what she's doing, of course, and I remember she, so she wanted me. She won my phone number and what I did was oh, let me take yours. And I took her phone number down you never called her no, and I wrote it on my computer.

Speaker 1: 31:22

So she sees, I'm writing it, but I didn't write it in my phone. And once she walked away, all the four don't save you, tricky guy. But that's the thing, right? I mean my moral compass, I I wouldn't do something like that to anyone.

Speaker 2: 31:36

Yeah, cuz you're in a relationship right now too.

Speaker 1: 31:39

I just you know, like to cheat on someone. I don't want to live with that.

Speaker 2: 31:43

You're a good guy, I try the temptation is there.

Speaker 1: 31:47

I'm not saying it's not.

Speaker 2: 31:48

It's. That's another downside DJ temptation.

Speaker 1: 31:51

Yeah, and if it's a client of yours, I mean, I had several opportunities with with the client or or someone who's really close to them, and the first thing I was thinking about wasn't oh, I just missed on an opportunity that could have been so much fun. No, I'm thinking like hmm, I want to get another gig with them, I don't miss this up. Yeah, I want to be professional, right, and let alone I'm in a relationship.

Speaker 2: 32:14

So depends on how hot they are to, and that's, you know, I not for me, man, I just like I.

Speaker 1: 32:20

I have a serious divide between the, between the two. The client like Relationship for me, that's very serious, for me at least, okay. But hey, that's just year two, let's see how that develops. No, I'm just joking, you know. No, man Never know. So that's a big one.

Speaker 2: 32:38

And then, lastly, you know, it's a very well, it's a very expensive, that's yeah, that's you know.

Speaker 1: 32:45

I barely spend. Oh, yeah, okay, so you're leaving that to me.

Speaker 2: 32:48

Yeah, it's. It is very expensive gig, especially if you want to get the best equipment out there and you know you kind of have to stay with the times and have the best stuff right.

Speaker 1: 32:59

You don't technically have to, but you want to have a current stay, current right, but you're more impressing the DJs more than anybody else.

Speaker 2: 33:07

Clients don't really care about that stuff but it's very expensive, like if you're buying lights, if to buy microphones and a lot of stuff breaks down Speakers. If you buy cheap at the beginning, you'll find out very quickly that they're not very reliable.

Speaker 1: 33:23

So it's everything. You have to have a car, and usually a bigger car. Gas Maintenance on your car is a lot more frequent. Yes, oil changes, yeah, your tires. Just everything, everything is just your life became automatically a lot more expensive. And then you can't deny the fact that now you're a DJ and you have a lot more wants. You know, you go to the story like, oh, like. That will make my gear better.

Speaker 1: 33:51

Oh, that's, that's gonna be fun. Look at that. Yeah, let's get this. I just it's just a very expensive hobby and then a career.

Speaker 2: 33:57

Well, it's not really a hobby if you're gonna take it to the next level, right yeah so either or like if you just to do it, it's gonna cost you some Big bucks it is.

Speaker 1: 34:07

I think one of the only things that's that I can think about like right away that's more expensive is photography and videography. The gear they have to buy just a camera like four or five thousand dollars.

Speaker 2: 34:19

Yeah, I Think it kind of evens out. Well, we have a lot more gear in general than them. They have the cameras, right? I think the lights are super expensive Um Lenses and their computers have to be lightning fast too, so they have to really have to that stuff, yeah the computer my buddy has a studio there.

Speaker 1: 34:40

His computer is twenty five thousand dollars. Yeah, man, because they got that like Macbook or like the Mac, what it goes, studio and I forget what it's called the desktop.

Speaker 2: 34:48

That's station one.

Speaker 1: 34:49

Yeah, and it's not even, I think, the most expensive ones, like 40 grand or something, or more than that crazy prices.

Speaker 2: 34:56

But yeah, you have to get fast. And three ones that the newest stuff to, to For turnaround, to Expensive industry, but yeah.

Speaker 1: 35:07

I mean I Didn't, I didn't really want to do this topic because I love DJing. I know I'm new to this, you know it's been like what a couple years or more, like a year for me, but it's, it's important.

Speaker 2: 35:22

Hey, be realistic man. I gotta be realistic.

Speaker 1: 35:25

I went through all this stuff, right, and I'm probably gonna feel some of these things more than I did Thus far. But, yeah, I'm oh. You know what? We didn't speak about that, what it's a super, super competitive and saturated industry. Yes, so that's very true.

Speaker 2: 35:43

There's so many companies, djs out there because it's so easy to get music nowadays. Everything's online. You don't have to carry crates of records or CDs anymore. You can carry literally your whole library on a USB stick, crazy, crazy. So yeah, it's so accessible, so easy to pick up on, so everybody's a DJ nowadays.

Speaker 1: 36:07

But yeah, so it's easy to do, but not to master. Yes that's why I think, if you don't let it stress you out, how many people are DJs now or producers there are tons and you just, you just like get into it and you practice properly, and then you separate yourself from that, like 80% of people who are just you gotta take it serious to taking it as a hobby.

Speaker 2: 36:28

Yeah, there's a difference. There's a lot of DJs that start out and then you just fizzle out and don't take it anywhere. But if you really want to get into this man, yeah, yeah, you got to take it. Take it serious and practice.

Speaker 1: 36:40

It's very competitive also in a way that you make friends along the way, along the road right, and then Sometimes you don't even know if you should talk to them about something, because Sometimes business is business and you know, while you don't really Want to be that guy who just gets paranoid. Oh what if they? You know what if it's too early to tell them? What about that gig? And that happened to me when I was the one they didn't tell something about until like weeks later, right, and now I find myself in the same situation where I'm like I'm building my relationship with this client or with this venue. I'm gonna tell them later because I've seen some really nasty things happen in this industry.

Speaker 1: 37:19

It's a cutthroat industry. So it's just you know, like you're always watching over your shoulder broke, it's worse man, you just yeah. I tip of the iceberg, or is?

Speaker 2: 37:27

you were telling me yeah, man, there's a lot, there's a lot man.

Speaker 1: 37:30

So, yeah, become a DJ. It's freaking awesome. Yeah, it's great, but it's it's just last point, which really encompasses all of them. It's a very stressful industry. I'm reading from some notes I made here. It's talking about the work in late hours and it's talking about touring and just irregular diet and trying to come up with proper sets and making sure you stay current. It never ends. It's just a very you always have to be focused. It takes on a stand-up.

Speaker 2: 38:12

Tole on you physically and mentally as well. A lot of the stress comes from performing in front of a big audience. The fact that you are paid to make these people dance or just party and have a great time. The stress on that really affects you a lot and gets into your head.

Speaker 1: 38:35

You still feel that way. You told me before you have to.

Speaker 2: 38:39

It keeps you sharp If you don't have those butterflies in your stomach anymore or the stress you don't care enough to do that. You have to care. You have to care about it For the weddings on that side. You're responsible for making the day go well, for rocking the crowd. There's a lot of pressure on you because it's the most important day of their life. It's all on you. It's very, very stressful. You want it to go perfect, but a lot of times it doesn't go perfect, but you just make do.

Speaker 1: 39:17

Just to end on a positive note, we still do it because there are so many more pros than cons. It's just worth all of this bad stuff because there's really a lot of good stuff too. The good stuff is obvious. It is obvious, it's very obvious At least most of it. That's why we chose to focus on this stuff today. I think that's it. I think we covered most of it. There we go. One more episode. Good job. This is episode number 12. This is number 12. We have one more for this month, alright?

Speaker 2: 39:58

guys, see you in the next one, the next one.