An interesting article on illegal filesharing in the Irish Republic on the BBC website gives us a flavour of what may be to come in the UK. This crime is often overlooked here, but it does look like things are about to change.
As a professional DJ, I do have to buy my music from legitimate sources, and my monthly spend can be anywhere between £100 and £200 which I am happy to do. Am I the only one supporting our music industry? Sometimes I feel I am!
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Why do you need such a complex deck for just playing a few tunes?
My colleagues often ask why I use such a high end mixer and CD player combination when I DJ for weddings and birthday parties. Well, here is one example of why this combination is so good:
The mixer is as you may expect a very high quality device which also has an extensive effects section. This came in really handy last week when I was DJing at a wedding party and playing a Rolling Stones track of a "best of" compilation CD. It became evident during this track that the family were huge Stones fans, and I would have to play a couple more hits from the same CD. Without the roll effect on my DJM-800, this would have been impossible at this time. What I did was this:
As the first track finished, I set a 1 bar roll going on the track which allowed me enough time to select another track on the playing CD, and play it as the 1 bar roll finished.
Net result = everyone still on the dancefloor, and the client was happy. Let's see you do this on a simple mixer-CD combo then!!
Now, I know these units are expensive, but the cost of owning them is in real terms very low as they do not depreciate, but that's a topic for another blog entry!
More info on Pioneer's state of the art professional DJ tools can be found on the Pioneer website.
Currently, I use a pair of Pioneer CDJ-2000 media players and a Pioneer DJM-800 mixer. The CDJ's are without a doubt the most amazing CDJ on the market. The sound quality is awesome, the user experience is full and simple at the same time, and the choice of media I can play from is comprehensive. I can play from audio CD, CDR, DVD, USB storage, iPods, SD cards, or using RekordBox on the MacBook. That pretty much covers every eventuality I could be faced with!
The mixer is as you may expect a very high quality device which also has an extensive effects section. This came in really handy last week when I was DJing at a wedding party and playing a Rolling Stones track of a "best of" compilation CD. It became evident during this track that the family were huge Stones fans, and I would have to play a couple more hits from the same CD. Without the roll effect on my DJM-800, this would have been impossible at this time. What I did was this:
As the first track finished, I set a 1 bar roll going on the track which allowed me enough time to select another track on the playing CD, and play it as the 1 bar roll finished.
Net result = everyone still on the dancefloor, and the client was happy. Let's see you do this on a simple mixer-CD combo then!!
Now, I know these units are expensive, but the cost of owning them is in real terms very low as they do not depreciate, but that's a topic for another blog entry!
More info on Pioneer's state of the art professional DJ tools can be found on the Pioneer website.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Monday, 17 May 2010
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
Yesterday marked a milestone in technology, fifty years ago on 16th May 1960, Theodore Maiman and his team at Hughes Reseach Laboratory unveiled the first LASER. Since then, this amazing device has evolved and life without the laser is now quite hard to imagine. The laser is in everyday use in applications for industries like communications, military, data storage, manufacturing, surgery, retail and of course entertainment.
For those in the DJ industry, SEDA (http://www.seda.org.uk) marked this milestone last night at the SEDA ShowNight with an update on the changes in laser safety law in the entertainment industry presented by Will Perkins.
At the weekend, I was DJing for a client who had hired in a specialist laser show company to provide an outdoor laser show as the venue could not allow the more traditional fireworks display. The party goers were mezmorized as the brilliant show unfolded, the whole spectrum of colours was displayed, the beams moved incredibly fast - an awesome sight which certainly gave an incredible WOW factor. I do use lasers as part of my lightshow, but these were something else!
The future for lasers is also very exciting. Looking at the BBC website's science pages, I see that laser power attainable is now approaching a petawatt - this is a far cry from my little 30 milliwatt laser lightshow!! Reading on, it looks like a future application for lasers will mean that huge amounts of energy released by fusing hydrogen atoms into helium could be harvested for our ever increasing power demands. My dad who was a scientist (Dr G Mole, 1912 - 2004) was convinced that one day this would happen and the world would be a safer and better place without the need for nuclear reactors. He lived through an incredible period of technological change and witnessed all these developments. He shared all this with me with great knowlege and passion. Were he still alive, he would truly be excited by these advances in technology - I miss you dad.
For those in the DJ industry, SEDA (http://www.seda.org.uk) marked this milestone last night at the SEDA ShowNight with an update on the changes in laser safety law in the entertainment industry presented by Will Perkins.
At the weekend, I was DJing for a client who had hired in a specialist laser show company to provide an outdoor laser show as the venue could not allow the more traditional fireworks display. The party goers were mezmorized as the brilliant show unfolded, the whole spectrum of colours was displayed, the beams moved incredibly fast - an awesome sight which certainly gave an incredible WOW factor. I do use lasers as part of my lightshow, but these were something else!
The future for lasers is also very exciting. Looking at the BBC website's science pages, I see that laser power attainable is now approaching a petawatt - this is a far cry from my little 30 milliwatt laser lightshow!! Reading on, it looks like a future application for lasers will mean that huge amounts of energy released by fusing hydrogen atoms into helium could be harvested for our ever increasing power demands. My dad who was a scientist (Dr G Mole, 1912 - 2004) was convinced that one day this would happen and the world would be a safer and better place without the need for nuclear reactors. He lived through an incredible period of technological change and witnessed all these developments. He shared all this with me with great knowlege and passion. Were he still alive, he would truly be excited by these advances in technology - I miss you dad.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
SEDA ShowNight Sunday 16th May 2010
It’s Showtime again and another great line up! SEDA ShowNights are Bi-Monthly physical meetings primarily for members but also open to visitors (at no charge), offering the opportunity to see new kit, meet and network with colleagues, suppliers and other related businesses and individuals and also generally discuss our industry.
All are very welcome, so if you've ever wondered what goes on please feel free to come along. Also if you came along a few years ago and weren't too keen, come and see us again, things change.
Here’s the line-up
Exhibitors
Denon - News and updates from one of our Premier Suppliers
Glosticks UK – Just in time to get stocked up for the Prom Season
Toplite – Some very nice lighting products – www.toplite.com
Music Factory – Mastermix disc deals – SEDA Member deals and a very interesting member proposal!
Featured Retailer
RSD Music – A fantastic mix of amazing, topical, and relative products to see and buy!
Regular Features
Members Show – David Wimble – Allied Disco
Second-Hand Table
The Essential Selection – UK Funky – Barney Grossman
SEDAshop
The Famous SEDA Raffle
Other Features
Laser Update – Find out how the new legislation affects DJ’s without paying £250 or more to attend a Laser Safety Course.
Studiomaster – Walkabout – Portable PA System – Presented by Pete Atkins
Please come along if you can, and remember to bring some business cards as the ShowNights are excellent networking opportunities.
All are very welcome, so if you've ever wondered what goes on please feel free to come along. Also if you came along a few years ago and weren't too keen, come and see us again, things change.
Here’s the line-up
Exhibitors
Denon - News and updates from one of our Premier Suppliers
Glosticks UK – Just in time to get stocked up for the Prom Season
Toplite – Some very nice lighting products – www.toplite.com
Music Factory – Mastermix disc deals – SEDA Member deals and a very interesting member proposal!
Featured Retailer
RSD Music – A fantastic mix of amazing, topical, and relative products to see and buy!
Regular Features
Members Show – David Wimble – Allied Disco
Second-Hand Table
The Essential Selection – UK Funky – Barney Grossman
SEDAshop
The Famous SEDA Raffle
Other Features
Laser Update – Find out how the new legislation affects DJ’s without paying £250 or more to attend a Laser Safety Course.
Studiomaster – Walkabout – Portable PA System – Presented by Pete Atkins
Please come along if you can, and remember to bring some business cards as the ShowNights are excellent networking opportunities.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Venues for weddings
As a mobile DJ, I have worked in many fantastic venues, and a few really dire ones over the years. The fantastic ones I write about in my blogs and on my Wedding DJ Sussex website, and there is a list of good venues I have worked in on the wedding venue advice page.
The really bad ones seem to be accurately described on the Trip Advisor website, so well worth checking before you commit to anything!
If you need an opinion on a venue I have been at, please feel free to get in touch!
The really bad ones seem to be accurately described on the Trip Advisor website, so well worth checking before you commit to anything!
If you need an opinion on a venue I have been at, please feel free to get in touch!
Monday, 3 May 2010
I just wanted a screw or two..
So, it's bank holiday Monday, and I have a little DIY task which requires a couple of m3 or m4 screws and nuts, so I think no problem, I will visit Homebase in Broadbridge Heath once it opens at 10am.
I searched and searched, but could not find anything suitable. I just cannot believe how a DIY shop doesn't stock something as basic as this - absolutely useless. Halfords was no use either, and I ended up finding what I needed from a friendly neighbour.
What a waste of an hour :(
I searched and searched, but could not find anything suitable. I just cannot believe how a DIY shop doesn't stock something as basic as this - absolutely useless. Halfords was no use either, and I ended up finding what I needed from a friendly neighbour.
What a waste of an hour :(
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