My DJing page
This page will involve all things of the DJ! The equipment I use, The equipment I wish I had. DJ related events in NC, and My senior exit project, which is about how DJ's have influenced our lives and culture. please sign my guest book!  My mixer
 My Turntable
 My sampler
Beastie Boys Fatboy Slim DJ Icey Tribe Called Quest Propellear Heads Chemical Bros and WEEZER! Unfourtantanely for me, this is a small list 4th of July 1999- played my first party November 1999 - Played the East Meck Senior cook out Dec 31st 1999- played a party for New Years. Jan 29th- A birthday Party 
Below is my senior exit paper. I only recieved a 2, out of 4 on this paper, which I think is a big rip off, no reason was given for the low grade, so I believe it came from the biased opinions of the graders. The United States has always been known as a "melting pot" of different cultures all coming together as one. Thousands of different aspects affect culture in the United States, from foreign languages to gourmet cooking. One somewhat recent Icon in American culture is the DJ. An American DJ is often defined various ways, and may have several different effects on American Society, but nevertheless their presence and influence is clear. The American DJ has had a profound impact on the fashion, language, music, and overall culture of the United States. DJs of America definitely take various forms. Perhaps the most well known type of DJ is the radio disk jockeys. Radio disk jockeys are the radio personalities responsible for introducing the songs played and entertaining the audience between songs. While these DJ's get the most exposure, they have the least impact on culture. Radio DJs don't pick the music they play, and are rarely seen. Furthermore, the music they play is music that is already popular, therefore instituting no change on culture. Radio DJs do however often promote certain events, which their listeners may then attend. A place radio DJs might promote could be a club where there is another type of DJ, those that stand in a booth playing dance music for hours on end. Club DJs have become an Icon to young urban residence who seek adventure in the night. Closely related to the Club DJ is the "Rave DJ". This type of DJ came over from Europe, bringing a whole culture with them (Collin 121). A rave is a large party where the DJ produces fast paced dance music all night long. Rave goers have a whole style of dress for the gathering, and bring with them a different outlook on life. Rave goers are known for wearing dark clothing, as are DJs (Moore 12D). Jarred Patterson, a local DJ in Charlotte, North Carolina, says that he dresses in all black because it's how he always thought of DJs. "DJ's always seemed dark and mysterious, and I wanted to be like that" says Patterson. Dressing in the latest fashions helps Patterson impress his audience and employers. Patterson stated "making myself look good helps me work the crowd and get more jobs". By purchasing and wearing the latest in fashion, Patterson encourages others to do so. Patterson realizes that he is a living advertisement for the brand names he wears, and therefore carefully chooses what he wears. There are also thousands of self employed DJs around the country who travel to weddings and parties playing music. Like the Radio DJs, the "mobile DJ" usually specializes in playing the current popular music. However these DJs do expose people to their individual style and how a DJ performs. If a customer has a pleasant experience with a DJ, it can reflect on DJs as a whole (Anthony). Furthermore, if the customer has a positive experience with a DJ, they will remember the things they see and hear as positive as well. Mobile DJs can swing the opinions of their customers by creating an enjoyable occasion. DJs should be thought of as a type of leader. In clubs, at parties, or on the radio, there is one authority on what to do, how to dress, and especially what to listen to. Everyone looks up to the DJ, some even see them as "god of the dance floor"(Prince 91). This puts DJs in a very powerful and influential position, as role models and trendsetters. Many people have often dreamed of being a DJ, in fact, becoming a DJ is listed as one of the top ten dream jobs of high school students (Anthony). This is because of the control and power that comes with being a DJ, as well as being a celebrity. Young Americans look up to DJs, since they have attained many of the things they want themselves. Music is what a DJs entire being is based around. DJs play, create, and ultimately change music every day. The most astounding effect DJs have on music is their ability to choose what music is exposed. The DJ is in absolute control of what the audience hears. This often means that what the DJ likes, the audience will hear and like. New York music producer and DJ Armand Van Helden uses this to his advantage. Van Helden has built such a loyal club DJ following that "many will buy his newest release simply on his reputation"(Tremayne 43). Van Helden has become very successful simply because Club DJs like to play his music; he now sells each new release to a record company for forty to fifty thousand dollars. The large-scale raves are where new music is exposed the most. The Bravest of DJs will try out new music on the crazed crowd, watching for their reaction. New types of music become accepted everyday because a DJ tried it first at a rave. One example of this is when techno music first emerged in 1990. Another New York DJ known as "Lenny Dee" helped invent the new music genre, and then played it at a party. The music was not accepted well in New York, however several people from Detroit heard the music. Detroit was quickly exposed to techno music and became the center for the new music for the next five years (Collin 64). Thanks to the experiments of one DJ an entire genre of music was born. In the future this music would pave the way for other genres of music as well. DJs also put a great demand on the music industry for new types of music to expose. Most DJs don’t play the same form of music heard on the radio. Most DJs are playing music off of twelve-inch vinyl records, which originated in the seventies. "These sought after 12-inches have been tweaked, stripped, embellished, or fully reinvented"(Tremayne 41). This is a description of how the music DJs expose is nothing like the pop radio hits. DJs can take popular music and turn it into something to dance to. Everything from rock to rap to country has been altered and reproduced for DJs and by DJs. The remix is an invention by DJs that has changed music forever. A remix is the most popular and commercialized way for DJs to alter music. DJs may take a popular country song, enhance certain qualities, such as the vocals, remove certain instruments or sounds, and add in sounds of their own such as drums or synthesized instruments. This is exactly what happened to Shania Twain's hit "Impress Me Much" in 1998. The song was initially a success on the country charts. However after it was remixed by a DJ it was exposed to a new crowd of listeners and became a hit in clubs and pop radio stations as well. Due to the efforts of DJs, people are often exposed to different genres of music then they normally listen too. While DJs can have an impact from changing and recreating music as well as simply choosing what is played, the order the music is played in is also important. DJs used a system called beats per minute, or BPM, to judge the speed of music they play. DJs use BPM to cause a reaction in the crowd they are playing to. A typical rave or club DJ will begin their set with slow tempo music, which they see as music with low BPM (around 100). As the night progresses, they will increase the tempo of the songs they play, eventually reaching 120 beats a minute, then upwards of 140, depending on the genre of music they play. This slowly but surely energizes the crowd, and gets people dancing. DJs also do the opposite when ending the party, winding people down with their music. This creates an affect on the dance floor that most people don't take notice of. As a DJ speeds up the music and adds to the excitement, dancers become tired and go to the bar to order drinks. The customers at the bar, who are already under the influence of alcohol, here the music and feel energized, and step on the dance floor, begging the process again. This process is called "rotating the floor"(Anthony). Rotating the dance floor keeps club owners happy because of the alcohol sales, and therefor keeps the DJs employed. Unfortunately it encourages the dancers to drink more. It is important that a DJ is able to control the crowd as described above. This is because a DJs use to club owners and rave promoters is simply to encourage drink sales. By energizing the crowd and provoking them to dance, alcohol sales will ensue. If a DJ wants to keep his job, they need to be able to facilitate drink sales (Anthony). All DJs have one thing in common, their need for new music. DJs are the largest consumer of music produced on vinyl. In 1997 turntables outsold guitars two to one in the United States (Anthony). There is a definite interest in the DJ profession in the United States. The least known DJ is the one who never goes public. Many DJs play in their own bedrooms, and are therefore known as "Bedroom DJs", while it seems unlikely, these DJs do have an impact as well. The bedroom DJ comes into play as one of the largest consumers of vinyl records. This is mainly because "Bed Room" DJing is a stage most professional DJs were in for some amount of time. DJs are leaders and role models to those they entertain. Unfortunately this is not always a positive thing. One example is Chicago based DJ Ron Hardy. Hardy was said by many to be the greatest DJ ever, one club goer even stated "I'd never been to a party where the DJ had such control over the people, where they would dance and scream, and at some points cry" (Collin). Unfortunately Hardy was not a good role model. Hardy was a heroin addict, and because he did heroin, so did many of his fans. In the minds of hundreds of club goers, heroin was great simply because of Hardy's influence. It is often that DJs have a negative affect on culture. Recently DJs are responsible for creating a whole new sub-culture that revolves around a music genre called hard core techno. Hardcore techno is extremely fast and brutal music, with a beat per minute rating always over two hundred. Those who listen to hardcore techno often follow the strange new trend's that came with it. The new trends are quite self-destructive. A journalist for Spin Magazine visited a hardcore techno event. "Welcome to the hardcore rave scene, where the DJs throw meat, the kids stick their heads inside of speakers, and the scent of grape lollipops mixes with the scent of Angel Dust, whatever happened to peace, love, and understanding?" (Lashill 131). Not only do the participants enjoy endangering their hearing by sticking their heads in speakers, they dance dangerously too. Instead of traditional dancing, hardcore techno fans slam their bodies together, throw each other down, and sometimes even punch and kick. The DJs encourage this self-destructive attitude by throwing raw meat, and condoning the use of drugs, especially hallucinogens such as LSD(Lashill 133). Unfortunately these DJs are irresponsible and abuse the status they attain by being a DJ. Recently Hardcore DJs have been lashing out at more traditional DJs with a violent hatred. This attitude is being mimicked by those who follow the DJs as well. There have even been painting created depicting the destruction of other raves and dances (Lashill 135). This is evidence of two effects of DJs on American culture. It displays negative effects DJs can have on those who look up to them. However more importantly it shows that DJs are always changing the world in which they live. The culture and habits of many people in the United States are affected by DJs. Whether spinning records in a club or introducing a new song on the airwaves, DJs are always in the public eye. DJs are the source of many changes in American culture, especially in music, their domain. The changes they induce are not always positive, but they are always present. Collin, Matthew. Altered State. New York: Serpents Tail, 1997. Lashill, Pat B. "Loud, Fast, and Out of Control." Spin Magazine Aug. 1999: 130-136. Patterson, Jarred. Telephone interview. Sept 1999. Prince, J. David. "Sex, Drugs, and Fatboyslim." Spin Magazine June 1999: 90-93. Tremayne, Jim. "The Art of the Remix." Roland Users Group Fall 1998: 40-49.
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