“Call time is 9:45 [PM]; you’re opening, so 10 [to] 12 PM is your set”—a message that may sound exciting to many first timers to hit the “1s and 2s,” but the opening disc jockey (DJ) can be one of the hardest time slots a person can get. As a DJ, I provide the music, emotion, setting and “hype” of the party. But how do you provide all of that when there is barely anyone in the club yet? After DJ-ing for roughly three years now, I’ve found being the opening DJ a whole different kind of art form.
Being an opening DJ is like being the appetizer for a grand meal: You give your customer a hint of flavor, just enough to build up to the main course. The hard part is knowing what appetizer will appeal to the type of customer. In my experience, this can be both exciting and frightening at the same time. Exciting, because this is your chance to experiment, try out tricks you’ve always wanted to do outside of your practice time, play some songs that you don’t get to usually. But this can also work to your disadvantage: If a big crowd comes in and doesn’t “vibe” the start of a party or opening of the club, you just lost potential audience.
Research is also essential to be an opening DJ. You wouldn’t want to eat five Double Stuf Oreos only to find out you’re going to quench your thirst with a pint of beer instead of milk, right? An opening DJ must research who will be playing after him or her during the prime time set. If you know your prime time DJ likes to drop hard-hitting hip-hop tracks, then you have to build up the ambiance with some hip-hop. You wouldn’t want to jump the gun and start playing all the crowd pleasers too early either. Research must also apply to the venue itself: Is it a hotel club where the ages range from 25 to 40 or a much younger crowd?
Requests have always been a problem for opening DJs, with people saying, “Hey could you please play [this song] already?” As a DJ, I know it’s too early to play certain songs just yet. At times, some people will bash you for not playing that particular song, but being a smart DJ means knowing when to play it.
Even with the problem of requests, it can be the best experience to be given that early time slot. Everyone starts out as an opening DJ, and it’s through this that you’re able to find your style. You’ll have the opportunity to experiment, expand your library and find new ways to make people stay without making requests.
Compared to a prime time club or festival DJ, who will usually play Top 40 music, opening DJs finally figure out what kind of genre of music they actually really enjoy. Later on, as they become prime time DJs, they can use that knowledge and make it their specialty.
All DJs have stories to tell through their playlists and libraries, and they want to share them with people. An opening must pick which story he has in his arsenal of playlists and deliver it to the people, reading the crowd, as the crowd, in turn, reads his or her story.
DJing in itself is an art form, but not many people know what happens when you’re the DJ starting the party. The most beautiful thing to watch or hear after taking that opening slot is having everyone just at the tip of their toes right before prime time—that is the beautiful art of an opening DJ.
