How to plan + DJ an EPIC, memorable school dance: homecoming, prom, etc.
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- Опубликовано: 10 окт 2021
- I recently DJ'd 2 homecoming dances -- one was "medium" sized (528 students), the other larger (1200 students). One was inside, one was outside under a tent. One had a very large and engaged PTO (parent - teacher org), one was planned by one teacher helped by 2 students. Despite differences, I used similar methods to prepare and execute each dance that led to AWESOME reviews and even requests to rebooked already -- and I share these thoughts in the video.
I talk through these elements:
1. EVENT TIME LINE & INFO
2. MUSIC
3. SOUND
4. LIGHTING
5. ELECTRICITY
6. STAGING
7. OTHER LOGISTICS
Highlight videos for the 2 dances:
• Loveland High School H...
• Taylor High School Hom...
Content provided by Kevin Summers, owner and DJ at Smilestones DJ Services (www.smilestonesdj.com). 
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I’m so hooked on your videos, I’m about to pay for RUclips premium just so I don’t have to watch so many ads while watching your longer videos 😅. Great stuff
Yo that’s the nicest comment ever! Thanks for saying that and I’m happy that you like them!!
Such a good informative video. Thank you brotha!!
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Hey Kevin, Great video. Thank you for sharing. Lots of great nuggets in it. I am definitely going to try and put together a google request sheet. Have a great day and stay safe.
Hey Ronnie, thanks! Yes the Google form was so helpful and I think let the students feel a little more connected to me and the music - vs just having a DJ show up and try to play what they think would be good
@@SmilestonesDJAdventures Sweet. So on that form do you have it where the students put the of who requested the song?
@@ronniedjronniemmoll3058 nah. In fact I don’t really want to know. It’s not for me to announce who requested what, just for me to source the selections and vibes from the students at the specific school - since each school can have its own culture and unique gems.
@@SmilestonesDJAdventures Yeah that makes sense. If you don't mind me asking do you use google drive/GSuite for anything else business-related? I kind of looked already but do you happen to have a video on how you use GSuite for your DJ business and if not would you mind making one? I would love some more pointers like the google forms one. That is such a great idea that I am going to start and implement in my business. Thank you again for all of your help. Love this channel.
@@ronniedjronniemmoll3058 thanks my man! No video yet but I will put that in my idea list for an upcoming video! Thanks for the idea bro.
I use Google drive for everything I do to run my biz. Love it!
Kevin, you are such a pro. I haven't properly started yet but I will be using my Gigbars for lighting. I think that for starting out they are perfect. And I'll be pricing myself accordingly. Your gigs are amazing. You really know your music. Also where did you learn mixing? I've bought a couple of ddjtips courses and just curious how you learned. I'm defo still in the 'experienced beginner mixer' stage. Thanks, Simon
Simon you flatter me! Thanks man. I taught myself but being that I played instruments when I was younger (drums, guitar) I feel like I had really good rhythm which helped a lot!
If you were to Couple the RCF subs together . In the center. You can get a bit more bass like that
Thanks for the tip!!
Please, Please can you do a separate practical video about the Power connections that you talk about in this video so I can properly visualise what you are speaking about. Not many dj gig logs actually show the full connection from outlets to fixtures? It really would be appreciated.
You talk about hiring a lot of extra things particularly for the outside event ie. van, generator, speakers (possible extra subs) - how do you determine that this type of event will be cost effective once you deduct your costs? I'd like some more information about the generator setup and any tips about dj'ing through one or more these eg. things to look out for, precautions to take... Have you ever considered portable battery type of setups maybe to try and eliminate the generator at least for the sound parts of your setup?
Hey Craig! I can try to do that video sure. The generator route is best in my opinion but I’m sure you could get by using a battery solution on a few of the items in the setup. :)
Another great video man. I had an event where Dark Horse was an unexpected hit recently too- you never know what each group's jams are gonna be!
Thanks man!! Huh, Dark Horse might need to be in regular rotation :)
You’re right - sometimes the big jams are a little surprising!
Hey Kevin, Hope you and your family are doing well. I was wondering what CRM do you use? Thank you for your time and have a great day.
Hey Ronnie! I just use Google drive and email - it’s works for me for the number of events I do. But I would like to check out a crm someday to better track customers!
I’m a beginner dj and I’m struggling with finding classics in these dj pools. I’ve done 2 small gigs, but my music library is small and I struggled a bit but I was able to pull them off. Any advice on where you get those classic hits that aren’t remixed into some craziness?
Yes I know what you mean. I really think that the best option is Direct Music Service. They have some of the classic / standard versions, but may have an intro edit / or re-drum. Which you can definitely work with for must events.
Thanks for the informative video bro! Do you allow the kids to come up and make requests, or only use a Google spreadsheet form beforehand? Also do you think music at middle school dances and high school dances are much different?
Hey Lev, thanks man. So I did two homecomings back to back, both using the Google survey to get requests from students before hand. First dance I allowed requests and funneled them through my assistant - one of my sons. I would say most of the request that came through were for songs that had already been requested it’s just that they wanted to be played right away. I also have to say there were a ton of requests coming through on that first dance. It’s like once I would play a song requested that would embolden the person to come up and ask for more. It was kind of hard to handle and I got a little bit of flack from the students when I didn’t play the song right away. The next dance I tried saying no requests. I just had my assistant tell students that I’m going to play the request I received through the Google survey before the dance, but I can’t take any more. If the students pushed my assistant told them sorry the school administrators already cleared the request list and that’s all we can play. It never really came to that in fact one student saw that I wasn’t really taking requests at that time they backed off it was super refreshing and worked like a charm. I feel like the kids had more fun too. Hopefully this makes sense, I’m doing speech to text.
For your other question, I do think middle school and high school is different. For middle school I think it’s a little more awkward for kids and certainly the younger middle schoolers are a little less mature. So for example you probably wouldn’t be playing fireball, or get low, or are other more mature songs like Mr. Brightside. You probably can get away with some corny childish music, that wouldn’t work at a high school like perhaps whip nae nae. But I’d say the biggest lesson I’ve learned personally is that every single school group is different in their own way, oh so you really have to do your research and get some requests from the students themselves, to have a great event. Assuming that a group of kids will like certain songs might be OK, but you’re not find those cultural hits and hidden gems that May be unique to that group of kids. Hope that helps
@@SmilestonesDJAdventures you are amazing! Thank you so much for your thoughtful and in depth response.
@@SmilestonesDJAdventures interesting to hear you speak about the requests. I agree always good to get songs and information beforehand. From what you describe it still sounded like it was a bit chaotic with more requests during the event and I wonder if you have any ideas that could cut back on this pressure situation. Not all dj's have assistants and so they will have to deal with this type of onslaught directly where one it could get out of hand but two it is also going to distract a dj from putting on a good show. I have been discussing a lot lately with fellow UK dj's about how we seem to be living in a World with people who believe they are entitled. This is usually followed by forceful demands and sometimes worse behaviours. It's all rather off-putting for a dj like me planning a comeback. I will tighten my T&C's to tackle these unfortunate situations. We shouldn't have to tolerate people demanding things or worse. I will have a 3 strike and I'm out plan drawn into the signed contract. After a 2nd strike they, those who booked the event and the venue will be warned that if the behaviour continues the event will conclude early. Any demands to play songs straight away will rarely get played at my events. Personally, I will hand out a pen + paper or have post it notes that can be put in a bucket on the stage. This will avoid too much disruption and confrontation. I know other dj's use Q codes, SMS and other means for requests but I think I'd prefer it old skool. This way you can check on the bucket of requests every so often see if you can add songs in. Maybe you can create a separate active request playlist that you keep adding to to fit them in more easily.
@@craigparry282 My typical standard operating procedure is to just take requests verbally. During the height of the pandemic, I either would allow texts or place a notebook and pen off to the side as you suggested. But this is a little different when we’re talking large school events. I think I really like the option of a Larry requests before the event, and not taking requests live.
Seems like a lot less stress and actually better for the guests as well
With dj music choices (NOT client or guest requests) for each event - how do you decide which track by a certain artist you play? I'm referring to artists that are must plays at events but who have a good few tracks that you could use but how do you come to a decision for which one? It's not always going to be the artist's latest current track but likewise I don't think it should always be that one big banger/classic that you always use/turn to Eg. Bruno Mars, Pitbull, The Weeknd... all have a few different tracks that will work well but how do you decide which one to play for each different event.
Also once you have chosen which track, what thoughts do you have about different versions of that track eg. original/radio version, dj edit, remix etc You also refer to dropping in some novelty fun stuff like that music from wii (I'm not familiar with this) but where would you go to get this music to pull into your dj software?
One final thing you mention about your pre party crate and choice of tunes where you say a track by Bruno Mars and Dance Monkey. How do you determine these are for the pre section and not the main section. Where do you stand about playing duplicate artists so if you play a Bruno Mars track pre party would you be playing another one of this artists tracks later on or even would you play that same track later when the party is jumping?
Last one I promise - the SLOWIES! Very interesting to hear what say but can you give more information about inroducing slower tracks for the younger generation parties that you do? How many slowies do you play, have you got a few that you tend to play together, how many and how often? Have you got a slowie part at the end of an event and how well do the slowies work (how do they go down) in general with today's younger generation?
As always great content and much appreciate these videos
Interested to hear your thought processes about these... Thanks 😎👍🎧🎵
Hey Craig! I think so much of what DJs do is part art, part science. You mentioned Bruno Mars. For some crowds, uptown funk would be a natural choice. I think something like that works for multi generational groups. But if the group skews a little younger, I might choose something like treasure. Different hits have different staying power and different appeal. Also I always like to bring in hits that I don’t always play so that I keep my sets varied and I’m sure not to get too stale. So I’m often looking at my DJ play count along with the other factors I mentioned.The other dimension of course is reading the audience. For example, sticking with Bruno, if I was trying to build up the dance floor or encourage people to come out I might play something like uptown funk. If I’ve got an established dance floor and I’m riding the wave of energy, and maybe I want to slow things down and get people a little closer, might play That’s what I like. You’re very correct in that it doesn’t have to always be the current track, however I find that mixing those current tracks in like skate for example will give you some credibility with a younger group.
Are use remixes and those kind of tools sparingly, and usually not for an explicitly requested track. For example if someone wants yeah by Usher, I’ll play the original. However if no one’s mentioned it and I think it will fit in, I’ve got a great Reggaetón remix that he is great to drop. I play re-drums of classics all the time though, because they emphasize the beat and are better for dancing in my opinion. Now for talking about and EDM party or club I think remixes would be essential in that scenario.
You can get little audio bits and samples from anywhere on the web, there are sides that allow download of little audio clips, and you can use those waves or MP3s in your DJ software. Hope all that helped. I’m using speech to text so I hope this makes sense LOL
For your other two questions. My pre-party jams are definitely more welcoming, chill, upbeat but not Bangerz. I would definitely not want to play something at 120 BPM with a big build up and drop that would be better saved for the dancing part of the event. I would never play for example fireball by pitbull during this pre-party time. Maybe something more like I love you baby or something like sweater weather, both of those tracks worked really well.
Slow songs are very interesting for parties like this. What I did was paid attention to how many slow songs were requested through the students before the event. Turns out that they did not request many at all. That plus I know most students are not into too many slow songs and dances because it’s just awkward. Lots of folks go with their friend group and not a date.So I’ll bring the energy down play one maybe two, and see how they go. If I get a good response I might do that again and repeat it later in the night. If not I may play pseudo-slow songs to allow folks the opportunity to dance if they really want to. Something like this would be like country roads take me home sweet Caroline etc.
Thanks Kevin, great repsones and very much appreciate you giving up your time to give a detailed reply. Very interesting points in there and definitely helpful. Keep up the great work 😎👍