metal dj questionnaire

As some of you may know I work as a dj at metal/rock clubs and I want to ask you guys to let me hear what you think about my dilemma.

The premise is pretty much that I'm sick of the fact that people only wanna hear the same shit over and over again. You might call that main stream, but when I'm frustrated I like to call that retarded.

So when you go out to a metal club or whatever, do they play the same bands again and again? Do people dance/mosh/move to the music? (For me of course that's the direct feedback). Are you under the impression that the party is lacking, if people don't dance etc.? (Remember: metal/rock party) Do only certain songs of popular bands 'work'? Because a common thing about people here is, they don't know shit about the bands they claim to like (for instance that there is at least one other song by Iron Maiden other than "Number Of The Beast"). Okay, that goes mostly for the more main stream crowd, as 'real' metal guys tend to obsess over their music (duh, I guess, or sic! ).

So here's a little exemplary list of the bands I'm talking about and their most popular song (over here), which people obviously wanna hear every fucking Friday sonce their release:

Metallica - Enter Sandman
Pantera - Walk
Machine Head - Davidian
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Fear Factory - Linchpin
Iron Maiden - Number Of The Beast
Danzig - Mother
Disturbed - Down With The Sickness
System Of A Down - Chop Suey
Sepultura - Ratamahatta
Dio - Holy Diver
Motörhead - Ace Of Spades
Slipknot - Wait And Bleed
Tool - Schism
Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People
Nine Inch Nails - Closer
Rob Zombie - Dragula
Monster Magnet - Powertrip
(...)

Actually there are some bands in there that you can play more than once. Sometimes I think, if I just played a loop of Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura and Fear Factory over and over, people wouldn't ever notive nor complain.
And I really used to like all of those bands too. But now I never ever listen to them at home anymore (except for Danzig ).

So what do you think? Is it just Cologne, that's fucked up or is it the whole world.

i've never been to a club where a dj played metal, so idk.
all we really have around here are bars with local bands playing live weekly, or if a band isn't playing that night, something is being overplayed on the jukebox
I never go out, so maybe im just behind on the times

Ditto, I've never been to a club that played metal music. Only actual concerts where in between bands metal was played.

So no moshing on dancefloors at all?

Doom - for the record...there are no clubs that play metal here in America. And, if there were, no one would mosh to it. I think people want familiarity and something they're comfortable with. I say stick with the mainstream, but slip in some non familiar shit. Stay away from the obscure stuff. Sometimes it too hard to listen to new music at a bar. I hear what you're sayin'. I totally want to hear new bands.

Thanks, PJ, that's actually how I roll most of the time. I'm just kinda pissed, because when I change shit around ever so slightly, the party seemingly comes to a screeching halt. And I don't get the people most of the time. I mean I do kinda. I can read them pretty well and give them what they want, but I don't get, why they want it that way. Always. There's tons of exciting new stuff out there, noone ever gives a shit about.

I go to a rock and metal club called the DiveBar in Raleigh that does indeed have a night (Wed.) that they have a DJ (my friend E-Beth). She brings her personal collection and you can go up and pick out what you want to hear. She has EVERYTHING. And she will play ANYTHING. She only plays requests...so it's different every time, and the crowd is filled with a buncha musicians and music heads. We never mosh or dance though, which is kinda sad. We just stand around or sit at the bar and talk and drink.

Pretty much sounds like paradise. She obviously doesn't have to worry about the shit that frustrates me.

now that I think on it, I have heard metal at a strip club

In the joint where we used to have our parties there were two stripper poles. When people were drunk enough some metal guys would usually jump up there and be like 'Hey, guys, look I'm holding onto a stripper pole'. Needless to say none of the ladies would bother after seeing that it's that stupid to do that. .

For what it's worth you could take your normal play list, keep all the bands in the same order but replace all the songs people are demanding with better / different songs. Maybe go through your normal list once then do it with different songs. That might help to expose them to the other stuff a little bit. Maybe even keep it in the popular range just to make it a little easier for them. I would personally switch up Ratamahatta with Refuse/Resist if they liked it or not, but that's just my take. I guess you must appease the masses in that line of work though.

throw some merzbow on the 1's & 2's, thatll get em movin for sure!

Haha! Yeah, right. They'll think it's fucking Ragnarök upon their asses.

i used to run a club on certain days here in town years ago.. 02 to 03... we had dj's spinning anything techno on wed. and thurs... and metal bands on sat . and sun.. i was the dj in between bands playing and after midnight on the weekends.. i mainly played metal/industrial mixed with just about anything.. heck, i would spin run dmc with nine inch nails.. but it was the same that you speak of.. everyone wanted the same shit.. but, i forced them to listen to others.. i had too or i wouldve drove myself crazy... i basically called it the new music hour or every 3 or 4 songs i would throw in something that i know they have never heard.. people didnt like it at first, but eventually they were asking what new stuff i would be playing.. i tried to let people know ahead of time or as i was mixing in something new.. like, "heres a great tune i love that i know you guys havent heard".. or something like that.. i tried not to bombard them with new stuff.. cause lots of people that go out to party at clubs like to hear the same ol shit that being played on the radio... i even sometimes would see if i could get people to guess what the song was, or what band did it.. if they were right, id let them request the next song.. though they would always choose that same ol shit
hope this helps bro

I think Johnny's idea is a really good one.

and mine is shit?

HAHA
No, yours is brilliant as well, please pardon me for the oversight...hehhehe

~ahem~

I think BOTH Johnny's AND Hellfire's ideas are great ones.

We usually have free beer for the first hour, so no one's gonna ditch the party during that time for obvious reasons. That's when I play the newer stuff I'd like to recommend to those fucking freeloaders. But the rest of the time I have to be very careful not to scare folks away with Gojira or some other totally awesome band they don't get. Pearls before swine really!

Doomchild wrote:

Pearls before swine really!

...on another board far, far away, I was once known as "Pearls Before Swine" . Everyone took to calling me "Pearls" and that's what I have used ever since. So glad they did not settle on "Swine" .

And good job making them listen to some different bands while they suck down the free booze ! Too bad they won't open their minds like they open their gullets!

KimmieRae70 wrote:

HAHA
No, yours is brilliant as well, please pardon me for the oversight...hehhehe

~ahem~

I think BOTH Johnny's AND Hellfire's ideas are great ones.

a. i've never been to metal party. ever. there are some clubs who play that shit around here
but i wouldn't go unless i get payed. (partly becuase most metal heads are fucking douchebags and partly becuase slayer doesn't go well with picking up chicks & chillin'. and i love's me's some slayer)
b. you have to understand that your crowd is retarded.

i think that the best approach would be to worry less about selection and worry more about your mix. this will enable you not to get bored with same old tracks (i have some freinds who spinn dubstep and they have a similar problem, if certain tracks don't get played poeple arn't happy) and will all give you the abily to slip in an unfamiliar song every now and then.
another good idea would be to hang a sign behind you saying "dj doesn't do requests"

and if they still give you shit tell them that if they're not gonna shut the fuck up you're gonna start scratching and beat juggling. if there's one thing metal heads hate it's turn-tablisim.

I'm fully aware of the fact, that my crowd is retarded.

The thing is, some people like to go to my boss and bitch about the music and leave for another place. So too much of an attitude isn't helpful. In the end we might end up short of some serious cash. I've been doing that for years and years now. I guess, I'm just fed up with some shit. :/