After doing The Luxury Musician program, my average rate per gig has doubled from $750, up to $1,500, and it keeps going up and up thanks to Dan who is a total legend! The other musicians in the program are all encouraging and supportive. I feel blessed to have found this community!
Absolutely brotha! Great thing about habits, once they are ingrained they stick with you... So having great habits is super important for sure! Dan really nailed it with this program... Keep us posted Jeff!
Good morning, everyone. I’m Esteban aka Mr.BongoMan, a percussionist for DJs originally from Miami and now based in Las Vegas. Looking forward to today’s Masterclass with Jake and Dan, and excited to connect with as many of you as possible. 😎
Hey Philippe! Thanks man, what about you... "Phil Congas" - "Philippe The Rhythm Machine"!? The DJ scene is wide, Philippe. My suggestion is to start with Deep House music. Check your local house DJ scene. If you like someone, network, follow on IG, you know ... This particular house is what posh hotels and luxury venues use (where the $ is for Corporate gigs too) ... check the video attached for ideas. This can help your ear get used to it. The DJ/percussion gig rules are simple. 1. You follow the DJ, you are not the lead. So play (volume-wise) a lil on top of DJ, because you are live, but the idea is to blend with the music, not overpower. 2. Some DJs do short transitions, some do long ones. (figure this out helps you lots in the actual gig to slow down, go full stop or transition to a new rhythm or pattern or a simple change of volume. Also, the venue type will dictate how fast the song transitions... (in Miami in the clubs, DJs change song every 30 secs + - , for Deep house pool parties 1-3 minutes and as long as 4-6 minutes). 3. The skill to read the room and play accordingly. If you can experience a great DJ in a posh lounge or venue, you will notice how the DJ controls the room, the energy, the vibe. How the DJ can cycle you on a pattern of (hot song packed dance floor) dancing, then filler song (breaks to drink), and hit song again (dance floor packs again), rinse and repeat (a master venue DJ sells alcohol via music). Bonus: If you want to experience this vibe my great friend DJ Umber (house music master and my teacher from Miami), plays most weekends at Shoto Japanese Restaurant in DC, pop by, have a drink and listen to this master play and pay attention to volume changes, transitions, when is he mixing, how is he mixing, check how the vibe changes and why it changes. 4th and last. Once you have a nice ear for deep house, transition to Top-40 songs (google top40s for weddings or DJ wedding mixes) - most songs you probably already know - Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, etc. There're tons of wedding DJs online showing transitions and song mixing... great learning tool.