MBLVX Seminar: 12 Steps To Better Performances

First seminar I attended was a good one. Hosted by Dean Carlson who is a well established US Mobile DJ. This was Deans first time talking at Mobile Beat, and he openly confessed that no more than 7 years ago he was a homeless, jobless, drug addict with nothing to his name… he is now a very successful multi-op and came to share his tips. The introduction sounded very inviting:

Do you find yourself struggling, unable to make that solid connection with your clients or their guests that creates the energy and synergy making it a truly memorable event? Having trained nearly 100 DJs, Dean Carlson will show you that it’s not about being “on”, but rather a matter of small steps enhancing performances in a short period of time.

It all started with 2 very capturing quotes: “If life gives you lemons – make lemonade” and “Get knocked down 7 – get up 8″ this was Deans way of highlighting the importance of striving and continuing to fight and on go with improving yourself and your performance to ultimate create an outstanding show. The seminar focused on 12 steps which I will now outline

1. Admit you are not nearly as good as you think you are – If we already think we are the best then we stop learning as we feel we have nothing to learn. No one is perfect and there is always room for improvement. Have a slice of humble pie….
2. Understand there are people better than us out there –  Why not try and find a mentor (As part of SEDA this is exactly what we are all about)? There is no need to be so closed with sharing your idea also, say as a mentor you think you have an “original idea” chances are someone else may well have done it too in a slightly different way, but thats exactly what you (as someone looking for a mentor) should be looking to do: find an idea you like, take it and evolve it and make it your own. Having a mentor also proves invaluable as its an outside source of information, a new perspective on the way you do things and something you might have missed. To set up a good relationship with student/mentor there are 3 things:
   • Give Permission – When people offer advice with out being invited you can often feel offended, so give your mentor the opportunity and invite them to make suggestions and comments. If you have a suggestion for someone else , ask, something like “Hey Barney, I saw your performance and I thought based on my experience I might have something that could be of use to you, would you mind if I share it with you”
   • Humility – Don’t always take a defensive stance such as “thats how i’ve always done it” or “thats just the way it has to be done”. If you don’t welcome and accept comments you can’t expect to receive future honest feedback next time!
   • Trust – A point of confidentiality is vital. If you always have the feeling that “what if he posts it all on the forums for all to see” your relationship needs work
3. Take a searching & fearless inventory of your show – Examine what you are doing, highlight the good and the bad. Its important to look at the good also as it can often be heard “I’ve been doing it for years now, and my clients like it and it gets the job done” is OK, but thats all it is. If you want an outstanding performance you need to really get a good list. Get your mentor to be brutal, you want to hear it all! There are mainly 2 ways to go about doing this:
   • Get a DJ to shadow – If you get a friend or mentor to come along and shadow you this will prove to be a great way to get all the information needed as its not limited in capturing the moment (so to speak), although it can also be slightly incorrect as knowing you have another DJ shadowing you prompts you to sharpen up and act slightly differently
   • Video your performances – perhaps a lot more convenient than having a shadow but still requires time to be taken to watch the video and also doesn’t really capture the moment of the event.
4. One thing at a time – So we now have our big list of things to work on. Hitting all the points at once is going to do you no favors as you can’t really work out what element has influenced the change. Find one aspect that your slacking in, and work on it solely. Work on 1 aspect for a year to force your memory to make it natural – then you can live in the moment of it rather than a scripted attempt.
5. Get into the classroom – So we have all had the experience of the guy at a wedding who comes up to us and says “Hey I’m a DJ too” there can often be a bit of hostility to this chap as you question why would you feel the need to tell me. But rather than taking this negatively why not ask him @how did you get into it?”… “What did you do to get into it?” these can serve as valuable overlooked information. Now Dean went on to say how this happened to him and he saw the “DJ” go off and start note taking. This guy was actually taking tips from the Dean at an event, this guy was obviously clever as there’s no point trying to reinvent the wheel. So this step is all about keeping your eyes and ears out to always be learning, its not a once done its done, its an on going process. This extra knowledge is an added bonus and strong encouragement to your potential clients, after all if we are the professionals shouldn’t we know the answers to related questions… a great question was asked “Do you know why the tradition of cake cutting takes place” only 2 people put there hands up out of hundreds. Dean then said he used his cake cutting piece to help seal many deals with clients.
6. Practice makes near perfect – Practicing is good, but its never as good as the real thing. To look at the way we learn we must image a growth chart, where we learn something new, we go up, then we go down a bit as we come to accept our new found improvement, then there is a plateau where we strive to improve but just cant. Later the process is repeated again and again
7. Getting Intentional – Simply learn to visualize your successful event. Image it: get to the room, set up a nice rig, then thing about as the guests enter the room, the buzz to find their seats, opening the mic usage, the great grand march going perfectly, the crowd all pumped up, entrances all go well, Bride and Groom with big smiles, a full dance floor… all these visualization are strongly pushed by many successful people in being the encouragement and motivation they needed… try it.
8. Getting to the edge – You need to push your self to the very thing line, the edge. Take your performances to NEARLY ridiculous and then pull it back a bit, just a bit. Push your self hard, and you will find its a lot easier to to come back. If you feel you can’t do, just try it… push yourself out of your comfort zone to push for the better performance.
9. Wave the white flag – As mentioned in 6, these plateaus and improvements take longer to come to, and the better you get the hard it becomes to improve and see that jump of excellence. Don’t resist the change, accept new technology, accept new customs, accept new performance changes
10. Play with a childs heart - Get down to a childs level. Sometimes we thinks as are professionals we must always be on our professional level, but using a childs playful heart will really bring your performance into an emotional level
11. Mastermind – get connected! - Exchange ideas, ask others, discuss… lets say you have a problem; you struggle to get women up to do the flower toss or think think that your grand entrance needs work. Ask the question, get the answers and evaluate them to come up with your own concepts and way of working.
12. Give it back! – Share… there is nothing quite like the feeling of some one asking you for advice, don’t be a scrooge a give it to them! This is what we are SEDA are all about, about sharing as a community of Mobile DJs. Take take take isn’t the way of a community, we need to work to give and take. Offering our own opinion on some aspects

All these are made from the notes I made during the seminar, it was quite hard to keep up (all that came form 45 mins) and if some of it doesn’t make sense or doesn’t sit well… it did at the time I just cant remember the connections. So why not get started on your outstanding performance

Barney
Party Events Unlimited (Mobile Disco)

MBLVX: 12 Steps to Outstanding Performances

Hi all,

This will be my first of many blog posts on the SEDA website, for those who havn’t met me or don’t quite know who I am: I’m Barney and I’m a Mobile DJ in Watford with my company called Party Events Unlimited.

As I am currently typing this, I am looking out of my hotel room in the Rivera in Las Vegas. I’m not just here on pleasure, I’m actually hear on business along with many many other DJs. This is because I am attending the highly rated and respected Mobile DJ Show & Conference that is Mobile Beat Las Vegas

For those who haven’t heard of Mobile Beat you have unfortunately missed out this year, but its certainly something to consider for next year! There are many things here to do in Las Vegas, let alone just this conference but that I will save for another time. Mobile Beat is a show specifically for mobile DJs, compromising of 3 main elements:

1. The seminars – This is the main reason many DJs come to MBLV. There are plenty of seminars here covering every business area possible from “Wedding 101″ to “Advanced Internet Strategies for DJs”. And there’s not just one seminar taking place, there usually 2 3 or maybe even 4 going on. So there is always something on for everyone. If you want to better your business, this is something that could really serve your business well!
2. The exhibition – The exhibition floor is the largest gatherings of DJ related business in one room! Everything from Equipment, to Marketing, to services will be here for mobile DJs to come along play and buy. As well as the very popular book store where you can pick up some very treasurable information.
3. The parties – How can we come to one of the entertainment capitals of the world and not have a party. Each night there is an event specifically for MBLV visitors to attend to network and enjoy themselves, and with some top artists, DJs and performances there’s going to be no holding back! This year we have a Soul Train party night, Coolio performing live, The Sugar Hill Gang on stage, and the American DJ Customer Appreciation Party

So as you can see there’s a lot to do here and certainly a lot to gain, its defiantly something worth considering for next year – and i will be more than happy to share my experiences for all when I’m back. As I am attending as many seminars as possible this year, I’m going to try and post a blog up about each of them and their content for those missing out to read. So keep a close eye on here, as I’m shortly to be copying up my notes from the first seminar…

Barney

A bit about me, just in case you wondered: I’m a part time DJ (due to university) and would consider myself a specialist Wedding DJ, Prom DJ and Party DJ. I’m based in the Watford, Herts area (quite possible one of the more North Easten members of SEDA) and have been successfully operation for about 9 years.

SEDA ShowNight GO!

A small committee meeting the other night resulted in the decision that despite the snow, the first 2010 gathering of SEDA members on the 17th January WILL go ahead as planned!

We poured over sheets and sheets of meteorological evidence, checked out an monitored the paths of several weather formations, hurricanes and other umm stuff like that.  In a nutshell, it’s going to rain…a bit…we think but there’ll be no snow.

See you on Sunday!

Mobile DJ show postponed

Just to let you know that the DJ show over at Lacey Green has been postponed and will not be taking place this Sunday 10th January 2010.

Please see below…….

CRS1 – ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE

Postponed Due to Adverse Weather!
The event will now be on Sunday March 7th.
Please be aware that due to the recent warnings about the impending weather problems in the south, we have made the decision to postpone this years show.
As you are probably aware both Prolight, American DJ and Bose have a very long way to travel and as such we’ve decided to wait until the conditions aren’t so hazardous.
If you have any questions please contact us in the usual way!
Apologies
Clive

January 2010 ShowNight, 17th January 2010

January’s SEDA ShowNight is already looking very impressive, so please put the date in your diary!  Here’s what we have so far:

• Pioneer DJ showcasing the CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900, along with music management software rekordbox, and the Pioneer DJ range of products.
• Denon
• KAM
• RCF
• Mastermix
• Guest retailer – RSD Sound and Music
• Speakerplans
• Members show tbc

Looking like another strong night!!  As usual, the event is taking place at The Village Hotel, Castle View, Forstal Road, Sandling, Maidstone, Kent.

This page will be updated as we finalise the event, keep checking for changes.

BPM 2009

The 3rd and 4th October 2009 saw hundreds, if not thousands of DJ’s from all walks of life attending the very first BPM Show at it’s new location, Birmingham NEC.

Committee Members from SEDA were in attendance both days hoping to draft in more members and we did rather well with 15 new members signing up over the two days.  It was also a great opportunity to press palms with other members of the industry and keep them informed that a once small-time organisation in the South East has now blossomed into a 140-strong membership with a bi-monthly ShowNight attended by some of the biggest names in the industry, and not only Numark, Denon, Pioneer, etc. but also big speaker names such as Bose, Void Acoustics, Funktion One and so on.

We are absolutely sure that BPM is going to be THE show to visit in the future.  As expected, lots of fantastic new technology was on show, but it wasn’t only about seeing and playing with new toys (such as the tasty new CDJ’s from Pioneer) there was plenty of opportunity to learn stuff and visit some of the very popular seminars held just outside the main hall in the atrium.

Were you there?  What were the best bits?  Did you play on any kit?  Let us know by posting a comment below!

Here are some pictures, sadly there’s not many, but that’s because we were too busy looking at cool things to remember to take photographs!

PLASA 09

Plasa opened its doors once again this year at Earls Court in London to host the annual entertainment technology tradeshow. Over 300 exhibitors were present this year, with a wide variety of products on show from moving heads to truss systems and from LED panels to CDs.

This year SEDA had a presence at the show (for the first time in many years) to promote the association and its benefits of joining. Paul Forsyth and myself ran the stand in Earls Court for the run of the show with other help from other SEDA members. The show was a great success for the association which held lots of networking opportunities with DJs and manufacturers alike.

At the show this year the usual brands were present including Martin, Sennheiser, Function One and Robe. The usual quantity of freebies could be seen including the famous Martin bags and lanyards as well as the more unusual stress balls other items to grab your attention. However there was a definite decrease in the number of DJ manufactures at the show. Maybe this is due to success and timing of the DJ based show, BPM, in October.

Mastermix, Mixmash and Promo Only all had stands with discounts available at the show with some free CDs being given away too. Kam and Chauvet both had stands demonstrating their LED products and more. Kam took the chance to demo their new range of lasers which are very impressive, especially for the price. Numark had a large stand again this year, showing off their flagship product, the NS7, several units were available for a hands-on testing further to their launch back in May, which I was lucky enough to attend.

The noise boys, Function One and Void once again exhibited at the show. Function One were also available to listen too in one of the upstairs demo rooms whilst Void had on show their high-end and touring speaker systems. Denon also had a presence with Allen and Heath, although the majority of the stand was taken by the A&H professional sound desks.

S&H launched a new product at PLASA this year that will interest some mobile jocks, the new S&H mini DJ booth. The smaller booth measures 4ft instead of 6ft and is ideal for discos with a smaller setup, or those that want a smaller booth as an option for those gigs where space is at a premium. The new booth, as ever is available in both LED and pea light variants. For more information please contact S&H direct. Also on show from S&H was a very nice LED, video dance floor. This new dance floor is able to process video from a standard PC DVI output and transforms the floor into a big TV.

Overall, the show was missing some important DJ brands, which was a shame. However the show was still well worth visiting and was enjoyed by those who did. PLASA still continues to be a good show, let’s just hope a few more DJ manufacturers exhibit next year. The exhibition shows DJs one thing very well and that is what we can expect to see in our market in the next few years. This was proved a few years ago with the use of LEDs. In fact I would be very interested to know how many LEDs were actually used at the show, recording breaking figures I’m sure. Needless to say I enjoyed PLASA once again this year and am looking forward to my next stop, BPM.

FREE PLASA09 REGISTRATION FOR SEDA MEMBERS

To apply for complimentary SEDA member entry to PLASA, please register online here.  SEDA will be exhibiting at the show over the 4 days so please bring anyone that isn’t a member to the stand and let’s get them signed up!!

This is a great opportunity for us to expose SEDA to our industry, get new members, and develop relationships with manufacturers and other industry contacts.  Remember PLASA 09 will be the show to see cutting edge technology development before it reaches our marketplace.  If you want to stay ahead of where things are going, this is the place to do it.  Really hoping to see alot of SEDA faces there!

Do come and say hello to us on Stand J38

SEDA ShowNight this Sunday 19th July 2009

SEDA ShowNights are Bi-Monthly physical meetings primarily for members but also open to visitors (at no charge), offering the opportunity to see new kit, meet and network with colleagues, suppliers and other related businesses and individuals and also generally discuss our industry.

All are very welcome, so if you’ve ever wondered what goes on please feel free to come along. Also if you came along a few years ago and weren’t too keen, come and see us again, things change.

Here’s the line-up:

Exhibitors:

• Numark – Bringing you the chance to see and play with the new NS7
• Flight Case Pro – Offering branded and bespoke solutions for housing and protecting your gear
• Denon – Gary will be on hand to help you get the best out of all the latest Denon Kit
• GloSticks UK – Restock your glow products for the Summer Season
• PLASA09 – Jen Barratt will be with us to tell us all about this years event which we will be exhibiting at.
• SEDA Members, Brian Mole & Marky Marc – Will be demonstrating the Basys V2 system and the Viper system from UK based manufacturer Void Acoustics.
• Dragon Spirit – Are showcasing a new sound reinforcement active speaker system which will be on display for our members’ feedback.

Featured Retailer:

• EBDJ – Fantastic kit and some very special ShowNight deals.

Regular Features:

• Members Show – Dance Fx – Phillip Farnham
• Nelly B’s Promo Corner – Upfront news on top tunes coming through.
• Second-Hand Table – Bring all that gear that’s sitting in the garage and turn it into cash – (Then take home someone else’s).
• SEDAshop – Including all the essential bits and pieces and for members the fantastic SEDA Contract pads.
• The Famous SEDA Raffle – Inc the coveted prize – The Gaffa Tape.

Please come along if you can, and remember to bring some business cards as the ShowNights are excellent networking opportunities.

Details of the ShowNight:

Sunday 19th July 2009 Doors open 19.30
Finish 22.30 – 23.00

Venue: The Village Hotel, Castle View, Forstal Road, Sandling, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 3AQ. Just off the M20 J6.
DO NOT USE THE ABOVE POSTCODE FOR SAT NAV – IT WILL TAKE YOU MILES AWAY!!!

Satellite Navigation:
For programming satellite navigations systems please use postcode ME14 3AS.

R.O.A.R.

Unfortunately we do (very rarely) get serial visitors who claim they see no value in joining but would like to attend the ShowNights. We feel that the ShowNights are one of our members favourite benefits and therefore as a general rule would expect someone that wanted to attend on a regular basis to join the association (As a guide we would not expect a visitor to attend more than 2 ShowNights).

Fancy some great House this Friday?

SEDA member Tim Cullen wants your body!

If you are about this Friday it would be great to see you at Arch635 for mine and Mr Collings’ new night called Ad HoC!.. and for this month only, we have special guest Tim Lyall from Slinky (Bournemouth) down to Play a classic house set for us !

Arch635 is a great intimate venue set in the arches behind behind Clapham North tube Station. DJ’s, dancing, pints on tap and good times ’til 3am.

Entry is free before 10pm, just £5 after.

Hope to see you there!

Tim x

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