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Since an early age I have always loved music, starting as a kid recording the charts onto tape from the radio to use on my Sony Walkman. Then at the age of 12 I was given my first CD, not your normal Mobile DJ's music, but Pearl Jam - Ten, which remains one of my favourite albums ever. From then on I was hooked and bought music as often as I could afford to, which meant washing lots of cars!
Around the same time as getting my first CD I joined the Biggleswade Sea Cadets, where my DJing career would soon start. Having started the cadets and learnt a lot about leadership skills and discipline, it was time to enjoy ourselves at the cadet Christmas party. For the first year some CDs were put on in the background, we had a meal and then had a bit of fun keeping ourselves amused. The following year a friend and I approached the organiser about running a disco, although neither of us had ever done this before, the offer was accepted. For this first 'gig' we had to source some equipment quickly, without any money to hire or buy it, and use our limited range of CDs and tapes to provide the music. Luckily my friend's dad bought one of the Tandy 4 light chasers so we had some lighting to use, then it was just the PA system to sort out. For this I concluded that the home Hi-Fi was the only option. For the first gig we had a pair of floor standing 3 way Hi-Fi speakers, a Nikko Amp, a CD player, a Tape Player and our 4 light chaser, but crucially no mixer. Now this was quite nerve racking for us beforehand, since we had about five minutes to practice changing tracks before the gig started. In order to change tracks it would take two of us, one to turn the volume down on the amp, selecting the next source and turning the amp up; with the other putting the next track on. We thought we were the bees' knees and had an excellent evening entertaining the other cadets at the party and I will never forget the rush that I got from performing and discovering the interaction you can get from the music.
From then on we were providing the entertainment for the party every year and I eventually managed to buy a set of turntables and a mixer so that I could practice in my bedroom. With the help of my friend and his dad, whom purchased some equipment for him and drove us to and from gigs, we were able to start doing discos and charging a small fee. The rush of performing in front of people was great and something I have always enjoyed and these early gigs helped to hone my skills as a DJ for reading the crowd and selecting the right music for the right time.
As I grew up I always had a passion for cars and wanted to get behind the wheel as soon as I could, it wasn't long before I was old enough to start driving. Then I saw a job advertisement in the local paper for a Mobile DJ, I was quite surprised at this since I didn't expect to find a job advertised in the paper, so I duly applied. After visiting my prospective employer I was invited along to join him on a few gigs and roadie for him to start with to learn the ropes until I could drive. This was where I learnt to be a proper mobile DJ, since we were performing at all sorts of functions including kid's parties, weddings, 18th, 21st and 60th birthdays. Gradually I was allowed to take over some of the DJing after observing how Ian worked; and at the same time I saved the money I was earning to buy my own kit.
Written By Greg Smith |
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The full article can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 32, Pages 14 - 18 |
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Copyright EJ Media 2003 - 2010
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