Making my return to the decks at one of my all time favorite places to play, the Red Door in Portsmouth.

I have played here 10+ times for my buddy Ryan Obermiller – and every time, it is a blast. Good people, good drinks, good vibes and a lot of fun.

Last time I asked my longtime friend and true Deep House tastemaster, Dan Spurling to come out of retirement and open up. He played a fantastic set of downtempo, broken beat, jazzy and later the kind of groovy deep house tracks that make Dan one of my all time favorite DJs. Since it went so well…I asked Dan to do it again on 12/16.

Dan will play from 9 to 11 – I will play from 11 to 1 – and a good time will be had by all. Come have a christmas drink (or 5) as I play my last gig of 2011.

$5 dollar cover (no guest list)
21+ / Dress to Impress
9 to 1 a.m.
@ The Red Door
107 State Street
Portsmouth, NH
603.373.6827
Red Door – Portsmouth NH/

Resonant Vibes Blog – Paul Dailey – July 2008

Art or Business – Do You DJ for Love or Money? 

 Are you a wedding DJ that spins a pre set playlist, a mainstream club DJ that plays the top 40 in the same order, week after week?  Or are you the opposite end of the spectrum, an underground DJ that plays the most obscure tracks that only “educated” club people can truly appreciate?  Do you DJ for the love of money, or the love of music?

 On the surface this question is innocent enough and most newbies would quickly answer “of course, I do it for the love not the money.”  But dig just a bit deeper and you will find a much more complex set of issues.

For the most part, everyone that gets into DJing does it because they love music.  Sure there are some that are frustrated actors, comedians, karaoke flunkies, while other do it because they are drawn to the technology behind it and the idea of using programs like Ableton to put 5 or 10 different loops together to create a new track.  But generally, the driving force behind most people’s decision to start DJing is a love for music and wanting to use that love to move a crowd.

Often it is a world class DJ like Josh Wink, or John Digweed, or Paul Van Dyk – that lights the first spark, sending us off to find the music they play, so we can learn to do what they do.  This in itself isn’t a bad thing, as whatever you inspiration it is the initial stimulation that matters.  You also would be hard pressed to find better DJs to model yourself after.  But herein lies the problem.

In this instant gratification society, it often comes down to wanting the ends before the means.  In wanting to fight like Chuck Liddell or Tito Ortiz, without putting in the years of hard work in the gym.  In wanting to cook like Gordon Ramsey or Todd English, without understanding they started at 16 washing dishes and chopping vegetables.  The best DJs in the world, like the best of any profession – didn’t start on top.  They learned their craft over years of painstaking trial and error, and on the front lines working with a mentor, and acting as an apprentice. They carried someone else’s records, did the lights for them, helped them hand out flyers etc…anything to get into the DJ booth, so they could observe what was going on in a real club run by a professional DJ.  Carl Cox started off doing mobile disco parties and school dances – where he learned how to DJ properly by playing songs that people wanted, and he often hated.  He became comfortable with the idea of programming and reading the crowd, and creating the right vibe, all skills that were invaluable as he transitioned to more underground music.

Now I am not suggesting that in order to become a good House or Breaks DJ, you need to perform with your Uncle CJ the DJ at his next Bar Mitzvah.  But I am saying that because digital tools and modern gear make mixing easier, it gives a false sense of security to young DJs who think that because their software blends perfectly, they are ready to go out and DJ for real. Old school gear was a lot more difficult to deal with, and it took years actually understand how to properly mix, blend, and EQ.  It was frustrating, but in retrospect, those years spent learning the technical aspects of the job, were also years spent listening to music, finding out what makes people move etc.  These days anyone with the Beatport or Resonantvibes.com Top 50 and a laptop thinks they are a DJ. And from a technical stand point, they probably can sound ok with those digital tools.  But the biggest part of being a good DJ is experience, and knowing what to play and when to play it.  All things that cant be automated or learned over night.

So, what the heck does this have to do with your initial question, “Art or Business”?  Hang in there, as here is the part where I tie it all together.

Off the top of your head, tell me how many things are cheaper in 2011 than they were in 1990?  You might come up with some cheap, mass produced items like “socks from Walmart”, or “things from the Wendy’s dollar menu”, but generally speaking – prices increase over time.  It is simple economics.   OK, well explain this one to me then.  How come the average club DJ in your city or town actually GETS PAID LESS in 2011, than a DJ in the same club 11 years ago?

Supply and demand is the simple answer, but just like those 800# calls that are answered in India, or your clothing that is now made in China, it is the glut of cheap, inferior labor that is the real problem.  People are so desperate to call themselves a “DJ”, that they are willing to play for short money, or in many cases FOR FREE.  Take this and add it to the fact that most club owners have no idea what the value of having a talented person running their entertainment means to the success of their venue, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Good Club DJs used to make $250 or $300 a night – 10 or 15 year ago…now, you are lucky to make $150 or $200, because every kid with a lap top and Itunes thinks he is a DJ.

Wow.  You sound bitter man!

You know, I used to be – but now I actually want to try and uplift the entire industry, by teaching inexperienced DJs how to do things better, easier, but more importantly the right way.  I have been a featured speaker at WMC, ADE, the DJ Times Expo, and am speaking this year at the Forecastle Festival in Louisville.  I established the first DJ school in New England, have been an educator and writer for numerous industry trade publications over the past 15 years, and still teach a free monthly DJ class for middle school and high school kids at a local inner city community center. At some point in the future, I will be passing off my headphones to the next generation – but I hope to impart some wisdom along the way.

The bottom line is that DJing like anything in life takes time and patience.  I know you want to get out there and play music.  I know you want to throw events and rock crowds, even though you don’t know the first thing about promoting or reading the vibe in a room.  I understand you “love the music” so much that you would consider doing it for free.  But in the long run, you are not only hurting yourself – your are hurting your industry and your chances for future success.

That’s why the whole I do it for the love of the music and the love of the underground argument is pure BS. Do you really think allowing yourself to be treated like crap makes you more “real”?  Do you seriously think that in a room where the owner, manager, bartenders, bar backs, dishwashers, door men etc – are all getting paid, that the DJ should be playing for free?

It isn’t a love of anything or a desire to keep it underground, it is a lack of confidence in your skills and a lack of respect for the art of DJing and those that have worked hard to lay the groundwork before you.  The real underground warriors are the DJs that actually work, and have been working every weekend for years, lugging their gear and music from gig to gig.  So when someone says I am not “keeping it real” because I refuse to play for less than I made 20 years ago, I don’t call it being money hungry.  I call having some self respect.

I have been spinning records for nearly 30 years.  I have lugged my gear and music to more than 75 cities in 9 different countries over the years – often breaking even at the end of those trips.  I have lost girlfriends, gotten into fist fights with club owners, crashed cars on icy roads, and chased promoters around the parking lot to get $20 dollars for gas money.  And those experiences are not unique to me, they are the same stories you will hear from every DJ that has been around the block.

I submit, if that aint doing it “for the love of the music”, I don’t know what is.

Will be playing with my long time friend and a very good DJ, Mike Knyte – and Laura (DJ D-Lux) from Reset at Phoenix Landing will be handling the opening duties.

Expect Funky House, Deep Tech House, and if the crowd can handle it, some Techno. Hope you can make it out to help us kick off what we hope will be a regular Thursday night event.

Knyte Owl Productions presents “Resurrection” @ Guilt – 275 Tremont St – Boston, MA

Thursday August 4th, 2011 – 10 p.m. till 2 a.m.

Music by: Resident DJ’s Michael Knyte and Paul Dailey along with special guests
21+ w/proper ID
Dress Code – Trendy Casual/No Hats
Doors at 10pm
Guest list and Table Reservations: 781-775-2782

Before that, club managers and owners hired DJs directly and paid them to provide music to their crowds.  Even if they were also working with promotional teams and promoters who were paid a percentage of the door, the club hired and employed the DJs.  This not only meant that DJs got paid no matter what the night was like, but also insured that there was someone in the DJ booth with the best interest of the venue in mind, who would play what needed to be played to keep people happy.

The next step in the process saw club owners and mangers hiring promoters, who would bring in their own promotional teams and their own DJs.  This usually meant that the promoter would pay the DJ – and again, usually meant that you were getting paid to play no matter what happened.  Sure it was necessary to chase a few promoters to get your money – but in the end, most DJs got paid for services rendered, whether it was dead that night or not.

The latest version of this is owners and managers cutting promoters out of the equation all together and just hiring DJs to play AND promote.  This breeds the kind of experience gap in the DJ booth that is found in most clubs circa 2009, as it is more important to have a big group of friends – than to know what you are doing in the DJ booth.  Under this new direction, shy DJs, DJs that are new to town, or more established DJs that refuse to play for short money (which usually equals FREE these days – so basically anyone that thinks they should be paid at all fall into this category) are frozen out of most gigs.

Think about it.  Bartenders get paid.  Cleaning staff get paid.  Managers, owners, waitresses, all get paid.  No one would expect a doorman to take less when the night is quiet, or expect the Red Bull Distributor to take a dollar less a can when the club is dead.  DJs on the other hand are expected to come in and perform the same service week in and week out – yet their pay fluctuates based on factors that are usually out of their control.

Leaving this aside for a minute, lets take a look at the economics of the situation so you can how short sighted many of these club owners are.

Depending on the location, size, amenities etc you have in your venue, you are investing anywhere from 50,000 dollars to several millions dollars into your nightclub.  You have a very expensive liquor license, food, liquor, flat screen TV’s, sound and lights, extremely expensive liability insurance, and the list goes on and on.

Yet after putting all that time and money into a club, what do most owners do?  Skimp on one of the most important aspects, the entertainment – often putting their multi-million dollar investment in the hands of an inexperienced, underpaid performer.

I read an analogy once that said, in what alternate universe would you take a million dollar cruise ship full of your most valuable resource, your customers – and then hand the keys over to an 18 year old kid who has no experience, and you are only paying $100 dollars to drive the ship?  Yet this is what club owners do every weekend.  It is mind boggling.

In a world that made sense, owners would spend the money necessary to hire competent professional entertainers – meaning they would be paying them $500 to $1500 a night.  This would in turn shift the entire industry, and make DJing a legitimate career even on the local level.

In the end, DJs did this to themselves, by allowing owners and managers to treat them as second class citizens.  They are so taken by the desire to become “famous” and be the “coolest guy in the room”, that they allow themselves to be treated as disposable commodities, and now nearly every club has trained DJs to expect to work hard all week promoting, work long hours in the booth programming and mixing and dealing with drunk customers etc.  And to top it off, if the night is dead – they have trained them to expect to not get paid.

Such a sad state of affairs, and exactly why many of the most talented DJs in the business no longer gig on a regular basis….and conversely why most clubs have clueless people in the DJ booth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch13PIpgwV4

This year the festival was headlined by Widespread Panic, The Black Crows, The Black Keys, Pretty Lights and DJ Three.

For 2009, the Ocean Stage was moved from poolside (where it was fun, but not very visible) – to a spot inside the festival itself, and right next to a massive water fountain.  As Saturday progressed and the heat went up to 90+ degrees, this proved to be a perfect spot to attract people that wanted to cool off and listen to some house and techno.  Sam Gracie from Resonant Vibes was back at the helm, and he assembled a great line up of talent from DJ Three and Dory, to Hac Lee, Deepak Sharma, and ME.

Sam also recorded my set, and while it isnt a technically perfect mix – you can feel the vibe and the energy that I tried to create.  You can right click to download the MP3 here:   Paul Dailey – Live at Forecastle Festival – July 11, 2009

Thanks again to JK, Sam, Eddie, Seth and the rest of the KY Crew for another epic weekend.  See you in July 2010.

As you may know, I am no longer working with XM and as such Hardwired is no longer a weekly show.  I have repositioned it as a semi-regular podcast, which you can subscribe to via the link on the left of this page.

While the scene in Boston has certainly changed a lot in the last 10 years, I continue to regularly gig – both in and around New England and beyond, actually playing out of town more than here in Boston.  I will keep this new site updated with future bookings, links to articles and reviews, and new mixes and podcasts.

Thanks again for your continued support and friendship and hope to see you out and about at a gig in the near future.

Paul