Club vs. Mobile
August 2003
© 2003 DJ Reporter Incorporated Newspaper


When Wajih Halawa first saw DJs at house parties in the early '90s working with massive studio mixers, sliding faders in and out, he thought it was pretty darn cool. It was enough to get him interested in DJing and, even though he eventually ended up becoming a mobile DJ, the club life has intrigued him ever since.

Many mobiles across America started DJing at clubs before doing wedding receptions, and some even still choose to fill in empty weekend slots and weekday dates performing at clubs in their locale. Some have switched from mobile to club jock and back again, finding satisfaction in both venues, while others find their club experience simply enriches their mobile entertainment talents.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of mobile life compared to club gigging, and what have DJs learned through their experiences working the two formats?

Promotion

For mobiles, the best form of advertising is word of mouth. Sure, when they're first getting started they may have passed out business cards and rented a bridal fair booth, but from then on-as long as they've had an impressive show-word about them should spread like wildfire.

Club DJ promotion, on the other hand, can require a lot more hands-on self-promotion, according to Boston's Paul Dailey. "Learning to promote yourself is a difficult skill to master," he says. "I don't mean handing out cards, but I mean getting out there (with demo CDs in hand) and meeting the scene's movers and shakers. You have to go out on weeknights to show your face, and really get to know promoters and DJs."

Weeknights, according to Dailey, are usually the best time to meet other club jocks and get into the scene. "Most DJs are working on the weekends," he reasons, "so many DJs will come into the club on their nights off to hang out."

For mobiles, Dailey says one advantage they have over club DJs is they've been in the business for awhile and know how to treat it like a business. "Professionalism goes a long way in the club DJ game," he says, "because it's something that owners very rarely see. Don't sit there and tell the owner/promoter why you are better than his current DJ-tell him why you can increase profits and revenue. Offer a new and different plan, and do it without badmouthing other DJs."

Music selection

Obviously, the type of music played in a club setting will be much different than the tried-and-true standards played at mobile-led events. Needless to say, unless you party in Podunkville, Arkansas, "Twist & Shout" and the Electric Slide are not likely to pack a nightclub floor. Many club DJs, in fact, find this to be a refreshing difference.

"Basically, I find club work much more enjoyable, as it means that I'm always bringing in newer music," says Des Moines DJ Wajih Halawa. "I think I just get tired of certain mobile gigs, where I'm playing the same songs over and over and over again. The novelty wears off after a while, whereas club work allows me to have my own style and explore music that I enjoy and want to bring to others."

Says Georgia mobile Tim Raley, "A wedding reception is no place to break out an unfamiliar tune. Music-wise, a mobile DJ tends to play the same crowd-pleaser songs such as Brick House, Play That Funky Music, the more familiar tunes. At the cutting-edge clubs, you simply start with a slower BPM, work it up, and bring it back down.

"As a mobile, after most formal announcements are made I simply hit 'em with something they all know, attempting to please most of the older guests first because they will leave first."

Raley has learned to read his crowds and vary his show from weekend to weekend. "Not all mobile events are the same. Unlike a club, you normally tend to have new people at every mobile event. At clubs-it's the same people every week."

"One thing that many club DJs don't have is a wide musical knowledge," says Idaho DJ Ken Heath. "This is mandatory to doing the variety of gigs mobiles do.

"Most forms of club music are used as a flavoring, rather than an entire meal. "

Amount of labor

One noticeable advantage of club DJing over mobile work would be the amount of set-up time required-something that's obviously reflected in the pay difference.

"Work-wise, mobile work is really work," notes Raley, who performs both club and mobile jobs. "You get there a couple hours early, load in equipment, set up, test sound, and try not to sweat.

"With clubs, there's minimal set-up. You simply walk in and play."

And while a majority of mobiles across the country tend to downplay lighting effects, because he came from a club background Raley says his mobile lighting set-up is a big deal. "The club DJ in me still shows," he says, "because I carry enough lights to blow away most clubs in my area. I'm constantly hounded by other DJs to downsize, but that's what I enjoy."

It appears you can take the DJ out of the club, but you can't take the club out of the DJ.

Type of crowd interaction

As more and more mobile jocks become interactive professional entertainers, the bar is being raised. Regardless of the generation that proceeded us, in order to make more money and show our guests a better time, we're no longer mobile jukeboxes.

Where a club DJ tends to concentrate simply on the mix and presentation, says Raley, mobiles are more focused on pleasing the guests. "Beatmixing tends to be the last thing on your mind at a mobile event," he explains. "And if you play something you feel will get guests dancing and it doesn't work, as a mobile you'll get out of it as soon as possible.

"At the club if they aren't dancing, that's okay because they are spending money at the bar."

"People-skills are essential for a mobile," notes Heath. "Since many clubs don't allow the public to get near the DJ, the club DJ gets accustomed to not taking requests and outside feedback.

"I've worked in clubs where the jocks are so accustomed to stepping into the booth with an already packed floor that they begin to think that it's always going to be that way and they never learn how to get a party started."

Type of presentation skills

Depending on the type of club a DJ has experience working at, mic skills may or may not be a challenge if he chooses to get involved in mobile work. Some of the more interactive beach bars feature games and contests, but the standard nightclub is mostly music.

"Public speaking is a mandatory skill for a mobile," says Heath, "while from what I've seen, many club jocks are not accustomed to getting on the microphone-except for yelling a few motivational obscenities now and then or announcing a drink special.

"Club jocks might also might need to educate themselves on how to dress and act outside the club environment, since the outside [mobile] world is a much different place."

"Club work actually helped me get more comfortable with my mic skills," says Raley, who obviously worked in an interactive club. "From making simple announcements to organizing games and contests, the club was a great place to get the shyness out of my system.

"Most people at the club are drinking so if you mess up a bit-who cares? If they laugh at you, you just laugh with them."

Responding to difficulties

Because most club jocks simply walk into the booth and start spinning, sometimes it's mobile jocks that are better at troubleshooting technical difficulties. At the very least, mobiles have the option of presenting an activity on the dancefloor to distract party guests while they solve a dilemma. Try that as a club jock!

"This past summer I had a small technical difficulty with my equipment at a mobile event," remembers Raley. "Instead of losing it, I simply proceeded on with a game as I worked out the problem.

There was Raley, under his skirted table after diverting everyone's attention with the game while he fixed the equipment malfunction-and all of it unknown to his guests. "The guests thought we were just having fun," he says. "Actually, I was really sweating it. But after seeing the video you'd never know I was having trouble either."

"In a club atmosphere you usually don't gain the from-the-hip troubleshooting experience needed for mobile work," says Heath. "If something doesn't work in the club, you simply report it to the manager and it (hopefully) gets fixed. Out in the mobile world, on the other hand, you figure out how to keep the show going while inconspicuously repairing the problem."

"A wedding reception has to be the most professional event a DJ could perform," Raley says. "Everything has to be right for you as a DJ, the guests, and mainly the bride and groom. You always want it to go as planned, but if things stray from the plans a good mobile DJ knows how to react."

Ego and income

For DJs going from club to mobile, they'll find that the additional work involved also results in a significant higher rate of income. For those moving in the other direction, they should expect to lose both some ego and some income.

"For any mobile jock looking to move to clubs, realize that you are going to get paid much less money," notes Halaway, "and that you will deal with club owners who are hardly the kind of people you would wish for. You have to have a passion for music and to show versatility in what you do. Humility is the most important thing."

For Raley, he's found that in order to make a better name for himself and earn a better salary, mobile is the way to go. "By using props, playing games, and taking control of the event, I've made a name for myself and a lot more money. No more sitting down and playing the music-now I get out there with the guests and have fun."

Making the best of both worlds

Most DJs will find their people skills challenged and musical knowledge expanded when they blend club elements with mobile talents. For years now, this writer has incorporated 20-minute club sets into most of his private mobile events-something very unique in his part of the country but a diversity that crowds enjoy.

"I bring the club atmosphere to most of my events, and try to leave them with the impression that I'm not only a DJ but an entertainer," says Raley. "I still go back to the clubs to fill in some dates during the slow season, but to me it just isn't as fun as playing for receptions, class reunions, and corporate events."

For mobiles looking to expand into the club world, Dailey says there are many considerations to keep in mind. "You first have to ask yourself, what you trying to accomplish by exploring options in the nightclub business? Are you looking to fill open dates and experience a different kind of gig, or are you looking to transition away from mobile work and become a full-time club DJ?

"Your expenditures on new music will certainly increase," he warns, "as will your time reading new trade magazines to research new tracks and trends. You will also need to bone up on your mixing and programming skills, as club DJing has many unique challenges that are not present in mobile DJing."

But in the end, DJs just might find out that they've become a more well-rounded entertainer through their experience in both markets.