I had a problem at a show (shhh...don't tell Evan)

Jay Barracato

Jay Barracato

Graduate Student
Jan 11, 2011
1,528
5
38
Solomons MD
This is actually serious.

I was in a bar/nightclub mixing a rock band. The place has separate systems for house music and stage music. I just thought during set breaks we would put the house music back on. Of course at the last minute, the manager came up to me to ask if I had an ipod we could put through the stage system to keep a little more energy on the dancefloor.

Like anyone wants me to play dj. I laughed at him and told him most of my personal music on my ipod was from before the war (World War II). Then it occurred to me that not only didn't I have anything appropriate, but I don't even know WHAT is appropriate.

So help me make a short playlist. I need about 20 songs/artists that will keep a typical bar crowd going (and drinking) without anything too far out there. What/who should I be looking for?

(It is worth it to me to spend $20-$30 on music I don't like and to have it ready on my ipod so I don't have to deal with whatever a band member has on their phone again)
 
Re: I had a problem at a show (shhh...don't tell Evan)

Jay Barracato said:
This is actually serious.

I was in a bar/nightclub mixing a rock band. The place has separate systems for house music and stage music. I just thought during set breaks we would put the house music back on. Of course at the last minute, the manager came up to me to ask if I had an ipod we could put through the stage system to keep a little more energy on the dancefloor.

Like anyone wants me to play dj. I laughed at him and told him most of my personal music on my ipod was from before the war (World War II). Then it occurred to me that not only didn't I have anything appropriate, but I don't even know WHAT is appropriate.

So help me make a short playlist. I need about 20 songs/artists that will keep a typical bar crowd going (and drinking) without anything too far out there. What/who should I be looking for?

(It is worth it to me to spend $20-$30 on music I don't like and to have it ready on my ipod so I don't have to deal with whatever a band member has on their phone again)
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What kind of bars are you doing? Some bars I'll throw on the Classic Rock playlist (ACDC, Floyd, Def Leopard) and that keeps people happy, other bars get the Top 40 Hip Hop/Dance playlist (Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Rihanna) - which I generally despise. I also have a House/EDM playlist, a Country playlist (Red Solo Cup) and a Jazz playlist.

Compilations on iTunes are probably your best friend.
 
Re: I had a problem at a show (shhh...don't tell Evan)

There is (or was) a magazine called Mobile Beat for mobile Dj's that published lists every year of the top 100 requested / played songs for mobile Dj's. they also had smaller lists broken down by genre. I think it's published on their website.

The hard part is finding songs that don't repeat whatever cheesey cover band you are mixing plays.
 
Re: I had a problem at a show (shhh...don't tell Evan)

The yearly fee (for pandora) is peanuts compared to a Budweiser add running as people are getting to their seats to watch a graduation in San Marcos, TX.

Granted with all of this I know there is licensing restrictions...
 
Re: I had a problem at a show (shhh...don't tell Evan)

I used to have an Alvino Rey CD that was oddly appropriate for any crowd.

Crazy by Gnarles Barkley seems to crossover to quite a few.
 
Re: I had a problem at a show (shhh...don't tell Evan)

Asking what the right songs to keep a bar crowd happy is about the same as asking what mic is the best choice for a kick drum. Every situation is going to be different. And of course, you have to be careful as to not upstage the band with what you decide to play.

Now, pandora is pretty amazing, and for a few bucks a year you can get the ad free option. Pick a starting song, and magically, it keeps the mood going. I use it all the time and am always amazed with what it does. The huge downside is you have zero control of the music selection. It could decide to play the playlist of the next set of your cheesy cover band. How awkward would that be?
 
I guess it if off to iTunes but I still have the same problem that I have no idea what "dance" music is to an average bar goer. I understand that it can be situational but I don't even know enough to make a rough guess.

My problem with Pandora is not the ads but it always seems to spend awkward moments queueing at random times.
 
Re: I had a problem at a show (shhh...don't tell Evan)

Jay Barracato said:
My problem with Pandora is not the ads but it always seems to spend awkward moments queueing at random times.
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The other option is Spotify. Its saved me multiple times when out at gigs where their playback was bad. I just saved it for offline play, cued it up and away we went.

But normally I use Pandora. I haven't ever experienced the queing issue as my 4g/wifi signal is usually always strong.
 
Yesterday I collect over two hundred song titles with artist from my students. Maybe 1/4 of them I have actually heard of. Some I can't tell which is the band name and which is the song name. That should be enough to get me started.

Mark, most of the t shirts are no help because I wouldn't even recognize the logo as a band. Just like I am sure most of the crowd doesn't recognize my Town Mountain or Hillbenders shirts ad belonging to a band.

Hijacking my own thread, for everyone who jumped to the destroyed drivers conclusion, the only speakers in the last couple of decades that have been damaged on my watch, I actually sold to Evan, who discovered the damage. I had a very lightly used set of PV monitors that were last used when I lent them to my school theater program while our auditorium pa was down. Later I found out the the county tech had come in behind me after I had set everything and allowed it to feedback for ten minutes straight (according to the students that were there).
 
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