Rating: 
Summary: Great stuff.
Review: After reading in one of this author's other books that being a DJ is one of the top-10 jobs to get a date, I thought I'd pick this book up to see what being a DJ is all about. Very interesting stuff! This book explains how to get into being any kind of DJ you want - radio, clubs, bars, weddings, bar mitzvahs, internet. He covers equipment, music, marketing and more. The marketing section was of particular interest - a friend of mine is getting married in a few months, and I found a few add-ons in this book that he asked his DJ about. The book is funny too, detailing some of the author's strange personal experiences. Great stuff!
Rating:
Summary: What up dog?
Review: As a middle aged white male who's taste in music runs from The Mills Brothers to The Smothers Brothers I have always found it difficult to "make the scene" as the kids today say.That is until I read this book. Not only is it an invaluable resource if you want to be a DJ but you can also learn a lot about current primative culture. After getting my tongue, nose and eyebrow pierced, assorted tribal tatoos I now wear my extra baggy bermuda shorts hanging off of my buttocks, my "gone fishin" baseball cap sideways and have ditched my wingtips for a pair of gymnasium sneekers. Much to my brothers delight I just DJ'd my nieces 16th birthday and I believe I was bad (which to kids today means good). So get jiggaly wit it home boy, pick up this book and get the 411 on the DJ life. Far out!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good, but with Caveats
Review: Chuck Fresh's book is a very good book on the DJing scene, although with a few caveats. The book's scope covers the three types of DJs (Radio DJs, Mobile/Private Party DJs, and Club/Bar DJs), the promotional aspects individual to each DJ type and common to all types, and information on valuable resources for any DJ (web sites, publications, trade shows). Particularly valuable in this book are vital technical aspects of DJing that must be learned on the job and wouldn't just normally occur to a DJ. For instance, the 'Beatmixing 101' section is invaluable to the new DJ about how to link outgoing and incoming songs (mixing), appropriate and inappropriate songs to link together, and other technical must and should knows. Considering the topic, the book is appropriately written in a very colloquial, humourous tone, although there are enough spelling errors to detract from the book's professionalism somewhat. Consider the multitude of music styles born in the last 50 years and the many different occasions for playing that music publicly or privately. In trying to authoritatively advise in so many areas of music, I think Chuck Fresh has bitten off way more than he can chew, despite his many years of experience in DJing. As other reviewers have mentioned, Chuck certainly is an authority on DJ/MCing weddings and private parties. In fact, I highly recommend this book to anyone planning a wedding or Bar/Bat Mitzvah just for that section because Fresh offers many insights into how a DJ/MC can make the DJed portion truly memorable, not just because it's hitched to a rite of passage. However, when Fresh talks about DJing in a Club/Bar, my overall impression was he was pretty out of touch with that scene, at least that in Toronto, Canada. Certainly his technical insights seem to be accurate and valuable: knowing audio equipment, working with vinyl, maintaining lighting/sound systems, etc. Fresh's suggested playlists for bygone music genres seem pretty useful. But most of the things he suggests for stirring up the crowd seem silly, contrived, and often embarrassing. I think part of the reason is that Fresh wrote this book after many years of DJing, and club/popular music increasingly became a chore for him, not only to listen for and find but to have to shell out money for. Consequently, the closer you get to the present, the less he seems to be in touch with what's what musically. Hence, Fresh's many suggestions on using hype rather than music for generating excitement in a crowd. I've been to dozens of clubs regularly for about 8 years now, and very rarely does the DJ make a peep except to mention last calls for alcohol, much less offer banter between songs or outrageous contests. Granted, socially speaking Canadians are more conservative than Americans, and so maybe these tactics actually help American DJs. I also venture a contentious claim that the average Canadian is more intelligent than the average American, and so lowbrow banter which might delight the average American frat head wouldn't really appeal to the equivalent type of Canadian. There is so much music out there, so many genres (past, present and emerging) and so much music within those genres that one absolutely CAN'T be a jack of all music trades and expect to speak with much credibility on many of them. For instance, Fresh gives only a passing, derogatory reference to Electronic music's significance. He says, "We accurately predicated that Latin music was going to be the next "big thing" over a couple years ago when everyone else was all wrapped up in that "electronica" thing that ended up fizzling quickly". This is bogus because time has proven Latin music to be just as ephemeral as electronic music, at least in the public spotlight. His statement also ignores that Electronic music is not a recent phenomena; it began with artists like Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre in the 70's, has continually branched into subgenres since then, and many Electronic artists are now ignored who continue to put out the same quality of music that came out when Electronica was "hot" with groups like The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers "breaking" electronica to the mainstream. I think a DJ will be losing most of the time, whether they know it or not, if they try to play the game of continually pandering to the audience, trying to play whatever genre or song seems to be `hot' and not playing (or knowing) songs solely for their merits. I recently heard Carlos Santana succinctly say a lot about musicians and the creative process: "If you don't feel it, they won't feel it". Over years of personal experience a true aficionado of a genre will unearth the gems in that genre the mainstream usually overlooked, and when that DJ plays those songs (many actually familiar to the club patrons) by and large I think the audience will feel and enjoy the music as much as the DJs. At the same time, if a DJ imposes heavily on a crowd with his own favorites, he must keep alert to crowd reactions, and Fresh gives several ways of recognizing attitudes to music in club patrons. One thing I would have loved to have seen in the book or at least been given direction to is insight into the large question of how music affects people. For instance, how can a DJ develop a style, a pattern, a technique, which satisfies both audience and DJ? How could you effectively control a given crowd's energy over a 5 hour period (eg. 9PM to 2AM)? To do that, what sort of emotions would you want to evoke, when, and for how long, and how to fit that in with the rest of the programming? These sorts of questions are not addressed at all in the book, and although I'm sure most DJs have a few insights about this they keep to themselves, I'm betting that systematic inquiry about this sort of thing is virtually uncharted territory.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best DJ book available.
Review: I have been searching for a book that clearly defines each type of "DJ", and this book does it incredibly well! I am considered a "beginner", and How To Be A DJ explained the skills, music and equipment I needed to get started. I have now been hired to DJ at two weddings which went really well, and the marketing tips in this book were very helpful to me, allowing me to book four Christmas parties! The marketing information in this book is priceless; no other DJ in my town offers what I offer, but I imagine they'll copy me once they find out what's going on! Great explanation on the pros and cons of vinyl too. I almost went vinyl before I realized the benefits of CDs, and now you can even play and scratch with CDs too. The music lists in this book are from a few years ago, but that is actually a bonus, because most of the folks at my mobile DJ gigs are a little older and complimented me on my (well, the author's) music selection. I am quickly building a profitable business that would have taken me much longer without the information in this book! I would give it 10 stars if I could! I HIGHLY recommend reading this book, even DJs who think they already know everything. This was the best [money] I ever spent!
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best DJ book available.
Review: I have been searching for a book that clearly defines each type of "DJ", and this book does it incredibly well! I am considered a "beginner", and How To Be A DJ explained the skills, music and equipment I needed to get started. I have now been hired to DJ at two weddings which went really well, and the marketing tips in this book were very helpful to me, allowing me to book four Christmas parties! The marketing information in this book is priceless; no other DJ in my town offers what I offer, but I imagine they'll copy me once they find out what's going on! Great explanation on the pros and cons of vinyl too. I almost went vinyl before I realized the benefits of CDs, and now you can even play and scratch with CDs too. The music lists in this book are from a few years ago, but that is actually a bonus, because most of the folks at my mobile DJ gigs are a little older and complimented me on my (well, the author's) music selection. I am quickly building a profitable business that would have taken me much longer without the information in this book! I would give it 10 stars if I could! I HIGHLY recommend reading this book, even DJs who think they already know everything. This was the best [money] I ever spent!
Rating:
Summary: For experienced DJs....not for beginners
Review: I just started to DJ about 3 weeks ago and I was looking for a book with techniques and guides. Although this book covers the overall issues of being a disc jockey, it doesn't satisfy my needs of information. I'd recommend it for DJs that already know what they're doing and are looking for further ways to make money or to improve even further. This is not for a true beginner!
Rating:
Summary: AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR THE MOBILE DJ!!!
Review: I picked this book up [...] a few weeks ago out of curiosity being that I work as a mobile DJ. I have worked in this field for 11 years- 10 years working for a DJ company and 1 year on my own starting my own company. The tips and marketing techniques found in this book are invaluable!! I cannot believe the positive feedback that I have gotten from my clients in the past few weeks!! Chuck Fresh describes these techniques in a very simple to follow format. So many small things that DJs take for granted but make a huge difference in the success of a party. This book is a must for the DJ who is just starting out AND the DJ who has been in the field for some time. ATTENTION ALL DJS!!!! BUY THIS BOOK!!! IT IS WORTH THE PRICE (and then some!!)
Rating:
Summary: Thorough, up-to-date, and fun.
Review: I remember hearing Chuck Fresh playing at some of the bigger clubs in the Philly area a few years ago. I used to ask him questions about what it was like to be a DJ, and he was pretty darn forthcoming with his answers. And his book pulls no punches either. I've bought and read five "how to DJ" books now, and I can honestly say that this is the most informative and up-to-date publication of them all. DJ Fresh teaches about the real DJ business, not just the Hollywood version everyone sees on TV. He's a pretty sneaky dude, and he's shared many of his sneaky tips in this book. Definitely recommend to anyone looking to break in to this business.
Rating:
Summary: This was my favorite!
Review: Out of all the DJ books I've read, this was the most "real". The author tells you exactly what's on his mind, which makes for some truly entertaining reading at times! This book covers all three of the major disciplines of being a disc jockey, namely the radio DJ, the bar DJ, and the wedding DJ. Having experience in all three, he not only explains how to start a career in each field, he includes a very detailed list of pros and cons. I've wanted to be a radio DJ since I was a teenager, but now I'm totally rethinking that one... The song lists are very comprehensive and incredibly helpful, although they appear to be slightly dated, with the newest ones from the very late '90s. But that's actually a plus, since most of my customers are late 20's/early 30's and grew up in the 80s and 90s, and can't stand that Britney Spears or InSync nonsense of today anyway. It's hard to find songs people will respond to on a dance floor, but this book does an excellent job of finding what I call "people movers." Finally, there are some very clever marketing techniques for all three DJ fields in this book that I've found to be priceless so far. They're incredibly simple, and amazingly effective, but I probably would not have thought of these on my own. Those tips by themselves were worth twice what I paid for this book. Totally recommend this book for new DJ wannabes, and even for experienced DJs who might have missed something along the way.
Rating:
Summary: NEW EDITION AVAILABLE!
Review: Please enter "1592005098" in your search to find the NEW latest edition of this great book - newly revised and expanded to over 300 pages! Thanks again for your support
DJ CHUCK FRESH
|
