There is nothing worse than showing up to a DJ gig unprepared. Bringing the right cables, backups, and equipment with you is vital to a proper performance and important for piece of mind. Full disclosure here, this isn't a list for mobile DJ gigs ( the ones where you are required to bring a full speaker set up and mobile rig). This list isn't designed for strictly vinyl sets, although a lot of the content crosses over. As a matter of fact this isn't designed to be the end all be all of lists! It is designed to extend beyond the short checklist (Slipmats, Needles, Headphones, Laptop, Stand, Charger, Control Records) for those of you playing club dates on turntables. So lets get down to brass tax.
In my mind a good DJ is 30 percent Uhaul, 20 percent librarian, 40 percent performer, and 10 percent Radio Shack. Let me break this down a bit. Uhaul is simple, you haul all your stuff to and from the gig, on and off of planes, trains, and automobiles. I'm not going to cover musical organization ( the Librarian aspect of the job ) on this one, but that's a doozy. I'm only going to cover "Radio Shack". Simply put when you are at a gig and something is wonky it is your responsibility. No one cares if the club has rats chewing up the cables all night, if the show stops you look bad. Now I'm not saying bring 30 feet of XLR cable to every gig, but you need to be prepared.
I hope this helps. Make sure to bring some business cards with you for the end of the night and remember to have fun!
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