Oh, to be a DJ – that seemingly cool person mixing song after song in the background and setting the vibe at parties. I’ve been DJing since March, and I know that the next step in growing my skills means playing on the tool professional DJs use – a compact disc jockey – but I don’t have one.
Fortunately, there’s a way to practice your DJ skills without quitting your day job.
It’s called Bond Street Open Decks and it takes place at The Bar at Café Kitsuné in Boerum Hill every Wednesday, hosted by local DJ Nadia Ayad.
Ayad started hosting Open Decks in early September as a way to help aspiring DJs rip off the Band-Aid.
There are actually several spots across the city offering similar events, such as Eris in Williamsburg, the “Bedroom Open Decks” at Hart Bar in Bushwick, and the happy hour open decks at Mood Ring in Bushwick, to name just a few.
I picked Bond Street Open Decks because of its “low stakes” environment. There aren’t more than, say, 50 people in the bar at a time.
Open decks are a chance for newbie DJs to hop onto what’s called a “CDJ,” a device that you might think of as a modern version of the turntable. DJs use them in clubs, concerts and bars, and they can cost upwards of $2,500.
A CDJ enables you to make a mix without having to schlep around a laptop and cords. It has all the controls you need to help manipulate the music – like hot cueing, pitch fading and filtering – all in one place. And at open decks, you can do it all in front of a real, live audience.
As a journalist, I can’t afford a CDJ, so playing on one in open decks is a way to go from being a “bedroom DJ” – using a DDJ, which I have to connect to a laptop – to building real skills on professional equipment.
How it works
Bond Street Open Decks is free, but you have to sign up in-person only with Ayad at The Bar at Café Kitsuné. Once you do that, you’ll get an email the Sunday before your date confirming everything.
When it’s your turn, you have…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply