Anyz kochenz … aazk za pankaz!
Music
DJ with an attitude, a good one and reasonable
Dec 4th
Blackjack has always been one of the best DJs I’ve listened to. I started listening to him on Tuesdays when he used to play in 10 Downing street, Hyderabad. He is probably the only guy in Hyderabad who has a decent knowledge of Rock music. Recently I received a message by him on Hard Rock Cafe Hyderabad’s community on Facebook. This is what it reads
DJ decides on requests…when or not… I aim to please but since i happen to be one of those performers who makes every attempt for a seamless steady wave of music too heavy too early and too soft at a specific part of an evening doesnt make sense…and end of the day this is a dj driven music not a juke box where all you drop a coin and it will play regardless…:) I wish our dear rockers and others would understand and respect this.
I’ve been a DJ for quite some time now and I totally agree with this. Although we played completely different genres, the rule for a good evening remains the same. Make a request, but dont just stare at him like he is your sex slave. If the DJ feels it fits into the set or the mood he will play(at the right time). If you dont want to be offended by his actions, request something related to the music playing at that moment.
Juice by Gustavo Guerra
Sep 23rd
I am simply impressed with this guy can play. Juice is one of my favourite Vai numbers and he does complete justice to it
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvcuQUpxz6Q&hl=en&fs=1]
Canon Rock by Gustavo Guerra
May 23rd
Just today morning, one of my friend sent me to some link with a guy playing Canon Rock. This just reminded me of the version played by Gustavo Guerra. Check it out.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0qwCwonP00&hl=en&border=1]
Summer Song covered by Gustavo Guerra
Mar 19th
Just cant get enough of Gustavo
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpO9Myo-Os0&border=1&hl=en]
Can you get closer to the original? Absolute effortless playing. I would like to see him jam with Satriani sometime.
Silent night by Gustavo(another masterpiece)
Mar 19th
I never get enough of this guy. He is just too awesome. A simple song like silent night soloed on a guitar with all the emotion possible gives birth to a masterpiece.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ5rpbezE9M&border=1&hl=en]
You should checkout out Gustavo Guerra’s videos page for more of his videos.
What do you think about this guy?
Gustavo comes the closest to Malmsteen
Mar 13th
If you are a fan of Malmsteen like me this guy will blow your minds out with the ease with which he plays Malmsteen shit
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBjaa0K3LUo&border=1&hl=en]
An amazing guitarist
Mar 10th
Of late I have been watching this guy Gustavo Guerra and his amazing ability to play various kindsa styles. A must watch for any aspiring guitarist. This guy makes a very clear statement in all his videos. You dont have to play shredding parts to be effective. Just enjoy what you are playing. I will be posting some of his really good videos on my blog. Check out the first one. Its Manhattan by Eric Johnson.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh8887r96n4&border=1]
TEN things you should not say to a DJ
Mar 9th
Flicked this off a website but they really piss off a DJ(experience, although very little)
1. PLAY SOMETHING GOOD…SOMETHING WE CAN DANCE TO!
The DJ has to play for more than one person…so what you hate may be another’s favorite song and EVERYTHING played here can be danced to one way or another.
2. WOULD YOU PLAY SOMETHING WITH A “BEAT”
BE SERIOUS! We know of NO songs played in a club that don’t have some sort of BEAT!
3. I DON’T KNOW WHO SINGS IT AND I DON’T KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG, BUT IT GOES LIKE THIS….
PLEASE don’t sing for the DJ. They have to put up with smoke filled rooms and dangerous decibel levels all night long…Do them a favor and DON’T give them a rendition of your favorite song.
4. EVERYBODY WANTS TO HEAR IT!
Oh, sure … you polled everyone in the club and, as their spokesperson, you’re requesting the song.
5. EVERYBODY WILL DANCE IF YOU PLAY IT!
The DJ won’t. I guess that blows a hole in that theory!
6. I CAN GET LAID IF YOU PLAY IT!
Why settle for one night? Buy the album and get laid for a whole month!
7. I WANT TO HEAR IT NEXT!
The ONLY people who can get away with that statement write the DJ’s paycheck!
8. WHAT DO YOU HAVE?
It’s a lot easier for you to go have another beer and figure out what you want to hear than it is for the DJ to recite the name of every record in the booth!
9. HEY, MAN, NOBODY CAN DANCE TO THIS!
It’s NOT advisable to say this when the dance floor is packed (but some people do anyway) ! HOWEVER, even if there is only ONE person on the floor, it STILL contradicts the statement!
10. PLAY IT SOON, BECAUSE WE’RE LEAVING!
If your gonna leave after he plays it, why shouldn’t he wait till the very last song so you stay all night!
Picture of my setup
Mar 9th
Allright then. Came home really late last night(in fact, in the morning) so wasnt able to post the picture. But here it is
I was provided a Pioneer DJM-800 mixer by the resort guys. Apart from this I used my Compaq laptop which was running Traktor DJ Studio 3.2.2. I then use the Numark Total Control USB midi interface to control Traktor DJ Studio.
When it comes to output routing, I used the Numark DJ/IO to split the output in terms of monitor and master.
The setup is pretty straight forward and one of the easiest to control. There are not many effects possibilities though. The few effects that i use are Delay, beat masher, flanger(i use this a lot) and the T2 filter. I thought these are good enough for a small show. You can play around with the T2 filter quite a lot as well as the delay. The only limitation I felt was having to use the mouse every time i wanted to change the kinda effect. Otherwise the effect control are very easy to use.
The best part about this setup is the ability to load songs faster. The middle knob of the Total Control allows you to quickly scroll through the tracks in the view. Pressing the know down preplays it on the monitor o/p. Each deck has its own set of load track buttons. which loads the selected track in the particular deck.
I will post a detailed video of the basics with this setup and a few simple mixes. Hangon till then.
As for any aspiring DJ, I would like to say that this is a VERY portable setup. Its a must have actually.Its worth the money at least.
Cheers till then
