Getting?           

TMI

Aww. . . It's OK, Dave.  C'mere    We've all learned to accept you the way you are (though we may still be praying that God will change you!).

Hi Bill, long time no see

It is possible to make DJ'ing your sole source of income, but that is not without it's difficulties. I know plenty of DJ's who make it there sole source of income but they are ether DJ'ing 7 nights a week for at least 2 to 3 hours a night OR they are not just DJ'ing in clubs but also at weddings and other events. There's nothng wrong in trying to pursue a goal but be aware very few DJ's make it big. Personally I prefer the style, music taste and attitue of the ones that don't 'make it' 

Thanks Davo. Some good advice there.

That's really the answer right there.  There was a time when someone could make a name for themselves based soley on thier spinning abilities.  Kimball Collins, Chris Fortier, Andy Hughes, Baby Anne and even AK1200 all built thier reputations on their mixing skills in the early 90's.  And I don't know when AK1200 was spinning in malls but I used to see the guy spinning on the back patio at the Edge back in 93 or so, so even he came up during that time period.  Thats all changed now.  You cannot build a reputation based on spinning alone anymore.  The scene doesn't support it these days.  You HAVE to produce to build a reputation beyond anything local.

In fact, if you look at some of the Central Florida artists that got big from just spinning back in the early 90's, even they didn't hit it REALLY big until they started to produce and release records.  Icey had a residency at the edge, but once he started releasing records,  (and particularly once he release "Tricks") he blew up.  Likewise for Fortier and his Fade releases.  And to go further I would say that only the successfull producers have gone on to have continued exposure in the scene over the years.  Case in point, if you ook at Kimball Collins he began producing and releasing music right around the same time, but his reputation really began to lose some steam around that time which is exactly the opposite of what anyone in Central Florida would have thought to be the case if you would have asked them who was gonna end up being a champion of the scene in the next few years at that time.

Why did that happen?  Because Icey had a new sound that stuck and launched that whole Florida breaks scene, while Fortier was just better at the trance sound than Collins was and has solidified his name much moreso than Kimball because of it. 

So you can try and build a rep as a headliner, but it will never go beyond some little local area thing unless you are producing music that gets picked up by DJ's around the world.  You do that, you break things open period.  Of course thats easier said than done as I can relate to the not having the money comment.

  I've been longing to really get into production for the last 4-5 years.  I was constantly working in Reason for about a year and half to two years, but had to lay it down for a while to finish school and have never been able to really pick it back up like I need to if I want to do it successfully, because I can't afford a controller or sound sets or anything for that matter.  I finally got a legal copy of Reason last year (as well as Recycle) but I feel like I'm extremely limited in what I can accomplish without a controller which I don't have the cash for right now, and haven't had since I started 5 years ago.  I haven't totally given up hope of being able to get the equipment I need to be able to pursue that passion like I want to, but I'm getting close to giving up.  Hell, I'm almost 35 years old.  How much longer to I have to really be able to do it?  (Sorry that last paragraph is off topic but I'm just venting my frustrations about it I guess)