Its been 16 months since I had a gig , and I’m not gana like .….it pretty fucking sucks !
In all my 20 plus years career I’ve never been this long without playing in front of a crowd. Only those DJs , like me , truly know the feeling , nay, the rush of emotion when playing a ‘killer’ set in front of people and making them dance, shout and scream .
As we know all too well , Covid is the main culprit but alas for me in my hometown of Larnaca in Cyprus clubs and bars have opened up and the nightlife is once again returning to normal . But for me , my ‘normal’ is playing music for people and this , my ‘normal’, doesn’t seem to be returning soon . I don’t foresee any gigs in my near future . There’s allot to unpack with how the club scene in Cyprus works with booking of talent. Firstly there are not too many venues , so gigs are limited , second there’s the ‘messo (who you connected with) ‘ problem , third there are allot of DJs trying to undercut each others pay just to get a gig (this is even worse now cos of the repercussions of Covid) , fifth clubs now are looking for more ‘commercial’ DJs and the list goes on . Unfortunately I don’t really tick allot of these boxes. I’m not a commercial DJ , I don’t have ‘messo’ , I’m not gana bargain my price or ‘cheapen’ myself especially when I see a venue hold 1000 people and then the owner of said venue argues with me over 20 euro , but what I do have is a passion and love for my craft and music of which I try to excel and push myself ever more forward with . And this is why I don’t have a ‘home’ to play my music. I’ve also seen allot of local DJs who I think deserve bigger venues to showcase their sound , be reduced to playing music for lounge bars . Its a shame really what Covid has done and also how club and bar owners have reacted to it. I truly do miss having a residency , a place to call my ‘home’ .
During Covid I had turned to live streaming , which was allot of fun and was a great supplement for live gigs considering that the bars and clubs were still closed . But the itch of playing in front of a live crowd could not be scratched . There’s only so far that live streaming can get you . There’s only a small amount of satisfaction that can be gotten from it . And also , if you’re not a really well known DJ/producer you’ll likely get close to maybe 10 people watching you play live at a time . Nothing compared to if you had a gig in person .
Personally I have turned the time I have gained from not getting gigs into focusing more on original productions and my radio show/podcast. And the results are there , I am so happy producing and feeling of accomplishment is greatly received. I feel absolutely fantastic when I complete tracks and submit them to labels . And the feeling of getting a track signed to the label is even better . But again , as far and as amazing as this feels . There’s still nothing like playing in front of a crowd. It makes it especially harder when you have a track signed to a big reputable label and you haven’t seen how the crowd reacts to your track live and in person .
But I have faith and I have the patience , all I know is that I am 100% ready to play !
