SeeDarkly™

The snowfall in the early part of the month caused some rescheduling so I had to be flexible about that. And despite any number of other complications, mishaps, and potential unpleasantness, things still went pretty well over all for my gigs in February... progressively better after each as the worst of the weather passed following my birthday.
I've found that things that I feared were problems really just aren't. There are some things I simply can not change, at least not on my own or as things stand. But in the long run, they don't seem to have any lasting or real effect on my life other than what I allow. The tough part is that I still allow them more power than they deserve from time to time. I'll learn.

Meanwhile, I'm still occasionally making mistakes to learn from (paving the way for all new mistakes) and growing where I can.
March is looking like a very busy month and I'm very excited for a number of new opportunities I've been offered! I will work, as ever, to be worthy of them all.
I'll post my schedule soon.

Here are my playlists for the month. Feel free to make copies; as many as you like. :'x

HELL; February 2, 2011
( 9-11 set: )

HAVEN; February 8, 2011
( 9-10p set: )
( 11:30p: )

JADED; February 12, 2011

( 1st set: )
( 2nd set: )
( 3rd set: )
( Closing set: )

HELL; January 20, 2010

Club Hell's Fetish Night was, yet again, a lot of fun! I was thrilled because a bunch of friends came out early for the bulk of my set. Which is so much more fun than them finding out after I'm done that I was even going to be there at all. I must be getting better at promoting myself?!?

I usually tend to start slow and build in tempo, but since Dank Coma and I spin such different styles I figured I could get things moving faster earlier and still not preempt any of his set at all.
(Of course, the moment I play ONE slow tempo song, I get the "can't you play something faster, I'm falling asleep," complaint. *sigh* Well, I suppose I could... and did.)
Overall though I was very glad to see most enjoyed the night and I tried to play as many requests as I could.
On the technical side of things, Hell is one of those places where I have to mix via headphone most of the time, which is getting easier, but I still struggle with it.

I'm expecting to be back at Club Hell's Fetish Night in late February, but I don't have a date yet. As usual, I'll post when I do.
Meanwhile, I spin next Tuesday at HAVEN for the Bloodlust Vampire Ball with DJs Azrael & Damian Plague.

Here is my set from Fetish Night at Club Hell:

( 9-11 set: )

HELL; November 4

I'm always thrilled to hear feedback from Club Hell's Fetish Night crowd. They really enjoy the mix and the differing style of music between DJ Dank Coma and myself. It's a lot of fun! It's also funny because no one I know seems to know I'm even spinning there until I'm done. Once they find out they are always complimentary so I don't mind being somewhat anonymous knowing that they really are enjoying it.
We were working on two different cd players (a Pioneer vs. a Numark) and I'm finally getting a real sense of the difference of utility between the two brands. My own decks are Numark so I have enough familiarity with the brand to function with them adequately, but I'm finding Pioneer to be superior in a lot of ways. Though I could see how some of Pioneer's intuitive utility could make me a lazier DJ. Maybe it's me, but I like to feel like I'm working when I spin. It just feels more rewarding when you do something well and you were working for it. Makes it more fun for me anyway.

I'm told I'll be back at Club Hell's Fetish Night in December, but I don't have a date yet. I'll post when I do.

Here is my set from Fetish Night at Club Hell:

( 9-11 set: )


HAVEN - Exotic Erotic Ball; November 17

I had a lot of fun at Haven's Exotic Erotic Ball and Bella Vendetta liked my pants! (non sequitur much?) It was the first time in a while I've worn vinyl, mostly because I avoid it during warmer seasons.

This was another of those nights where I had great song selection but had varying degrees of successful execution. It may be that few, if any, noticed. I noticed though and have to improve, even if the best of us have bad transitions now and again. There are elements I need to be better aware of for better blends and mixes; stuff like if a song ends cold or fades, etc... part of the problem is I don't "know by heart" every song I have in my library that I might pick to play, so sometimes that lack of familiarity can hinder my performance. Although sometimes that unfamiliarity can also end up conjuring something inspired.
Eh, DJing is so much less a "science" than, say "science" is, so it's not like there is a foolproof equation to get it right.
Overall I did well... I ran a few songs long on my second set so Damian Plague could host the contest and I managed to keep things up and moving despite my personal critiques.
Mothra loaned me a track I wanted to play but was missing from my library for some reason that night (thank you sir!)
We all managed to play Nine Inch Nails at least once per hour (which I found kind of amusing since 3 tracks played came from Pretty Hate Machine.)
I managed to dance a little bit here and there too. Physically I'm doing ok, but still feeling sensitive about my knee, so it may be a while after the next surgery before I can throw myself into a night-long dance experience again. I look forward to that day.

I return to HAVEN on December 1 for STOMP & SWIRL. DJs Azrael, Znuh, and myself will be dropping slow and body-moving beats!

I should be able to post a full run-down of my December DJ dates on December 1; just waiting on a few details myself. :)

Here are my sets from Haven's Exotic Erotic Ball:

( 9-10p set: )
( 11:30p: )

HELL; January 21

This was my second time spinning Fetish Night at Club Hell and I'm honestly a little surprised at how slow the beginning of the night is. I thought the last time was just an off night, but that first hour seems to drag when there are 5-10 people and staff there. When the crowd finally poured in between 10-10:30, the floor picked up slowly. I ended my set with a request I should have hit 20 minutes earlier, which I mistakenly believed to be unfamiliar to the crowd, but it really caused such a great reaction, with screams of excitement and the floor swelling in thrall to it! It surprised Dank Coma as well since he'd never heard the track before.
I had to work without a monitor because theirs was suffering some malfunction, which was a great challenge to mix solely from earphones. I did OK all things considered, but I definitely prefer monitors. Again, no complaints, so I did fine. I also have to remember I can take a few more musical risks at Hell. There's a lot of music I can branch to that will work there, even when it wouldn't anywhere else I spin.
Still, Dank Coma tells me he'll have me back in March so I'm looking forward to it!

Here is my set from Fetish Night at Club Hell:

( 9-11p set: )


HAVEN; January 27

Haven presented its first ever Bloodlust Vampire Ball and it was fantastic! Lots of cool vampire costumes and vampire movies and all the trimmings! Plus great music all night long! Mothra and Damian Plague rocked a super tag team near the end of the night! I also had a great time hanging with Znuh and chatting dj stuff.
My sets were well done but again, not flawless (from my perspective at least) and I have two very specific things I need to resolve.
1) Stop "painting myself into a corner" I can't figure out how to mix myself out of. I end up panicking and throwing on a song that clashes with the one I've trapped myself with because I can't feel my way out and resort to math.
2) Throw VNV Nation out of my book! I ended up playing the same track Mothra had earlier in the night. Granted, there was at least 1 or 2 hours between the offending repeat but my problem with VNV Nation is I simply NEVER recognize it.
I own it, I listen to it, I forget it. When I hear it in a club, I simply can't identify it and when I play it, I play it for its math more than its feel. So I'm sorry to anyone disappointed by this decision, but I'm done with that band until I've played with it more at home. Every DJ plays them enough so I doubt it will be missed.
Yes, I know people were still dancing their asses off, but it doesn't make it any less a faux pas.
Oh and after Mothra let me know I'd played the song he had played earlier, he went on to play a different version of the Zombie Girl track I started the night with. It was a cool sort of "full circle" feel since I played the "lounge" version which sounds like a campy cover and he played the actual song so that was fun, and funny since I got to rib him a little for the same "mistake" I'd just made. hee hee

Last note: I found some new music by a band I played once per set to gauge reactions. I'm pretty pleased with the reactions and I have another couple of tracks to test next time.
When is next time?

Well, Haven presents its 13th Anniversary Event: A Very Dark Circus on Tuesday, February 17!
I'll be spinning along side DJs Mothra, and Znuh!
See you there!

Here are my sets from Haven's Bloodlust:

( 9-10p set: )
( 12:20a: )