New adventures of the stay at home DJ.

So, this is the new norm. In an instant every DJ at every level of fame and popularity has become a bedroom DJ. Almost immediately after the shelter at home orders were given, DJ’s took to Twitch, Facebook and other platforms and started live streaming. Quite a few of my friends were already doing it quite frequently. I even was going to start toying with it back in 2017 but I never really had the chance to set things up properly in my studio.

My new Zoom Q2n 4K. Capturing the magic.

So along comes the pandemic and now everyone is jumping in on the live stream bandwagon. We even have virtual festivals now. It is quite interesting to see how this movement Is growing. People are stepping up the game. Multiple cameras, logos, scrolls and chats are now common. The look of the broadcast is becoming just as important as the music. Maybe a bit more.

At first, I was very hesitant to get in on the craze. Firstly, it was for logistical reasons. I had moved back to California on March 1st and my DJ gear was being shipped and was not scheduled to arrive to our new place until April 10th. So even if I wanted to jump into the live stream fray, I had no means to play music to do so. Secondly, I didn’t know what I could add to the conversation. I mean if I was going to do this, I would want to do something different. Stand out a bit more I suppose. I guess I could just DJ and that would be fine but doesn’t seem engaging.

The new XDJ-XZ (Bottom) with the DJS-1000 Sampler (Top)

Also, I knew little about the whole livestreaming thing but lucky for me I have friends that were all about it and could provide me advise. When my gear arrived two weeks ago I knew I wanted to sell my current DDJ-1000 controller and upgraded to the new XDJ-RX (full review coming soon). I love that it was an all in one and also that I could use my DJS-1000 with it seamlessly. I quickly ordered the new controller and was able to quickly sell the old one. Ok with that solved now I had to get a new camera. I already have the older Zoom Q2n and since I would like to get multiple angles, I ordered a new 4k version. It just arrived 2 days ago and last night I got it up and running with OBS and also checked to make sure that I was getting audio from my soundcard directly into my feed. So far it looks good. I will test it out tonight or tomorrow morning. I have been asked to be a part of some live stream shows and if my testing looks good I will get on those as soon as Sunday.

I know I will want whatever I do I will try to engage a bit. I want to make sure that I it is more of a conversation rather than a monologue. I was thinking of doing more of a Happy Hour. Make cocktails, review craft beer and chat during my mixes. I don’t have a huge space where my DJ equipment / studio is so finding the right camera angles will be a challenge it is something to work on. As long as it is an outlet and fun and people seem to enjoy then why not. Might as well try it out and see how it fits me.