Why are You DJ?
Less of a gig and more of a thing, I went out to a friend’s river house last night and set up the DJ system, cued up a playlist, and put it on auto.
A couple things. I realized if the songs are correct and hitting, no one gives a sh*t if you’re mixing them. At all. So don’t worry about it. Number two, it's always cooler to have a DJ, even if the DJ is doing nothing but running a playlist, pre-selected, for that particular party. Like that was the thing we talked about. Everybody was just having fun, talking about what’s coming next.
It was XX-fun for me because I actually got to sit with people and talk about it. It’s all about, and this has really come up on me in the past few gigs, getting it. It’s really fun to get and guess the thing and make sure that you’re hitting people the right way (between the eyes).
People ask me: why would you DJ, why blah blah blah, and it’s that. It’s like getting it right and getting the mood and making this thing better. I can’t stress it enough. Just being there and enhancing what’s already there is the exact thing, just bringing it to a level that is, you know, I mentioned it yesterday, it’s like OK this is great. It’s perfect. It’s 90%. Can you get it closer to 100? And you have that 10% to play with. That’s the entire thing.
I did exactly this yesterday. (I feel this way because people told me.) Total success. DJing to me is not about being the center of attention or raising your hands in the air grooving or making fake filter sweeps. It is only about getting the thing correct, assessing where you are at any given point, evaluating it, adjusting, and making it all as better as possible. That’s the whole thing.
Playlist below. Loved it.
1 Party Hard Andrew WK 2 I Don't Know Anything Mad Season 3 Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8) [Remastered] Dolly Parton 4 The Race Is On (Live) George Jones 5 Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' Charley Pride 6 Longhaired Redneck David Allan Coe 7 Tulsa Time Don Williams 8 Southern Nights Glen Campbell 9 Amarillo Highway (For Dave Hickey) Terry Allen 10 All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down) Hank Williams, Jr. 11 Move It On Over Hank Williams 12 Jambalaya (On the Bayou) Hank Williams 13 Family Tradition Hank Williams, Jr. 14 Tennessee River Hank Williams, Jr. 15 Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound Hank Williams, Jr. 16 East Bound and Down (From Smokey and the Bandit")" Jerry Reed 17 Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) [feat. Willie Nelson] Waylon Jennings 18 Get It Out (Live) Jerry Jeff Walker 19 We Didn't See a Thing (feat. Chet Atkins) George Jones 20 L.A. Freeway Jerry Jeff Walker 21 London Homesick Blues (Live) Jerry Jeff Walker 22 Pissin' in the Wind Jerry Jeff Walker 23 Sangria Wine (Live in Luckenbach, TX, 1973) Jerry Jeff Walker 24 Gettin' By (Live) Jerry Jeff Walker 25 Jaded Lover Jerry Jeff Walker 26 Up Against the Wall, Red Neck (Live) Jerry Jeff Walker 27 She's All I Got Johnny Paycheck 28 Friday Night Fever George Strait 29 Thibodeaux & His Cajun Band Jimmy C. Newman 30 Jack Daniel's, If You Please David Allan Coe 31 Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash 32 Life Ain't Fair and the World Is Mean Sturgill Simpson 33 Take This Job and Shove It Johnny Paycheck 34 Fiddle Breakdown (Live) Merle Haggard 35 Take Me Back To Tulsa (Live) Merle Haggard 36 Foggy Mountain Breakdown Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys 37 Fox On the Run (Live) George Jones 38 Free Bird Lynyrd Skynyrd 39 Honky Tonk Man Dwight Yoakam 40 I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink Merle Haggard 41 San Antonio Rose (Live) Merle Haggard 42 Love's Gonna Live Here Buck Owens & His Buckaroos 43 Drinkin' Problem Midland 44 Drinkin' Thing Gary Stewart 45 Chug-A-Lug Roger Miller 46 Dead Flowers (Live) The Rolling Stones 47 (Hey Baby) Que Paso (Live) Texas Tornados 48 The House Is Rockin' Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble 49 Texas (When I Die) Tanya Tucker 50 I'm a Ramblin' Man Waylon Jennings 51 Love Bug George Jones 52 Jackson (Live) Johnny Cash 53 Can't You See Waylon Jennings 54 T for Texas Tompall & The Glaser Brothers 55 Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard" (Good Ol' Boys)" Waylon Jennings 56 Good Hearted Woman Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson 57 I've Always Been Crazy Waylon Jennings 58 Queen of My Double Wide Trailer Sammy Kershaw 59 I Can Get Off On You Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson 60 Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson 61 White Lightning (Single Version) George Jones 62 Down Yonder (Live from Austin City Limits) Willie Nelson 63 I Couldn't Believe It Was True (Live from Austin City Limits) Willie Nelson 64 On the Road Again (Live) Willie Nelson 65 Remember Me (Live from Austin City Limits) Willie Nelson 66 Whiskey River Willie Nelson 67 Me and Bobby McGee (Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY - March 1990) The Highwaymen 68 It's Only Love ZZ Top 69 Just Got Paid ZZ Top 70 Tush ZZ Top 71 Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys 72 Cheap Sunglasses (2019 Remaster) ZZ Top 73 La Grange ZZ Top 74 I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide ZZ Top 75 Black Rose (Live) Billy Joe Shaver 76 Act Naturally Buck Owens 77 Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets Johnny Paycheck 78 There's a Tear In My Beer Hank Williams & Hank Williams, Jr. 79 Kaw-Liga Hank Williams, Jr. 80 Don't It Make You Wanna Dance? (Live At The Dance Hall, Luckenbach, TX, 1977) Jerry Jeff Walker 81 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (2018 Mix) The Beatles 82 Get Back The Beatles 83 Revolution The Beatles 84 Jack the Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots Black Sabbath 85 Going Up the Country Canned Heat 86 Maybellene Chuck Berry 87 Roll Over Beethoven Chuck Berry 88 Johnny B. Goode Chuck Berry 89 You Never Can Tell (Stereo Remix) Chuck Berry 90 Livin' Thing Electric Light Orchestra 91 Showdown Electric Light Orchestra 92 A Little Less Conversation Elvis Presley 93 Layla Eric Clapton & Derek & The Dominos 94 Stay With Me Faces 95 Memphis, Tennessee Faces 96 Life's Been Good Joe Walsh 97 A Life of Illusion Joe Walsh 98 Jumpin' Jack Flash The Rolling Stones 99 Honky Tonk Women The Rolling Stones 100 Tumbling Dice The Rolling Stones 101 Start Me Up The Rolling Stones 102 Reelin' In The Years Steely Dan 103 Rubberband Man The Spinners 104 Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley Robert Palmer 105 She Came In Through The Bathroom Window Joe Cocker 106 Willie, Waylon and Me David Allan Coe 107 Mendocino (Live) Doug Sahm 108 She's About a Mover Doug Sahm 109 (Is Anybody Going To) San Antone Doug Sahm 110 Poison Love Doug Sahm 111 Faded Love Doug Sahm 112 Nuevo Laredo (Live) Doug Sahm 113 Me and Paul Doug Sahm 114 Whiskey River (Live at Harrah's Casino, Lake Tahoe, NV - April 1978) Willie Nelson 115 If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time (Live at Harrah's Casino, Lake Tahoe, NV - April 1978) Willie Nelson 116 I Can Get off on You (Live at Harrah's Casino, Lake Tahoe, NV - April 1978) Willie Nelson 117 All She Wants To Do Is Dance (Remastered 2024) Don Henley 118 Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away Vince Gill 119 Ceremony (Version 1) [2023 Digital Master] New Order 120 I Will Dare The Replacements 121 Teen Age Riot (2012 Remastered Version) Sonic Youth 122 I Wanna Be Adored (Remastered 2009) The Stone Roses 123 Waiting Room Fugazi 124 This Charming Man The Smiths 125 Just Like Honey The Jesus and Mary Chain 126 So. Central Rain R.E.M. 127 Love Buzz Nirvana 128 Wrote for Luck (Remastered Version) Happy Mondays 129 Tell Me When It's Over The Dream Syndicate 130 Molly's Lips (Album) Vaselines 131 Our Secret Beat Happening 132 Swallow My Pride Green River 133 Puke + Cry (2019 Remaster) Dinosaur Jr. 134 Start Choppin (2019 Remaster) Dinosaur Jr. 135 Feel The Pain (2019 Remaster) Dinosaur Jr.