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It takes a great deal of skill and music knowledge to be a good DJ. Most people don't realize that. The majority of bar and club owners these days don't realize that. A lot of musicians don't realize that. Quite a few DJs don't realize it either.

As with anything art-related, you really have to have a love and respect for music in order to successfully do anything with it; whether it's singing, dancing, composing, or DJing. DJing, quite simply, is the artistic programming and manipulation of recorded music. You can create an iTunes playlist with 50 great songs, but the magic is in the way the songs are ultimately delivered to the listener. The order in which they are presented. The timing. The grouping of songs. The change ups. All these things turn a playlist of songs into a powerful, motivating, and magical tool in the hands of a good DJ. DJing is a performance art when done correctly. But unless you're a bigshot club DJ spinning vinyl records full of techno, house, and alternative dance grooves at some ubercool club in NYC, you're not gonna get much respect as a mobile DJ playing in a bar downtown. It's just the way it is. It's always been that way and I think it's gotten significantly worse thanks to the giant leaps of technology that enable any dufus with a computer and a USB control surface claim to be a DJ.

Most of the people who are booking music (live and DJ) for the bars and clubs around town are ignorant to what works and what doesn't; who's great and who's not. And money continues to be the bottom line. This is great news to all those mediocre musicians and DJs out there who are willing to play the night for $50. It's downright frustrating to the true professionals who are losing gigs to these bottom feeders. You don't have to be very bright to know when a band or musician sucks. It only takes one or two songs; sometimes even less than that. It's a little trickier to pick out the good DJs from the not-so-good ones and you truly have to appreciate and love music to really notice and appreciate a great DJ. That's what I think anyway. And since I write, sing, play, compose, study, and DJ music, I'm confident that I'm qualified to make such an assessment.

I've DJ'd hundreds upon hundreds of bar gigs and witnessed first hand the euphoria (theirs and mine) that a stellar set of perfectly melded songs can deliver. I have had countless people shower me with slurred praise at the end of the night and tell me what an awesome DJ I was and how great the music was. Nothing beats the feeling you get after receiving a kind word or sincere compliment. Nothing beats the feeling you get from seeing a packed dance floor and knowing that you caused that to happen. I've had a lot of those good feelings over the years but there's still times when I get down on myself and discourage at the business side of things. There are people who can make you feel worthless and insignificant and cause you to question why you even bother at all. I guess it's a roller coaster sort of thing.

This was a very long-winded way to get to my point. I received a compliment last night from someone who wasn't really trying to compliment me, but really succeeded in making the frustration I've been feeling lately a little more "worth it" to me. I was DJing at place that I hadn't played at in years and I was playing off-the-beaten-path music for most of the night. There weren't too many people in this place, but one of them happened to be a "regular" who used to come every week to hear me DJ. I recognized her immediately when she approached and she had this big smile and hopeful eyes when she asked, "hey, are you gonna be here next week too?" I told her no; that I was just filling in. She was noticeably disappointed and then she said the nicest thing to me. "You know, nobody plays music like you do. I was all excited to see you back here. You've turned me on to so many great songs that I would have otherwise never heard. I hope you fill in more often."

Wow. Somebody notices and understands and appreciates what I do and what makes me different from most of the other DJs in town. And even though it was a dead night and a pretty uneventful evening, that little conversation made it all worth while.