SO, I’m scanning the Coast to see where I can go this week to enjoy some live music. I do a search, and lo and behold, I get a pretty hefty list.
I start drilling down, hoping to see some band names or get some sort of idea of the TYPE of live music I might be in for, and there are nothing but DJ NAMES!!!!
Karaoke is borderline “live” and borderline “music”, but a DJ is not, under ANY circumstances, “live” music.
I dunno what you Coast people are thinking…
—a real live band is better than a fake dead one
This article appears in Oct 1-7, 2009.
A) You’re an idiot.
B) You’re a pathetic idiot.
C) DJs are “live” music whether you like them or not.
You can narrow your search within live music. . . there’s an entire column on the left side of the page with many categories to choose from.
I like DJ’s but I don’t consider them “live” music. When I get in my head that I want to go see a live show, it usually involves a person singing something.
Hey Never Wrong – just curious, why do you consider a DJ “Live Music”? Because they have a heartbeat?
Didn’t this debate happen in the early 90s? It’s unfortunate that DJ culture hasn’t been able to show the masses in Halifax of what it is that they actually do.
“…it usually involves a person singing something.” What a bizarrely narrow view of music.
I get that everyone on here is an expert on everything, or else you wouldn’t have been able to sign up for a Coast account, but, just once: stfu.
Bitchin’ – I have worked with DJs in the past, I am well aware of what it is they do, thank you very much.
I can tell you that some jackass with an iTunes account and a set of speakers does NOT a DJ make (although some bar owners in Hali seem to think so)…
However, the poster’s assumption (fairly enough) is that since DJs focus on mostly pre-recorded music, and are not necessarily resonsible for having played any instruments on the recording, they are not “live”.
Show me a DJ who regularly works Halifax who actually has a SHOW worthy of being called “live” music, and I’ll eat my hat.
I didn’t say DJ’s didn’t qualify as music…I said, in my mind, when I want to listen to LIVE music, I usually want to see a band playing instruments and singing. Sometimes I want to go see DJ’s. Sometimes I like the radio and sometime I like the symphony where there are no words at all. My comment wasn’t about what constitutes “music” but what is implied by the category “live music”.
Anyone who thinks a DJ is “live music” is a complete FUCKING idiot.
The only two DJ’s I would see live are Kid Koala and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Halifax is fucking nuts! They have the nerve to charge a cover charge, plus a charge for checking your coat, plus double the going price for drinks, all for the pleasure of listening to some guy play his i pod! I have no porblem paying to see a good live band. But I have no urge to shell out big bucks to see a DJ.
Bobbv33: double the going price for drinks? Where are you drinking? I’ve been to bars all over this fine land and I must say that Halifax has some of the cheapest drinks I’ve ever seen. Anyway, if you don’t wanna shell out to go see a DJ, then don’t. Some people do. (weird, I know).
There are some great DJs out there, real performers creating incredible music, although I will concede that Halifax doesn’t have many of this variety. I agree, though, that DJs don’t really fall under the heading of ‘live music’ for most people. But as someone has already mentioned, you can narrow down the categories using the search options, so this bitch is pretty lame. Suck it up, OP.
The debate isn’t about if it takes talent to DJ, as I’m sure some are very talented, but I still think most people would not consider it live music.
FYI – I went to check out the search page, and yes, you can narrow down the categories, but it appears that the bars posting their ads put themselves in the Live Music category with DJs listed as live music, therefore, it’s not the Coast’s fault…
Gidget: I’m sure that in your narrow-minded world, the only kind of DJs are the ones who play top 40 bullshit and play at places like the Palace and the Dome. I’m talking about real DJs, Turntablists, playing with a set of turntables and maybe Serato or Ableton. I know A LOT of Halifax’s DJs, many of whom create their own tracks and beats. Granted, someone who pops in a CD, presses play and yells at the crowd every once in a while is not live music in my books. But someone who has 2+ turntables and is making mixes on the fly is definitely live music.
Holla What: I feel the same way about you. You’re a complete FUCKING IDIOT. You obviously don’t know what real DJs are either. Go back to the ghetto and your gangsta gangsta bullshit.
So, Never wrong, how is one to know what to expect when they look through the “live music” section of the coast and get a huge list of DJ’s…some (most?) of whom are not “live music” in your books? That’s the problem here.
Also, I’m genuinely curious about the answer because I don’t know any of the “real” DJ’s and Halifax and I might like to check out a show. How many good DJ’s are in the Halifax scene right now?
Miles: I see the conundrum with the live music listening and certainly agree that it can be confusing to those who aren’t aware of the local talent. There are an aweful lot of good DJs in Halifax right now. I’m not sure if I’m “allowed” to list them off here, but it largely depends on what kind of DJs you like. House, Tech, Trance, Drum & Bass, Break Beats, Dubstep, Jungle, etc.
These guys always put on a good show and they usually do 5-6 a month:
http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/Event?oid=1…
ignorant fool.
there are TONS of great djs in halifax that deliver original, never heard before, LIVE performances – they are still using an instrument, remember?
but signal hill would probably qualify more for you??
Whut? – I don’t think Miles is being an ignorant fool at all.
The average person, upon hearing the words “live music” envisions music that is performed live, with instruments, singing, etc. That’s not to say the average person doesn’t appreciate DJ’ing and the skill needed to be good at that type of music, but let’s face it – most of us equate “live music” with a band, or at least a guy and a guitar.
“sheesh”!
pure gold!
Lame debate, like Halifax is big enough to deserve a separate Karaoke or DJ column. As it is the entertainment column seems full of redundancy and filler.
Wow, people who don’t get the idea behind someone’s poat, and don’t actually read shit before jumping on people. Never woulda thunk I’d find THAT in the Coast…
NeverWrong – obviously you can’t read, or just don’t bother. I have worked events with actual turntable-spinning, crowd-pumping, beat-mixing DJs. My comment was that *most people* don’t think DJ when they think “live”.
I also said that most bar owners in Halifax do not think anything more than a guy with an iPod when they hire, and therefore *advertise* things.
And no, I don’t go hang out at the bars where being an underaged slut puking on people is the norm, so maybe that’s why I miss all there “great” DJs of which you speak.
Check out some talent from Montreal, Toronto, London, or New York before your neighbour who does the cool shit with his Casio is considered a “good DJ”.
Gidget: “I have worked with DJs in the past, I am well aware of what it is they do, thank you very much. I can tell you that some jackass with an iTunes account and a set of speakers does NOT a DJ make (although some bar owners in Hali seem to think so)…”
How do you breath with your head so far up your ass? How the hell am I supposed to know that you’re aware of what a turntablist is? Do I need a secret decoder ring to decipher what you’re talking about?
You’re one of these idiots that thinks just because you’ve had experiences with talent from other cities that you’re somehow special and that the locals are no good. There are a lot of great DJs here in HRM and have amazing skills. I’ve seen some of the biggest DJs in the world play here in Halifax and they’re no more impressive than most of our local talent. Just because they come from a big city it doesn’t mean that they’re better. A friend of mine opened for one of the world’s top female DJs last year and completely blew her out of the water. If the music is strictly being played back, no it’s not live. But if a DJ is making mixes/sampling/scratching while they play, then it is most definitely live music. And I didn’t realize that the Paragon, Coconut Grove, Victor’s, Club 1668, Reflections and the Frigate were bars where “being an underaged slut puking on people is the norm”. Pull your head out of your ass.
NeverWrong:
Wow, who shat in your cornflakes?
The argument was not whether we have any good talent here, nor was it whether I know what a DJ does. Way to make it personal.
The point of stating the other ciites was that they have a whole DJ counterculture and people are aware of what to expect when they go see a DJ in those cities. It was NOT that we don’t have talented DJs.
Yes, I HAVE been to Reflections, the Paragon, and Coconut Grove, but I have not seen a LOCAL DJ (NOT a dude with an iPod which is what BARS seem to bill as a DJ – learn to READ ENTIRE threads instead of snipping one part of a post) who has done anything to particularly impress me. Maybe I was there on the wrong nights…
This appears to be more of an issue that people advertising their bars in The Coast are advertising DJs as Live Music when the guy they have spinning the tunes is not a DJ at all, but some jackass staff member who has some equipment and will work for beer.
I can only think of one night in particular that showcases people on ipods.
“Never wrong” this time your are, I agree the DJ is live as I assume nobody props a corpse in a bar for entertainment, but taped, recorded or computer generated music hardly qualifies. Sadly this sort of thinking will be perpetuated as long as we allow our children to be educated by TV and computers
“as long as we allow our children to be educated by TV and computers”
Well, someone has to do it.
So that’s why my kids are growing up to be DJ’s and not real musicians! Thanks Paradoc, from now on it’s no TV or computer for them until they finish their gangsta rap and video games.
OP , nicely put ,I couldn’t agree with you more !
Anyone who considers and or compares a DJ to a musician, would also believe that aerial bombardment is an enviormentally sound form of landscaping !
But tell me who’s the bigger idiot … the ass on stage dragging a record back & forth with a screeching whine … those who pay money to see it, or those who argue about how ‘great’ they are?
L…O…L
More, I’m willing to bet that DJs get more booty than you.
Two words for you about local DJs not being talented:
Skratch Bastard.
OP and those in agreement. please stop thinking you know what a real muscian is, you clearly have no idea and I am ashamed that such a proclaimed music lover is so clueless. travel the world get outta yer box. have you ever tried djing on real pair of decks? beatmatching within seconds? i should club you…
Man, DJ’s sure are a sensitive bunch.
OK, so I’m kinda on the fence about this whole argument… I don’t personally consider some dude playing back someone else’s music to be an “entertainer”, let alone a “live” show.
HOWEVER, if a DJ is responsible for composing beats, and actually does what a DJ should do (multiple tables, show, crowd control in terms of getting people out to dance, interacting, etc.), then I am willing to stipulate that they are *indeed* an “entertainer” which is IMO not “live music”, but definitely worth seeing if they’re good. (Thanks BTW to those of you who recommended some good local talent – I’ll reserve judgement until I get out to see them…)
The OP’s argument is that DJs are not “live music” because the OP thinks “live music” involves people playing instruments and/or singing (do we assume rap done to canned beats falls under “live”?) which is a pretty commonly held belief…
So just for shits and giggles, this is from the webster’s Dictionary:
mu·si·cian:
n. One who composes, conducts, or performs music, especially instrumental music.
Synonyms: -nouns
musician, artiste, performer, player, minstrel; bard (poet); accompanist, accordionist, instrumentalist, organist, pianist, violinist, flautist; harper, fiddler, fifer, trumpeter, piper, drummer; catgut scraper., band, orchestra, waits., vocalist, melodist; singer, warbler; songster, chaunter, chauntress, songstress; cantatrice., choir, quire, chorister; chorus, chorus singer; liedertafel., nightingale, philomel, thrush; siren; bulbul, mavis; Pierides; sacred nine; Orpheus, Apollo, the Muses, Erato, Euterpe, Terpsichore; tuneful nine, tuneful quire., composer., performance, execution, touch, expression, solmization.
disc jockey
n. individual who plays recorded music on the radio or at social events
Synonyms:
DJ, announcer, broadcaster, deejay, deejay, disk jockey, dj, pancake turner, radio announcer, radio performer, radio personality, shock jock, video jockey, vj
SO, by dictionary definition, the only DJs who can be considered “musicians” are those who compose or perform their own music and then play it back during a show…
*Maybe* these types of DJs could be considered “live music”?
Just trying to figure out the distinction. Fire away, folks!
I think lack of appropriate distinctions is the problem with the DJ world. The dude playing the chicken dance at a wedding should NOT be considered live music. A true turntablist should. The problem is, you look at the 20+DJ’s listed under live music on the Coast…how many of those fall into the “plays back his iPod list” and how many are putting on real shows? If any of the DJ enthusiasts around here can answer that question, I’d really like to know.
Good points, Miles, I would like the answer to that question as well…
As I was trying to get across earlier, the bars are responsible for the advertising of their entertainment in The Coast, and in my experience, many of them list “DJs” who are nothing more than a guy who plays other people’s music.
A “true turntablist” *could*, under some circumstances, be considered “live music”, but apparently nobody’s bothered to let bar owners know what the distinction is…