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DJ Experience - BPM Supreme - December 15, 2017
Instagram Poll: How Many Drinks Should DJs Have While Performing?
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DJ gigs often come with a lot of temptations and alcoholic drinks are almost always accessible. But does drinking negatively affect your DJing, or does it help you loosen up and actually play better? We asked our Instagram followers to weigh in on this ongoing debate, and the responses were quite mixed: 

About 40% said 3+ drinks is the norm, while 60% voted 0-3 drinks is acceptable.

drinks

(Disclosure: This poll and blog post are in no way providing advice, rules or standards for an individual’s routines and habits. We believe that for every person there is a different “right” answer to this question, and it’s a question that you have to determine for yourself.)

Now that the serious stuff is out of the way, we thought we’d share a few helpful or clever responses. (We’ve left names anonymous of course!)

– One before the show, one during the show and one after the show (three in total)…it works for me! It’s not cool playing drunk or high….

– Whatever the client allows as long as you don’t get excessive drunk. Some gigs I have none, some I’ll have 5. Just depends on the client and venue.

– NONE! In my opinion it looks bad.

– (If I drink) I never go over two. Most of my drinks now are the clients saying “have a drink with me” — outside of that, seltzer or OJ.

– I guess if you’re a “calm your nerves” DJ then one drink, but if not I always try to perform sober. You don’t wanna slur words especially if you are approached by anyone at any time. #RespectTheArtForm

– Alcohol should not get you in the mood for DJing. It should be the fact that you got the honor to rock that event!

bar

Examining the Pros and Cons

What are the advantages or disadvantages of drinking behind the booth? We won’t get into anything too deep here, don’t worry.

Pros:

  • Um, it’s more fun if you drink, right?
  • If you’re shy or quiet you can loosen up and boost your confidence.
  • If the host or venue owner offers you a drink, it’s technically networking.

Cons:

  • One drink can turn into too many, and then a laundry list of things can go wrong.
  • Your reaction time is slower and you can’t focus on the energy of the room.
  • You risk looking unprofessional, slurring your words, or looking silly.
  • When it’s time to pack up your stuff, you’re bound to forget something in the booth.
  • In a nutshell, if you have one too many, you probably won’t play your best set.

chug

Have fun, Be Professional

Can you do both? The answer is yes! There are ways to get through a DJ set and still remain the professional-business person that you are the other 22 hours of the day. 

  • Have a glass of water with every alcoholic drink you have and remain in control.
  • Switch to caffeinated soda or an energy drink if you’re looking for a boost.
  • Drink a fake cocktail – fill the void of having nothing to sip on and still stay sober.
  • Pick and choose the nights you indulge in cocktails – sometimes the event just doesn’t call for a drink.

energy drink

So, however many drinks you do or don’t consume, remember to drink responsibly and DJ like you mean it. 

Tell us what you think about drinking while DJing. Do you prefer to leave the drinks for the party-goers, or do you have a few yourself? Leave your comments below.


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