If you’ve been going out in Dublin much in the last 12 months you’ll have heard loads about “creative clubbing”. Whether you think it’s a pile of old guff or love whacking on a bit of a face paint on a night out there’s no denying that loads of new things are happening around Dublin town.
Of course it’s all very well harping on about being polysexual and the like (Am I the only one who thinks of Polly Pocket when that word comes up? Shudder) but ultimately running a club night/being a DJ/that sort of thing is quite hard work. For every 4 minutes of DJ glee when you finally get to drop that electro sleaze take on Britney there’s multiple minutes more of freaking out about guestlists, hoping people come to your night and more importantly that they all have a good time. Not even mentioning the now infamous "How To Start A Club Night " video which Barry Farrell made awhile back:
All this was running through my mind as I watched a short film on Toronto based DJ Craig Dominic. Craig DJs in various gay places around the city and I used to love his sets when I was there in the summer of 2008 (a piece I wrote about it for Spun Out can be found here). He has a great ear for Top 40 pop/r&b/dance music and a knack for mixing things together with real skill. I remember nabbing some of his mixes on CD after one particularly crazy night out and I still play them regularly. His blog has loads more where that came from too.
The documentary itself is a great watch. It’s short and only touches on some of the difficulties on competing with bigger clubs/promoters but it paints an interesting picture of life as a DJ/event promoter. Dominic cuts an interesting figure, resolutely disciplined and obviously talented but still eager to do other things. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll keep spinning but I hope he stays at it. In the meantime check out the film and spare a thought for those well dressed purveyors of tunes the next time you see them floating around your local night spot.
Of course it’s all very well harping on about being polysexual and the like (Am I the only one who thinks of Polly Pocket when that word comes up? Shudder) but ultimately running a club night/being a DJ/that sort of thing is quite hard work. For every 4 minutes of DJ glee when you finally get to drop that electro sleaze take on Britney there’s multiple minutes more of freaking out about guestlists, hoping people come to your night and more importantly that they all have a good time. Not even mentioning the now infamous "How To Start A Club Night " video which Barry Farrell made awhile back:
All this was running through my mind as I watched a short film on Toronto based DJ Craig Dominic. Craig DJs in various gay places around the city and I used to love his sets when I was there in the summer of 2008 (a piece I wrote about it for Spun Out can be found here). He has a great ear for Top 40 pop/r&b/dance music and a knack for mixing things together with real skill. I remember nabbing some of his mixes on CD after one particularly crazy night out and I still play them regularly. His blog has loads more where that came from too.
The documentary itself is a great watch. It’s short and only touches on some of the difficulties on competing with bigger clubs/promoters but it paints an interesting picture of life as a DJ/event promoter. Dominic cuts an interesting figure, resolutely disciplined and obviously talented but still eager to do other things. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll keep spinning but I hope he stays at it. In the meantime check out the film and spare a thought for those well dressed purveyors of tunes the next time you see them floating around your local night spot.
