help needed with 16th birthday dj gig---please

[lyndajenkins]

i am a successful kj with weekly gigs, but i have been booked for a 16th birthday party. anybody have any helpful hints: i have a feeling there won't be too much karaoke going on. i need help with games for them to play and stuff like that. please, this gig goes on april 26, 2001

[danny_g]

I did one of those parties about a year ago. It went off without a hitch. The nice thing is I started out DJing the party and when they found out I had some of the songs on Karaoke they started making requests. The host of the party provided the games and stuff I just provided the music. I helped facilitate some of the games but they were planned ahead of time by the host. My best advice is ask the person hiring you about what they want for the party. If it is a surprise party then have the host get one of the close friends that knows what the kids like to help advise you on what games will go over and what won't.

[jumpmaster]

Yea, I've done a few of these as well. It has always went pretty well. I believe that in any crowd, whether a bar or 16th birthday party, a relatively few persons can make or break a gig. If the "cute & cool" few jump in and enjoy themselves, the rest will follow and if they lay back, it'll drag a bit.

One of the biggest factors in these gigs is who's going to be there. If the guests are all 16 year olds then you'd better have a lot of Linkin' Park and such to play for them. On the other hand if it's a real mixed crowd try to discourgage the younger children from singing as the older sixteen year olds will shy away from the "kid stuff."

I actually had one where the adults kinda took over and wanted to do the electric slide and cha cha all afternoon while the teen agers sat in a corner. They had fun, but probably not as much as they should have. However, if it's a mixed crowd and the teens are mixing well with the young and old, don't forget the birdie song, hokie pokie, and cotton eye joe. When all age groups gel well together, it resembles a wedding without all the mushy wedding songs and toasts.

When I do these, I always talk to the parents before hand and discuss the music to be played. The teenagers will surely want to have you play Afroman - Because I Got High, and the parents probably won't want you to! There is a huge amount of music aimed at kids who seem to like it simply because it they curse through the song. Also speak to the parents about younger kids and even the older "kids" and ask them to help you keep the teens as the focus, if they're not mixing with other groups.

Another reason to avoid the younger kids is that the adults don't supervise them well at parties and the children will try to hang out by you and distract you from what you're doing not to mention fool with the equipment. They also want to sing every song and can't write any of them down. Younger kids are worse than any drunk singer you've ever had...unless of course they are well supervised by the parents.

As far as games, I agree with Danny_G, let the parents and teens themselves to deal with all that. One party idea (if you insist) is to play TV Themes and when one guesses it first they get a point and the first to 10 or 20 wins (this has even went well in a bar!).

Bottom line, let the teens be the focus and play music that is approved by the parents and avoid catering to the younger and older kids. As far as karaoke, at first they won't sing much, but after an hour or so, you'll have enough slips to make things interesting.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[TraxMasterDJRob]

Good Luck with that gig.
I've done some of those, and the most important thing is music. Go out and buy a few new cd-g's, the one's you don't even recognize the songs and half the artists. Then have all the NOW cd's and such. Also, don't be afraid to play the chicken dance and other wedding songs. Kids will dance because they recognize the songs. Play loud, Jump around a little (weight restrictions apply) ha ha, and have fun. Maybe get the kid for whom the party is being held to help pick some of the dj'ing music you might not be too familiar with. Or let all the kids pick 1 dj'ing song each, to be played randomly over the course of the evening. Just have fun, and they'll have fun.
again, good luck