Is Your Skate DJ Getting the Job Done?
S.O.S. From a Denver Skater
What do you do when the DJ’s just not getting the job done
“All we want is a GOOD roll,” is a motto all true skaters can relate to, respect and expect from the skate sessions they attend religiously in cities all over the country. Are you getting that kind of roll in your city? Are most skaters in your area satisfied and getting the roll they deserve to get for the money they are paying? Or are many dissatisfied for one reason or another? If your skate DJ knows how to get the job done and satisfy the skaters, what are the things he/she is doing to achieve this? What makes her/him stand out from the DJs who aren’t as successful? Why am I asking all these questions, you might be wondering. Well, “here’s a little story that must be told ….”
Actually, it’s not a little story, nor is it very short so you might have to take it in when you have some time to sit and read the mini-novel and drama about what skaters have experienced trying to bring about change and improvement in the DJing in Denver, Colorado since 2001. Even with that, the same DJ crew who was at the helm then, remains in place today and skaters – for the most part – are still complaining and dissatisfied.
From what I’ve been told, such a situation would never have been allowed to go on for so long in some of the major cities on the East Coast or Midwest. I don’t know how true it is, but some have said when skaters in those cities aren’t satisfied, DJs better look out – they might meet an angry mob in the parking lot after a session, or folks might bombard the DJ booth with skates to get their point across rather than let him/her continue with the madness …. for nearly a decade. Obviously, skaters in Denver are of quite a different breed than that and yes, it’s true, skating here is not as much a part of the culture, nor is the (overall) level of passion for skating as high as it is in areas like Detroit, Chicago, ATL, New York/New Jersey, L.A., and St. Louis.
I recall from my days living in ATL in the early 1990s, there was a successful effort to have a DJ replaced, I believe his name was “Joe” and he used to play at the Sparkles rink in Riverdale on Sunday nights. I was not involved in that effort but I remember many were dissatisfied with the music and, after continued complaints to management, a new DJ was brought in.
How are things in your city? Have you seen where skaters have to almost stage a “coup” in order to bring about a DJing change? Or are you finding that, like in Denver, many skaters just don’t want to rock the boat and simply choose to go along with the status quo because it’s what they’ve become comfortable with or they happen to be friends with the DJ and therefore don’t want to offend or embarrass her/him by demanding a change. Final question, have you ever skated in Denver at the Sunday night adult session and, if so, what was your experience like?
Feel free to share your comments, experiences, suggestions, solutions and opinions on the RST blog. Your input may be helpful to many skaters not just in Denver, but other areas as well.
This is an urgent S.O.S.
Op-ed by Kim Muhammad
(Believe it or not, the novel still hasn’t been written about specific incidents and experiences that have occurred since 2001 trying to bring about change. They will be detailed in the next post in this series.)
I have skated in Denver, CO and was like many skaters dissatisfied with the dj’s. I think having a simple sheet of paper to take request, playing requested songs ( 3 or 4 ) from the best skaters in that particular rink would help. I have taken the time to write down particular songs and these request sheets were tossed. The DJ’s need to do their job and home work (mixing in previously requested songs). You figure these DJ’s make about $125 every week and they need to do there job. That is why they fight to keep their gigs. ipods, xm radio there is no reason these guys cannot bring a variety material.
dj not gettin the job done in San Antonio, TX. either. Wednesday nite = adult night the dj is very bad, does not take request; where do these people ( sorry no rhythm dj’s come from ? ) many skaters use ipods and skate to their own music. It is worst than dj’s in Denver by far. There are skaters that come through here on temporary military assignments and bring good skate skills (moves) but are turned off by this lame dj and do not return to teach or show what they are doing in other states. This one needs to be tarred & feathered.
wow! i didn’t think that there were too many places as bad as what’s going on here in the denver area. are there any efforts in san antonio to have a new DJ brought in or have any of the skaters tried to talk with the DJ to see if that will help?
other than that, it’s good to hear from you. the diehards here are still skating on sunday nights but i’ve opted to regularly attend the saturday night session in westminster. i get a better roll out there even though the crowd is much different and there are interludes of lady gaga and other top 40 songs that get played. they still play enough r&b that i work up more of a sweat than i do on sundays. plus, they take requests and if enough of us “true” skaters get our requests played, we all can get a good roll.
Everybody knows that the music makes the roll. What I hate is when the DJ gets around to playing a skate jam and they slow it down so you can’t feel the groove. Just as bad as going to a session and not getting my roll on because the DJ didn’t play any “skate jams” all night.