Now that I think of it, the last 3 or 4 car shows I've been to had live music, most of it rockabilly. If its live, play as loud as you want. Good music, decent cars, and cheap cold beer makes a for a good time.
Cannibal Corpse, Megadeth, and Slayer!!! Once I asked a car show DJ to play some Heavy Metal and he played ''Smoke on the water''. Terrible, just terrrible. You cant please everyone.
Play whatever you want. Just please have lots of speakers spread throughout the show at a moderate level, instead of just 2 that are cranked to warp 9 static, annoying the fuck out of those misfortunate enough to be stuck near the 2
Oh for the love of God please have a DJ with more than 20 songs. You can only hear "Rock Around the Clock" so many times in one day and once is plenty and that goes for "Little Duece Coupe" aswell. Ya and I like to talk to people too so keep it down some.
Twofosho, I think that because I DJ and get paid to do that, I think having no music would be hurtful to my economy. Waypastredline, I agree with the mixing it up. You have some cool stuff on your dad's play list. I have a few of those. Gonna have to find that Bitchin' Camaro song. Dead Body Falcon, If I played that, I think I would be lynched. I'm all for mixing it up but the majority of car show attendees would hate it as much as they would hate rap. Good in small doses, but not a lot. Groucho, Many of the shows I do are small. Two to four speakers are what I usually run. It doesn't have to be loud to be heard. Although I agree with having to be stuck right under the speakers as I myself have been in that situation. Better quality speakers that are not blown alleviates the static and distortion. I have my speakers replaced every three years because the outdoors really plays hob with the foam suspension of the speaker. I find guys running EVs or JBLs or Community brand speakers have this trouble. I use Sonics (American Made) which have a bit more bass and I can tune the horns to relieve the highs that hurt the ears. Greazeball, I have more than 20 songs. I've been to those shows. It's usually a wedding jock who lucked into a car show gig. Someone told him oldies and he's playing his entire repertoire of that genre...unless you want to hear the Hockey Pokey or the chicken dance too. Otherwise he's got nothing but Lady Gaga and Britney Spears. Ratticis, I played polka and it didn't go over very well, however the one or two Disco songs I played really got women dancing as they walked by the booth. Here is the system I use. Most of it is American made. Mackie mixer/amp, American DJ Pro double CD unit, Sonic speakers (You can only see one in pic) Ultimate stands and a choice of corded or remote microphones. The HAMB friendly trailer is not mine, it's just there. As you can see, I am very minimal. I'd show the sound truck, but it's not HAMB friendly at all...2010 HHR Panel.
And he was correct - Deep Purple is considered one of the original Heavy Metal bands and Smoke on the Water is an Anthem in the genre - and don't forget that even Metallica, Iron Maiden and Sabbath have covered it - not to mention Thrash Metal band Crash
Why the anti-british invasion era? Honestly, formulas need to go. "Theme' music is contrived. Listen to Undercurrents Radio some night.
Remember you were hired to play music at a car show you didn't hire us for your DJ concert . This may sound harsh but I do events in 2 areas and DJ's / MC's have ruined the events .Why do decent human beings become total ASHOLES when they pick up a microphone ! Please don't be on of those guys .
I've worked really hard to have an eclectic mix of music at my swap meet, and I get compliments on it a lot. Classic rock, some new songs that SOUND like classics (Clutch; Electric Worry, the Black Betty remake, The Verv: Bittersweet Symphony; White Stripes "Fell in love with a girl," etc.). Fast high-energy country music like "Swing batter," "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" and some bluegrass stuff like Cotton Eyed Joe, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, blues like "Big 10 Inch," John Lee Hooker... Aretha Franklin... the Blues Brothers... Johnny Cash... KC and the Sunshine Band... a couple Big Band songs. I've got maaaybe a dozen '50s songs. And will probable weed those out. Nothing makes my day more than seeing people sing along with songs. I even had one old guy doing some mountain clogging to one of the songs. -Brad
This is why I invested in a few thousand dollar's worth of music equipment for my swap meet. Music really is needed at an event. I'd like to get some more speakers, and wireless connections, so I can have more even coverage. -Brad
depends on the event I guess. The two biggest auto swap meets out here don't have music - Long Beach and Pomona and no one notices or complains. And I have been at shows where there have been big cheers when the music quits (John Buck, GNRS outside, are you listening?)
We've all heard "Little Deuce Coupe" enough times. There's a lot of older stuff out there that isn't on the top 20 car show tunes list. Mix it up. Leave the Emenem home tho...
I try not to be. I am approachable, I let kids look and ask questions and I don't do a lot of DJ patter. I do make announcements that need to be made like lost stuff, cars needing jumped, door prize numbers. Other than that, I'm kinda quiet. You know, everyone on here has great ideas and opinions, even the people who wish for no music. Kinda lets me know that the DJs at shows need to see what people actually want.
Around here alot of music gets played but at one show I was at they play Brian Setzer, JD, and The Road Rebels. But I like to here alot of diffrent things. I have been in the position where you hear to many beach boy songs in to short a time. I would love to hear some of Social D's older stuff played, maybe a few songs off there new album. Seek and Destroy is always great at a car show. Car themed songs always rock to me. But I would just love to hear Corb Lund Band =D
Being that yer from Wisco you should play LOTS of polka! But seriously, sounds like you got it covered pretty well.
For a VW show I would think late 60's - early 70's pop chart would go well. People tend to associate air cooled VW's with the hippy/peacenik era. This is association is why VW mini buses bring so much money now.
Honestly if you've got newer vdub's on the field you might want to throw in some newer stuff - nothing wrong with mild hip hop, techno, etc, just not anything that takes the focus away from the cars or events. What's the demographic of the club you're playing for?
Old to young. Although the club is an air cooled club, The show has both air cooled cars and water cooled. In our stable at home, the kids have a GTI and a Jetta, both 2011s. I own a Chevy.
i dont like music any where i want to talk to others, i used to hang out in bars back when i was young that you had to yell just to talk to the person next to you, i worked in factories where you had to yell to talk to the person next to you because of the music blaring away, sometimes i play music in my shop but as soon as anyone walks in i turn it off, i'm half deaf, most every guy my age i know is half deaf, going to a car show or swap meet why do i have to hear someones elses choice in crapy music, it sucks.
That Beep Beep song makes me question the point of life. If someone offs themself at a car show, it was me and I had enough.
The doo-wop is cool for about two songs and then it grates on my nerves a little, kinda like a 65 year old chick in a poodle skirt, yikes!! The big thing is not to have the music blasting at ya. M.f., you just gotta throw in a little Ramones, hey I dig it, big mix is good. Live bands are the real deal!! ~sololobo~
lordairgtar - Dead Milkmen are a punk band. The lyrics to Bitchin' Camaro are pretty entertaining. KooDaddy - Kicking a politician is always a swell idea. I guess I wouldn't mind hearing The Playmates that much if there were some politicos to torment. Maybe a dunk tank with ice after? It may help the swelling go down.
sololobo - I hear ya on the geezers in poodle skirts... scary. On the other hand, a few attractive ladies at a show can liven things up a bit...
punk, rockabilly, psychobilly, metal, play to the crowd. I prefer Sasquatch and the Sickabiilys, the Rev, Hank III, Ramones, Assjack, Tool, Zeppelin, Chopin, Wagner, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, pretty much everything but c-rap, pop, hip-hop, mainstream, etc.
The Jalopy Journal
