Originally Posted By: Gordon Scott
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FWIW, from my DJing days, I didn't worry too much about losing the dancers for a bit, so long as I was confident I could bring them back with another "sure fire" number.<...>

Since our audience is from middle-aged to elderly, 5 seconds between songs may be too much. Once they head to their chairs, it's hard to change their minds.

When we started, I used to do set lists, but I found I wasn't clairvoyant enough to predict what the audience would need and when they will need it.

So I call songs on the fly.

First I size up the audience. How are they dressed, what kind of shoes do they have on, what is their age group, this gives me a cue for the song to play first. And I pick something safe.

Next I watch them as the song is playing, and choose the next one to play.

I try to pace them, build them up to a faster number, and feed them more of the same until their faces look tired. Then I'll play a 'specialty number' (example if I see ballroom dancers - you can tell by their shoes - I'll play a cha-cha or rhumba), a non-dance song, or a slow song. Then start the process again.

How they react to songs determines what we play next. I want to give the audience the best possible experience that I can provide for them. If they have a great time, they will be back. So I try to give them what they need, when they need it even if they don't know that's what they need and when they need it.

There is an exception, in our hotel-by-the-beach gig, it's informal, and I still watch the audience, but the dancing is sporadic. Mostly they are eating and drinking. So I can play just about anything in our song list. I see what they are enjoying, and my experience with the regular crowd adds to it.

So there can be some dead air, as people come up to talk to us, and sometimes we talk over the mic to some of the customers, sometimes tell little stories, or a joke, and just play with the audience members. The regulars who have been following us for decades are more like extended family than fans.

They share their accomplishments and tragedies, we get a lot of hugs and handshakes on that gig, and it's a lot of fun.

We are on our 15th year of our mid-week afternoon party and it's become one of my most favorite gigs. Many of the people have been coming for all 15 years, so I guess it's working.

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Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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