America’s Best DJ nominee Sticky Boots has likely inherited a DJ gene—his father was a mobile DJ. “My mobile DJ background has been a huge help, since my experience includes countless parties from 30 to 3,000 people in every genre from Country to Big Band. ”
We asked Sticky to spill the real science behind being a successful DJ.
“It all comes down to watching the people’s faces at your gig, their body language and picking up quickly on changes in those non-verbal cues. If their eyes lose focus on their friends or on me as a DJ, they start talking more, they start looking around more, or even if they just slow down, it’s time to change things up. I find it’s also important to watch the people not on the dancefloor…the people at the tables and the bar…are they moving to the music? Are they bobbing their head? That’s a good indication you are on the right track as a DJ and it’s only a matter of time before they come out. You have to take your eyes off the decks if you want to connect with an audience…look at them, make eye contact, feel what they are feeling and use the mic when appropriate so they feel they are a part of what you’re doing. A crowd you’ve connected with is 100-times easier to work than one that thinks you don’t care. It’s not really a complicated concept, you just have to be observant and willing to please the crowd more than yourself.”
