Bic Camera DJ

I've got a DJ gig coming up in February at a club in Shibuya.  My mixing-style has changed over the past year or so to include not only fader-mixing, but also Filter-mixing.  Instead of just using the faders to control the volume of the track coming in and track going out, I also use a high-pass filter to cut the low-end of the incoming track as I fade-up.  Using correct musical timing, I reduce the lows of the outgoing track and kick the filter off to allow all of the low-end of the incoming track to play.  This makes for a much more dynamic mix and also is a great way to avoid bass kicks stepping-on and cancelling each other out.

The mixer that I'll be playing on in Shibuya is a Pioneer, DJM-800 and one I've not used before.  Mixers are pretty simple in concept, but they are becoming more and more advanced what-with built-in digital effects and samplers.  The DJM-800 is one of those advanced type of mixers with a plethora of effects.  I'm not really a fan of effects-heavy DJ sets and instead just stick to the basic EQ-tweaking and, these days, the high-pass filter.  But each manufacturer sets up their workflow differently, so I needed to become acclimated with exactly how the functions work on the DJM-800 or risk embarrassing myself come February.

Carrying my own DJ headphones and a couple of CD's worth of tunes, I made my way to a nearby Bic Camera, knowing that they've got working display units of various DJ equipment, including the DJM-800.  Upon arriving, I ejected the Bic Camera-supplied, crappy hip-hop from the CD turntables and inserted my own, crappy house music.  I jack-in to the mixer, choose a track and hit Play.  The whole DJ setup is facing a wall, with my back towards the rest of the store, so I felt comfortable to freely explore the gear.

After about half an hour of mixing tracks and playing with the equipment, I unplug and eject my discs.  Turning around to leave, I noticed that there was a small crowd that gathered behind me while I was playing.  I was doing nothing special and, in fact, sightly messed up a couple of mixes, so I was shocked to see people standing around who seemingly enjoyed the music.  There were even a couple of Bic Camera employees who were a part of the crowd.  I guess those guys hear a lot of random people messing about with the equipment who don't really know what to do with two turntables and a mixer, so seeing someone with a little bit of experience was a bit unusual for them.  Anyways, they all scattered after I walked away from the decks, with a couple of the younger guys running up to the mixer to try their hand at it.

Not a big deal, but I felt a bit chuffed that I started a small crowd in an electronics shop.

On a completely different note, here are some random images (click to make larger).  Most are from a recent image-dump from my iPhone -- I'm still not confident about uploading pics from my GF1 yet.  I'm still learning how to use the camera (a hack to unlock English menus no longer works, so I'm stuck with a bunch of kanji to decipher), so bear with me until I get the hang of it!  Now, onto the shots:

This is a gas-powered, two-wheeled vehicle.  I'm reluctant to say "motorcycle", as it looks like no motorcycle I've ever seen before.  This is parked near my work and I walk by it everyday.

These are tiny, little fish.  I don't know what kind they are, but they are in these earthenware-type jars in front of a PVC plastic pipe wholesale shop nearby my work.  I also pass by these everyday.

These two cuties are strays that hang out in a little alley near our home in Meguro.  The one in front is friendlier than the one in the background, but both are cautious.  Akiko is trying to befriend them by feeding them little somethings every now-and-then, but we've noticed that there is an older lady that feeds them almost every night.  I warned Akiko that the woman might get a little jealous if she sees her feeding the cats.

Okay, this one needs some explanation.  I actually took this photo on the way to Bic Camera during the above DJ expedition.  I stepped into a fairly packed train from Meguro and, since Bic Camera is about 25 minutes away, I walked to the other end of the car to try to find a seat.  I noticed that there were 3 seats totally unoccupied.  Score!  I walk over, ready to plop my butt down and find these false teeth just sitting on the second seat.  I stood, stunned, for a few seconds.  The white paper actually has a hand-written note saying something to the effect of "Please don't forget your dental instruments when you leave the train!"  No wonder those 3 seats were empty.  After taking this photo, I noticed that many people were smiling and giggling, perhaps at me, or maybe at the dentures.  I was surprised that nobody else was shooting this.

More Tokyo weirdness to come, I'm sure of it.