Teaching Brian to DJ
I did my usual weekly DJ gig at the Hare and Hounds today – playing polite, laid back jazz records while people eat their roast dinners. But this time, I had a surprise visitor.
Brian Travers, who you’ll know as the sax player from UB40, had been asked if he’d be interested in maybe coming in and doing a session sometime – perhaps in my absence. And as we know each other and get on well, he decided to come in and get a feel for how it’s done, so we sat down together, had a couple of drinks and went through the mechanics of it.
It’s not rocket surgery, of course. Play one record, and when that one finishes, play another one. I also tipped him off to a bit of laptop DJ software simply called “djay“. I think once he saw me at work, he figured “well, if he can do it…”
But best of all was just sitting and catching up. Hadn’t seen Brian for a while, and we’re both pretty busy people for the most part, so it was good to just spend a Sunday afternoon chatting about music we like, swapping anecdotes about people we know (Brian knows most people), and discussing pretty much every other topic under the sun – all over a roast and a drink or two while we played some great jazz.
What’s not to like?
