Gig Log: 15 year old birthday in Miami Springs

I had a great time playing tracks for a fifteen year old birthday party in Miami Springs this weekend. Here are some takeaways:

• Have a designated contact person that can help move or protect gear if necessary. I was playing outside for the first hour, but when it seemed as though it was going to rain, we quickly picked up the gear and relocated inside.
• The music you may like to dance to may not be the music other people like to dance to. To sum it up, this crowd requested twerk music more than any other type of music, which isn’t music I’d dance to, but they love it.
• Depending on the event and your relationship with the event planner, you may want to collect your money before you start playing. When I get to Dartmouth, I will want fraternities to pay me up front if I’m booked to play at a party. I wouldn’t want to track down drunk frat dudes at the end of the night who might be passed out or otherwise unavailable. For this party, however, there was a mom present at the house who I trusted would pay me at the end of the party.
• Be prepared to switch the direction of the party with music requests. I was there to make the guests dance to the music. Occasionally someone would come up and say “we’d really like to hear ___ music” which would completely change the vibe of the party. I accepted this because I wanted to see people dance that weren’t dancing to the music I was playing before. Remember, not everyone likes twerking music.