What was your first big break?

**dan the acid man** · 07-12-2005, 05:49 PM

see, i was going to go with the snooker gag but i thought better of it

**rhythmtech** · 07-12-2005, 06:22 PM

my wrist... although wouldn't be considered too big compared to say like.. a leg or something.

**davethedrummer** · 12-12-2005, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by dan the acid man

see, i was going to go with the snooker gag but i thought better of it

snooker is always good for a joke

**fresh_an_funky_design** · 12-12-2005, 12:57 PM

i suppose for me my 'break' was getting involved in the free party scene otherwsie i would never of discovered techno, got into dj'n / production or started the label. However for me all this is nothing more than something i enjoy doing. I dont see myself being the next dave clarke etc or even making a living out of it, My talents lie elsewhere. there are too many people waiting for that 'big break' though, the problem is for most it will never come.

**dirty_bass** · 12-12-2005, 01:31 PM

A swedish girl I was engaged to. She was mad and got me into many dangerous situations. It had to end, or else I would have probably ended up in jail or rehab.
That broke my heart.

**MARKEG** · 12-12-2005, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by dirty_bass

A swedish girl I was engaged to. She was mad and got me into many dangerous situations. It had to end, or else I would have probably ended up in jail or rehab.
That broke my heart.

it wasnt one of them two was it mate? i heard they broke many a boys heart in the 80's.

**Si the Sigh** · 12-12-2005, 02:44 PM

:lol:

**Centurian** · 12-12-2005, 03:24 PM

Well for me, i haven't really dedicated myself to production enough so no big breaks there.

The rest of the music industry however is a different story. My first break was when a mate of mine was putting a night on called Sabotage in Vauxhall. The promotion fizzled out like so many do, but it was my first real stepping stone from turning my hobby into a career.

I then just did a couple of sets in a record shop at one point and played at a free party up in Sheffield due to some contacts i made at Sabotage, then one day picked up a flyer & decided to give Antiworld a call and ask for an audition, after a 15 minute conversation i finally persuded him, went around there and spun some tunes (this was my first real big break imo).
This led to crewing at the Fridge and finally got on stage (with this particular promotion) when it moved to the Seone Complex. Since then i've been involved with the production and promotion at an event at Ally Pally and promoted, crewed & DJed at Seone on a number of occasions. Playing Brixton Academy is my biggest gig to date.
As a whole i think i'm extremely lucky to have played some of the line ups i have, 5 years ago it felt like a distant dream playing on the same bill as Chris Liberator or D.a.v.e The Drunner, now i've DJed & crewed at events showcasing some of the worlds bigget dance music artists of various styles.

Being involved with these peeps has led to a string of booking with various other promotions and a regular slot at Nuclear Free Zone, simply because it's so much easier to network once you get that break.

Now there's a few other things on the horizon, mainly promoting really.

**audioinjection** · 12-12-2005, 11:07 PM

i can't say i had a huge break, but my release on Monoid was a good stepping stone......also being able to play gigs with the Droid Behavior dudes, kinda growing with the techno scene here in LA

**Bugger** · 13-12-2005, 12:49 AM

Bugged Out! asking me to play for them at Creamfields 3 years ago, which led to me playing for them at Nation where I was spotted by Voodoo head honcho who then asked me to come on board and be promoter/resident. Like Scott said though there's no one big break really, before the Creamfields gig was 3/4 years of toilet gigs and sending out countless CDs, etc. It's a long process getting your name out there, especially without producing, time to pull my finger out!

**The Overfiend** · 13-12-2005, 02:54 AM

Biggest break for me was my best friend giving me his old cpu for me to develop.

**Ian** · 13-12-2005, 03:02 AM

I locked myself in a basement for 5 years or so and did nothing but techno.

When I sent out my firts demo cd of tracks I was finally happy with, Dietrich Shoenemann picked up 4 of them for hidden agenda 15. The rest is a slow history of never quite making it anywhere. ;)

**Jay Pace** · 13-12-2005, 09:44 AM

I'm kind of trying a production/promotion route.

Promotion is brilliant for "networking" (hate that word) which leads to new people and new opportunities.

But I don't think anything compares to production in terms of establishing yourself as a credible artist to the whole world. Problem with that is that you have to be good at production, have talented engineer friends, or a fat wallet.

*sigh*

Some day I'll nail it...

**holotropik** · 13-12-2005, 10:02 AM

I have realised that I just like to write music that reflects what I feel at each period in my life (simple cliche I know) but its true. I used to write in a journal but further developed music as taught to me by my parents.
techno is perfect as it is toally experimental and progressing all the time. I like to connect with other artists and share knowledge and stories or emotions and understand the language more.
Getting a big break is not why I do this. I am mainly a punter and listener first who also tring to understand and connect in a community of others who also dig this sound and attitude.
If you want a big break.....make pop tunes like crazy frog etc. Much mo' easy money in that sh_ite. Get played on tha radio and get all the gurlies (even if they are only 13)......

**Jay Pace** · 13-12-2005, 10:15 AM

Not quite the break I'm after! Its just more that I like djing to crowds, rather than in my bedroom.
Some of the gigs I've had have been electrifying.

Performance is a natural progression for most artists, and thats how I feel. Not talking about stardom and fortune, just would like more opportunities to play out.

**holotropik** · 13-12-2005, 10:55 AM

Well, it comes down to finding people who you connect to and who share the same attitude.
It took me ages to find someone who looked into the music and considered the people on the floor in the same way I do. When I finally found that person it just clicked and went from strength to strength. We pushed off each other and focussed on the same ideals and goals with the parties etc. I play LivePA not DJ so it may be different....i dont know?? The dude running this gig, Simon Slieker, liked where I was coming from and liked my sound. He put me on one night and I gave it my best, knowing that at least someone appreciated what i did. it worked and he kept getting me to play. From that others also got me to play as they had heard my stuff and seen my unique technique. This further allowed me to hone in on my sound and get better. Within a year i was able to get on a net-based label and release some stuff. A small start but a progression none the less. This is purely for helping me to push myself to do better tracks and learn more about the music. I also realise that if I want to be able to travel to meet people and have parties with them then i need to have some kind of momentum behind me so that i can get the opportunities. I am not fussed about the money side of it, I just want to perform and have adventures, get better and find out more.

If you can find someone to push off it makes you play better and find more energy which then makes you come across with a better impact and hence get noticed or picked up for other gigs. Its best not to push for gigs too hard lest you end up working for twats who dont have a clue what they are doing or even care about what they are doing. This makes you hate it and lose hope and can often work against your image etc. Does the scene no good and lowers the quality overall.

Find a reasonably establish crew who you align with and can talk to easily. The break will happen automatically because the energy feeds itself and pushes you all up.

I just kept going to gigs and introducing myself and talking and handing out demos. i tried to be straight forward and myself as much as I could. If I got a connection, good. If not, no loss I kept trying. I keep trying, it never ends as things change all the time.

**djshiva** · 13-12-2005, 09:37 PM

hmmm...so yeah...to get on topic...

i have had a couple "breaks" of varying natures...but these two are the big'uns:

playing Interstellar Dreamfest in '99 (3 day outdoor event in midwest USA) for thousands of people AND seeing richie on dex, efx and 909

getting fired from my job in 2003, going on the dole and using that 3 months to BUST ASS learning how to produce

**MARKEG** · 13-12-2005, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by djshiva

getting fired from my job in 2003, going on the dole and using that 3 months to BUST ASS learning how to produce

that my gal was your real break imo. mine was leaving uni to follow the music dream. i think it's all well and good finding specific moments as a break but really it's the accumulating of alot of things and that only happens by making the choice to focus on music.

;)

**alsynthe** · 14-12-2005, 02:05 PM

mine was my elbow when i was 10, i fell of my bike

**The Divide** · 14-12-2005, 02:07 PM

I ad a big break the other day, it was about an hour long. My boss was mortified

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