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DJ "DOC SALSA"
STEVE SHAW
Position - Founder and co-host of www.SalsaNewYork.com .
Contact Information For Booking - Email - salsa@nyc.rr.com .
Main Salsa Activities - "On 2" Social dancer, DJ, music collector, internet journalist, mambo observer & commentator.
Origin of Name "Doc Salsa" - Doctor's degree in Clinical Psychology.
Has DJ'd At -
New York Salsa Congress -
Hilton Hotel, Manhattan, NY
Latin Quarter - LQ -
Manhattan, NY
Latin Sundays With Jimmy
Anton - Manhattan, NY
Club Cocomo - San
Francisco, CA
Mambo Sundays With
Carlos Konig - Manhattan, NY
Club Con Sazon - Side
Street - Bronx, NY
Club Cache - Manhattan,
NY
T.N.T. Salsa Tuesdays @ Link - Manhattan, NY
Salsa Fever With Mambo
Mario B - Hoboken, NJ
China Club - Manhattan,
NY
Friday Nights For Mambo
Dancers - Manhattan, NY
Tavern On The Green -
Manhattan, NY
Santo Rico Dance Studio Social - Manhattan, NY
Club Shelter - Manhattan,
NY
Salsa In Central Park - Manhattan, NY
Club 412 - Manhattan, NY
Thank God It's Friday @
Empire Dance - Manhattan, NY
Albert's Night Club - Jersey City, NJ
Spice Summer Festival On The Hudson River - Manhattan, NY
Mambo 2 Cha Cha With Claudine Events - Manhattan, NY
Latin Fever Dance Studio Social - Brooklyn, NY
Salsa Tuesdays @ The Parlour - Manhattan, NY
Club Vue - Manhattan, NY
Yamulee Dance Studio Social - Bronx, NY
Mambo Mondays @ Session 73 - Manhattan, NY
Plumm Nightclub - Manhattan, NY
Casa De La Salsa - Almyra Ayos Events - Manhattan, NY
Mojito Sundays @ Wish 26 - Manhattan, NY
Mocca Lounge - Manhattan, NY
Mad About Mambo By The Mambo Mamas - Manhattan, NY
Mambo Bravo Dance Studio - Jackson Heights, NY
Enixe Salsa Social - Brooklyn, NY
Swing 46 - The Supper Club - Manhattan, NY
Saturday Night Salsa With Nelson Flores - Manhattan, NY
Dance Atlantic Studio - Brooklyn, NY
Salsa Salsa Dance Studio - Brooklyn, NY
The Brooklyn Salsa Gala - Brooklyn, NY
La Vieja Guardia Salsa Social - Manhattan, NY
Bogart's On Park - Manhattan, NY
Iguana Night Club - Manhattan, NY
Karisma Dance Studio Social - Manhattan, NY
Connecticut Salsa Congress - Stamford, CT
Monte Carlo Room - Bronx, NY
10th Anniversary Party Of The Karisma Dancers
Mambo Fateegz Salsa Socials - Manhattan, NY
Salsa Fever @ Deity Lounge - Brooklyn, NY
Caribbean Soul "Break From The Norm" Party - Manhattan, NY
Spicy Salsa & Bachata Fridays - Manhattan, NY.
New York All Stars Showcase - Brooklyn, NY
La Mambera's Salsa Parties - Manhattan, NY
Big Apple Salsa Festival - Hilton Hotel, Manhattan, NY
SalsaMania Saturdays - Manhattan, NY
Private Parties - NY
With performers Griselle Ponce & "Taima Las Hijas Del Trueño" .
With salsera Madeline Cruz.
DJ PHILOSPHY - SUGGESTIONS TO DJs: HOW TO MAKE MAMBO DANCERS HAPPY
Play Standard Mambo Dance Songs At Least 50% Of The Time
At least 30 minutes of every hour should be songs which dancers are already familiar with. Most of the time, do not be playing unusual songs or new songs or songs that the dancers probably havent heard before. Play what they already know much of the time so they can tailor their dance moves to the song.
Play Different Tempos - The Majority Should Be Medium Speed
At least 60% of the songs should be medium speed. 20% should be fast. 20% should be slow or cha cha. Dont play a lot of fast songs: Most dancers cant handle them & the ladies get too tired from the spinning.
Play Only Songs That You Have Already Danced To With A Partner And You Have Enjoyed It
Dont experiment with newly discovered songs, or songs you havent played before, unless you have already danced to it all the way through and you have found it to be a good song for dancing.
Play Only Songs That Are Good For Dancing
Play only for the mambo dancers. Even though a song may be good for musicians, or other DJs, or people who stand around just listening, or playing the clave, conga, cowbell, etc., that is not who you should play for. You are a dance DJ, so you should play ONLY for the dancers. When deciding on the next song, play the song a dancer needs next..
Play Different Styles And Types Of Songs
Dont stay in just one style of song. Move around to different styles such as old and new, hard core mambo and typical club style salsa, intense songs and smooth lyrical songs, salsa dura, charanga and salsa romantica, salsa from New York, the west coast, Africa, Colombia. Songs must have clear conga & bass rhythms and nice melodies. We move our bodies to the rhythms and feel the melodies in our hearts.
Make The Transitions Smoothly From One Song To Another
When one song ends, let it finish completely. Then bring in the next song smoothly and with matched volumes. Check the volumes beforehand with the headphones.
Dont mix dont blend the end of one song with the beginning of the next song. Mambo dancers change partners after each song. They need a moment to finish the dance, find the next partner, or walk off the floor. And people waiting to dance need a short break between songs so they know when to start dancing.
The next song should follow logically musically from the song before. Each next song should bring dancers up onto the floor. It should make them want to dance as it flows from the song before. Dont play just any next song. Play a next song that follows very well from the song before.
Don't "loop" or manipulate the equalization for special effects in the song. Adjust the EQ so the song sounds nice and then just let it play all the way through as the musicians played it.
Don't Use A Computer With MP-3 Music Files
The sound quality of music from an MP-3 file, even at 320 kbps, does not sound as good as the same song played directly from a standard CD, or a computer using full-size .WAV files, when using high-end sound equipment or professional DJ sound systems. The range of the sound spectrum is not as broad nor as clean. There is a predominance of midrange and higher sounds and the overall sound is more "flat", with less "depth" and richness. Although MP-3 files, often downloaded from the internet, may sound similar to a CD when listening on a small device such as an IPOD or on a boom box or car radio, a comparison test on higher end and professional equipment shows a noticeable difference. For a scientific test comparison, see http://www.stereophile.com/features/308mp3cd/ .
The reason for this lack of CD quality sound is that a regular 5 minute salsa song on a CD, or in a .WAV file, is approximately 50 megabytes of program material. The same song compressed into an MP-3, 320 kbps, format is only 12 megabytes. That's 38 megabytes of the song's program data missing, and that missing information is what makes the sound quality worse with an MP-3. Even though MP-3 compressed files utilize software to try to correct for the missing program material, it simply cannot compensate for the missing 38 megabytes. It's just not possible. Overall, the best quality sound comes from a standard CD or from a full size .WAV file. And if you're worried about storage space on your laptop's hard drive, remember that 5000 full-length salsa songs in .WAV files is only 250 gigabytes. Most laptops these days come with 500 gigabyte hard drives and many DJs are carrying around compact portable hard drives that have another 500 gigabytes or even 1 terabyte. If a salsa DJ can't do a decent job with 5000 good songs available in their collection, they've got a big problem.
And, by the way, www.Fania.com now has some of the Fania music collection available for download in .WAV file format.
Mambo DJ Guidelines
For more on how to DJ for mambo dancers, see Guidelines For Mambo DJs .
Suggested Salsa And Cha Cha Songs - See List of Good Dance Songs .
Most Influential Salsa DJs For Me - Jimmy Anton, DJ Jay Vee, David Sala , Osmar Perrones .
Other Interests - Cars, high performance driving (street & track), movies, adventurous foods & dining, travel, politics, psychology & psychoanalysis, media & world events, technology, crime drama, human behavior, business, economics & investment.
Academic Background - Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Certificate in psychoanalysis. Studies in economics, business & investment.
Salsa Articles By Steve Shaw -
How To Get More Partners - Overcoming Fear Of Dancing - Tough Talk
Definition of Dancing On 2 - Technique - How To Learn - The Music
Guidelines For Mambo DJs - List Of Good Mambo & Cha Cha Songs
How To Put On A Successful Salsa Dance Event
The Story Of SalsaNewYork.com - How It Came About
Fellas, You Are Supposed To Make The Lady Look Good
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