I was on the Youth Training Scheme, which paid £27 per week, but by drumming two nights a week I could earn another £45! The YTS didn’t work out and by my mid-20s I was unemployed during the day (although still gigging a lot in the evenings). I was offered a place on a government retraining course and chose welding as I’d found engineering interesting at school. I completed the course very quickly and started to make small items for family and friends; things like candlestick holders, hanging basket brackets and weather vanes.
I seemed to have a knack for this, so went on a business course and set myself up as an Ornamental Welder. My timing for this new venture was excellent, although completely unplanned, as there are a lot of caravan parks close to where I live and a recent change in law meant that all static caravans had to have their wooden balconies and steps replaced with metal ones. The demand in summer was plentiful, I could have worked 24/7 if I wanted, but in winter it could be a struggle.
Even though my welding business was doing ok, I was yearning to pursue my musical career (before it was too late). An ‘Access to Music’ course was being run at the Colchester Institute, so I decided to close the metal work business and focus on music. I left the unit I had been renting and started working as a Janitor at the Asda in Colchester. I also managed to pick up a few days of work in a drum shop and, of course, was still playing gigs as a drummer at the weekend.
During my time at college I was always looking for a musical side line; as much as I love drumming, I felt I could have too much of a good thing! One of my idols is Narada Michael Walden, who had played drums with Weather Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and also worked as a producer for Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Starship and Aretha Franklin, amongst others. So I thought I would give producing a try, and hired out the college studio on a number of occasions.
However this didn’t work out. I’d spend all day working in the studio, only to take the mix home and find something was wrong. There would either be a buzzing sound, or something slightly out of tune, or the performance would just sounded ‘lifeless’ … a whole day’s work wasted! To be honest, I just didn't have my heart in it!
After two years at the Colchester Institute I decided to go for a Diploma in Music at their college in Stratford, East London. One of my fellow students on this course was Jamie Morrison who I used to tease for his big mop of curly brown hair. I always thought he looked like Stuart Cable, the original drummer with the Stereophonics, quite ironically Jamie is now the drummer with The Stereophonics! I completed the course, and when it finished I experienced one of the proudest moments of my life, being presented my diploma by Beatles producer Sir George Martin!
I then embarked on another exciting chapter in my musical career, joining a band to work on cruise ships. We auditioned for the Princess line and were offered a seven month contract sailing around the Mediterranean and then on to the Caribbean. Unfortunately, as the voyage progressed, a rift developed between myself and the other band members. So, once the contract had finished, I found myself back working at Asda again, cleaning toilets!
However, I had made some good contacts over the years, and was soon recommended as a drum teacher at a music shop in Clacton and as a session drummer for an agency. So I was soon able to leave Asda for good for a career teaching drums and playing at various events across the country. “WHEN I WAS OUT DRUMMING, I WOULD OFTEN LOOK OVER AND CHECK OUT THE DJS WHO SOMETIMES WORKED ALONGSIDE US. I NOTICED THAT THEY WERE ALL SMARTLY DRESSED, HAD NICE LOOKING SETUPS, AND I STARTED TO FIND THEIR JOB APPEALING. ” : GAVIN VACLAVIK When I was out drumming at agency events, I would often look over and check out the DJs who sometimes worked alongside us.
I noticed that they were all smartly dressed, had nice looking setups, played music via CD or laptop, and I started to find their job appealing. In my mind, it was a bit like production, but live. “I could do that,” I thought to myself. I already had a PA system, that I used for teaching and for monitors at drumming gigs, as well as some old par can lights. I bought a new laptop, loaded it with Virtual DJ Studio, and was ready to try my hand as a DJ.
I eventually got bored with the agency drumming as it was poorly paid (often £150 before expenses) and regularly involved being away for a whole day and driving right across England to get to the gig. So I decided to focus on DJing. I already had a good knowledge of music and, after picking up a bit of experience locally, I went back to the agency offering my services as a DJ. To begin with I did all the agency work I could, as I was still known as a drummer not as a mobile DJ.
Naturally, this work wasn’t very well paid, and I soon became tired of turning up to an event cold without any prior contact with the client. So I started to think about how to generate my own bookings. I decided that I shouldn’t work under a business name, as I wanted prospective clients to know that they would be in contact with me and only me, both leading up to and at their event. I thought my own surname was pretty good, as it’s a bit different (Vack-La-Vick, it’s Czech), so ‘DJ Gavin Vaclavik’ it would be.
I did, however, decide to register a different website name – www. – as I thought potential customers might struggle with the spelling of Vaclavik! When I was on Facebook one day I saw someone mention the ‘SEDA ShowNight’ and was curious to find out what it involved. So I found the SEDA website, filled out a form, and received a call from Caroline, who told me all about the membership benefits and what goes on at ShowNights. I promptly joined at the next BPM and have found the SEDA members to be very warm and welcoming, which was exactly what I needed, as I had mixed with many drummers over the years, but not that many DJs.
After attending BPM the following year, some SEDA and NADJ members headed to a carvery for a meal. It was there that I met Tony Winyard and when I got home I sent a Facebook ‘friend request’ , which he accepted. I read a post from Tony on Facebook that mentioned Toastmasters International, so I looked at their website and found a club near me in Colchester, which I duly joined. I would be the first to admit that my public speaking skills have always been poor to say the least, and I had very little confidence and minimal experience.
But thanks to Tony and Toastmasters International, my speaking skills are now coming along a treat. I have also benefited immensely from attending events including the Pro Mobile Conference and SEDAbuzz as well as workshops hosted by Derek Pengelly, Chris Burford, John Holder and Terry Lewis. This learning, related to both my business and my performance, has allowed me to attract better paying bookings and get to the point where my diary is as full as I want it to be, with very few agency jobs.
Clubs were never my thing, I’ve always just wanted to be the best party DJ I can. I'm more than happy to play whatever is asked: cheese, big band, country, heavy metal, rock ‘n’ roll, music from a specific decade or the current charts, it makes no difference to me. I also don't want to be just a specific type of party DJ, I take great enjoyment from the variety of bookings out there: christenings, birthdays, kids’ parties, weddings, anniversaries, school discos, corporate events, even funerals!
I also work a lot at events for people with learning difficulties, which I find very rewarding. Where I try to particularly stand out is with my setups. Maybe it’s because I came into the world of the mobile DJ a bit late that I “THIS LEARNING, RELATED TO BOTH MY BUSINESS AND MY PERFORMANCE, HAS ALLOWED ME TO ATTRACT BETTER PAYING BOOKINGS AND GET TO THE POINT WHERE MY DIARY IS AS FULL AS I WANT IT TO BE” 17PROFILE: GAVIN VACLAVIK see things differently.
But, I think having a rig that looks the same as other DJs is boring and I also think that different functions require different equipment configurations. I change my setups to suit each individual client, not just for large or small rooms. I love using scrims, and have them in many different colours. I also have both a white and black booth, as well as a variety of different lighting fixtures that allows me to tailor each rig to the individual client and event.
And, with my background in welding/ engineering, I have also built quite a lot of my own equipment, from my photo booths and giant letters, down to various custom brackets to mount speakers and lights. I also recently built a ‘Shabby Chic’ themed vintage booth, which was featured in Pro Mobile 87 (Jan/Feb 2018). My advice to fellow DJs is simply to be your own person, don't think that you have to be a part of the crowd and be a clone of anyone else, have your own way of entertaining and always stay true to it.
But also be open to learning new things and having your mind broadened. You are a product of your own experiences, which can come through meeting other DJs, attending educational events and association meetings (I am now a member of both SEDA and NADJ) as well as from your own bookings. My worst moment at an event was actually as a drummer not a DJ. It was for a wedding reception being held in a marquee in the back garden of a private house and the booking was via an agency, who also supplied the PA system.
We were told we could start to setup at 6:45pm, ready for the first dance at 7:30pm (so the timings were already tight). Then, as is so often the case, everything over ran. We weren’t actually allowed to start setting up until 7:15pm and had literally only just got speakers on stands and instruments out of cases when, at 7:30pm, someone “I THINK HAVING A RIG THAT LOOKS THE SAME AS OTHER DJS IS BORING AND I ALSO THINK THAT DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS REQUIRE DIFFERENT EQUIPMENT CONFIGURATIONS” called for the bride and groom to take their first dance!
The first dance was to be played via an iPod, but we hadn't even connected the mixer to the amp and the amp to the speakers yet! With the bride and groom looking very embarrassed, we grabbed the leads out of the bag, connected everything up and pressed ‘play’ . Nothing happened! The mixer, supplied by the agency, wasn’t working.
After another awkward pause, we managed to find a lead to connect the iPod directly to the amp, bypassing the mixing desk, which allowed the first dance to take place. But without the mixer we couldn’t connect up the band’s mics and instruments to the PA. Fortunately, the best man came forward with another iPod and put on a playlist so the party did get some music. But, without the mixer, the band couldn’t perform.
As you can imagine, the combination of stress over the lack of setup time, the announcement of the first dance when we weren’t ready and the faulty mixer meant that nerves were frayed. So when, to cap it all off, the groom came over later in the night and threatened me with physical violence, I'd had enough! I lost my temper and retaliated, but luckily someone stepped in to pull us apart! Although DJing is now my focus, I still drum regularly and have been playing in a ‘70s Glam Rock covers band called ‘The Chocolate Fireguard Experience’ for some years now.
We gig enough to keep it fun and fresh sounding, but I can fit in plenty of DJ work in between. I sometimes even DJ as a package with the band. I also work for a company that installs festoon and fairy lighting at venues, which gives me a fall back for any nights when I don’t have a booking. All in all, I’ve now got a good balance and – as far as I’m concerned – life is good!
