Throw down the headphones

[BOD]

When do you think is the right time to chuck in the headphones and call it a day? I dont mean age but what factors contribute to you saying enough is enough and pack it in. Theres a few people on here who have done this and just wondered what reasons other than the obvious arrival of tiny feet have contributed to this. How many have done so, sold up and changed their mind and gone back to it and what kind of time scale this has occured? Just a curiousity thing more than anything

 

[nupski]

couldn't say, i'm only 18

 

[djperkins]

Apparently..around 37 is the most pop age to go bonkers...mental health, depression etc...so maybe a built in human thing that says "grow up" around that time...I can remember talk of class A abuse altering certain pre-programmed mind phases and bringing forward "mid-life crisis"...call it what you will, whatever the deal is with growing up/old...not me..I'm a loon, still 19, fk that getting old lark...I didn't play at all for over 8 years, but never lost the love for the music, and treasured my old tapes and recordings...it was stumbling across OSA that revived my spirit, meeting like minded people and once the beast was awake...there was no putting it back to bed. Most peeps have hobbies or interests, my Nan & GDad used to go dancing untill they popped, listened to their 78's/8 tracks all days long, dressed like they did when they were younger...it kept them young at heart aswell. One love people.

 

[djperkins]

I love to see and hear the oldies, ripping it up on the old Joanna on a sunday night...how cool is it gonna be when uz an old man Bod... you nip round to the Social Club for a Jar and mashup the decks with a scratchin routine thats 50 years in the making...lol....gwaaaan, yez old cun...cough, cough....psshhht <<that will be Bernie.

 

[Jiglo]

I'm sure a new arrival doesn't have to mean giving up your decks, so it probably has to be money or space for people to give up unless their heart isn't in it anymore. I know a few old mates who have kept all their own gear after having kids.

 

[reetdad]

41 me bod and just getting going again, 2 kids and married so been there done that now back and in love with music again

 

[DJRazz]

40 next year and still love it
1210's + Behringer DJX700 and a loud amp and of course 1500 vinyl to play on em

 

[BOD]

Apparently..around 37 is the most pop age to go bonkers...mental health, depression etc...so maybe a built in human thing that says "grow up" around that time....

Lol maybe that's it then Dave. I can relate to most of that sentence

 

[nupski]

on a serious note, the main factor has got to be how u feel about it. if ur still enjoying it then why stop?

i could probs sell my vynil for a few quid and maybe get the extra bit of cash i need to buy a house, but i know that altho i'm not that good a dj, if i did i wouldn't enjoy having to play mp3's all the time.

i hope ur not thinking of hanging ur headphones up chris, a talent like urs should not disappear so soon. i had u pencilled in to play at my retirement party

 

[tilt]

Never ever in my life .

 

[sevenuk]

I'm under pressure from my wife to sell my set up and vinyl.... i bought 2 collections purposely to sell so she thinks they are my own to throw her off the scent lol....

i'm a tad over 45 :S and in no way want to give up my vinyl or decks.... playing nye at a house party

only trouble is, one of the collections was a prog house collection and i am getting quite into it which surprised me... another genre to buy and not sell!!

i agree it is when your heart is no longer in it and the thrill of crate digging disappears - perhaps thats the time to give up :|

 

[djperkins]

Were all just bonkers about old school music...prob music in general, could any of us just turn it all off...I can't, I threw away my DJ career cos I went a bit whoopding on the chems and regretted it like crazy when it was all gone and I was sober, more than once I have been parted from my belongings and lost 100's of tunes at a time...closer to a 3000 in total...10 years of mailing list and record shopping!!!!!I listen to my old club recordings and it makes me wince and panick when I hear a monster w/l that I don't have anymore... So I would suggest treading cautiously around such a hooj disturbance to the force. We all must still be hardwired to a time when we were young and had the old school epiffany...me deffo, till the day I pop me proverbials I'll be reaching for the ceiling on the little stage inside Shelleys...lol..it's all I got...wanna keep it alive, selling up is prob only really making way for something else...as far as partners are concerned, you gotta keep 'em happy, ignorant...or in a box, I favour the box, mine has various holes in different locations all around it and it's covered in smiley rave faces.

 

[wayne]

Great thread

I think time and family play a big part as well as age I sold my pioneer and denon cd decks last year as we needed the money for the house move

It would be a massive wrench to sell my 1210s and my viynl

Being honest I use them around once a month if that now but we are lucky that we have space for them

I feel selling the viynl is pointless unless I was desperate for the cash as the value is not there any more

I would love a tracktor 2 but can I justify it?

I know one thing though I love music

Sadly I have not really kept up in new or old music for a few years and I seem to be stuck in a 1988 to 2000 time warp

Listening to loads of trance at the moment

Music makes you feel happy when you most need it

Hopefully my vinyl will be with me when i take my last breath

 

[Benny-Digital]

Top thread.. Jesus, I hate to think I'd ever lose the love for it, it would only ever happen if I was struck down with illness or became stone deaf! I think my Dj career is only just getting started at 36 having changed my style. I've been working hard and practicing a hell of a lot. I was getting bored of the same old music until I moved with technology..

 

[ste huxley]

For me it would be when I stop buying music, cant see it happening as its the passion in my life. You can fit kids round the decks etc but you just have to alter certain things, like having tunes blasting full vol at 3 in the morning (if the kids are there!)

Long after Ive stopped gigging, even tho I dont do half as many as I used to, by choice by that I mean a good family life balance. I will still love music and buy it and want to mix it for my own personal pleasure.

Rave on!

 

[ivan]

when your heart is no longer in it and the thrill of crate digging disappears - perhaps thats the time to give up :|

this.

all my mates (bar one) have sold their collections and hardware. to a man, they all got married and had kids and saw it as a way of "growing up" by de-cluttering. they play golf, have dinner parties and help out with their kid's sports activities. i get the feeling they look down on me because i still buy/play music in a physical format. whenever i go to my ma's i'll be stopped by someone from school and the first thing they'll say is,

"still buying records?"

when i reply in the affirmative the second thing they say is,

"what...they still make them?"

(me, "YAWN")

the thrill of the chase is what i love. 99.99% of my stuff is bought in 2nd hand shops and chazzers. there's nothing better than rocking up in nowheresville and finding a gem for 50p or £1, whilst the missus is looking at frocks and shoes.

long may it continue.

 

[Northern Star]

Cant see me ever selling up i love to 'listen' too much, could easily give up playing out but id have serious trouble not being able to pick my chosen record off the shelf and just play it! Thats what id miss the most.... :$
I havnt had kids yet but when that does happen i want them to be around vinyl and music and learn to love and appreciate it as much as i do....

 

[koolherc]

I still have a big love for the music! but as everyone says Djing is a very expensive hobby
mainly the reason why I fell away from the Djing part still have some vinyl but have also massed a large amount of mp3s and still thinkin of goin down the digital route though would still like to mix vinyl and mp3sphones:

 

[APH]

had a break of 4/5 years

I love music in general, I did give up totally for a few years but now I`m getting back into it more and more. Sure I aint the best mixer, far from, but I love to mix and buying loads of unknown vinyl at a time I always find a few that I`m into. I still buy individual records and would pay good money if its a tune I really like. If I stop spinning I`ll still keep them. I still love putting em on the deck and just listening, although, have sold alot of my hardcore stuff lately as I wont miss em 93 - 97 stuff.

Having said that, I still dont have the hunger for it as when I got my first decks (f**kin belt drive) lol

 

[Sam]

When do you think is the right time to chuck in the headphones and call it a day?

I was only saying today how I will never sell up... crate digging and the following joy of the mix still burns within. I have had breaks in the past but have only ever been without decks for a year in the last twenty and that was because of an ex girlfriend and moving out of the country.

I would say if you have the space and the desire and a willing partner (if you've got one) then continue. There is no shame in having a break from it all though and spending time doing other things and then rediscovering your love for the music/scene or whatever at a later date.