How to not be a nuisance in the DJ booth (with Kyle Geiger)

The DJ booth is typically an exclusive part of a rave space, limited to the DJ, club staff and anyone who has a pass. If you manage to gain access it can feel like you’ve won the lottery.

@kylegeigermusic is a techno powerhouse who posted about bad booth behaviour on Twitter last year. His years of touring have provided plenty of tricky experiences, so he’s the perfect person to give us a guide to DJ booth etiquette…

STAY HUMBLE
I have an issue with DJs being the focus of the party, but even worse is having someone else in the booth be the focus of the party. The level of separation between the DJ booth and the crowd should be only as much as technically necessary, so they can work. There’s absolutely no need for status-based division.

YOU’RE NOT THERE TO POSE
I once played a party where the DJ booth was so crowded that you couldn’t even turn around. I kindly told everyone that I thought it was better if they went on the dancefloor, because that’s where the party was anyways. They left and walked straight out the door. I guess that was the best indicator of their reasons for being in the booth in the first place.

REMEMBER, THE DJ IS WORKING
In general, I actually enjoy people in the booth when it’s not physically intrusive. But as a rule of thumb, let the DJ be the one to initiate interaction, unless you’re offering a drink or being helpful in some way.

THE BOOTH IS NOT THE CLOAKROOM
The story I mentioned on Twitter was this drunk guy stashing his jacket in a cubby hole by my feet. He never asked, he just did it while blocking me from reaching the mixer, causing the music to completely stop. Either don’t wear a jacket or pay a couple bucks to put it in the cloakroom and allow your jacket to live another day without smelling like an ashtray.

RESPECT THE SPACE
Some DJ booths are just not designed for a bunch of people to be hanging out in. So try to be respectful and maybe not drink too much. When people have overindulged, spatial awareness goes out of the window and the DJ gets elbowed one too many times. Nightmare.