Former Gunnedah scholar Rob Leggat was among the DJs to impress the judges at last month’s ‘Your Shot’ competition at the Brisbane-based Prince Consort Hotel.
There were seven different areas of DJs playing music all day on the Saturday, with winners announced at the end of the Saturday and Sunday before a major winner was announced late on the second day.
With more than 300 DJs involved in the Brisbane-based competition, Rob was the runner-up in one of the seven areas on the first day.
With each DJ limited to 25 minutes for their playlist, the judges acknowledged Rob’s ability to interact with the crowd and keep everyone involved.
Rob chose snippets from 20 songs, predominantly with hardstyle before his playlist ended with uptempo which was of an even higher tempo.
“The whole weekend was incredible; there is nothing like it,” Rob said.
“It isn’t anything like a usual club, rave or a festival.
“It is a bunch of people trying a new skill and everyone is completely supportive.
“Over the rest of the weekend after I played, I had multiple people pull me aside and talk to me about how my performance was.
“It was a memory I am going to have for the rest of my life.”
Due to the speed of the music Rob was mixing, he required a high level of speed and precision which also drew the attention of the judges.
Rob’s actions included pointing at the crowd, singing along, and starting chants. He also ducked behind the stage, and prompted the crowd to move down low and then jump.
Using the microphone, Rob asked things like “Are you ready for this?” and “How are we feeling today?” before finishing with “I hope you have a great rest of your day”.
“I primarily tried to dance to every song I played, and I think that really helped in breaking the ice and getting everyone moving,” he said afterwards.
Rob said one key thing he learned was to have a bottle of water with him.
“Being up in front of bright lights dancing for 30 minutes takes it out of you, and my mouth and throat were completely dry by the end of it,” he said.
In hindsight, Rob said if he had his time again he would use the microphone even more “to interact with the crowd and to get them into it as much as I was”.
Rob said there were many more DJs than he expected, with everyone very supportive of one another while the whole place was “absolutely buzzing”.
“There were things happening everywhere,” he said.
“You couldn’t turn a corner without seeing smiles and people having fun.”
Rob stayed until 11pm on both days to support his mates who were involved.
Rob said he was unsure yet if he would have an official role like playing or judging at next year’s event, but that he would definitely go to support next year’s cohort.
“I absolutely hope to continue playing live gigs, whether it be open decks which are like social gatherings, giving DJs the opportunity to play in front of a live audience, or other private events,” he said.
After growing up on a cattle farm at Piallaway, Rob attended St Xavier’s and St Mary’s schools in Gunnedah before moving to Queensland to pursue an information technology (IT) apprenticeship with the federal government.
He has since specialised in cybersecurity, while being a DJ became a side pursuit earlier this year when he decided to give it a go after a friend had done so.
