The Peacock Room exists on the outskirts of Downtown Orlando. As I wouldn’t necessarily call it upscale, The Peacock Room does attract the martini-drinking professional crowd. Also, because the place hosts art openings once a month, it attracts the art crowd too.
From one to two times a month on Sundays, I setup at the bar counter, the far end where folks rarely notice me.
Patrons at Peacock's bar counter. (The DJ's point of view)
Because I left my laptop’s power chord at home, my friend Michael loaned me the chord to his. I rarely ever see Michael without his laptop in The Peacock Room. Good thing he decided to bring it tonight.
As I was setting up, a young white woman who appeared twenty-something approached me. Her light brown hair was tied in a ponytail.
“Are you doing the music?” she asked.
“Yea,” I answered. “But I’m not ready yet.”
As she walked away, I had a feeling she was going to be irritating.
As soon as I got things started, the young woman came back.
At this time, I was playing “Black Betty” by Ram Jam, a song request by my friend Mindy.
“Can you play Old 97?” the young woman asked.
“I’ll see if I got it,” I answered.
I was familiar with the name but didn’t know the music. And I didn’t have it either.
I could’ve easily looked for the group on the Internet. All I had to do was go to a site named GrooveShark and play a song from there. Yet, because no one at Peacock told me I must honor everyone’s request, I didn’t do it.
“I don’t have it,” I told the young woman.
At the bar counter, she was sitting next to a friend, a brunette who looked around her age. Because the end of the counter curved, I could talk to them face to face.
Both started naming off other groups for me to play, all of them rock.
As I moved into eighties hip-hop, I ignored the two women.
The first young woman brought up groups again.
“Does it look I own that music?” I asked.
Then, her and her friend brought up more groups. One of them was Sublime.
Mindy
After the fourth hip-hop song, I played Sublime’s “What I Got”.
“Are you going to leave me alone now?” I asked them.
“Yes,” the first one said.
After Sublime, I played “Would” by Alice In Chains. The two left after that song.
The way those two kept going on about groups annoyed the hell out of me, as if I must absolutely play what theyrequest. I don’t mind requests. Still, if the DJ don’t have your music, just let it go. Adding more pressure makes you look like an idiot.
