Players Nite Club has two turntables and a microphone and, very much like Beck, has aspirations to get the crowd on its feet and dancing.

Player's and Local Motion DJs are hosting a DJ battle tonight.

Tryouts last week were open to whoever wanted a chance to shine.

Judges from Local Motion DJs chose the best, and they will be spinning tonight for a chance at a cash prize.

"This is the third battle that we've hosted, but this one is different, it's a New York-style battle," said Chanel Ludwig, manager of Local Motion DJs.

A New York-style battle is one of all vinyl and DJ Brian Bonar said this is a mixed blessing.

"DJing with vinyl allows you to needle drop, which you can't do with CDs, but it's also more technical," he said.

For more than 18 years, Local Motion DJs has been filling the State College air with music. They are currently Players' in-house DJ five nights a week, and the DJ that won the last battle is now Players' Thursday night spinner.

"It's really difficult to break into DJing in State College; this is a great chance to be heard," local DJ Bryan Colligan said.

Colligan (senior-management science and information systems) has been spinning for over six years now and placed second in the last battle.

"My friend had a set up when I was a freshman and I was always practicing on his set up," Colligan said. "Two years later I bought my own."

A DJ's set up consists of more than just a CD player and a burned CD.

"I have two turntables, two CD players, and a mixer," Colligan said.

It may sound excessive but Bonar insists that there is much more to DJing than playing music.

"Beat matching, beat juggling, scratching; you just can't do that with a burned CD," he said. "DJing allows you to hear the music the way you want it to be heard.

And it is on these technical aspects of DJing that the battle will be judged.

"The first round will be judged by five people that I pull from the crowd," Ludwig said. "They will judge each DJ on a one to five scale and the top scores will move on."

The first elimination is only five minutes, and Colligan and Bonar have different strategies to score high.

Colligan said his five minutes are planned well in advance, and added that he spends about 20 to 30 hours perfecting the first round act.

"It sounds like a long time but it's fun for me," Colligan said.

Bonar has a different strategy to wow the judges.

"I'll have an idea of what I want to do," Bonar said. "But it really just comes down to getting the people dancing and I'll just do what it takes."

After the first round it's up to the crowd to pick the best DJ in the club.

"The DJs that move on to the second round are judged completely on the crowds reaction and applause," Ludwig said.

DJs are allotted eight minutes to get the crowd moving in round two, a round in which Bonar and Colligan both said performance is especially important.

"You can win round two by two ways: Be really good with your technique and wow the crowd, or play awesome music that the crowd wants to hear," Colligan said.