Tag Archives: creative dance dj

DJ Mystical Michael Live At Barefoot Boogie Saturday Night! 2/25

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There are few aspects of the winter that are beneficial to a Wedding and Event DJ and Entertainer in New Jersey or New York.  After the Holidays, we hit a bit of a slow season till the spring with weddings, graduations and parties starting to fill our schedules again. I do get the opportunity to volunteer my services as DJ at many local events. My favorite is The Barefoot Boogie in NYC. I have several friends there and enjoy the chance to play music that I could not play at an event I was hired to perform.

 

As a professional DJ, I am trained to play to what the planner hired me to play musically. I am very conscious of their needs and wishes throughout the gig. For the most part, I keep my personal tastes out of the mix, literally.  I will slip in a song from the genre or playlist we have created together that I enjoy more than others but mostly it is your music, not mine. The Barefoot Boogie is the exception to this general guideline. There are many creative and talented dancers who thrive and appreciate moving to music they do not know or would not typically dance to. In fact, they look forward to hearing new music and challenging tempos, rhythms and beats. Any good DJ thrives with the opportunity to create new and refreshing mixes and beats for dancers to move and experiment.  I am not as good a dancer as most of them but do enjoy a beat and rhythm that is somewhat unique or out of the norm.  Of course, being in the New Jersey and New York area allows even more creativity due to our diversity and openminded attitude towards music, art and movement.

Dancing Through The Storm with DJ Mystical Michael

What kinds of creative or unique music do you like to move to when given the opportunity?

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NYDJ

 

DJ Mystical Michael Live At Barefoot Boogie Saturday Night!

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I always look forward to the nights I am able to provide DJ music for dancers at The Barefoot Boogie. As a dancer, this is one of my favorite places to perform. There are so many appreciative dancers that I have such a great time.

Barefoot Boogie Dancers with DJ Mystical Michael

If you have never been there, The Barefoot Boogie is a bi-monthly dance event held at Insight Meditation Center 28 W. 27th St, NYC.  Our community has been providing dance events since 1982 and is still going strong today! It is an honor for me to DJ at events. I am also Teacher and DJ Coordinator for the community.

 

Sometime before the dances, I find myself up late one night creating new mixes and possibilities for the upcoming event. Last night was one of those nights. I am excited to share these with our community. It is one of the rare opportunities for me as a DJ to really get to play with diverse genres, tempos, textures and rhythms. If you would like to read more about the larger dance community, Barefoot Boogie is a member of the Dance New England community of dances and dancers.

Contact Improvisation at Barefoot Boogie NYC with DJ Mystical Michael

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

A DJ Has A Night To Play

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There is something really fun about having a night without a playlist.  As a professional full-time DJ, I rarely get to choose the music I play. I am extremely committed to making sure the folks that hire me as a professional DJ get what they want and not pick music for myself at a gig. Last Saturday night at the Barefoot Boogie I had the music all to myself!  We usually try to schedule more than one DJ at each event to add diversity in style and musical choices.  This particular night I was the only DJ on the schedule and took full advantage of the opportunity.

 

I can’t say it was my most fluid segues but we had fun and there was plenty of great tunes for moving and dancing.  We started the night with some mellow, lush music for letting the dancers get loose and grounded to the music and environment.  It was not long till we had it cranked-up to full volume and the energy was very high. I was mindful of bringing the energy and tempo down to provide space for catching breath and get even deeper into their process.

 

As usual, we had a great time and nobody wanted to leave at the end of the night. I still am smiling that I got to play Acoustic Jazz, New Age, Pop, Top 40, R&B, New Wave, Punk, Rock, Old Soul and Hip Hop all in the same night while visiting Cuba, Africa, India, Turkey, Mexico, Japan and Spain along the way. A fun ride for all!

 

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

DJ Mystical Michael at Barefoot Boogie Saturday Night 10/8!

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I am even more excited than I was last night!

 

Along with being a professional full-time DJ & MC, I am also the volunteer Coordinator of Teachers & DJs at The Barefoot Boogie NYC.  It is my responsibility to recruit, schedule and sometimes train our teachers and DJs for our semi-monthly events.  The venue we create these evens is Insight Meditation Center, originally had a special event scheduled for this Saturday Night, 10/8. We shifted our schedule to accommodate. It turns out they had to cancel the event and we had some conversation and decided we would scramble together and put a dance event together for tomorrow night.  I offered to DJ since I have not had the opportunity to DJ there since before the wedding season was in full swing. I miss it.

 

I now get to DJ at an outdoor wedding in the afternoon and Barefoot Boogie at night.  Besides seeing friends and being in an environment I enjoy, DJing at The Barefoot Boogie allows me to get extremely creative in musical selections.  I will start the night with some slow, lush music to support dancers in getting warmed-up and stretched.  After I see folks are ready, I will slowly raise the energy, tempo and volume till we are at full force.  The Boogie is an environment that diversity and creativity are considered gifts for dancers and movers.  Throughout the night I will try to mix in some music from many decades, genres and cultures from around the globe.

 

Should be a great day between the wedding and the boogie!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Accepting New Challenges As A Professional DJ

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I was recently approached with an offer to professional DJ at a club that is under new management. It is really a sports bar with a club upstairs; a great place to eat and party. They already have a Resident DJ but he is not willing to play music for theme nights they are planning over the next few months. He does not want to do Country, Latin or a Ladies Night. He will only do what he does and nothing else. Why are so many professional DJs like this?

 

I look forward to accepting new challenges and expanding my repertoire as a professional DJ. How can this be a bad thing?

 

Even when I was new at this way back when many years ago, I wanted to try new things, learn and gain experience and confidence in as many genres and styles as possible. As a professional DJ, it increases my value and marketability. As a performer, I add to my pallet of music in my library that I can provide to clients.  Country and Latin Music are two of the hottest dance trends these days and why would a professional DJ not want to be a part of the fun and excitement?

 

I wonder if this is just a matter of ego and maturity? If you have any ideas on why so many professional DJs are afraid to venture beyond one or two genre, I would be most grateful for your thoughts.

 

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ 

Another MultiCultural Wedding: DJ for Filipino-Italian Wedding

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One of the joys of living and performing in the NYC/NJ/Philly Region is the opportunity to work as a professional DJ with Multicultural Weddings. I received a request for a quote from a young lady whose sister is getting married in November. It is a small wedding at View Of The Hudson in Piermont, NY.  She has the honor of both being her sister and Maid of Honor and is required to find and secure a professional DJ for her sister’s wedding.  We exchanged several emails before having a fun and informative conversation via the phone.

 

It turns out she is from a Filipino family and her sister’s fiancé is Italian. My Mom’s family is Italian and I grew up eating mostly Italian food from an excellent cook that has spoiled me for life.

 

I love to DJ Multi-Cultural Weddings. They are so much fun and always have a few interesting twists to add spice and variety to any event.  This one should be no exception. I too am from a Multi-Cultural family and it provided some unique and peculiar traditions when both sides of the family gathered together. I know many professional DJs flinch when presented with cultures they are not originally from; I do not understand this. I look forward to these events and the new experiences they offer. In the past year I have performed at about ten weddings with Brides and Grooms of different races, cultures or continents. I learn something new at every one of them and meet great people. Glad I am here in New Jersey where this kind of wedding is commonplace.

 

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Music, Dance and Culture As A Professional DJ

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It does not happen often, but every now and then I have to really dig into my experience as a professional DJ to figure out how to make things work at an event.  Most recently, it was due to some cultural differences that I did not take into account and fortunately was helped by some of the guests to understand and find an effective solution.

Even though I have lived and traveled through a large section of Eastern and Central Asia, I still view how an event is supposed to go in the USA from an American perspective. This is not necessarily a bad thing but can be a blind-spot when not taking into account cultural differences. If I was in South Korea or Uzbekistan, I would not think twice about ASSUMING the way we do it here is the way it is done there. But being here in the USA, my vision is not as wide and expansive at times since it is my home.  I ASSUMED that the order of events that are typical for an American social event were the same everywhere, big mistake. I know better. I ASSUMED that there is some time before dinner for people to mingle and settle, dinner, cake/coffee/tea and then everybody is ready to let go and dance till they are cleaning the tables and folding chairs. This is not the case everywhere.

The event I was providing professional DJ services for was a high school graduation party for an American Punjabi family. The event was at an Indian Restaurant and they followed Indian traditional order of social events.  The dancing for events is between the appetizers and the main meal, not after the main meal. I did not know this, I do now!

Again, if not for the willing guests who showed me the way, I am afraid the party would not have been the success it was. I am grateful they took the time to explain to me how this works and what to do. They even shared with me what music to play when!

The lesson learned for me is an old lesson relived: Don’t make ASSUMPTIONS, especially with cultural differences.

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DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ 

Big Smiles For The Wedding DJ

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There is a point in every event that the professional Wedding, Party or Event DJ gets his/her reward for a job well done. You can see it in the smiles and posture of the guests at the party. They can’t help but let the great energy of celebration get the best of them. If no one is facing us, we see other forms of evidence if paying attention.  It is easy to be misguided by the packed dance floor. I have been at events when the dance floor is packed since people really want to dance even if they do not like the music the DJ is playing. Dancers will dance! It is the passion and excitement in how they dance that is a greater indicator of success for the professional Wedding DJ.

When I was younger, I used to worry that when too many people asked for requests it meant I was doing a bad job. This is not always so. Time and experience have taught me that often they are having so much fun that each new song gets them fired-up about another great song they want to hear. Requests can be an effeective means of determining success or failure as a professional DJ. The difference is how they ask.

 

A while back I was helping out another DJ at a wedding. The crowd kept shifting between wanting old and new music due to the varied ages of guests. Some folks were feeling avoided and angrily appraoched the Wedding DJ station with comments like, “Do you have any music from this decade?” or ” Do you know there was music invented before last month?”. These are indicators of the Wedding DJ missing what the crowd needs.

 

On Saturday night the requests were more like, “Wow! Marvin Gaye was great. Do you have any other Motown?” and “The Bride loved Pitbull so much she was wondering if you could also play his new song with Ne-Yo ‘Give Me Everything’? Please?” I played both Motown and Pitbull and they worked out great. The greatest reward for me was seeing The Bride smiling ear-to-ear.  At the end of the night, The Bride, Groom and her sister all gave me big hugs when I was leaving, as if they were about to lose their new best friend. It certainly made the ride home on the Garden Sate Parkway a breeze on that hot summer night from this beautiful outdoor, backyard Wedding DJ.

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Last Minute Event DJ

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It is not often but sometimes I have an open date approaching the weekend. It is even rarer when that date is a holiday three-day weekend like the Fourth of July. Stranger yet was that two separate clients wanted to hire me last minute for the same day but at different times. One needed a professional DJ for a First Communion celebration in the afternoon and the other a unique form of Wedding Party in the evening. We somehow found a way to schedule both of them and serve the families that requested our services last minute!

 

Fortunately for me, I have been doing this for a long time and don’t need much time or preparation to get ready for a last minute professional DJ gig. Of course, I appreciate the prep time when I have it, but can show-up wihtout much notice or details and do an excellent job providing professional DJ services and great music.

 

I was speaking with a friend over dinner last night about the fact that I always try to create a ‘playlist’ of songs which is more of a music bank then playlist. I take the songs that the client has requested and place them in a ‘playlist’ for their event. I then add on a 2:1 ratio another group of songs that would compliment their requests perfectly.  These are where I will start from at the event till I get a sense of the crowd and get a nice request list going from those attending the event. Together with the original list they offered, the ones I added intuitively, what I can see and feel working and the crowds requests – we end up with an excellent event full of great music and fun!

 

I am excited about both of these gigs and an additional Wedding on Sunday. The last minute Wedding is actually a kind of Wedding I have not served previously as a professional Wedding DJ. The Bride and Groom have already been married and celebrated at a destination Wedding in The Caribbean. This party is for the friends and family that could not attend their Destination Wedding. Should be fun!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

DJ Top Songs of The 60’s

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I wanted to look at what are the songs that people today think are DJ Top songs fro the 60’s as a professional DJ. I searched the Internet for a current poll and found one that seems like a good fit. Let me know what you think.

 

1      ****  NUMBER ONE ****
Hey Jude, The Beatles
1968 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (9 weeks)
2  (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
3  Light My Fire, The Doors
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
4  Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
5  Yesterday, The Beatles
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
6  The Twist, Chubby Checker
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
7  I Want To Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
1964 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (7 weeks)
8  The House Of The Rising Sun, The Animals
1964 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
9  The Sounds Of Silence, Simon & Garfunkel
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
10  Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley
1969 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
11  El Paso, Marty Robbins
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
12  My Girl, The Temptations
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
13  Oh, Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison
1964 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
14  Like A Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2
15  (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, Otis Redding
1968 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
16  Paint It, Black, The Rolling Stones
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
17  Respect, Aretha Franklin
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
18  Come Together, The Beatles
1969 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
19  The Theme From “A Summer Place”, Percy Faith
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (9 weeks)
20  Penny Lane, The Beatles
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
21  I’m A Believer, The Monkees
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (7 weeks)
22  Downtown, Petula Clark
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
23  The Lion Sleeps Tonight, The Tokens
1961 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
24  Turn! Turn! Turn!, The Byrds
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
25  She Loves You, The Beatles
1964 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
26  Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix Experience
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #65
27  When A Man Loves A Woman, Percy Sledge
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
28  It’s Now Or Never, Elvis Presley
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (5 weeks)
29  Honky Tonk Woman, The Rolling Stones
1969 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
30  Cherish, The Association
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
31  You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, The Righteous Brothers
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
32  California Dreamin’, The Mamas And The Papas
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #4
33  In My Life, The Beatles
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: did not chart
34  A Day In The Life, The Beatles
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: did not chart
35  Can’t Buy Me Love, The Beatles
1964 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (5 weeks)
36  Mrs. Robinson, Simon & Garfunkel
1968 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
37  Sugar Sugar, The Archies
1969 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
38  Runaway, Del Shannon
1961 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
39  I Heard It Through The Gravevine, Marvin Gaye
1968 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (7 weeks)
40  Will You Love Me Tomorrow, The Shirelles
1961 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
41  Help!, The Beatles
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
42  Love Child, The Supremes
1968 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
43  God Only Knows, The Beach Boys
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #39
44  Are You Lonesome To-night, Elvis Presley
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (6 weeks)
45  Running Bear, Johnny Preston
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
46  Leaving On A Jet Plane, Peter, Paul & Mary
1969 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
47  Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In, The Fifth Dimension
1969 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (6 weeks)
48  Mr. Tambourine Man, The Byrds
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
49  Paperback Writer, The Beatles
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
50  All You Need Is Love, The Beatles
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
51  Ode To Billie Joe, Bobbie Gentry
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
52  Leader Of The Pack, Shangri-Las
1964 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
53  Ruby Tuesday, The Rolling Stones
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
54  Wild Thing, The Troggs
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
55  Hello, I Love You, The Doors
1968 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
56  Strawberry Fields Forever, The Beatles
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #8
57  White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #8
58  Daydream Believer, The Monkees
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
59  A Hard Day’s Night, The Beatles
1964 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
60  I Got You Babe, Sonny & Cher
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
61  Someday We’ll Be Together, The Supremes
1969 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
62  Stop In The Name Of Love, The Supremes
1965 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
63  Hit The Road Jack, Ray Charles
1961 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
64  All Along The Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
1968 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #20
65  Louie Louie, The Kingsmen
1963 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: 2 (6 weeks)
66  She’s Not There, The Zombies
1964 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2 (1 week)
67  The Loco-Motion, Little Eva
1962 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
68  Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Brian Hyland
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (1 week)
69  Can’t Help Falling In Love, Elvis Presley
1962 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2 (1 week)
70  Yellow Submarine, The Beatles
1966 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2 (1 week)
71  It’s My Party, Lesley Gore
1963 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks)
72  Stuck On You, Elvis Presley
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)
73  Save The Last Dance For Me, The Drifters
1960 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (3 weeks)
74  Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Frankie Valli
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2 (1 week)
75  Somethin’ Stupid, Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra
1967 Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1 (4 weeks)

The first song that surprised me by its placement on the list is #11 “El Paso”. I did not think that still today it had the same popularity as some of the others. I will be mindful of this the next gig I have that includes oldies. On the flip side, I thought  “Respect” would rank higher, since it is requested all the time. I also would have thought The Drifters “Save The Last Dance For Me” would be in the top 25. It never would have occurred to me, although one of my favorite songs of all time, that Jimi Hendrix version of “All Along The Watchtower” would even be on this list, forget about being #64. Glad I am wrong, even a professional DJ learns something from clients.

 

What songs surprised you?

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ