On Saturday night, I was booked as Wedding DJ by a fellow DJ due to overbooking on his part. We all try to support each other and when he asked me to take this gig awhile back I had no trouble filling in for him. One aspect of having somebody all else book a weding for you is you miss out on planning the reception with the couple getting married. Of course, I called her earlier in the week and we spoke a few trimes to make sure that we were on the same page. The wedding was held in the huge backyard of The Bride in Robbinsville, NJ just outside of Trenton.

I knew early in the night this was going to be a fun wedding party when I was playing basic Classic Rock as requested by the couple and folks were rockin’ at their tables eating salad. If Bryan Adams was having trouble keeping them in their seats, the rest of the night was going to be a breeze for this Wedding DJ. It was.

During the break between salad and dinner, The Bride sent The Maid of Honor to ask me to play some party music because she wanted to dance. One minute later the dance floor was packed and the caterer was yelling at me because no one was seated at their tables to serve dinner because the Wedding DJ had them too involved. I had to ask everybody to return to their seats for dinner. They all growled at me but grudgingly made it back to their tables for an excellent dinner.

When she was done eating, she again sent The Maid of Honor to ask me to crank things back up again and this time it took even less time for people to be bumping into each other on the dance floor. It was like this throughout the night. They sure loved to party!

We were booked for the standard five hour wedding from 6-11. Apparently, that was not enough for them. They asked us to stay another hour knowing the rate for overtime agreed upon in advance.  At 11:55 I announced last song and played the tune they requested to end the night, Black Eyed Peas “The Time (Dirty Bit)”. I felt like such a bad person since nobody left the dancce floor after I started turning off all my gear. I was just about to shut-down my main power when The Bride and her Father approached me and begged us to stay one more hour. Of course, all the guests heard this exchange and started chanting, “One more hour! One more hour!” with a few young ladies pleading mercilessly in the background. We gave-in and turned the gear back-on and readied ourselves to start the party again to the clapping and cheers from their friends and family.

What a fun group of people! We had so much fun just providing music for them to party and celebrate with The Bride and Groom. We realized that we needed to wear them out or they would never let us go home! Finally around 1:15 they started looking a bit ragged. Some even jumped into the swimming pool with cold water in their clothes to cool-off!

It was a great night and my ride home was full of smiles and contentment over a job well-done. By the time I got home, I was exhausted from the event and ready for bed myself with the chant of “One More Hour! One More Hour!” ringing in my head. Finally, the Wedding DJ can rest.

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

This week I have been preparing for a wedding this Saturday in Robbinsville, NJ.  The couple, like many young couples, have differing tastes in music. This is not a problem for a professional Wedding DJ whom is not stuck in the mind-set that they need to play one style to be effective, actually my experience demonstrates much to the contrary.

This particular couple have very contrasting music that they enjoy. He is a fan of Country and Rock Music while she gets fired-up with some Dance, Pop and Hip Hop.  As you can see, they do not compliment each other very well musically.

So what does a professional Wedding DJ do to make both of them happy and their friends and family?  Glad you asked!

A bit of careful planning plus a knack for reading a crowd go a long way towards blending genres.  The planning piece is making sure you have the music they want. I needed to scan through my 35,000 song library and see if all the songs they want I have plus the songs and artists that would mix well with them. Next I created an iTunes playlist so I have their stuff all ready without having to search through the database. I do not put any of the music in order except for the special songs like The First Dance, Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, Bouquet and Garter Tosses, etc. A good Wedding DJ wants to have the freedom to allow the energy of the crowd dictate the order of the music for the most part, unless the client asks for it to be in a specific order. I also take the time to make sure each file opens and plays correctly, can’t do anything about it while live and the whole reception is waiting for you to crank-up a tune for The First Dance. Then it is too late. When that is all completed, I am ready for the gig and that leads us to the more critical piece of blending styles at a event.

Common sense tells us that the Dance and Hip Hop will mostly belong after the dinner and traditional dances since they are made for fun, party dancing.  Also most of the songs in those genres do not make good background music at a wedding for enjoying dinner for guests of all ages.  The reverse is true to a lesser extent of Country and Rock.  A good portion of Popular Country Music works well during dinner, as many Rock Classics like the ones he picked; The Band, Journey, Pink Floyd and Bob Seger to list a few. Some of the Country selections like Lady Antebellem, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith make great dinner music if you appreciate Country msuic, which I do, and so does the Groom which is more important.

After dinner and Bouquet and Garter Tosses, we can move into the dance stuff like Beyonce, Keri Hilson, Rihanna, Ciara and one of my favorites these days, Yolanda Be Cool and DCup.  I do not want to forget that some of the Rock and Country stuff is also danceable and will mix that in when I play slow dance songs or immediately following a slow dance song.

Example:

After a set of fast dance songs from their list, I can mix in a slow song or two like Bob Seger “Like A Rock” and  Kenny Chesney “Me and You”. To slowly bring things back to a more partying level, I can play Neil Diamond “Sweet Caroline” since it starts slow and picks it up throughout the song. Now we are ready to blend the dance stuff back in again but still need a good song to segue with like Usher “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love Again” This song begins with a medium tempo befoire getting things cookin’ by the first chorus. We are back in business and the dance floor is pakced with folks moving and grooving. I can play any fast dance songs without much effort at this point. If I wanted, I could dip back into the list and mix in Van Morrison “Brown Eyed Girl” or Guns N Roses “Paradise City” if I blended them properly. This will keep everybody happy.

Chances are that if The Bide or Groom like a certain genre, so will many of their friends and often family as well. I think it is critical as a Wedding DJ to not leave out large groups of people when selecting music because you don’t like it or think it is too hard to mix into the set you are playing. Think it through and use your common sense to make a great party even better!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Last night I was watching and listening to a DJ at an event that I had not met before. Since I had performed at this event in the past, I knew what was expected and the direction he would be headed.  I even assumed there would be some crossover from the selections he picked to match the ones I had previously. I was wrong. It was surprising to me that a two and a half hour event had no common songs.  There certainly are enough Rock songs that the same event can take place for twenty years and not once have a repeat but since the theme of the event was so specific, I thought at least one would be played again.

What I learned more than the differences in style was the difference in technique. He did not fade songs in and out during introductions by the event host. He just blasted them in and stopped them when the host was speaking. It certainly was more powerful than fading but felt a bit jarring, and maybe even took some shine away from the host and the other paricipants.

When I am performing at an event that is not about dancing or partying, I do my best to be part of what is happening and not take over the event.  Sometimes our role as professional DJs is to provide the mood and energy but not be the focus. I think this takes maturity and experience to know when to let others be the headline and make room for them.

It was a fun event and glad I was able to be there.  The DJ did a good job and his audio equipment met the needs of the event perfectly. When walking out at the end of the night, the event producer pulled me aside and asked if I would be willing to do the event again next time. I smiled and said, “Of course!” I already have some songs in my head…

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ