Tag Archives: Professional DJ

This Professional DJ Is Taking Requests!

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When I first started out in the DJ business many years ago it was unheard of for a DJ to not honor requests.  Recently, this has changed. For some reason, DJs seem to think they are above respecting the musical choices and desires of others. This even includes those who hire them. I do not understand this.

 

It is a simple rule of business that you respect those who pay you. If someone hires me for the night, I want him or her to feel good about their decision, not just for future business, although that should be reason enough, because they are helping me pay my bills. When did professional DJs become such primodonnas?  If you look back at the history of disk jockeys, we were always grass toots entertainers from Wolfman Jack to Scott Muney to Cousin Brucey. We made our mark as the ones who were willing to get our hands dirty and meet the needs of our listeners, which later become dancers as DJing made its way to the clubs and now mobile at weddings and parties.

 

For me, the requests are one of the best things about being a professional Wedding DJ; you get to make someone happy!  It is like working an ice cream shop; people come in and order what they want and leave with a smile when you give it to them. I hope someday soon this new breed of professional DJ who think because they play other people’s music they are special or ‘celebrities’ come back down to earth and enjoy the fruits of honoring customer requests!

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DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

How to Build A Professional DJ Playlist

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To9 create an excellent DJ playlist, here are some suggestions. It is important to first determine where to start. If you are in a club, it is a little clearer since you will be playing music of a similar beat-per-minute and style throughout most of the night. If it is a house party, similar to a club but you need to take into account the fact that people may need to get comfortable, relaxed and in some cases, drunk before you can crank things up to full speed.

 

Wedding DJs are different. At a wedding there are traditions and generations to consider. This is even truer for an afternoon wedding. People may not be ready to party yet so the professional Wedding DJ needs to allow time for folks to shift gears. Starting out with some slow music and building from there is typically the best strategy. As people are getting into the music, bring the pace up slowly and when you sense they are ready, let it fly!

 

As a professional Wedding DJ, you need to make space for slow songs throughout the reception. People will primarily request faster, party songs but we want to make certain everybody has a good time and often slow songs are the missing link.

 

Even at parties and clubs where the music selection is more defined, it is helpful and a great way to show-off your creativity by slipping in small doses of music that is related to what you are playing but it is somewhat different.

 

An example: Say you are professional DJ working a new club/lounge that is geared towards a Top 40 dance crowd aged 25-45. Stick with what works but every now and then stick in some hot Reggaeton or Classic Hip Hop to add some flavor. Watch the crowd and determine how much you can play before losing their energy and excitement. The way to do this is to match it to a song that may have roots in two genres like Enrique Iglesias, Taio Cruz, Shakira or Daddy Yankee, then move into something with a more Latin sound. These kinds of songs make great segues and do not get dancers lost or startled with music that does not fit in-sync with what you have been playing.

 

The most important thing is to take it slow when moving through genres, let people feel the shift and move with you as a cohesive unit. Remember, it is always about them. It is their music, their event and their party! he professional DJ just provides the rhythms and vibes to make it happen!

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DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

The Professional DJ Moment

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I first started with this thing called being a professional DJ because I loved music. It was that clear and simple.  I grew to enjoy the attention and focus of clubs, parties and events as a bonus along with what was real good money then for being one of the three professional mobile DJs in New Jersey.  Over the years this has changed- I still love music, maybe even more so, I still like attention but definitely less so, the money is not what it used to be but not bad. These things have stayed constant to varying degrees but the aspect of being a professional DJ the most happens at least once during every gig, it is what makes this work worth it for me.

 

It is the moment when the bride/groom, event host or site owner comes over with a huge smile that cannot be contained to express their genuine gratitude for the performance and more importantly their guests thorough enjoyment. It is not the kind of thanks that you give to people to make them feel good; it is the kind of thanks you offer to somebody because it makes you feel good! You can see it in their eyes when they light-up with bright full cheeks and positive energy oozing out of them like they have never had a better night in their life. To me, that is what makes it all worth it and why I make certain I am well prepared for each event with the right music and equipment. There is little room for error and I want to do the best I can every time I show-up and do my thing.

 

Saturday Night, The Professional DJ Moment came near the end of the night when the groom, who booked the reception came over to shake my hand with that “I just ate the whole cake look” on his face to give me that big handshake, many words of gratitude for the part I played in their special night and he couldn’t reach into his pocket deep and fast enough to offer me a tip even though he had already paid me in full before the event. It was not the money that mattered to me, although always welcome, it was that he was so excited and grateful he could not find enough ways to let me know how much he appreciated what I did and it worked out just the way he had hoped.

 

That’s why I am a professional Wedding and Event DJ.

 

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Professional DJs Bridging Generations

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One of the fun things a professional DJ gets the opportunity to play with is finding a way to meet the needs of people from often three different generations all at the same time. Recently, I had observed a professional DJ deal with this exact situation and was startled by his lack of sensitivity to the guest at this wedding. It was disappointing to witness. He was approached by an older gentleman who was expressing his frustration with the professional DJ not playing any older or slow music for him and his friends/family to dance. The professional DJ promptly told him that the Bride asked for new and fast music and that was it. No; “I’ll get to it soon” or “As soon as the dance floor clears” or even, “I am sorry Sir”. The man walked away grumbling about how he was treated. I did not blame him. I too would have been angry if I was him.

 

Meeting the needs of diverse audiences while at an event or club is essential to creating a fun and memorable gig. Sometimes it is as easy as playing an Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra song. Others it is Brice Springsteen or AC/DC. And even sometimes it means playing Lady GaGa or Beyonce or Pitbull to make sure everybody is having fun. At the end of the day, isn’t that what the professional DJ is there to do?

 

Why do some professional DJs fight and resist requests so fiercely?

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Professional Anniversary Party DJs

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One of the beautiful aspects of a professional anniversary party DJ at an anniversary party is the opportunity to chronicle lifetimes and moments of a relationship through music. It is an event that is really shared by the family. It speaks to their periods of joy and grace and the periods of hardship and struggles. All of which are the testaments of a marriage that has lasted time and the pressures of the outside world.

 

When I first started professional DJing anniversaries, they were not a big deal – at the time Americans stayed married through thick and thin. Times have changed and now anniversaries hold a higher value in this climate of divorce and separation. I am not judging, just speaking to a change in values of a culture and how long term marriage is becoming more of a miracle every day. One to be celebrated by and with the family.

 

As a professional Wedding DJ, we get the opportunity to play music from many eras and genres at such an event due to the diversity in age and personalities of the guests without the familial pressures of a wedding that often don’t allow the host s to enjoy the event.  Sinatra, Bennett, McCartney, Jackson, Ross, Madonna, Hammer, Beyonce and Lady GaGa all share the night’s entertainment. It is fun and sentimental all at the same time.

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

A Professional DJ Learning & Expanding Musical Styles

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It is fun sometimes to take the time to learn music from different styles and genres that are not part of our normal DJ Music library. It opens new doors into what people enjoy and along the way we find new stuff that gets us pumped up about music and being a professional DJ. I have been experimenting with Trip Hop, Ambient and Acid Jazz lately. I did not grow-up with these styles of music an they are not as incorporated into many of the professional Wedding & Events DJ so I needed to dig on my own to learn about them and be able to expand my repertoire to include music from these groups and artists as well.  For any professional DJ who is feeling stale about the music they are listening to these days, I encourage you to step outside your world and explore a new genre of music, one that is far from what you typically listen. You might be surprised by what you find!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Older, Old Skool Professional Hip Hop DJ

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I remember when we first heard Sugar Hill Gang. It was Rapper’s Delight on Sugar hill Records. It was a relatively new sound that was produced on their own label. I do not know if they knew it at the time but the choice to lay down tracks on their own label was the beginning of what has shaped the music industry since.  I am certain they did not know they would fuel a musical genre that no one outside of Brooklyn and The Bronx thought would last more than a few years, forget about owning the business for the next 30+ years!

This was their first single and it was the first hip hop single to reach the Billboard Top 40 and they were the first hip hop performers on American bandstand, many folks believe RUN-DMC were first but it was actually Sugar Hill Gang. They were sued for sampling the beats from Chic’s Good Times, the first of many lawsuits that the Hip Hop business has had to encounter. They settled out of court and Nile Rodgers was afforded part o fall royalties forward. They were from Englewood, NJ and not NYC as most people assume.

 

They seem to have lost recognition for their pioneering music to others artists like RUN-DMC who were more famous and successful It is like Hip Hop refuses to acknowledge where it came form although it has had such a short history for a musical genre. Today, Old Skool means five or ten years ago, not the roots of a musical style that is diverse in its breath and focus based on a social movement of changing attitudes and actions to the greater good of all people. It is sometimes hard to see this in the music that is called Hip Hop today, although very danceable and fun.

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DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Professional DJ: Why’s It Always What He Plays?

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There was Joe Jackson song in the early 80’s  played as professional DJ named “A Slow Song” with one of my favorite chorus:

“But I’m brutalized by bass and terrorized by treble… And i get tired of DJs! Why’s it always what he plays?”

 

I happened to be at a club in NYC Friday night and one of the professional DJs seemed set on playing house music even though no one besides his few friends were into it but it is ‘what he plays’ so he kept playing it. This is one of my biggest gripes with professional DJs – the lack of ability to move past their own needs and meet the needs of the audience they are getting paid to perform for. Can you imagine Peyton Manning bringing out his putter and start playing golf when the crowd paid to see him play football because he felt like playing golf? Or 40,000 people show up to listen and watch Beyonce perform the songs she has made popular but instead she breaks out into a bunch of hard rock songs because she is in the mood for rock and not pop/dance?

 

I wonder why professional DJs think their personal taste has anything to do with being a professional DJ? I rarely play what I listen to at home when being paid to be a professional DJ. In a four-hour set at a club or party will I add one or two songs that MATCH what is being enjoyed by those paying me? Yes, I will. The key is that it matches what I was requested to play and it is 2 out of 75 songs. I do not do this at weddings or corporate events though, too much riding on these events.

 

Sometimes I wonder if this is just a matter of age, maturity and experience. I assume I was similar when I was younger but do not remember clear enough to state otherwise. Today, it is about you. I am done with needing to prove how much I know a certain genre or how ‘into it’ I am. I am done proving myself. I know what I can do and stand by that. Trust your professional DJ to do their job but also hold them accountable to what you agreed upon. You paid them!It is your professional Wedding,party or Event DJ.

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Knowing When To Unleash The Hounds As A Professional DJ

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There is a specific moment in all gigs when the professional DJ needs to let loose all of the songs they know will work in peaking the folks on the dance floor to their maximum enjoyment for the night. It is not always clear in advance when that will be but a professional DJ can often know which songs that will be the catalyst early in the gig. They are the songs that people have requested in multiple numbers and all seem to fit with each other and are popular enough to appeal to the larger group beyond those on the dance floor at the moment. That is the moment when the professional DJ “Unleashes The Hounds” till everybody goes wild with enthusiasm and joy.

One would assume that these songs will be the same night in and night out but not always the case. It varies depending on the crowd, culture, age, gender and event. The one mistake a professional DJ can make is to “hold back the hounds” till it is too late and the event is winding down. The professional DJ may think that people will be staying later than what really will take place and is keeping them till the height of the event thinking that will be the right moment. This is unfortunate because they may miss that opportunity for pushing the energy to the highest level possible. That moment is what people usually remember about an event, the moment when the hounds where unleashed and everybody ends up soaked with sweat and huge, exhausted smiles on their faces. When you see this, you know you have done your job for the night.

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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