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DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ
Tag Archives: Rhode Island Teen Party DJ
Teen Dance Party Mix Part II
This is the second part of the Teen Dance Party Mix Series. Teen Dance Party Part I is more focused on 2012 with some 2011 & 2010 additions. Teen Dance Party Part II is more focused on 2011 & 2010 with some 2012 splashed-in to keep it fresh. Here is the link to Teen Dance Party Part I
Teen Dance Party Mix II
Teen Dance Party Mix Part II - DJ Mystical Michael
What Makes A Great Birthday Party DJ?
Great Music. Great People. Great Vibe. And a great Birthday Party DJ.
I get often asked, “DJ Michael, how do I make sure that the Birthday Party I am throwing will be totally fun?”
“Simple. You need three main ingredients sprinkled throughout your party, Great Music, Great People and a Great Vibe. The rest all falls into place.”
“That’s it? What about the food, venue and theme? Don’t they matter too?”
“Of course. Everything matters for an exceptional party. If you have the main ingredients of Great Music, People and Vibe, you will have a great party. The other components will add to the party but it will be great without them. You can just put sixty fun people in a room with great music and an excellent DJ and they will have a great time. The right Birthday Party DJ can create the vibe for you. That’s our job. People think the DJ’s skills are about mixing and scratching. Anyone who practices for a few hours can do this. The true NJ & NY Birthday Party DJ talents lie in our ability to create a fun vibe that makes everyone wants to enjoy themselves regardless of whether it is in a fancy place with expensive caterers and party favors or not.
Don’t get me wrong, the other components add flavor to the event and I am a total food connoisseur and love to eat good food but I can do that at home or at a restaurant and can buy myself party hats. What I want when I am a party is fun and a great atmosphere. This is what you pay your NJ or NY professional Birthday Party DJ to do for you.”
“I guess I never thought about it but makes sense. Why does everyone focus so much attention and energy on the other details and not the professional DJ?”
“Before we all started hiring professional Rhode Island DJs for our parties and events, we needed all the other stuff to create atmosphere otherwise it didn’t feel like a party. It is also easier to find good food than a good NJ or NY DJ and certainly much easier to know in advance which ones to choose. You can taste the food at a restaurant, venue or caterer but showing you a video or photos of our events doesn’t really let you know we will make your party great.”
“Exactly! So what do we do?”
“Get references! Ask your professional DJ before you sign your contract for references. Also view their reviews and see if they have the right ‘feel’ for your party. I am not the best DJ for every event, even though I have plenty of high quality experiences at all events. If a client contacts me about an event that I do not think I will perform well at, I will coordinate one of the professional DJs I sub-contract with to make sure they get what they need. That’s how we build trust with our clients. I said no to a client who wanted to hire me just this week. I wasn’t the right professional DJ for her party and gave her a referral to a Rhode Island DJ I knew would be perfect.”
“Thanks Michael. This is very helpful. At least now I know where to focus my energy to make sure we have a great party! Thanks!”
“It’s my job:)”
What Makes An Awesome Sweet Sixteen DJ?
Simple: Great Music and Sixteen Candles Celebration Ceremony! Today, most Sweet Sixteens have very creative themes: from Harry Potter to Dark Carnivals to Pretty In Pink. The girls find really interesting outfits that match their themes, and often their closest friends are similarly dressed to suit the occasion. They may even ask thier Sweet Sixteen DJ to dress accordingly.
But it still seems like it comes down to the music,Sweet Sixteen DJ and Sixteen Candles Ceremony.
I love the Sixteen Candles Ceremony. It may be my favorite tradition of the various parties and events I DJ & MC. I think it presents an intimate, personal and fun portrait of a young lady’s family, friends and extended family, unparalleled by any other tradition. It is inevitable that there will be tears, smiles and laughter as she shares her appreciation and love of those most important in her life. I wish we had this kind of sharing in more events, although I am not sure anybody else can pull it off the way a sixteen-year-old girl can.
Before and after the Sixteen Candles Ceremony, the professional Sweet Sixteen DJ & MC entertain and provide the spark that ignites all the kids and adults to get up and get moving. Just like there is nobody that can make a candle lighting as dramatic an event as a sixteen-year-old girl, a group of sixteen-year-old girls can transition from dinner to a full-blown fete in a matter of one perfectly chosen song!
I know many Sweet Sixteen DJs and entertainers do not appreciate the energy, enthusiasm and passion of a Sweet Sixteen. I think that is too bad because they are really so much fun. How can you not enjoy creating a playlist for a bunch of teens about to burst if they don’t get to party and play? I also find they are the most passionate about requesting songs; there will never be an empty request list at a New Jersey or New York Sweet Sixteen, and they will hold you to it! I know events with teens are not for everyone; I assume if I didn’t have nearly twenty years of professional experience as a counselor and social worker engaging with teens, I too might be intimidated by working with them as an entertainer. Fortunately for them, and me, I actually look forward to these parties! This is why I enjoy being a Sweet Sixteen DJ so much.
A Sweet Sixteen Storybook
When Elle and her family first hired me as her Sweet Sixteen DJ, there was no plan on including The Storybook as part of their package. However, as we got to know each other in the initial planning stages, it seemed like a perfect fit for her Sweet Sixteen. We decided to go ahead and create her personalized Storybook together. I am so glad we did because it was a great success that everybody loved!
Her Storybook started right with her birth, and included special moments from her childhood and teen years. I worked with my Sweet Sixteen DJ Assistant to come up with some great musical selections to add flavor and extra energy to the narrative. Everyone agreed – it came out amazing!
Her friends and family could not stop laughing, cheering, aahing, and clapping throughout the whole presentation. Elle was all smiles, except for a tear or two along the way when talking about her grandmother and the time she proposed to Daniel Radcliffe. We added pieces about her family and her two best friends, who were also in tears a few times and ran up to give me a big hug afterwards. We are still editing the video, but hope to post it soon to show off our collaborative project.
Of course, the rest of the night was a blast with the kids wanting to dance right through dinner. The caterers made several requests to have me ask them to sit down and eat before the food got cold! Elle’s Sixteen Candle Ceremony was touching, and she inspired all of us with her warmth and love for friends and family. It really was a great night, one I am sure she and her family will remember forever.
Teen Parties Are Fun For DJs
One of the biggest thrills as a professional DJ is seeing young folks get-up and do their thing on the dance floor. They do not worry about looking silly or ‘acting like a teenager’ because they are teenagers. They dance as soon as the music is cranked up and allowed to to have fun. In fact, sometimes we have to stop playing dance music so they will sit down to eat or the caterers and parents might get angry. This is one of the joys of a Teen Parties for a DJ.
I have written about this before but I still get great joy in seeing how young people today enjoy Hip Hop, Pop, Dance, House, Rock and Country all at the same time. I was this way as a teenager but I was one of the few people I knew that allowed themselves to listen to many genres. Today it is common and acceptable for teens to mix genres and have fun with all of it.
I get asked asked every now and then, “How are you able to relate to teens as a professional DJ since you are so much older than them?”
My answers are simple; “I still feel like a teenager most of the time and I relate to their passion, excitement and energy. I appreciate that they will tell you what they feel whether it comes out pretty or not.” For me, as a guy who was a counselor and social worker with teens and families for more than fifteen years, I feel very comfortable in the presence of a group of teens. I think they feel the same way about me, at least most of them. They get a kick out the way that I do not worry how people view or feel about me and just be myself. I have some Sweet Sixteens coming-up and look forward to getting back to working teen parties, I miss it.
Professional Teen Party DJ
It did not occur to me all those years as a teen counselor, social worker and educator that I would get back into the professional DJ business and have the opportunity to use the skills I learned in another environment. True, I did DJ all the middle school dances at the middle school I worked at earlier this decade. You would think I would have made the connection, since I had been a full-time professional Teen Party DJ all the years previous to being a youth worker. I imagine if it was anybody but me I too would have seen the writing on the wall but I didn’t. The good news is that I still gain the benefits without the obvious path recognized in advance.
I did the work I did because I like to be around teenagers. I know the rest of the world finds them challenging but to me they are one of the easiest groups to communicate with because they say what is on their mind if you create a space they feel comfortable in. When they are angry with you they tell you, when they are happy with you they tell you. When they want you to leave them alone they tell you. When they want you to shut-up they tell you. I wish all of us would be that clear in our communication skills. Of course, they do not always choose the most mature means for doing so, but who does?
This is why I enjoy being a professional DJ and MC for youth events. When I am playing the right music, they let me know. When I am missing the mark, they will let me know even quicker. When it is an amazing night, they cannot stop sharing with you how much it has mean to them. I know most professional DJs would prefer not to ever have to deal with teenagers again; this is not the case with me. I love them!
One other aspect about providing music for teens today that I appreciate is the fact they can mix genres. When I was growing up, the rockers could not listen to dance music and the Top 40 kids were not welcome with any other group and you would never see kid listening country hanging with anybody who listened to anything else. The one exception is Soul, Funk and R&B. if it was good and it had he right groove, it crossed barriers with ease whether it be Sly and The Family Stone, The Jackson or anybody on the Motown label, we all enjoyed a food beat with fine melodies.
So I say, bring on the teen parties and let’s get this party started!
One more thing. Teens are the only people in the world who ever think I am still cool just because I do not care if I am cool or not. That alone makes them fun to hang out with!
