Well, it’s about time I started a blog for Magically Yours DJs. Here you’ll read about whats new in the DJ industry, how do hire a disc jockey, tips on whatever tickles my fancy at the moment and whatever else that’s interesting to blog about.
I invite you to comment and share along your thoughts and ideas about what you’d like to see and your experiences with DJs in your life.
Seems to me that DJs are going eventually to VJs. From what’s going ’round in the industry, VJing is becoming the popular in-thing. It does offer another media presentation to your event, although I don’t think it’s right for weddings. In a wedding scenario, you have about 4 – 5 hours to conduct your event. Of that time, about 2 hours is set aside for cocktails, dinner, special dances and such. Then you have about 2 - 3 hours left for dancing. During that time you have the Cake cutting, bouquet toss, garter removal/toss, father daughter dance, mother son dance, and dollar dance – optional for most weddings unless you really need to make extra money 
– and that leaves you about 1 – 2 hours left.
To set up a projector, screen and pay the extra expense is, in my opinion, not worth the effort. I see VJing more for parties and other events that are not weddings.
Now I’ve done video presentations, slideshows and the like, which is great for reunions or retirement ceremonies or birthdays and the occassional wedding. I just don’t see VJing at a wedding unless the bride and groom really want to spend the additional expense.
Now that I’ve poo-pooed the idea of being a VJ, which I think is great and I’ll eventually get there, let me tell you what I do for my brides and grooms and other customers… Stay tuned for the next installment.
Ciao for now,
Your DJ – Peter B
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Yeah, believe me, the DJ business is evolving. Now we professionals are competing with iPods and the ‘friend’ who thinks they’re a DJ. They play the music “they” like and forget about the guests, they’re just paying customers to listen to grunge and other inappropriate music that’s played. That’s NOT what I do and not what a majority of professional DJs do.
I play music for the customer, the bride and groom. I pride myself in my business ethics and that I love what I do. Today, there’s actually brides that want iPod weddings. iPod weddings you say! Yeah, read on. Here’s an excerpt from an article I got from a recent publication that I receive. I condensed it for my website, but this is something we DJs are competing with.
The iPod Wedding… May be cute but is it really what you want on your special day???
Over the past year, there has been a new trend in magazines and online suggesting an inexpensive alternative to a DJ or band; your iPod. Pounding the positives of having complete control over your music play list and being able to add a personal touch, many brides are investigating this new trend.
Since no two weddings are the same, let’s look at an average wedding with 150 guests or so held in a local country club.
In some articles it has been suggested that it is easy to just plug in your iPod into the venue’s overhead sound system. This is “NOT” a good idea. These systems are installed for conferences and are tuned for voice (speeches), not for music. To repair a system like this after it was damaged by loud music is extremely expensive. If you are thinking a home stereo would work, think again. Home stereos are made for exactly that; your home! They are “NOT” equiped to play at a volume suitable for a medium to large audience and DO NOT have the capability of handling a microphone.
You NEED a professional PA (Professional Audio) system; you will find most music stores rent them. Look for one with speakers on stands, a mixer, and a microphone on a stand. For a system that will accommodate 50 – 150 guests, you’ll need to rent one that will cost you about $400 – $600. This will not usually include delivery, set up, testing and teardown and return. Schlepping a PA system is not an easy task. You will need to choose one or two responsible people, that may or may not be drunk around the end of the evening, to perform this task. Also since most venues will not allow you to leave the equipment overnight, be sure to have a vehicle that can accommodate the PA upon teardown at the end of your reception. And do you REALLY want to handle all that extra work? I don’t think so.
You’ll also need to lay out a timeline for the reception, set up playlists to match your timeline. Start with entrance music. Who’s going to announce you into the reception? Do they have good microphone presence or better yet, do they even know how to properly use a microphone to project their voice? Probably not. You don’t have time to teach someone how to do this. Some people simply can’t speak over a microphone and are afraid. Your “Emcee” will need to gather your guests in order and get their attention to direct them where they need to go once they have been announced.
Let’s move to the cocktail hour and dinner music.
Before all that, what if you have cocktails in a separate room from the the actual reception? You’ll need to set up and then tear down the equipment and set it all up again for the actual reception. Do you have someone capable of doing it in record time, say under 15 minutes? For the cocktail music, you’ll need to play appropriate music, not loud or abnoxious Hip Hop or Rap but smooth jazz, classical or soft rock and vocals. The volume will need to be kept low to medium and constantly checked since all MP3′s are not created equal. You just can’t ‘set it and forget it.’
The music will need to build up as dinner goes on so as not to put your guests to ‘sleep’. Do you know when toasts will be? The music will need to be stopped and then started again for that event as well as the blessing. Do you have a wireless mic? Best to do so and they are an additional cost over and above the equipment rental. Your “Emcee” will need to have a commanding voice and be in-control of the event. If not and people can’t hear or understand him or her, then your event will surely fail.
It’s not uncommon for your family or friends to try and ‘take over’ the microphone, especially if your “Emcee” is out there is having fun too. Your “Emcee” needs to be in-control throughout the evening and that means, NO DRINKING! Does your “Emcee” know when too many toasts are becoming “TOO MUCH?” You’ll need to have a list of all the toasters and make sure it’s limited to only the best man and maid/matron of honor and parents. You’ll need to avoid embarrassing situtions.
Opening up the dance floor.
Opening up the dance floor is traditionally done with the bride and grooms first dance. Does your emcee know whether it will be before dinner, after the announcements or after dinner, before the cake cutting? Your emcee once again, must COMMAND the situation to keep control of the event. iPods do not automatically pause songs so your emcee must be able to stop the music at the right time, advance to the next song and be ready to start the party when the moment is right. iPods are not designed to make this easy.
Let’s talk about the father daughter and mother son dances. Does your emcee know when they will take place? Does he/she know what to say and when without making it an embarrassing moment?
Once of the suggested main reasons to have an iPod wedding is to save money and the other was to be able to control the music that will be played. You and your fiance may be in-love with a certain music artist or music style, but did you take into consideration that your guests might want to make requests? Your guests may not share your passion in music. Can you or your emcee handle the deluge of requests and do you have the possible requests that may come your way? Probably not. Remember, this wedding reception is not just about “YOU” but it’s about your guests having fun too.
In creating moods and feelings you’ll need to anticipate the builds in tempo to a peak and then drops to slow songs. You can’t do that preprograming it into an iPod and just letting it play. It’s hard to read a crowd when they are not in front of you.
What if something goes wrong? Do you have a back-up system? Do you have the ability and time to stop the action and fix it in your tux or wedding dress? That’s not what your wedding should be about. You’ll need to give up celebrating and be ready to fix any problem that goes wrong or you’ll have to have a emcee that is willing to do the same. That’s why you hire a DJ.
Let’s look at the first reason: Saving Money!
Your out of pocket expenses with an iPod wedding runs about $600 easy or more just for the PA rental. But you’ll need to factor in your time and effort that would need to be taken away from planning your wedding. Do you really want to locate a PA system, find a reputable company that gives you good equipment and looks halfway decent; find someone that’ll deliver the equipment to right place on-time; also make sure that there’s no damage done to the equipment while it’s in your care; do you have insurance to cover any damage that may/could incur; do you have time to return the equipment to the rental company and get your security deposit back. <– Oh, you forgot about that?
The second reason: Controlling the music!
Let’s look at this closer: You want a certain artist, certain music, certain style or even a do not playlist. Now start thinking of your guests and their musical tastes. Will your emcee or even you go around during cocktails and ask your guests what type of music they’d like to hear or dance to? Magically Yours DJs will!!!
Are your guests absolutely going to love whatever your choose or can they even dance to it? Probably not. Will grandma want to break dance to “Enter Sandman” by Mettelica; I don’t think so. Or Buckcherry’s Crazy Bitch? <– Not appropriate for weddings but yeah, I’ve had to counsel brides and grooms about that song being played at wedding receptions. Doesn’t fly well with most guests or when kids are present. See what I mean? Oh and I have the clean edit version too!
Ok, not to wanting to sway you from your dream iPod wedding, let’s look at what Magically Yours DJs can do for you with our over 35 years experience in the entertainment industry.
First off: Price!
You see, for about $100.00 more than having to rent the equipment, schlepping it back and forth, you get our professional equipment that’s designed for your wedding and specially made for music and voice delivering to you the top quality in sound. Factor in all the hassles, time and effort and poof; you’re at the cost of a DJ. With a Magically Yours DJs you’re getting a disc jockey that is willing to go the extra mile for you and whose in the business of performing the music “YOU” and your guests want to hear. Magically Yours DJs has been performing weddings since 1989 and has the experience you need and expect.
We will arrive before your first guest does, have the equipment up and tested and all the bugs worked out and teardown once the reception is over. Do you really want to do this or trust someone in your party to handle this task? I have a strong voice that commands attention throughout the room and a wireless mic that you can use for toasts from anywhere in the reception room. Also, we have a second mini-system for ceremonies and cocktails that may be in another room at your venue.
Secondly: Music!
As for Music. I’ll meet with you months ahead of time to work out the details of your wedding reception making sure you have the special songs you want and even the ones you don’t. I’ll offer suggestions to plan your timeline and itinerary and I’ll make every effort to incorporate most of the special song requests you really want to hear while still making sure your guests get to hear the songs they want to dance to as well. With over 35,000 songs in our library to choose from from our vast library including what I can download from iTunes and Rhapsody, you can count on having nearly any song at your disposal. I can “read” your guests and tell what they want to dance to because I’ve spoken to them ahead of time (during cocktails) and found out what it is that they want to hear. I’ve broken the ice with them and now they are comfortable with me. I’ll change up the music instantly seeing how the crowd reacts to the music I’m playing providing you with a non-stop celebration.
Other perks!
Other perks of having an experienced DJ include the fact that we work hand in hand with the photographer, videographer and caterer and other professionals to ensure the success of your wedding day. It goes down once and it goes down right, with Magically Yours DJs. I’ll act as the conductor of your event treating your special day as if it was a broadway production. I’ll set the pace, connect with the other professionals at the proper times for all the important events throughout the evening. Your photographer and videographer will not miss a moment because we give a copy of your timeline that you and I have made to the other vendors. They have no excuse for not missing that right “Kodak™” moment.
You are relaxed and your evening is worry-free for everyone. If you want a DJ, then contact us and let’s get started right away making your event a magical one to remember for a lifetime.
So in conclusion, it may be cute to have an iPod wedding DJ, it may give you a sense of power over everything, but if you weigh all factors involved, you will see for this once-in-a-lifetime event “Cute” may not be the “Best” choice and having an experienced professional DJ like with Magically Yours DJs provides to handle things for you will not only give you more time to spend with family and friends, it will give you “Peace of Mind” that your evening is in the hands of a trained wedding professional who not only is a Disc Jockey, but a trained professional musician from the United States Navy Band, who was trained to CARE about every event and will do everything to make your day a magical event to remember. So, climb aboard and Let Us Show You Our Magic™.
Exerpts from an article written October 2008 in Name Entertainer Magazine,
by Sid Vanderpool, owner of Music Magic Events, Twin Falls, ID.
Publisher/Owner of: DJZone.com, DJZone.net, DJChat.com, DJNN.com
National DJ Hall of Fame Inductee, 2006
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Over the past 20 years, since I started Magically Yours DJs, I’ve found that most other DJs don’t put in half the effort that I do. Not to toot my own horn, ok, I am, but c’mon, you never meet the DJ until the day of your wedding? No way! I pledged when I got married, the first time, to my late wife, Eleni P. Vafias, I could do a better job of performing than the DJ did at our wedding and I made sure of it.
Magically Yours DJs was born. In the Fall of 1989, I started the company with the record albums I had collected over the years and the growing CD library, complete with jewel cases, that I was starting. I didn’t have the professional equipment I do now, but hey, it sounded good and no one complained. Actually, I’ve never got a complaint from a client about the sound my equipment put out.
Its amazing to think how I started; a pair of Realistic MACH II’s, two Direct Drive professional turntables, a CD player, Radio Shack mixer and a borrowed amplifier from another DJ that I shadowed with for a couple of gigs. Over the years, my logo evolved, my saying changed from, “…Let us Make Your Event a Magical One…” to “Let Us Show You Our Magic™”. I remember copying my brochures at Kinko’s before a wedding show and arriving a couple hours late. That was my first wedding show. I didn’t have fancy brochures, presentation boards or anything of the like, all I had was me, my late wife and my trumpets, which I prominently displayed on the table.
I must’ve impressed a number of people because I secured about 5 shows over that year. Time moves on, you get older, things change and technology makes the DJ completely digital. So you say, “…hell, I can DJ, all I need is a computer, my MP3s that I download and windows media player or some other jukebox software…” Stop right there… Being a DJ takes more than just that. You have to have the personality, the drive and desire to bring joy into other people’s lives.
That’s what I pledged to do. Customer Service became job one for me and my fledgling company. I said I’d never charge for appointments and I never did; I would and still do today, go to the home of the Bride and/or Groom at their convenience, even if they don’t book with me, to show them I’ll go that extra mile; I’ll even get your booze for you! LOL… seriously, For one of the first weddings I did out of state in 1991, at Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia, still in the military, I went to the package store and saved a bunch of money for the bride and groom and carted it to WV for them.
Shhh. We don’t want the Navy to know what I did. Hell, it’s in the past, but basically I will go the extra mile for my clients. I love to put together my shows, yes, I call them shows, like they were a broadway production. The wedding goes down once and it must go down right. That’s been my mantra for 20 years now. Being that I’m a professionally trained Navy musician, I put the same dedication and devotion into my shows that I would if it was for the President of the United States. You’ve got to LOVE what you do and I truly love making people smile, seeing them afterwards and telling me how wonderful their event was; how much I helped make it a success. That’s when I know my job is done!
Passion is something I have for music and for my DJ business. Its not about the money, it’s about the people. Its about the bride and groom, not the DJ. The DJ is one of many players in an event and should never be so obnoxious that s/he takes over and overpowers the event.
So what really makes a DJ a GREAT DJ?
- Caring for the customer more than him/herself
- Going that extra mile for the customer
- Don’t drink or smoke while performing (That’s just me…)
- Don’t hit on the guests; it’s just bad business and makes you look bad
- Giving of yourself to make the event the best it can be
- Showing up on time and be ready
- Have a backup system just-in-case… you know insurance
- Be well groomed and clean
- Be attentive to the needs of others
- Be ready to change the schedule at a moments notice
- Have a preprinted schedule in-hand ready to go for you and other vendors
- Be on-time for specific events throughout the evening
- Have a commanding microphone presence – talk distinctly
- Dress in the uniform of the day; your business suit; preferrably a tuxedo
- Be relaxed
- Don’t bug the bride with every little detail(s)
- Don’t beg for food; if it’s offered thank the host and hostess – it should’ve been prearranged anyway
- Play appropriate music not what someone brings to you on a CD or iPod – One of the worse things you can do is play a song you’ve never heard before and find out its explicit. It just looks bad for the DJ
- Thank the Bride and Groom, when it’s appropriate, after the event for allowing you the privilege of performing at their wedding
- Send out thank you notes! Handwrite them, don’t use your computer. It’s more personal and they’ll remember you
These are some of the things that I have used and still use today. I probably care more about the success of the event than most DJs. Not putting down other companies, but I have my own set of work ethics and I can’t trust anyone else to do what I do. That’s why there’s only one DJ in my company; me.
I’ll work with my clients every step of the way, insuring that they are completely relaxed and comfortable with me and my services. It’s their special day, not mine, I’m the catalyst that helps makes the event, part of the many players that are there to support the bride and groom. It’s important to remember who you’re working for and the result you want to achieve.
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