Prom season is among us. We had a busy homecoming season so our playlists were current with the hits the high schoolers love. We love proms since they give us killer playlists every time we do an event and students take the dance experience to the next level. Prom for most students is a one of a lifetime event and it is our duty   as djs to give them the experience that they deserve.

  We did Evergreen’s Prom at the Hayes Mansion. We have played there before and it’s a beautiful venue for any kind of event. The mansion is surrounded by 20 acres of pretty gardens providing beautiful pictures.  A positive is the venue is easily accessible from major highways. Evergreen always brings the energy for all dances.

 Our other prom the school was Kimball High located in Tracy and they had their prom over at the Glasshouse. With over 12000 square feet of space, the Glasshouse can handle big proms with lots of room for dancing and socializing and have space for photo booths.

Dj Rich held it down at the Glasshouse.

 How were the proms similar?  Both had positive vibes and students had a good time. Students were dressed super nice.  How was it different? The Tracy high school had more Latin music than Evergreen.

 Glasshouse is also a beautiful venue at the heart of downtown San Jose.  We still have two more proms to go this season as of right now. We are looking forward to playing at a Saratoga Mountain Winery and at Levi Stadium.

  Be the hip planner to incorporate a vinyl dj for the event. When a vinyl dj plays at a corporate event it gives is a vintage feel that can bring back memories and it can fit the theme and vibe of the event. Also just the sight of vinyl records is appealing and add to the atmosphere of the event. Just the visual of a dj switching records for each song can create a cool ambiance.

A lot of folks say that vinyl records do produce a different sound than of digital formats. One can say that vinyl can produce a warmer, rich sound compared to digital tracks thus giving a better listening experience. It does seem there are a lot of digital djs around and hiring a vinyl dj will bring a different experience that not too many folks have experienced and it would be one that truly stands out. I do have to say vinyl djs have the experience to solidify their skills since collecting records is an ongoing mission and djs take serious since it is expensive to maintain.

There is no such thing as a sync button (to have songs seamlessly mix) so these vinyl djs are more skilled to mix by ear. In a nutshell, vinyl djs at corporate events can create a unique feel to the event and make it memorable for all those that attend. Call Black and White Affair to bring the Vintage Dj experience for the corporate event.

  Now its easy to prep for a dj night. Well I cannot say too easy but we definitely have to carry less to events. We used to play at the clubs 3 nights a week. We would have the latest tracks on record and we had all the classics. We would bring 6 crates every time we did events. We would have the classic hip hop and the latest hip hop and the current pop and funk. We would always focus on the current music but we would always dive in the older stuff in the beginning of the night.  Why not play some 80s new wave then jump into some funk? 90’s hip hop was always a hit and then once the crowd started to show up then we would go with the current music.  Once it hit midnight, I would have to go with the midnight mix.  From 12 to 1 we would go hard with the biggest hits. That had to be the peak of the night.  Then from 1 to 130 we would tone it down a bit. I would always do a slow song   as the last song of the night.  There was one club that would always wants Journey at the end of the night.  No matter what that had to be the last song of the night. But I would like to do a r&b  song to end on. The greatness of vinyl is you can only play what you bring. Never have to download any track and you just say you   don’t have it on record.

Setting up a lip dub involves a lot of planning and total buy in from the school. It would be good if the school has an advisory or homeroom so they can practice their part. First thing first, they need to select a few songs that are hip and clean as can be. Once those songs are selected then each class will have a portion of the song they are responsible for. Classes practice their part and they dress the part. Its good to do a test run so student know how to pace their part of the song.

 We recommend a dj setting up audio gear so music can be heart through the school. Depending on how big the school is I would recommend 4 to 6 speakers spread out to cover more ground. Make sure the wires are taped up or where no one can trip because there are students everywhere doing dance routines and not really paying attention on where they step. Playing it through the intercom will sound really bad. Best to do 2 to 3 takes of each song so it can be cut and pasted the parts that will be used. Once its recorded then they dub over the audio with the actual song so it sounds clean.

   This is a whole school activity and kids can be kids. They can make up dance routines or they can do silly things that they will always remember. Build some culture in your school and have Black and White Affair Dj do your audio for your lip dub event.

  Long gone are the days that all the djs do vinyl. Only a few actually do vinyl. If you went down on yelp and called 20 djs then you may get one who plays vinyl or they know of a dj that does that. It is very rare these days. Why is it so rare? Its rare since vinyl turntables are heavy and all the records you have to carry are heavy. Plus also with digital files that are so cheap a dj can spend a whole lot less on music than djs who purchase vinyl. All those djs back in the 80s 90s and 00s mostly sold their vinyl collection since they were gathering dust and had no use for it since they could get digital files that take way less space.

  A few of us kept our collections. Some of use will never part with them due to the value that vinyl had in our lives. Seems like now there is a comeback with vinyl. People are going to places to listen to vinyl and looking for vinyl djs. Older music is making a comeback thanks to Tic Tok which is playing older hits that are revitalizing old songs so the younger folks are getting into it. I do notice it with the high school dances that there are less new songs suggested while the older ones fill the lists.

 The cool thing about vinyl sets are they are rare and really a lost art. Please call Bwadj for your vinyl dj needs.

Vinyl Djs are not as common as they were years ago! (Bay Area Dj serving San Jose, Morgan Hill, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and Gilroy)

With technology it has become very easy to become a dj. Djs do not need to carry milk crates of heavy records to an event. Now they can carry usb sticks or laptops with so much music. Newer djs never had the struggle of carrying 6 boxes of records upstairs to a venue and the worry of forgetting their needles!

Cost is a big difference. With digital djing, djs can get libraries of music by joining digital record pools. When djs in the late 90s and early 00s had to get music they had to go to stores to find tracks. Sometimes they would have to spend 50 to 300 dollars in one shopping trip.

The skills of mixing vinyl compared to mixing digitally is way different. Mixing digitally can be taught pretty quickly and you can use digital tracks that make it easy to mix and there are ways to automatically sync the beat so they are the same speed. With vinyl you have to mix by ear and it’s a more difficult skill to learn.

You can call random 20 djs to do a digital mixing and all of them could do it. But if you called the same 20 djs to do a vinyl set then maybe 1 out of the 20 may know someone who does it. It is not easy and most old school djs sold their collection. But a few still kept their collections and still want to share their love for vinyl with the world. Give Black and White Affair to do your vinyl event.

 We have been fortunate to play for the Decathalon After Party the past two years. Decathalon students are ones from across California who compete in educational competitions. They spend a lot of time studying for these competitions that sometimes they got to let loose. We have been fortunate to be the dj for them the last two years. Smart kids and another other kind of kid if you play good music then they are going to dance. Most of the times we get a playlist to play but this time we did not since students were too busy studying but we still made party happen.

 We have done a lot of homecomings and we are set to do a lot of proms this year so our high school playlist is pretty solid. We do play pop and hip hop and some old school tracks to set the vibe for the night. What we notice is a lot of tracks that were popular like 10 years ago are coming back. At a dance you have to be able to read the crowd and know how long to play track before it hurts the dance floor. If the song isn’t getting the proper attention then it would be best to try a different song that will build excitement. Appreciate the Decathalon kids that brought the energy to the party and we will see you next you. Remember to call Black and White Affair for your high school events.

Last year we got the honor to do silent disco and hold down the main room for prom for Westmont. Loved the fact that people could get down in the main room and if they wanted fresh air then they could have put on headphones and be part of the silent disco. Then this year they asked us to do their Homecoming which was a lot of fun. Then they asked if we can do their prom and we of course are excited to be a part of it. Their homecoming playlist was so reassuring. They wanted the classics and all if it was songs from long ago. Lots of fun music on their list and I did see a lot of energy on the dance floor so we are looking forward again to be part of their night.

They have the   right ingredients for a fun night. A) They created a fun playlist with the jams.  B)  They invited young folks who really want to have a good time C) They choose us again to provide the soundtrack for their evening. We are very appreciative of Westmont   to agree to have us playing music for their high school. There are so many  dj’s   out there in  the bay area but we take pride in  doing events  for high  schooners. It’s  all about  finding out what they want to  hear and   knowing  how   much  of  the song  we should play.