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.

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.

  Recently I received a call to do a Latin event over in Granada Hills. The client sent me a list and I was digging the vibe. It was a lot of reggaeton and some cumbia. Artist like Bad Bunny, and  Karol G filled up the list.  A really popular artist was Los Socios Del RitmoOther artists like Ozuna, J Balvin, Rauw Alejandro There were a few English songs and even went as diverse as some country songs by Morgan Wallan. What I noticed about Latin parties that they really and I mean really love the cumbias. You can not go wrong with the classics and get the party going.

Originally we are going to play at a house then they got a studio over in North ridge.  It was small venue in a retail area.  They had a bar and a table to have dinner and a small dance floor. It was quite an intimate space. You can easily have around 25 folks to have dinner there and then they can let loose on the dance floor. Once I got there they had a musician who was jamming on a guitar and singing covers everyone knew. I set up next to the guitar player and I was ready to go. I was going to play 15 minutes ahead of schedule but I was prepared to start anytime they needed me. They started to eat then I started to play more music to get the party vibe then they cut the cake then it was time to get down. 

Venue! This has to be the most important decision of prom. You have to make sure the venue an accommodate your guest count.

Theme and Decorations! Make sure the leadership team agree on the theme and how to decorate. A prom is made great by a great leadership collaboration. They have to decorate the venue or hire a company that will abide by they taste.

Entertainment! Gone are the days that schools hire bands. They go with djs since they can play all sorts of genres. It is always risky to hire a dj that never played for your school before. Make sure the dj played for you during homecoming and if you never had them play for you then ask the neighboring schools for recommendations. A lot of the same music is played in certain areas of the city so you want someone who knows the crowd. Why not add a photobooth to the mix!

Catering! Often times the venues can provide their own catering but as a class you should look at their menu and see if there are other 3rd party options. Also keep in mind not everyone can get everything. There are vegans and folks who cannot eat diary or bread. It is good to have alternative options.

Promotion! Offer a discount on early ticket sales and increase the ticket prices as it gets closer.

Safety Measures: You want to make sure kids are sober and ready to have a good time and you do not want to deal with drunk party goers so its good to have plenty of chaperones around.

  A lot has to deal with what time of day the dj is playing. Like the weekend can have more of the festive vibe while the morning during the weekday can be more chill.

It’s the djs duty to rotate some new jams in the rotation so the workers are not hearing the same songs over and over again. Every time I do a retail event I create a new playlist so no one can say I play the same songs over and over again. Why play the original song that everyone knows? Play a song everybody knows but with a new beat and feel to it. Find out what the theme that the store is focused on. Also keep in mind that it is not a night club and keep the volume at a modest level. You do not want the patrons to be screaming over the blissful beats that you are playing.

When I do play people love the diversity of the music. It is about seeing who is in the crowd and feeding them. When I mention feeding them, I mean keep on giving them what they want. I like to go disco, then maybe funk, Motown, then some 80s 90s and 2000s. Its not all about playing the same things you hear on the radio but playing songs folks can appreciate it. Just make sure you are keeping tabs with management on what they want plus keep an eye on the workers and patrons to keep on giving them what they want and that’s the vibe!

  New Years Eve is a popular night and djs are being called left and right. I already had a few inquiries for two different locations. There are different factors to consider. Is the dj bringing their gear or tapping in the house system. Djs what will have to bring their own gear will have to charge more since they have to set up and take down the gear as opposed to a dj who uses the house system would only need to bring usb sticks or a laptop to the show.

Our business has two locations in California. In the Bay Area, we can easily do a mobile event for 300 dollars an hour for New Years Eve while in the Los Angeles area last year we booked a last minute private 4-hour event for 150 dollars an hour. Wait!  Its California and why the big price difference? Supply and demand. There are so many djs in the SoCal area that people can pay less to get a dj. That is the way it is. I mean there are different tiers of djs. There are the local djs who can charge more then there are the established djs who have a big social media following and there are the high end djs who maybe turntablist or producers will be in a whole other level. Different price points may include more lighting and sound quality such as how many speakers are needed. There is a vast diversity of djs in California and they are available based on your budget.

Crafting the perfect playlist for your event is both an art and a science. It can be tricky to get just the right mix of songs that will keep your guests engaged, entertained, and dancing. But with some planning and careful consideration of genre-specific tracks, you can create a dynamic playlist that will deliver the ultimate experience for everyone.

Planning the Structure of Your Playlist

The first step in creating a great playlist is to plan out the overall structure. Start by creating sections based on genre or vibe, like Pop & Dance, Electronic & House, Hip Hop & R&B, and Classics & Throwbacks. This will help you differentiate between each part of the night for your guests. Once you have these sections established, you can choose specific tracks to fit into each one. Make sure to pay attention to which genres are more popular with your crowd so you know what type of music they’ll be most likely to dance to. This way you can easily choose a few bangers from those genres to start off the night with a bang! Make sure you don’t use all your bangers so early. It is good to build it up. It does not make sense to  put all your songs right away  before everyone has arrived.

Break Times & Interludes

I went to a dance  to  chaperone  and the  dj  actually took a   break. That totally killed the vibe. As a professional dj, the show must go on. Most of the time, the music is on a  playlist so  no breaks are needed.

Creating a playlist for your event should be an enjoyable journey where you get to showcase your DJing skills and delight guests with tunes they love. With some careful planning and an eye towards genre-specific tracks, you can create an unforgettable experience that will have everyone jumping up from their seats and grooving all night long! So go ahead - get creative and make that party playlist shine!

  Did two events in one mall this past Saturday. It is always exciting to play somewhere new and it is hard to prepare accurately since we have never played there. Are we going to play something old or new or do we do Spanish Music? I know in the Brea mall what to play but this Mall is not Brea. So what I did was play all kinds of music and a little bit of everything. Some folks play the same kind of music the whole time but I like to play everything to make as many folks as happy as possible. I  started with  some old school r&b then went to 80s  and 90s pop then went to  disco. We play as many songs as possible and rarely let the whole song play. The goal is to not have any dead air and to get the toes tapping when folks are shopping.

 We played for 4 hours then took the set up like 40 feet and played for a fragrance company, Creed. They were having a celebration where they had some delicious appetizers and drinks. The playlist was pretty much pop music and playing instrumental covers of famous songs. Overall it was a fun day and when I was putting everything away the employees thanked me for the diverse music selection. I do love playing at Nordstrom’s since their employees are fun natured folks who provide good customer service and they provide their own do booth. Anyone who has their in house dj booth does not play! It’s a culture thing!