Are you planning a corporate holiday event in the San Jose, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Morgan Hill, or Gilroy areas? Last week, we had the privilege of DJing a massive holiday event for Lockheed Martin at the renowned Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose.

The Tech Museum is an incredible venue for any corporate gathering. What makes it stand out is its interactive exhibits, which you can explore while enjoying the festivities. Located across from Christmas in the Park, it’s in the heart of the city, but the museum staff made parking stress-free—an essential perk during the holiday season.

This event was nothing short of spectacular. Since it was a large-scale party, we set up a 6-speaker system on the bottom floor. Impressively, guests on the 3rd level could still hear the speeches and music perfectly. One highlight of the evening was a heartfelt retirement speech followed by Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” – an energetic send-off for a well-deserved farewell.

We played a mix of everything: holiday classics, well-loved hits, and songs everyone could sing and dance to. Compared to last year’s flat, sprawling venue, this year’s dance floor was the perfect size. Guests were up and dancing by 8:30 PM, and the party didn’t slow down until the event wrapped at 11 PM.

If you’re looking to host a corporate holiday party that’s engaging, fun, and perfectly soundtracked, you need the right Bay Area DJ. From intimate gatherings to big celebrations, we’ll set the mood and keep the energy flowing.

Contact us today to make your next San Jose corporate holiday event one to remember! Call Black and White Affair Dj Services.

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.

  High School proms are fun. There is excitement in the air. But if an university is having a prom then it will be the most fun party around. We set up a prom in Morgan Hill from a highly established university. Actually probably in the top 3 in the Bay Area hands down. They came down from the peninsula and were in the party mood.

  I was able to see it first hand. The energy was in the air. I came in from the parking lot and I could feel the pulsating music. Coyote Creek is a venue that can hold huge functions. It has a huge parking lot so there is plenty of parking. They keep a bright light on so its safe in the lot. It has a big open area so you can easily fit 500 to a 1000 party goeers. They had plenty of tables and chairs for everyone. When I first talked with them they wanted to have two djs and this place could easily have accommodated it. But at the end they kept one. For folks who do rent out this facility please make sure you have plenty of sound. You can do well with two top speakers and 2 subs or maybe 4 tops. This had to be one of the biggest parties we did this year due to the energy of the crowd and how big the place was. People were ready to party and they had to be fed the jams.  It was an epic event. My favorite part was with folks really felt it then would dance on stage while facing the crowd.

First and foremost, you need a dj who is familiar with the classic Spanish jams and with the new music that is coming out. I tend to lean toward the classics but if given a heads up then I can add the new Spanish music that to the mix. I usually get a list from the client and add that to my proven hits to add to the playlist. I want to play as much as their list I can plus adding ones I know will bring excitement to the dance floor. 

Usually for this Spanish Birthday events there is food involved. We tend to play some classic Spanish songs but save the dance Spanish songs for later for the dance floor. Some of these dinner songs can be some bachata or ranchera songs or maybe some Luis Miguel Love songs. Again, it all depends on what part of Latin America the guests are coming from. The Dinner portion of the night usually last for an hour. There may be a cocktail or appetizer portion of the night when the party starts before dinner kicks in. During cocktail/ appetizer hour the music can be more festive to get folks in the party mood. It would be ok to play dance music since folks are not sitting down having dinner. When it does become dinner time, it would be ideal to tame it a bit so folks aren’t moving too much in their seats when they are eating. 

Please contact Black and White Affair Dj Services for your Spanish Latin Events. We specialize in playing Cumbia, Banda, Salsa, Reggaeton, and Ranchera music.  Please call Black and White Affair Dj for your latin party.

How to select a Bay Area Dj for your wedding. (San Jose, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Gilroy, San Martin, Mountain View, Redwood Ciity and Morgan Hill)

 People have been putting their wedding on ice for the past year and some change. We had so many folks cancel their date and wait for it to be clear. In California, we have been super conservative but it has proven to be safe by its extreme tactics. People are now trying to figure out what dj they should use for their wedding.

First step is to figure out your wedding dj budget.

A dj is what makes or breaks the wedding. You do not want to skimp on this. A dj creates the vibe for the night with the music that they play. 

Time is of the essence.

Weddings are going to be taking up dates really fast. I have been getting inquiries for the next two months. Ideally you want to select a dj from 8 to 12 months ahead. For us, we can do a wedding at least a month in advance if needed to be.

Talk with the Dj

Some folks are still resistant to meet one on one in person still. That is ok. There is zoom or facetime or the old school phone call. Pay attention how the dj talks about weddings. Are they excited about it and do they give advice about your special event.

Pay attention how quickly they respond to you.

Setting up a wedding may seem like a second job and folks need answers asap. It helps if dj is on it with the response time. Its nice if they respond the same way you contact them. 

Do it Yourself Music versus a DJ

Weddings are not cheap. It is one of the most special days of a bride and grooms life and they want to share it with the special folks around them. Weddings can be very intimate and have under 50 guests or they can be extravagant and have over 200 guests. The hosts have to provide the food, the venue and the entertainment. Location is something people can not skip on since it’s a must to have the physical reception. All these guests got to eat so food has to be in the wedding budget.

After everything has been paid for its time to see if there is budget for the entertainment. Oh brother Steve has an awesome cd collection and he likes the same kind music that we have. Or maybe someone can stream music off their phone.

A dj is more than just a dj and a button pusher. They follow a timeline and make announcements to keep the guests in the know.  They see the crowd and keep feeding them what they want to hear to keep the dancefloor filled.

 Maybe you don’t want to have a dance party then having a friend play off their system. If one goes that route then make sure you have a timeline. A wedding planner can get you one or if you reach out to a dj then they can give you a sample template.

Which is better to have a friend doing music or having a professional dj?

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Right off Highway 152 in Gilroy, there is a winery that can hold many kinds of events. There is plenty of space around it to have a good festive event there. The winery is called Fortino Winery.

I had a call for a Holiday party for a school at Fortino Winery. I have gone to Fortino Winery a few times since its one of my favorites wineries with one of the best tasting rooms around. I do like the fact that it has a long bar at the tasting room and friendly hosts. I  always wanted to play there since it has a good feel.

At Fortino Winery they have a large area for big events. They are able to hold large weddings at their facility. They do also have a smaller venue area to have smaller parties. At this event they had about 10 tables with 10 seats each. You can easily fit 3 more tables to have at least 130 guests at this wine house venue. They had 10 tables and they had plenty of room for a dance floor and an area for the dj plus an area for the phtobooth and it’s props.  On the opposite end they had a self served drink station and a bartender serving drinks on the other end.  

Staff was very friendly and accommodating which a plus at a venue. At some venues, some staff members may say hi but Fortino staff made sure we were taking care of. So if they are that great to the vendors imagine how nice their guests.

 To have a good party is like a good business, you need good marketing. Usually it’s the folks who were in the student leadership spearhead the whole event. It would be ideal to form a committee since it is a lot of work and they can cover more ground in numbers. They can reach out to the school and advertise it on the marquee. They can create a facebook reunion class page to let folks know of the event. It would be great to send save the date notices by snail mail or by emails.

Plan to have the Reunion on a Saturday since it gives folks an opportunity to come to town  and not have the feel to rush back to their place of residence.

They find a dj that knows music for their high school period. Typcially the dj looks for the top hits the 4 years the students were at school.

There is no such thing as the older the class the less chance of them dancing. With a good playlist, people will be dancing. A good dj will keep the soft hits for the dinner portion of the night but save the floor fillers for the end of the night.

A good host will reach out to guests and ask for their favorite songs of their high school years and record the list and give it to the dj. Its best to send that list at least a week in advance so the dj has enough time to organize the music for the event.