Record shopping in San Jose has evolved significantly over the years, blending  old school with modern challenges like inflation. Here’s a recap of my recent visit to some of the city’s prominent record stores and a look back at some all-time favorites.

Streetlight Records Streetlight Records remains a staple for vinyl enthusiasts in San Jose. Their collection of vintage vinyl is vast and impressively organized, making it easy for visitors to browse through decades of music history. However, the stark reality of inflation hits hard when you see new albums priced at $40 or more. Personally, I’ve shifted toward DJ compilations, as they’re more space-efficient and offer a curated selection of tracks. Overall, Streetlight earns a solid 3.5 out of 5 for its organization and selection.

On the Corner Music Next, I visited On the Corner Music, a much smaller shop. While the store’s decor features old gear that adds a quirky charm, the limited space for records makes for a crowded shopping experience, especially with just five people digging through the crates. The lack of organization means serious digging is required, which might appeal to hardcore vinyl hunters but can be off setting for casual shoppers. I’d rate this spot a 1.7 out of 5.

Record Barn and Memories of the Past Driving by the now-closed Record Barn was a bittersweet moment. Once a haven for vinyl lovers, its closure marked the end of an era. Reflecting on my favorite (the best record shops) stores, Knight Sounds and Hit Factory stand out. Knight Sounds offered hours of browsing joy while you chatted with Carlos, while Hit Factory’s knowledgeable owner, Danny, always had the tracks you needed.

Final Thoughts For me, the best record stores offer curated compilations that deliver great value. As the vinyl scene continues to change, the joy of finding hidden gems and reliving musical memories keeps the culture alive.

Black and White Affair can you do an event on a weekday? Not a problem. Can you do it at noon? We can do it. Did we mention it is for 800 people? Only 800 people will be attending in Santa Clara, we got you. That is how we do it. We were emailed recently about doing this event and we didn’t flinch. They wanted to make some announcements and play old school music. They made sure we had insurance and added them to our policy for their protection. They had 5 LLCs and we added them all. They also had invited some food trucks so it was a festive time.

 We welcome corporate events when they call us. We take pride is quick and prompt responses since we too operate like a corporation. Time is of the essence. We show up in advance and create the vibe for the event. We make sure our music is appropriate and loud enough for everyone to hear but not to loud that it disrupts people conversation if its dinner time. We judge on when to go loud or if it needs to be background music.

 The stage was small so we had the presenters be the main attraction as we spread out the speakers in front of the stage to cover more area. The dj set up behind the stage but can still see what was going on so they can read the crowd. We love events like this because the employer is showing appreciation to their employees.

We had the honor to do Westmont’s prom for the second year in the row. I love how the school picks a different venue every year. They went with the Saratoga Mountain Winery. The winery is located in the very photogenic Santa Cruz Mountains which is a fabulous backdrop for prom pics. There is plenty of space outside for prom folks to dance under the stars and bask in the fresh air plus be in beautiful surroundings. Just the ambiance of the location will make it a memorable prom night. We are all about having a plan B in Black and White Affair so at Saratoga Mountain Winery they have indoor facilities incase there is a weather hiccup.  When a school does rent out the winery then it gives it the VIP feel since students are the only ones who can enjoy the night there. The beauty of this location is that it is easy to get to from south bay schools.

  So if you do want a nice outside venue then Saratoga Mountain Winery is a must. Westmost again gave us a great playlist to work with. Students dressed super nice and were polite. Party was  at 6 so we had to come in early to set up. We got there early to accommodate the venue then we were able to go back home to change and get back.

   Overall it was a fun night at a nice venue. Definitely a memorable prom night at Saratoga Mountain Winery.

Santa Cruz Prom for a San Jose High School: (Bay Area Dj Serving San Jose, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Gilroy and Morgan Hill)

  We did homecoming for Independence in the fall and we were called to do their prom. They choose a nice venue in Santa Cruz. During homecoming they had a boatload of energy so we were excited to do their  prom. As they did before they gave us a lot of good hits on their playlist so it was easy to get their party going. The venue was called the Coconut Grove. They   had a place for dancing and a play to play video games. The students had to a chance to play some video arcade or go dancing with their friends.

 Its nice to venture outside of the bay area to try different nice spots. There are so many places to chose from and this venue was very professional that they contacted me before to give me a number to call and also give us information on how to load.

 It is prom season so go to a dj company that knows high school music. This is prom number 1 of 4 this season and we are ready for them. Call Bwadj.com for your epic high school event.

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To throw a big corporate event there has to be collaboration. You have to have the main point person then you have to delegate responsibilities. I was able to work with a team from Lockeed Martin. We had constant communication and everything ran smooth.

  They located a big venue downtown San Jose, the Guild House. Its huge and it is a creative space. There were tables so people can play board games and then different areas to play video games. Also for this event there was a photo booth.  Guild House had folks passing out delicious appetizers. Dinner was picked up by the side tables and they had choices of tamales and tostadas and chips and salsa/guacamole.

  I gave them a playlist to cover many genres. We decided to move out the country songs and replace them with Christmas songs.  We were mostly playing 80s and 90s and 00s pop music. The first hour or so we went for background music and then later we got a little more aggressive with danceable music. We did get a little louder to get folks on the dance floor and it worked. It seemed like the Latin music is what got folks ready for the dance floor. 85 percent of the music was English but the Spanish music was got the ants in the pants.  For 600 folks we brought 2 -3 way speakers and 4 tops. It was more than enough for the space.

  Overall it was a successful event with good food, a nice venue, and good people who made it a good time for all.

This has to be the best homecoming season for us this year. We did proms for schools and they invited us back to do their homecoming.  We love really love doing high school dances. They give us songs that fuel the dance floor and what we do is we build off each list so the playlist is full of energy. We have 6 high school lists to work off when we step into prom season. Each school is different. Typically, someone from the school body will send us a playlist via Spotify or google doc. Then we add their songs to our playlist and we make sure we have clean versions.

Los Gatos told us not to worry about the lights. We just showed up with our sound and their light show was amazing. Our dj said it felt like he was doing a festival. Los Gatos did bring their energy.

Evergreen had an outside event and it was very festive. A lot of kids showed up and it was a huge party. Evergreen always comes to play hard!

The Kings Academy had their homecoming after their football game and we rocked it in the gym.

Independence had their homecoming in the middle of the school outside and they provided a playlist that bumped and the students loved the vibe.

Yerba Buena is happening  next  week and we always have a blast with them.

James Lick is having their homecoming this Saturday and the Saturday before Halloween is always a good time.

Thank you high schools for helping us providing the soundtrack of your memorable events!

Recently did a wedding downtown San Jose at a brewery. The brewery was in a different area and we had the whole outside to ourselves. We had a nice shiny dance floor where we held the ceremony. The ceremony was a tad bit behind schedule but we were able to catch up with all the events scheduled. The officiant had a nice ceremony and we learned more about the couple. After the ceremony we were supposed to do cocktail hour but since we were behind we jumped right into dinner without missing the beat. Sometimes you need to go with the flow.

  The playlist had a lot of hits on it. The groom liked indie music so we played a lot of that. I was not familiar with his kind of music but I made sure I played it. We even went Bay Area music which was easy for me. I did like how we went all over the place to keep the guests on the dance floor.

  Overall it was a fun intimate wedding. Guests were able to get their requests in and we played it then and there. We didn’t do the all typical wedding events. We did the toasts and the first dance plus father daughter dance and mother son dance. Sometimes we shorten the songs but they danced to the whole songs. Not all weddings are the same not they should be. All weddings shims be customized to each couple. We did not do a grand entrance since the couple was already at the venue.

  When I first started learning how to spin music it was from records. Boy, it was not cheap. It was an expensive hobby and most people would go to cd then later to mp3.

I am proud that I learned how to spin off vinyl. We had to learn how to mix by ear which is a lost art. Now a day’s people just use the sync button which makes it easier to match beats.

But one of the most therapeutic time we had as djs was going through records and talking with the record store employees about the dj events or anything dj related.

  Right now if you google San Jose dj and look at the top 3 searches under the google businesses you will see Elite Entertainment, Black and White Affair, and Knight Sounds. Elite is a multi op who is the busiest dj business in San Jose. BWADj is who I am. And Knight Sounds is a record store slash dj business. I spent many hours talking with Carlos Diaz the owner of Knight Sounds and he was a master when it came to the old tracks and talking about gear. He was a mentor to me and pretty much anyone who from the Bay Area knew about Carlos and his store. He would have turntable stations so you can hear the track before you bought it.  Most stores are small but this store was big enough to be lost for hours. There were hours and hours of good old school music. As Carlos said, Vinyl never crashes. Feel Free to call Black and White Affair for our all vinyl dj set.