One of the most fun I have as a dj is playing at a retail store. The instruction is to play fun feel good music. This is as open format I can get. Open format is just a bit of everything. Typical djs stick with one genre. Open format djs cover a wide array of music to satisfy the diverse crowds. With Sherman Oaks I wanted to go with an old school disco 80s theme so I went that route. I feel Donna Summers was the biggest hits of that day. I was there for three hours and it was a good time.

  For Brea I went with a Latin theme and old school plus some feel good classics. It was for five hours. Typically, when I play I give out a card or two but today I gave out like 10 cards and two folks talked to me about doing their wedding in 2025. What made it different this time around? I just bounced all over the place with some Latin gems then going to some 90s dance hits then hitting the disco hits. I added some dance hits the past 10 years. I think I solved the puzzle for a cool retail store is to play songs people know and play the original song. Nothing really needs to be housed up. People want to hear songs they know the words to. Also its good to smile at the patrons when they pass by and not be too focused on what you are going to play next but enjoy the moment and it makes the dj more approachable.

  I love playing at Brea mall. Typically, I show up and play fun music but this mission has specific instructions. This time I was on the 3rd floor not the first one. Using an elevator is not an issue, it just at times takes a little bit longer to setup. I had to make sure it was not too loud since there were vendors there and keep it fun and lively and do some mic work. Mic work was easy. Every 30 minutes we were saying names of people who won baby gear prizes. People were just hanging out shopping and waiting for their name to be called.

Usually on the bottom floor I play a bit more Spanish by the make up area but today I wasn’t really feeling the Spanish vibe so we went old school. I went with a 90s vibe for most of the event but I would bounce around with disco and some 2000s music. Folks were really digging the 90s R&B so I would feed it to them. Big artists were like TLC and Montel Jordan.  When I was really feeling it I went like 45 seconds of a classic song then mixed in another song less than a minute later. We didn’t really play any hip hop today. The only tracks we played were Ice Ice Baby, Treat em right and a little Salt and Pepa.

 Overall it was a good time and people liked the variety of music. Of course I came with my planned playlist but once you start playing you may have to change direction based on the feedback of the room.

  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.

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.

  We got a call a few weeks ago to do a company party. They wanted me to provide a song list and I shared one and they were good with it. On the list was a mix of all the genres and I was asked to have some Christmas songs. Also they wanted some Spanish music so that would not be a problem.

 I got there two hours early and it was plenty of time to unload the car then you have to park the car like a 5 min walk garage. I did get my ticket validated but it did not work so had to pay 39 dollars. La living! Never experienced that in the Bay.

 They had pro piano player getting down on the chords while they were having cocktails. While I waiting for the grand entrance I had Celebration ready to start up. We went straight party music for the start to set the mood. To help with the celebration we had Chris Kringle taking pictures with the guests. One of the best scenes of the night was santa getting down and luckily Mrs. Clause was not watching!

 How funny you can prep for a night but you need to go another direction. I prepped to play maybe 15 spanish songs but ended going for 90 percent of all the songs. Cumbias was what hit the hardest then salsa was second. At 11, I ended it a few minutes after the cut off time but the boss man told me to go an extra hour.

There is a cool spot to throw a party in Los Angeles. From the outside it looks like a car autoshop but when you get closer you see it is way different. The. front area is big enough to have 3 cars unload. We had a taco guy by the front and the photobooth guy was too my right. The client gave me a good playlist to work from. Everything ran smooth as possible. There was a lot of taco eating going on plus a lot of dancing going on to. The biggest artist for the young folks was Nicki Minaj.

Los Angeles is full of cool spots and the Hot Shot Muffler is a spot to have events. The staff is very helpful and they care. I was so impressed with them that I left them a review. I do like behind the wall behind. the. dj area is a place to lounge. They. have these little hoops so everyone can be a kid again.

Djing in retail stores does not just happen in Christmas time. It can happen anytime and I played in May at the Brea Mall last Saturday by the Make Up Area. Love playing at Nordstrom since they have a booth of their own so it just makes it easy to set up. The staff is very helpful and let me borrow a cart to load my gear on so I can do everything in one shot. Love the energy of the staff since a lot of them love the music and sway with the vibes. They even gave some cool requests to. Songs that seemed to be big hits were the funk and the Spanish songs. Why play the same tracks everyone else plays? Its best too go against the grain and not be the same cookie cutter dj who plays the same songs every time.

  The theme was flower that day so we made sure we played a couple of different edits of Miley Cyrus Flower song. Lots of people did stroll by but the goal was to get the heads bobbing. I did all pop and feel good songs and I threw in some Latin songs in the mix. I think we did play over 10 Latin songs in the 5-hour session. If you think about it, California is full of latin people so why not throw some Latin flavor in the mix. Why not throw some reggaeton and come cumbia songs? Speaking of 5 hours, it felt like 15 minutes since playing music for me is super fan and trying to be creative with the mixes and playing songs that go together.

It is a fact that not too many djs can honestly say they can do an all vinyl set. With the day and age of streaming and just playing mp3’s, it seems to be more economical and easier on the wallet. Anyways who would want to carry around heavy records and better yet store all that vinyl at your home when you can have way more music on your laptop and take way less space.

   Why would anyone spin on vinyl if its way more expensive to maintain? One reason is its cool to see visually and it connects with the past. In the 70s and 80s that is what all the djs used to at parties. For those djs who learned on record had to learn how to mix by ear as opposed to having a computer help you beat match. There is something nostalgic about flipping through records while looking at the cover of the song. It is a good way to stand out over all the other digital djs out here.

 A lot of folks do not like the new music out coming out now but love the classics from the 70s, 80s and 90s and 00s. A lot of djs who went the digital route got rid of their beloved collections and went for the cash for their collection. But a few had a deeper connection with the vinyl they collected or maybe they ignored their partners request to get rid of their vinyl and they can pull them out for special occasions. This is an instance of old school being cool. Bring vinyl back and call Black and White Affair for your all vinyl event.