About 5 years ago I did the 45th year reunion for Leland that we celebrated at the Los Gatos Lodge. I do remember it was a good time when I looked up their playlist from their first event I did for them. This list was a little different from the previous party since it was all old school. Last time, they had some current hits sprinkled in. This year we had the party in Villa Regusa in Campbell. Downtown Campbell is not the easiest place to park but there is first floor parking in the garage. You have the option of taking your do gear up the elevator or take it up the stairs. There was another function but it did not interfere with the function we were having. I was all set up and I was playing 30 minutes before schedule.

  So getting music for this class was a good time. I looked at 1968 19691970 1971 1972 1973 and 1974. I found the best rock hits and dance hits. I always ask for a list to make each event custom. Then I combine all the songs on my computer. I strive to play all their songs on their list while incorporating songs I feel that would enhance the event.

  The night started with some words with the host then the comedian started. Comedian was a pro who also graduated with the Leland class. He was a very funny guy who connected with the crowd who had the crowd laughing the whole time.

 Two weeks before the prom the school mentioned that they wanted silent disco in the patio area. We have done silent disco before but mentioned we do not own the gear but we know how to set it up. I gave the director a suggestion of a company we used. The cool thing about these companies is they send the silent disco gear by mail and then you send it back. It took a week to confirm that they were going to confirm with the silent disco event. I had a dj in the main room rocking with 4 speakers and one dj rocking the patio rocking with 0 speakers. The cool thing about silent disco you can have 1 to 3 djs in the same area mixing music while the party folks have 3 options of what mixes they want to  listen to. Also you do not have the neighbors complaining about the noise from the bass since it comes through the head phones. Plus, Silent disco is an awesome experience. You can select the type of music you want and can control the volume of it so you don’t have to worry about your eardrums blowing out. For this party we had a dj spinning live in the patio and we had two different kinds of genres playing on the other channels.  We had Latin music playing on one channel like cumbia and  reggaeton and the other channel had pop songs that are good to sing a long with.

I have been at the Doubletree/ Pruneyard a few times and it had been great the times I have played there. They have an inside event space for private dinners or parties and they have a nice outside event space for all sorts of functions. It is right off the freeway so it is convient to drive to. The event coordinators and staff are way fun and easy to work with. 

I was able to be part of the Celebration of Life recently. Each Celebration of Life event I have done has never been the same. When I was there, there was a mariachi playing while everyone was eating. Then I was on to play the songs the guest of honor enjoyed. Celebration of Life is a truly a Celebration of family and friends sharing the music that he loved. People got up and danced but it was a very good vibe that night. The weather was nice and the space was well kept.

The outside area has a few ways to enter. If you are there early you can set up before the guests arrive but say you are playing after another band or group then the back entrance will be the way to go. There is a loading parking area that make it for easily transport. Actually, it would be best to set up but going through the back. They had a bar in the back to serve drinks and people were able to partake in the buffet line outside.

Right before new years I got to be part of a private party. It was from a family I djed before at a different venue and they wanted to celebrate different events since everyone was locked down for so long. Miss L gave me a good list to work with. She had a lot of songs she grew up listening to plus she had different family members share their list with her. It was a mix of old school and good dance music. We traveled from the 50s sock hop era with stops with 70s classic rock, and 90s dance. 

 The event was at the Double Tree at the Pruneyard in Campbell. They had a banquet room on the second floor. They had around 7 tables and there were under 30 folks in attendance. There was a dance floor there. It was cute since the staff wanted to put a table on the dance floor for appetizers and Miss L was not going to have it. She was like we are going to dance the whole night so please move the table elsewhere. She was right. Dancing was happening the whole night. Double Tree even had my silverware ready on my table but I did not have a chance to eat since there was always someone dancing. Typically, you play music with low to medium energy during dinner time but we were putting up the energy in high gear. 

  Venue space was nice and staff was very courtesy. Guests were polite and loved to dance. It was a good night!