Posts tagged graduation
Latin Party in East San Jose (Bay Area Latin Spanish Dj serving San Jose, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, San Martin, Gilroy and Morgan Hill)

Latin Party in East San Jose (Bay Area Latin Spanish Dj serving San Jose, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, San Martin, Gilroy and Morgan Hill)

 

  We got a call from a person looking for a dj for a graduation in San Jose. They had call us before for a dj for the daughters 16-year-old birthday party but opted to go with another dj a few years back. I do remember them since they were like a block away from the house I owned at the time. In my head I was like yes, they are a few minutes away and they want Latin music so I was excited for it. Of course, we thanked them for considering us. Recently they called us again but this time they were like we want to book you. If one looks up Latin or Spanish dj we pop up on google. It is what we do and love doing it. We love doing these events since Latin music brings out all the dancers I never asked how the other event went but we were available on their date. His daughter was graduating high school and they wanted a Spanish music as their soundtrack to their event.  They gave us a great list of regional Mexican Music. We supplemented it with cumbia music and some reggaeton.

 The guests were so nice and they were dancing the whole night. It was a great party with a great vibe. For your Latin (Spanish) Party, please call Black and White Affair dj!

 

Burbank Graduation Party (Los Angeles DJ serving Hollywood, Burbank, Pasadena and Glendale)

Recently we did a Socal Graduation party. It was a few minutes from my house so it was exciting to be so close to where I live. It was in Burbank and it had a beautiful view of the city. They provided a fun pop playlist and we were playing to the teen crowd. They had a photo booth for a couple of hours. The catering was in the front of the house but it was the music that kept everyone close by. As a dj you have a debate: One can get down early and proceed the whole night with hits and keep the dance floor going the whole time or you can just wait till later. I always opt to start the party early with the bangers to get folks on the dance floor. It was still daylight so it is risky and then you do not want to use the same song again later in the night. People started dancing early and it went the whole night. Best part of the night was the grownups asked for requests and both grownups and teens were dancing.

 Overall it was a fun party with good pop music and the teens had a lot of energy on the dance floor which is addicting and it makes other folks want to join in the fun. If you are having a grad party for high school or college black and white affair is your go to!

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School Event: Senior Signing Day in Los Angeles (Los Angeles DJ serving Burbank, Hollywood, Brea, Universal City, Valley Village, Santa Clarita, and Glendale)

School Event: Senior Signing Day in Los Angeles (Los Angeles DJ serving Burbank, Hollywood, Brea, Universal City, Valley Village, Santa Clarita, and Glendale)

We need to celebrate students. One of the best ways to put shine on seniors is to acknowledge all those who are going to the next level. The next level can be work force, military, junior college, or university. Students got in their groups and administration announced students and their destination. Students came running through a banner so it had that sports feel to it underneath a formation of balloons. Parents were in the audience and they were excited to see their children at this function.

We did not need much for this function. We just set up two 12-inch self powered speakers hooked up to a Yamaha mixer. We had two microphones with one being a wireless and one being wired. Are two microphones over kill? No way. I like have a hard wired microphone for the fool proof way to ensure a good connection. Wireless microphones do the job but you never know with batteries running out or if the signal isn’t strong so a wired microphone is a must no matter what.

So what kind of music do you play at this function? Being that a high percentage of students are Latin, we went with some festive Latin music. Early I was playing for the parents since they were the first ones there then when the students showed up I made sure to play music that everyone knew. We never want to be too soft or too loud so volumes have to be adjusted on the mixer. Also its good to be next to the mixer to adjust each person who speaks since they speak at different levels.

SJSU Graduate Party in San Jose (Bay Area Dj serving San Jose, Morgan Hill, Palo Alto and Gilroy)

We had two SJSU graduates throw a celebration in San Jose. I arrived an hour early and I was all set up and ready to go with 20 minutes to spare. So what do I do? I start playing the jams. I did notice a lot of older latinos there so I went with the old school Spanish music. We went with the cumbia classics. When it my true time to play, I started with their playlist. It was a lot of reggaeton plus with some hip hop. I was playing as many of their songs as I could since I want it to be as custom as can be.

They were good hosts and multiple people were asking me if I ate or needed a drink. I felt at home with the crowd. They were into the same music that I was into. I felt I was with my right crowd. I was playing hits from the 2000s and 2010s. The folks were singing along with the songs. I felt I had them when I was playing bay area anthems and I felt the energy. We. were hitting hard with the cumbias then going to 2000s sing-along pop then hitting up with some bay area classics. I loved the energy in the room plus I was playing like a minute of a half per song.

They had a mechanical bull that got a lot of attention. I have never seen a mechanical bull at a private party but it was a huge hit. It was just funny seeing if people can get on it themselves without any help and to see how long they will last on the bull.

Graduation Dj in Gilroy (Bay Area Dj serving San Jose, Morgan Hill and Sunnyvale)

Mt Madonna had wonderful graduation ceremony at Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy for class of 23. We have done the last 4 celebrations but we did take two years off from Covid. Mt. Maddonna is so awesome to work with since they give us the schedule so its so easy to follow.  The amphitheater is a beautiful spot to hold a graduation. All you  need is two speakers to reach the whole audience.  The city runs the facility and all we do is make a phone call to get them to open up the  power  for us. It is nice to have that support. Such a beautiful place to walk the stage, grab a diploma, and share memories with loved ones! We provided the microphones, music and sound and made it memorable! We played a little background music as people settled in, the main song was Pomp and circumstance as the graduates walk in, rise up by Andrea day played in the back as students got up and shared a rose with someone who supported then along the way. Tomorrows people by Ziggy Marley played after every graduate had received their diploma. Final hits at the end of the day that were played were Celebration by Kool and the Gang can’t stop the feeling by Justin Timberlake, Firework by Katy Perry, Congratulations by Post Malone, 24K Magic by Bruno Mars, and many more fun songs were played that day. Congratulations to the Class of 2023!

Graduation at Christmas Hill Park (Bay Area dj serving San Jose, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Sunnyvale, Fremont and Pleasanton.)

I would usually do the sound for graduation for Mt. Madonna in Gilroy. I did it 2018 and 2019 then the world was closed for a bit. 2020 and 2021 there were no graduations for the public. This year we were now open and we had a nice graduation celebration in Gilroy. Students invited their guests to come to the celebration.

 

It was not too hot for this graduation. I brought two 15 inch speakers and it was enough sound for the amphitheater. I used my older 15-inch speakers since they can take a licking and keep on ticking. Even though I had the tanks working for me I had a few more speakers in reserve in my car. Back in 2018 the Gilroy heat took out one of my speakers. Luckily I had another that took its place for the event.

 

Thirty minutes before the graduation I play the preceremony music while the graduates are getting situated. This time around I went will old school that everyone knows and did something different. I threw in acoustics of songs that everyone knows. I was playing Ed Shereen songs and Rihanna covers.

 

I like the graduations at Mt Madonna since they have a rose dedication ceremony. The graduates give a rose to someone who was there for them. I play a 3 minutes song, which is plenty of time to find that special someone to give the rose to.

 

At the end the graduates officially graduate and its party time. I played a festive song and threw in a Spanish banger just to finish things off.

How much does it cost to do sound for graduation? What are some ways to save money for that expense? (Black and White Dj Services serving the Bay Area: San Jose, Gilroy, Morgan Hill)

I remember seeing the cost to do the audio for the graduation ranging from 3k to 7k. Some schools have big classes so therefore there are more guests that come to the grand event. Some local school were posting their costs and I was blown away. For me, it was a lot since schools pay thousands of dollars (schools do a lot to raise the money) and do not get to keep the equipment.

 

There has to be a more economic way to have these services. One thought is since there are so many schools, the district can contract with 2 or 3 big av services to ensure a loyalty discount. 

 

Another consideration is maybe looking for a local amphitheater.  They are built to carry sound. You could rent audio gear for 300 to 700 dollar to take care of the sound. (Probably need 4 speakers depending how big the school is. I do a local high school and it only requires 2 speakers. 

 

Another thought is to do it in-house. At this local high school they installed (2) 15 inch speakers and put them on 30 foot poles. Also they installed wireless Shure microphone with a fin to cover more ground. Of course there is cost to install the system and  pay for the system but the past 3 graduations at that school here was 0 cost for audio services. Yes, it’s a smaller school but the idea still works.