There are many ways to do a Latin Party. You can have one at your house which is a lot of work.  You will have to prep your house with decorations and order chairs and have the food ready.  Or you can have one at a venue which can provide a space for you and have a food at the location already.  Why not have a Latin party at a Mexican restaurant. We had our party at the Green Onion in San Pedro.  They had a regular restaurant with a banquet room.

  I got there and the mariachi was playing. When they had a break then I started to set up the gear. It’s a beautiful thing when vendors work together to make it happen. Some folks can be difficult but this Mariachi was very accommodating. They had their instruments in the area I wanted to set up and told me it was ok.

  People were dancing with the mariachi so I wanted to keep the party going. I had the choice of old school music or Spanish music and of course I went Spanish. We went Spanish for a little bit then they wanted 70s party music. Bee Gees here we come! It is fabulous to go from Spanish to English party music. There is so much too choose from. You can do like 3 to 5 songs of one genre then jump around to get more engagement. Overall it was a fun night in San Pedro. People were about to talk on the mic and gave kind words to the birthday girl.

21-year-old Birthday Party in La Habra (Los Angeles Dj Serving Burbank, Hollywood, Glendale and Brea)

When it comes to doing an old school party then I cannot refuse. Parents wanted freestyle music and an old school vibe for their daughters 21st birthday. They sent me a playlist and I added to their great list. The party was in the back yard and they told me I can set up anywhere. Ideally I would set up next to the dance floor but there was no dance floor. Ideally I would want to be close to power and I got my wish. It would be best to be in the shade but I only had an hour in the direct sunlight. Started out with some old Mexican music while the people were eating. Then we moved over to 80s pop music and threw in some Freestyle music. There was no dancing this night while folks just sat in their chairs while tapping their toes. I still wanted to provide a show but doing a quick mix of their favorite old school jams. We went old school for a while. The folks seemed to be happy with the old school vibe.

 The hosts were very kind and made sure I got some food.  I made sure I had songs lined up so there was no dead air. I had the best bbq I have had in a long time. (https://socalbbq-catering.com)  Its so good that I am having a birthday celebration and we are getting the same folks to cook for my guests. The chicken and ribs were mouth watering and the potatoes and beans were on point.

Nothing beats a party with old school beats and awesome bbq. It was a fun night with a great vibe.

  Long gone are the days that all the djs do vinyl. Only a few actually do vinyl. If you went down on yelp and called 20 djs then you may get one who plays vinyl or they know of a dj that does that. It is very rare these days. Why is it so rare? Its rare since vinyl turntables are heavy and all the records you have to carry are heavy. Plus also with digital files that are so cheap a dj can spend a whole lot less on music than djs who purchase vinyl. All those djs back in the 80s 90s and 00s mostly sold their vinyl collection since they were gathering dust and had no use for it since they could get digital files that take way less space.

  A few of us kept our collections. Some of use will never part with them due to the value that vinyl had in our lives. Seems like now there is a comeback with vinyl. People are going to places to listen to vinyl and looking for vinyl djs. Older music is making a comeback thanks to Tic Tok which is playing older hits that are revitalizing old songs so the younger folks are getting into it. I do notice it with the high school dances that there are less new songs suggested while the older ones fill the lists.

 The cool thing about vinyl sets are they are rare and really a lost art. Please call Bwadj for your vinyl dj needs.

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.

  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.

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.

  Marriage Enrichment Reunion in Chino Hills (Los Angeles Dj Serving Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena)

I was part of this event one more time. The first part of the night was dedicated to easy listening and we played songs by Kenny G which were mostly instrumentals. They also requested the Rat Pack such like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. For the most part, they were announcing winners for raffles and everyone eagerly waited for their number to be called.

  This group loved the slow songs so we had a few special ones that they enjoyed.  At Last by Etta James, Elvis Presley I Can’t Help Falling in Love and It’s a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong were slow song classics that got everyone to the floor.

We did a who has been married the longest contest where we excused folks who have only been married 5 years, then 8, then 15 then 20 and 25. The winning couple spent 65 years together so that by far was the longest than everyone in the building. We did a little country but most of the music was 80s music and the song that really got a good feedback was Standing Still by Elton John.

It was a good vibe overall for the event. It was held in the church hall which is super nice but they rarely have events there. It can easily be rented out for events but the church just does it for its own events. I believe they just want to keep it nice. People loved the old school music. They liked the disco and the 80’s classics. The hosts treated me well and it was a good event which everyone seemed happy.

Music from the past is making a comeback in today's changing times. Old school music has become popular among high school kids thanks to platforms like Tik Tok. This resurgence of old school music has created an entirely new generation of fans who appreciate the nostalgia and unique sound that comes with it.

This trend is not only reshaping the music industry but also bringing back memories for those who grew up listening to this type of music in their youth. It's amazing to see how old school music can still capture our hearts and minds, even after all these years. With its timeless melodies, catchy beats, and meaningful lyrics, it's no wonder why this genre continues to be relevant today.