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.

  I did a retail event for an Outlet store years ago a few times and then I got an email for a private birthday party from the same manager. Client really liked the old school and we like playing old school so we were the right fit. We were playing in front of the house for this party. They suggested maybe only playing one speaker but I like playing two since it has a better balance. I just would not play it as loud.

  They were really having a party. They had a taco guy in the front yard and everyone made sure they ate. They were also passing around jello shots and shots. I haven’t been at a party Iike this in a long time. Everyone was in good moods and we were playing the old school. A lot of freestyle and funk was being played. There was a group of 20 something year olds who stuck it out and they wanted some more current music. We throw on They are not like us by Kendrick Lamar which is probably the song of the summer and some bay area jams. I love the fact we can play old school then without missing a beat we can do a current hip hop set. Usually djs specialize in one type of music such as the most current music or the old school. But for us we love the old school but keep up to date with the latest music since we do a lot of proms and homecomings. Overall a fun party with great music.

  A lot has to deal with what time of day the dj is playing. Like the weekend can have more of the festive vibe while the morning during the weekday can be more chill.

It’s the djs duty to rotate some new jams in the rotation so the workers are not hearing the same songs over and over again. Every time I do a retail event I create a new playlist so no one can say I play the same songs over and over again. Why play the original song that everyone knows? Play a song everybody knows but with a new beat and feel to it. Find out what the theme that the store is focused on. Also keep in mind that it is not a night club and keep the volume at a modest level. You do not want the patrons to be screaming over the blissful beats that you are playing.

When I do play people love the diversity of the music. It is about seeing who is in the crowd and feeding them. When I mention feeding them, I mean keep on giving them what they want. I like to go disco, then maybe funk, Motown, then some 80s 90s and 2000s. Its not all about playing the same things you hear on the radio but playing songs folks can appreciate it. Just make sure you are keeping tabs with management on what they want plus keep an eye on the workers and patrons to keep on giving them what they want and that’s the vibe!

 We are living in a Barbie world at the moment. Seem like that movie is blowing up and they were having a Barbie theme at the Brea Mall. All the cosmetic section was sporting Barbie shirts. I have been at this mall a few times already and it was being a good time every time. Most djs could just come by and just start playing what they feel but for me I have to prep since I don’t want to play the same kind of music over and over. I want it to be different every time I play. I had the instruction to play fun positive music. Most folks who play at retail stores usually play a certain type of music and let it ride the whole time. That is not me and I want it to be as diverse as possible. There were at least 8 folks who came by to tell me they liked the diversity of the music. I talked to one worker who stated the dj before playing 90s  songs over a house beat. That could be fun but a little of the same. I try to find songs that everyone knows and play it in the original format as possible. We did play a lot of Spanish cumbias and did a lot of old school music. This time we did 90s alternative, freestyle, 90s house, 90s pop, cumbia, Spanish ranchera. I even threw in Barbie Girl since it was the theme. Most djs would be afraid to play that but I have no fear. It was a very fun vibe at the Brea mall.

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.

  They had a grand opening at Valley Fair. That mall is forever growing and keeping up with  Santana Row. We got the chance to work with Classic Tees. It is a shirt store for Middle Age Men and younger men too. These are shirts that look good on men. And they opened up a new location at Valley Fair.

We were playing from 2 too 7. They had a wheel where customers could win prizes. They did  have a vintage arcade game there too.  The vibe was fun and festive. Music does make and break the occasion. The music we collaborated with were the 80s. 90s 00s and 10s and some current hip songs. We love getting that large array of music to work with. The people working the store were quite polite and welcoming. We see big things happening for this store and let’s welcome this cool place to the Bay Area!

Bloomingdales at Sherman Oaks (Los Angeles Dj serving Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena)

It is holiday season and it is time to dj for some retail stores. I was in Sherman Oaks in Bloomindales and they were very nice. They even helped my carry my heavy gear into the store. Usually my retail store is pop heavy but there was a change. We were adding Christmas songs into the mix. There are so many Christmas songs so the question is what works with the crowd. With so much to choose for, what would be the go tos? We can go with the originals, or the covers or we do with the updated remixes with the orginal vocals but with a different beat.

I started off with the Christmas songs. I got the best reactions from the original songs. These are the songs people used to hear when they were children. The second best reactions were the covers that were similar to the original song. But I threw in a few remixes but just a few. Then I went back to pop feel good music.

Usually I am in these spaces for 4 to 5 hours. It is the quickest 4 to 5 hours that I have. I am playing fun music and try to get as much mixing as I can. If the people are loving the song then I play it longer. But if everyone is loving the vibe then I continue it while playing a minute a song. I try to go with music that everyone knows. I just feel like if you are playing at a public place you should try to appease the masses.