At some functions, I have an assistant with me who can get requests from students of a song they have to hear. Typically I have a list a week before that I follow, but I do take requests. Sometimes, I am doing the event solo so there is no one to take requests. Most often than not, a student will approach me right in the middle of a transition so they don’t have my all my attention. But when I m able to focus on their requests I will look it up and put it on my prepare list to have it close by so I can include it in the mix.
I try to give all the students the attention that they want but it makes it difficult since I’m trying to keep the dance floor filled with paying attention to the lighting and the volume control. I have put down a notebook for students to put down their requests. In the notebook, students are able to put the song name and artists. Songs that have profanity or inappropriate I cross off since I cannot play them at a school dance. Once I see a song written a few times in different handwriting then I can slip it in. There were a few times students wrote their song in really big handwriting. Those ones are not played! This past week a student wrote please play this song and I will give you 10 dollars. Of course there was no student name but I thought it was funny so I played the song because the student was creative. I knew no one was going to be giving 10 dollars but it stood out.
