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.

  Playing for teens is our specialty. I just love the lists that they give me and then I can build a master teen list with all hits that I can bring to the teen event. There is nothing like playing for a sweet 16. I always love the energy the teens bring. I always get excited with the playlist that they bring to the table.  With teen parties you have to give them what they need. Rarely you play the whole song, but rather play a verse or two and then you mix the next song. It does change the energy of the room by playing the quick mix. I like to go with the sing along the last part of the night. I love playing songs everyone loves and sings a long to.

  They had a photo booth and a taco guy. Plus, they had some games for the party folks. They had a ping pong table and foosball. What stood out was the dessert area. It looked pretty and looked just as delicious. Gets you to think about the name sweet 16.

  What makes a good sweet 16? The music choices are important. When its eating time, the do can play songs that are more mellow then when it gets closer to the end of eating time you drive up the energy. No matter what you have to be toe tapping. Again it was a Saturday night so please book your dj early since most events are held on Saturdays.

   It was a surprise party for the birthday boy but I overheard him that he knew it was happening when he was asked about a playlist. But he was super happy on his special day in North Hollywood.  It was a nice neighborhood and folks were very accommodating. They asked me where I wanted to set up and I was like I’m good where ever they have power and preferably not in the sun. They playlist was all Salsa Music. Lot of it was classic salsa. I was told there will be a mix of all races so be free to change things up.  This can be challenging if you do not know how to read the room. Luckily we know how to read the room.  So we went with a Latin theme. We hit it up with Cumbias and Merengue music. The main English music that got them grooving was 90s dance music. Trying to keep it old school. I love parties like this where we can jump around from Latin music to old school English music. Its like you have all these tools to keep the party going.

   The guests were so nice. I got asked multiple times if I needed food or drinks. We ended up going an extra hour. That is the benefit of having a do at your house there is no time limit of how long you can go but the only concern is the neighbors but the key is not to be super loud and be considerate.  It was a fabulous  party in North Hollywood.

 There is nothing like an old school party! It was a birthday party in West Los Angeles. Everyone was in the patio area and the dj was suggested to go to the opposite end of the back yard. Black and White Affair made it happen. We set up the booth away from everyone based on client suggestion. Best scenario is to be where the action is so we can see the action and read the crowd. It was a small patio so we had to be away from everyone. I was able top place two speakers in the patio area and be stationed far away. It was hard to see if the folks were grooving to the music while they were eating but tried to keep it an old school vibe for most of the night.  Song of the night was Sex Bomb!

  This was the first event where I saw a dog table. They had meatballs for the dogs and dog treats. That table was a hit with the dogs that the guest brought. One dog was smart enough to jump on the table and over indulged in the treats. Anyway the party had a planner plus a caterer with a waitress and bartender. It was truly a celebration in West Los Angeles. I did have a good time. A few weeks later they called for another event but I sent another dj to do it since I was already doing a Latin event on the same day. Seems like most events happen on Saturday so please book your ds early if you are having a Saturday event.

  Be the hip planner to incorporate a vinyl dj for the event. When a vinyl dj plays at a corporate event it gives is a vintage feel that can bring back memories and it can fit the theme and vibe of the event. Also just the sight of vinyl records is appealing and add to the atmosphere of the event. Just the visual of a dj switching records for each song can create a cool ambiance.

A lot of folks say that vinyl records do produce a different sound than of digital formats. One can say that vinyl can produce a warmer, rich sound compared to digital tracks thus giving a better listening experience. It does seem there are a lot of digital djs around and hiring a vinyl dj will bring a different experience that not too many folks have experienced and it would be one that truly stands out. I do have to say vinyl djs have the experience to solidify their skills since collecting records is an ongoing mission and djs take serious since it is expensive to maintain.

There is no such thing as a sync button (to have songs seamlessly mix) so these vinyl djs are more skilled to mix by ear. In a nutshell, vinyl djs at corporate events can create a unique feel to the event and make it memorable for all those that attend. Call Black and White Affair to bring the Vintage Dj experience for the corporate event.

  Now its easy to prep for a dj night. Well I cannot say too easy but we definitely have to carry less to events. We used to play at the clubs 3 nights a week. We would have the latest tracks on record and we had all the classics. We would bring 6 crates every time we did events. We would have the classic hip hop and the latest hip hop and the current pop and funk. We would always focus on the current music but we would always dive in the older stuff in the beginning of the night.  Why not play some 80s new wave then jump into some funk? 90’s hip hop was always a hit and then once the crowd started to show up then we would go with the current music.  Once it hit midnight, I would have to go with the midnight mix.  From 12 to 1 we would go hard with the biggest hits. That had to be the peak of the night.  Then from 1 to 130 we would tone it down a bit. I would always do a slow song   as the last song of the night.  There was one club that would always wants Journey at the end of the night.  No matter what that had to be the last song of the night. But I would like to do a r&b  song to end on. The greatness of vinyl is you can only play what you bring. Never have to download any track and you just say you   don’t have it on record.

Setting up a lip dub involves a lot of planning and total buy in from the school. It would be good if the school has an advisory or homeroom so they can practice their part. First thing first, they need to select a few songs that are hip and clean as can be. Once those songs are selected then each class will have a portion of the song they are responsible for. Classes practice their part and they dress the part. Its good to do a test run so student know how to pace their part of the song.

 We recommend a dj setting up audio gear so music can be heart through the school. Depending on how big the school is I would recommend 4 to 6 speakers spread out to cover more ground. Make sure the wires are taped up or where no one can trip because there are students everywhere doing dance routines and not really paying attention on where they step. Playing it through the intercom will sound really bad. Best to do 2 to 3 takes of each song so it can be cut and pasted the parts that will be used. Once its recorded then they dub over the audio with the actual song so it sounds clean.

   This is a whole school activity and kids can be kids. They can make up dance routines or they can do silly things that they will always remember. Build some culture in your school and have Black and White Affair Dj do your audio for your lip dub event.

  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.