Do You Bring Back Up Equipment?

For weddings that are require ceremony, cocktail hour and reception sound I always bring 5 speakers. Two will be for the ceremony. Most ceremonies only require one but I bring two since I believe its important for everyone to hear the vows and the officiant and the bride and groom. So anytime there is a speaker issue I have 4 others to choose from. From the ceremony, I bring a lapel microphone, a wireless microphone and a wired microphone. Those are back ups to my back up mentality.

I bring two laptops with all the music requested. For some reason one is deciding to not work I have any one that can finish the job. Also I have a connection to hook up to a phone in case I need it so some odd reason. My laptops that I use are only for djing. I do not use it for internet searches. Their only purpose is to play music. For my back up I bring a mini controller incase my main controller malfunctions. It is a small tool that provides a big sound. I have my main headphones and I have regular earbuds in my back pack incase the main ones stop working.

There is no such thing as too few cables. I bring enough for 3 events. I have multiple speaker cables and extension cables that I bring for a great piece of mind. Sometimes the photographer wants to connect to my mixer and I give them the cable to use for that if they do not have it.

I always bring more than I am supposed to but I like to be two steps ahead. A professional dj job is to be prepared.

When you think of the Double Tree you think of the warm chocolate chip cookies that come when you get your keys of your room.  Not only does the hotel provide good quality rooms but they host events at many sizes. This is the closest hotel to the hotel and it does have plenty of parking. I found staff to be very helpful. I did need some assistance and the bartender was able to get the right staff to help out

  I was doing an event for a L.A. company who was doing an event for their San Jose clients. While I was setting up in the room, there was a bigger room next to mine. They were having a casino night. There had to be like 300 people in the room enjoying the casino night. We did share the same wall and everything worked out well. The hotel coordinated the events so when one event finished the other one was going to start. After both events were done, staff removed the wall and the room got bigger so the Doubletree can  increase the size of a room.

My party had a bar and dancing There was about 80 people at the function that were coming in and out. It was a client appreciation party so they were taken care of with an open bar. We did not have dinner and we went straight to dancing. The hotel has multiple rooms and this one was not as big as the other ones but they had their privacy.

 San Jose is a big city with lots of people living close by to each other. I had an event this past Saturday and you never know if the party will be cut off early due to sound restrictions. My clients have been smart people when it comes to having big functions at their house. This is what they do.

They give their neighbors a heads up. One can invite them to the function or at least let them know that it maybe louder than usual and you will keep quiet after a certain time. It always good to have a good relationship with your neighbors because they can make life more difficult in general.

They make a good guest list. They do not invite everyone and their mom on their social media. They are selective on who they invite because one person who was not invited can totally destroy a party if they do not behave correctly.

They do not overindulge in beverages. It is great to have a good time but one has to be aware of what is happening to be a good host.

Make sure the dj does not have too much sound. The party is not for 400 people but rather under a 75. A dj can do a fabulous job with a couple of 8 inch to 12 inch speakers.

If you are throwing an event in San Jose, its good to have neighbors in the loop and have a good guest list of people you know and a dj who know what they are doing.

Do You Mix the Music?

Mixing is a skill that not all djs have. It’s a skill that needs to be worked on. Some djs play songs and just fade out the volume and fade in a new song. Some djs will play the whole song then start a new one when the other one ends thus killing the momentum of the night. The purpose of mixing is to keep the energy consistent on the dancefloor.  The mixing of music helps keep the floor with the seamless transition from song to song.  Each event is not a Night Club demo but rather a custom playlist based on the client’s playlist. We do not try to experiment with new music that no one has ever heard up but play tracks that are tried and true to the original form. We focus on the flawless transition from song to song to help maintain the dancing.

Do You Bring Vinyl Turntables to Your Events?

My pride and joys are my custom made SJSU Technic turntables. They are very pretty to look at. I do still own vinyl but rather use my dj controller at dj events. A dj controller is an all in one dj set up. It contains turntables and a built in mixer.  I am able to hold tens of thousands on songs on my hard drive and only 100 records in the record boxes I can physically carry. It is easier to update music on a hard drive. I can easily do an old school party with vinyl. We do have lots of funk, 80s, 90s and the 2000s. How time flies when someone mentions the 2000s being old school. There is something magical about vinyl. Maybe it can be too  hard to find.

Had a wonderful party with the class of 69 at the Los Gatos Lodge. One of the classmates did say it is one of the best classes ever. I do have to agree it was a festive event. The hostess just told me to get songs for the era and that is what I did. I went through all the years the class went to high school. I looked for the top songs of 66, 67, 68, and 69. I was able to find some good r&b music and lots of rock music. Few of the fabulous songs of the night was Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf.

  My goal was to get everyone dancing and I was amazed by the energy of the room. Class of 69 danced to the songs of their time with enthusiasm. The first hour was more of the softer music of the time and I had to save the dance songs for the end of the night. I did not want them to start dancing in their seats yet. I had to make sure they enjoyed their delicious meal.  I was able to have a little dinner at the lodge and I wolfed down the steak and baked potato. It was a very tasty meal. Staff are always helpful and positive. I do enjoying playing at Lost Gatos Lodge.

Congratulations on your wedding. Time to pick a date and secure a venue. You picked a photographer who did good work at your best friend’s wedding and the wedding dress looks perfect. The food is included in the venue package and you seem to be done. Wrong! You have to find the right wedding dj. Do you jump on Craigslist and select a Craigslist Dj? Not a wise choice. Finding the right wedding dj will take some research to make sure they have the skill level and affordable.

Djs that are experienced can become a wedding day of coordinator who have ran big events prior. They get the wedding on the proper path.

Do a Sit down with your DJ

A dj that will not meet with you is not worth your time. The Dj’s job is to serve his guests and it is important to meet up. At this you can work on your timeline or at least get it started then finalize it as it draws closer. A Dj is more than pushing the play button but has to make sure s/he follows the orders of events.

Formulate a timeline

A good Dj has an understanding of what a wedding timeline looks like. S/he can suggest one and the bride and groom decide how in which order they want everything.

Book your dj 6 months or more in advance.

Weddings typically happen on Saturday and there are only 52 Saturdays a year so the dj may be booked if not booked in advanced.

Black and White Affair Dj Services (www.bwadj.com)has been doing big events since 2004. Let us do your big event and let us talk about your big wedding day.

How to Pick the Best Dj in the San Francisco Bay Area

In the San Francisco Bay, many folks plan all different kinds of events such as private events, weddings, and corporate events. Maybe years ago, you may have had buddies who dabbled in the dj field but you don’t know if they still are in the field. But you are throwing an event and you want a professional so who do you turn to?

Check previous experience

These days everyone loves looking at reviews. Check out the Yelp Reviews and Google Reviews. Take a look at their Facebook Business Page to see if they are doing events currently and if they post consistently.

Talk with them

Ask them how busy they are. A good dj is a busy dj. Yes, there are loads of djs out there but the ones that are working are the ones that are sought out. Communicate with the dj to get a sense of their professionalism. Ask them what is included in their dj package. Does the dj bring their own lights and microphones? How many speakers will they bring to the function?  How is their response time? Does the dj respond quickly or does it take days to email or call back?

Look at their Website

A good dj should have a website that talks about what they do and who they are. Does it look professional?

Listen to their mixes

A dj will have example of their mixes either on their website or a page dedicated to their mixes. You will get the vibe of the kind of music that he plays and style of mixing. Some djs can give out usb’s with their mixes and some can even give out cds.

Los Gatos Lodge is a great place for any social gathering. Typically, I set up by the patio area inside but this last function I was in a different room. The room had a mobile bar and there was plenty of tables in the room. On the side of the room was a long table for the buffet and the desserts. I was scheduled to come in the middle of their cocktail hour to set up and they already had a wireless microphone and music playing in their internal system. Los Gatos Lodge would be an ideal place to plan a corporate event or reunion since they can run sound without a dj in case they did not have one or wanted to save money that expense.

It was a 45-year reunion from a local high school.  It was the class of 1974. I do always ask for a list after I send a list of my own to chose from. Usually what I do then I go and look at the top songs of all the years they went to high school so I search from 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974. I just do not just include the disco but the rock songs. I remember one reunion I did one member said that back in the 70s people were into rock or into disco. I was able to play both. I was able to accommodate requests from the party people at the event. Sometimes that is needed to play a gem that the class jammed to in their younger years.

It was a fabulous party and a lot of folks were dancing to the fun songs they selected.