One of the best outside venues in the Gilroy area is Fortino Winery.  I do like the fact that the space is so open and it was outside. I also liked I could bring my 12 inch speakers and it can be heard at the other end with ease. One does not need tons of speakers to be efficient at Fortino Winery. Its also a cool place since they have a big open space and another space to hold events in case one needs a plan b. They can easily hold two events at the same time and even wanted to can hold another outside event at the tables by the front parking.  I had the pleasure to play there this past weekend. It was a school staff event and it was a good time. The music theme was simple and it was just old school. 70s 80s and 90s. Again the food was top notch. They also had a photo booth which was fun for the folks.

The following day was my birthday. Pre covid I would opt to not work my birthday. But this party had the makings of something special. I heard the playlist that consisted of Spanish classics and 80s music. I am a sucker for the classics and I felt I needed to be at this party. The hostess gave me a lot of artists such as Thalia, Alejandro Fernandez, Paulina Rubio to set a good vibe. I have to vote for South County as one of the best places to have a residence event. We had the volume at a good amount and we didn’t have to worry about neighbors complain about the sound. 

I had a big school event after the lockdown. My last event before the lockdown was a school event and this event was a big school event in Palo Alto. 

I had posters made and students were sending their requests. I had three lists to work from and it was a good starting point. Student still wanted to make verbal requests so I just pointed to the posters which had the directions for requests. 

The school was awesome is having food trucks and they had a variety of different kinds of food. I was amazed that we were outside and everyone had a mask on when I started. I brought 4 speakers and it was loud enough for all the folks that showed up. It was plenty of volume for the outside venue. 

What I noticed was the request for older music. Typically at schools I play the newest latest music  but this time around a few new songs were played and songs from the 00s were very popular. I believe it has to be the popularity of tic tock which is bringing back the old school. The biggest songs of the night were by Calvin Harris which is considered edm or house music. The question of the night is house coming back? I remember playing it during proms in 2014 then it went away. I think playing a little of everything is fun so maybe it is coming back.

Overall, the chaperones made a huge difference. We had to make reminders of keeping the social distance. Students were very respectful and very ready to party since they have been lockdown for a while.

The Gilroy Garlic Festival has been around for 41 years. It has been a pretty famous food event in the Bay Area for many years. It was the place to stock up on your Garlic flavored Ice Cream or Garlic dishes. Last year due to Covid, the festival and the rest of the world was shut down. But this year it has manifested to a new event. Years past it has operated at Christmas Hill Park. It is a huge park that could maintain the thousands of visitors. This year it is divided into three locations.

It included a drive by alley at Gilroy Presbyterian Church and a Farm to table dinner at Fortino Winery. And finally the Garlic Festival Golf Classic will be held July 30th. The festival has taken a new look and feel.

I was able to provide music at Fortino Winery. They had a little stage next to the vineyard where the folks were able to eat and listen to old school music. We decided the classics you can not go wrong. I went with 80’s new wave,  then jumped into the 90s. It was a fun atmosphere. My intention was just to play background music but the Gilroy folks wanted to dance and they did. The awesome Fortino staff were so accommodating to their patrons that the folks were happy. It was a good feel good vibe. Grandparents were with their grandchildren and couples were all there. It was a perfect mix.

It was a nice touch to have live music with great food. I was happy to be a part of it. When in doubt in choosing the music you cannot go wrong with going old school.

Being able to enjoy different music in different languages has been a blessing while going to events. When it comes to Spanish music, there is so much to choose from. Playlists can have some cumbias, salsas, bandas, bachata, reggaeton, norteno, corridos, and ranchera to name a few. Then you have the English music to think about. How can you get all that music in one event. Some people consider maybe getting a Spanish band then getting an English Dj. Bands can be expensive so if they want to get all that music then they should consider a Bilingual Spanish Dj that can cover all that music.

I find the music that the older generation likes you play early since sometimes the older folks ten to leave early. Like I would play some rancheras during the dinner part of the night. I would save the dance Spanish music when it is time to get down. 

How much of Spanish then English do you play? Each event is different. You can base it on what the clients want and use that to gauge. A dj can have a must playlist and makes sure those songs are played. But I noticed in Spanish Bilingual events folks really get into the Spanish Music. For me if its time for English music I go for the hitters that won’t fail. I like to go to the classics for funk and old school. There maybe some new trending tracks but with old school its been tried and succeeded. 

Consider Black and White Affair Dj for your Spanish English Event. Bay Area and now in Southern California.

Omar@bwadj.com

Westin Hotel San Jose (San Jose)

Centrally located downtown. Very nice décor and staff actually helped me unload equipment. It is located in the heart of downtown. It is located close to San Pedro Square and close to the local night life. 

I have done two events at the Westin downtown. It is fairly easy to get to. There is parking underneath the building and they can also provide valet service. There is parking across the street and also garage parking a few blocks away. Parking underneath the venue is pretty expensive so the best bet would be to park on Third and San Carlos since it would be about five dollars.

The big event room is located in the first floor. Ideally if you are unloading items to take to the event then one would have to park in the front and unload the items then take them in then you have to park your vehicle. 

 Staff members were very cordial. I did speak with them afterwards and they appreciated the Spanish music that was played. 

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Menlo Park- Holbrook Palmer Park Wedding Set Up

I did a ceremony and cocktail hour plus dance for a wedding. For this venue, it would be beneficial to have an assistant to help set up the equipment. For the ceremony there is a power source to set up on the corner and the bride and groom walk down the stairs. Most djs could use one speaker for the ceremony but I opt to use two.

While the wedding party takes photos after the ceremony then everyone walks over to the dinner area for cocktails. The question that arises is how many set ups would one need for the reception area. People dance inside but the cocktails and dinner is outside. There are a few choices. If you wanted to make it perfect, then a set up can be done outside. One can have one speaker but I have to have balance and had two out. I had a microphone set up for the toasts and announcements. Another option would be to set up in the dance area and have the speakers go out to the cocktail area. It would save time in setting up but the dj has to be inside or he can have an assistant manning the music while the dj can mc in the cocktail area. And of course the dance area inside would have two speakers. Venue does offer in-house speaker system.

The Park is a huge park with plenty of parking. I would recommend going to the venue before hand so you are prepared for the set up. If you organize it well then all one needs are two set ups.

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I am a proud SJSU alumni and I like to keep tabs on my school. I had an opportunity to play at a fundraiser. They were at first going to have a band and have me be the start of the night but that did not pan out. I did not get a special playlist but I was told to play appropriate music for the night. A lot of the time one would play background music during dinner time so the guests can be able to talk. Then the end, the dj would play the festive music at a louder volume to get everyone to the dance floor and keep them on the dance floor.

The venue was an Elks Lodge in San Jose. It was right off the 87 so it was really easy to go to. They do have a stage area for the dj and a huge dance floor.  I unloaded my gear and took it to the stage. They had the baseball and softball players there to help with the service of the food.

I knew the most of the crowd was going to be 30 and up. Also I knew the players were more about 20 years old.  So for the dinner portion of the night I was playing mellow familiar background music. All the players for both sports were introduced. Once they did all the auctions and the raffles it was time to pump up the volume. I went with the classic dance jams that all ages would enjoy.

Did a birthday party on Saturday at the Los Gatos Lodge. This was an enjoyable party since the Birthday girl gave me songs that went through many generations. She had the music she grew up with and some current songs. She invited her family and friends to the celebration.

She did not want to give a speech but some folks gave speeches about her after dinner. Birthday girl was the first one on the dance floor and was dancing the whole night. It was definitely a good vibe that night and the dancing itch was in full effect. It did make the night go faster. It was a 6-hour event and cocktail and dinner only took two hours and the remaining 4 hours was straight dancing. We did not finish early and went straight to 11. I have to applaud the birthday girl and the guests who danced the night away. They were not teenagers but with their energy they seemed to be like them. I took all requests and even played some super new music then the guest realized we had to go back to the old school and we did go back to the old school. Because we know old school rules!

What birthday girl wanted was some up lighting.  She ordered 6 up lights and I spaced them around the room. Up lights do add some class to the room.

Staff was very nice and made sure I got to eat too. It was a quick set up and a quick close out. I was able to park in front of the venue and put everything away in my suv.