We got a call a few weeks ago to do a company party. They wanted me to provide a song list and I shared one and they were good with it. On the list was a mix of all the genres and I was asked to have some Christmas songs. Also they wanted some Spanish music so that would not be a problem.

 I got there two hours early and it was plenty of time to unload the car then you have to park the car like a 5 min walk garage. I did get my ticket validated but it did not work so had to pay 39 dollars. La living! Never experienced that in the Bay.

 They had pro piano player getting down on the chords while they were having cocktails. While I waiting for the grand entrance I had Celebration ready to start up. We went straight party music for the start to set the mood. To help with the celebration we had Chris Kringle taking pictures with the guests. One of the best scenes of the night was santa getting down and luckily Mrs. Clause was not watching!

 How funny you can prep for a night but you need to go another direction. I prepped to play maybe 15 spanish songs but ended going for 90 percent of all the songs. Cumbias was what hit the hardest then salsa was second. At 11, I ended it a few minutes after the cut off time but the boss man told me to go an extra hour.

We are part of the Levi’s experience this past weekend and will be part of it next weekend. There will be a Black and White Affair dj Saturday and Sunday doing a marathon set. We will be providing the vibe while folks look at the fresh Levi Gear. On Saturday we will be doing a 12 to 8 set then Sunday we will be doing a 12 to 7 set. Last year Levi did a few stores with music then this year they had more stores do it. Levi’s posted it on their social media and people knew about it. There is always something special when a do is playing at a retail store. Usually when I go to stores the music is easy listening. I remember I went to a grocery store one time and the music was super funky and I’m like wow it makes a huge difference in the store experience.

   Music wise we go with the top 40 then we also include old school plus some mass songs. Old school would include 80s. 90s, and 00s.  Its crazy to believe that 2000s is considered old school. How time flies! But the good thing about music is the younger generations are appreciating the music that their parents listened to. I am noticing that more and more at teen events when they make their requests. There are so much  new music coming   out that  some of it falls through  the cracks but the old school classics still stick around and make  the  shopping  experience a bit more enjoyable. Please go visit Levis and say what’s up to the dj! Happy Holidays!

I got to be a part of a holiday event on a Sunday. They had a lot of local vendors selling a lot of Christmas items and plus also provided a pancake breakfast. I was here at 6:15 in the morning since the event started at 7. Since their typical Santa was not available to partake in the event they suggested a Santa Dj.  I do not own a Santa Suit but they provided a hat and coat. So I was a Santa DJ. I have   no issues wearing what the  lient wants. It is all about making the client happy. We were up on stage and we were able to hook up with the house system. There is a good benefit to that since we do not need to blare the music for the back to hear and the front folks would get the loudness since   they are close. I was able to have a good volume and the halls speakers reached the whole venue. Not all venues have house systems but its nice when it is actually connected.

  It is early Sunday Morning, so what do you play for a Christmas event? Of course we go with the Christmas Classics then you throw in some covers of the classics with todays stars. I would throw in some 90s 00s 10s pop but would always return to the Christmas music. It was a good event overall and they mentioned that typically they would just play an iPod but this was a way better experience.

This is the second year we are doing this law firms xmas party. It was located at the Capital Club so there was a lot of traffic on the street due to Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose so a lot of folks came late. I came 2 hours early since I know I have to take my gear up 17 floors. It is a lot of work to get all the gear up there but the views make it worth it. The first two hours it was all Christmas classics. Everything people would hear when they were young then at the tail end I would do the covers of todays stars of doing of the classics.  During that time the staff was serving appetizers and cocktails were being served. Then we made the annoucent for dinner;

Then it was game time! Game contest was to get whip cream in their mouth. Participants would put whip cream on their wrist and slap their forearm then try to catch the whip cream with their mouth. They had a few rounds of that.  On the spot, I was able to find the jeopardy sound and a drum roll with limite internet access but made it happen.

After it was dance time. We were all about the 80s, funk and disco. This was my 3rd time being a Capital Club and the staff was very helpful and super nice. Capital Club has one of the best views of the city plus a great staff and fabulous food so it’s a good place to have a function.

To throw a big corporate event there has to be collaboration. You have to have the main point person then you have to delegate responsibilities. I was able to work with a team from Lockeed Martin. We had constant communication and everything ran smooth.

  They located a big venue downtown San Jose, the Guild House. Its huge and it is a creative space. There were tables so people can play board games and then different areas to play video games. Also for this event there was a photo booth.  Guild House had folks passing out delicious appetizers. Dinner was picked up by the side tables and they had choices of tamales and tostadas and chips and salsa/guacamole.

  I gave them a playlist to cover many genres. We decided to move out the country songs and replace them with Christmas songs.  We were mostly playing 80s and 90s and 00s pop music. The first hour or so we went for background music and then later we got a little more aggressive with danceable music. We did get a little louder to get folks on the dance floor and it worked. It seemed like the Latin music is what got folks ready for the dance floor. 85 percent of the music was English but the Spanish music was got the ants in the pants.  For 600 folks we brought 2 -3 way speakers and 4 tops. It was more than enough for the space.

  Overall it was a successful event with good food, a nice venue, and good people who made it a good time for all.

Hey Party folks I got you covered when it comes to a latin playlist. We are going to get your toes wet into the latin music pool to get people moving to the latin beats. We are talking salsa, reggaeton, bachata, merengue, cumbia and more. Let’s break it down:

It is not about playing the same type of music the whole night. There are so many types of latin music that its good to hop  around to quench the latin music thirst. A dj would be beneficial since they can read the crowd and determine how many songs of one genre can be played. A phone on shuffle can not read the crowd and could kill the vibe when people are getting hyped up.

Marc Anthony  and Celia Cruz can get people to start to salsa dance with their jams.

Next you can  include reggaeton like Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Maluma and Ozuna.

If one wants to slow it down then they can play some bachata to add a romantic vibe to the party. Artis that deep dive into that are Romeo Santos, Prince Royce and Aventura.

Then it maybe time to sped it up and you can throw on some Merengue with an artist like Elvis Crespo.

Cumbias are what gets everyone moving. There are a lot of classics by Fito Olivares and Los Angeles Azules and Anciento Molina.

At last, do not forget the latin cross overs and pop songs from Shakira and Enrique Iglesias.

 First and foremost you need to make sure you have a hip spot to have the holiday party. You don’t want to be the boss who has their functions at the work spot. I had a boss who had the xmas parties where we worked. Employees were encouraged to bring something for a potluck. It was so lame that I would not even attend even though it was during work hours. You don’t want to be lame as Mrs. R@#$# whoops did I almost say that outloud. Anyway my other  bosses made  the effort to find a spot so we can gather. When you are at work then it makes it hard to truly enjoy yourself at a holiday party if you are at work place. Going elsewhere brings more excitement to the staff.

 Once the place is selected then you have provide the vibe and that is set by the dj. What does the dj play? Some corporate events require all xmas songs during the dinner portion of the night. Others would want a mix of xmas music with some pop appropriate music that will get people dancing. Alcohol does help people let loose on the dance floor but its not mandatory. Its get to get a list from the party organizer so the dj can get a feel of what they are looking for.

 What is better than one birthday party is having two birthday girls celebrating at the same time. We had the party in the heart of Burbank. Loyal Studios was the location and they made a cool party scene. One cool thing about Los Angeles area is they have neat spots to have events. They are creative with their event spaces. I am used to big halls and lots of space but in this area they are creative to make a space as a fun party spot. They had different rooms to accommodate the party. One room where they served the pizza and cake. Another room where they ate and another room for photobooth. Then the coolest room had to be the room the dj was at. I am not just saying that but it truly was a cool spot. It was a green room where they film different things and they had a built in dance floor. The room was sound proof so there is no worry about the neighbors complaining about the loud noise. The teens loved Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo when it came out the speaker. Overall it was a good party and we went through there playlist and were able to stream songs that were not in our catalogue. We have not issues taking requests since the party goers got a bit more excited. It was definitely a pop party with a little hip hop. Its always refreshing when young folks get down to older music. One of the biggest hits was Gangnam Style and everyone was doing that dance and Macerena was also called upon.