We need to set up at a field. No problem. We will have around 500 people. No problem. We need four speakers spread out in the field with power spread out also. No problem. Also we want music people can jive too. No problem.

 We had an honor roll celebration recently and I had to provide the sound. First and foremost,  I had to check the power sources to make sure they worked since it is a field. Made sure I ordered 4 50 foot extension cords and 50 foot speaker cables. Wanted to spread out the speakers to cover more ground and would not have to blast the volume so it would be too loud for those who are close to the speaker.

 I set up one wireless microphone with another on stand by with another wired microphone on backup. Parents had a full day of work and wanted to hear their child’s name loudly on the pa system.

 I made sure the playlist was as festive as can be. You need to know your audience.  The majority of the audience was latinos so we went with 90 percent latin music but I did include crossover music and some American classics. A lot of djs are afraid to play non American music because they want to be safe. But when you do play the cumbias or Mexican music people deeply appreciate it.

Outside events you have many factors to deal with but it has to be done by a professional sound guy to make sure it is done right. Contact Black and White Affair to make sure your graduation or outside event is done right.

 We had a great time playing in North Hollywood the other day. It was a surprise 80th birthday party.  It was such a surprise even I did not even know.  It was a dark street and the address was semi hidden and I typically can tell who is having a party on a street. I unloaded my gear and my start time was at 7 and I was there around 610 and I was asked that grandpa is close and I have to be ready soon. So I got everything set up and was playing 15 minutes before I was supposed to start. Anything to make the party go smoothly. We were stationed in the backyard and when grandpa came in he was greeted with Las Mananitas then Vicente Fernandez. The first hour we were playing Mexican oldies then an hour in we just mostly did cumbias the rest of the night. It was a catered party with a lot of desserts. The cake had a picture of the man of the hour. It was a festive group that liked to dance. All the requests they wanted I was able to find them on my computer or I had to stream them via the internet.

  It was a cold night but the dance floor was hot. It was my kind of party. They offered me cake like three different times. They were the perfect hosts. We had the music at a good volume and we did not get any complaints.

  Recently I received a call to do a Latin event over in Granada Hills. The client sent me a list and I was digging the vibe. It was a lot of reggaeton and some cumbia. Artist like Bad Bunny, and  Karol G filled up the list.  A really popular artist was Los Socios Del RitmoOther artists like Ozuna, J Balvin, Rauw Alejandro There were a few English songs and even went as diverse as some country songs by Morgan Wallan. What I noticed about Latin parties that they really and I mean really love the cumbias. You can not go wrong with the classics and get the party going.

Originally we are going to play at a house then they got a studio over in North ridge.  It was small venue in a retail area.  They had a bar and a table to have dinner and a small dance floor. It was quite an intimate space. You can easily have around 25 folks to have dinner there and then they can let loose on the dance floor. Once I got there they had a musician who was jamming on a guitar and singing covers everyone knew. I set up next to the guitar player and I was ready to go. I was going to play 15 minutes ahead of schedule but I was prepared to start anytime they needed me. They started to eat then I started to play more music to get the party vibe then they cut the cake then it was time to get down. 

  We are up for anything. We had a last minute event (anything 2 weeks or less is considered a last minute event) and we had a dj available and what made it perfect was it was our latin dj so it was a latin party in Gilroy.  The weather has not been the greatest so we had to figure out if we needed a tent or if the party was going to be inside. We kept in communication with the client to see what the status was going to be.  The party was at a ranch with a lot of room but it was outside inside a tent. When the dj got there there was a mariachi playing and the dj was the dessert of the evening.  There was a lot of Ozuna and Maluma on the playlist. Definitely a lot of reggaeton. It was like 95 percent Spanish and 5 percent English.  It was a lot of   dance music that did a good job of covering the aspect that it was raining. It just proves that when enough planning you can still have an event or a plan B.

 They did have a piñata there too. The kids and adults had a shot at it! Even though there was rain it still was a happening party. It was so fun the police came to visit. So there was loud music going on with mariachi and early on the police did visit but they did not come again once we adjusted the volume. I did speak with the client and he was happy with the night. 

  We had a Corporate function at Dr. Funk in downtown San Jose in San Pedro Square. San Pedro Square is one of the most happening spots in the area.  There is so much to do there and its in a close vicinity. There is plenty of parking and you can literally hop from spot to spot in that area. 

Dr. Funk is a new tiki bar that can host private parties. We djed a private party last weekend and we had a ball. It was the second year we did an event for this company. Last year we were at Dave and Busters in Milpitas and now this year we were at San Pedro Square.

We loved their fun playlist.  They had Beyoncé, Dua  Lipa  then the classics from Mac Drew, Too Short, E-40  Keak da Sneak. A truly bay area party with those bay area legends and then some Ice Cube,Tupac, Biggie, Lil Kim, Mace, Faith Evans,  Eminem and Mary  J Blige.  Then they did request some pop hits from Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Nsync and Bruno Mars.

  We love these kind of lists. It gives us the ability to create a fun dance vibe on the dance floor. The party was on a Sunday and the next day was a holiday. It was smart of the company to rent out the place on a Sunday instead of a Saturday since it would cost more. The next day was a holiday so they can party like it is a Saturday. Love the fact that they had food there then it was dance time. The perfect party with a perfect  playlist!

Venue! This has to be the most important decision of prom. You have to make sure the venue an accommodate your guest count.

Theme and Decorations! Make sure the leadership team agree on the theme and how to decorate. A prom is made great by a great leadership collaboration. They have to decorate the venue or hire a company that will abide by they taste.

Entertainment! Gone are the days that schools hire bands. They go with djs since they can play all sorts of genres. It is always risky to hire a dj that never played for your school before. Make sure the dj played for you during homecoming and if you never had them play for you then ask the neighboring schools for recommendations. A lot of the same music is played in certain areas of the city so you want someone who knows the crowd. Why not add a photobooth to the mix!

Catering! Often times the venues can provide their own catering but as a class you should look at their menu and see if there are other 3rd party options. Also keep in mind not everyone can get everything. There are vegans and folks who cannot eat diary or bread. It is good to have alternative options.

Promotion! Offer a discount on early ticket sales and increase the ticket prices as it gets closer.

Safety Measures: You want to make sure kids are sober and ready to have a good time and you do not want to deal with drunk party goers so its good to have plenty of chaperones around.

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Spanish Bilingual djs who are proficient in English and Spanish music does not happen much. Usually one dj specializes in one type of music but it’s a rarity they can rock a party in two languages. Not everyone has the opportunity to be immersed in both languages and cultures. It is important for events like weddings and quinceneras.

People try to do both without doing it justice. I like to share a playlist with my prospective clients to see what kind of Spanish music I would play. I also share my English mixes I posted online so they can feel the energy and mixing style.

A lot of events that I do it seems like the Latin music is what drives people to dance. A good dj feeds the crowd what they want. I did an event recently where they wanted some English and some Spanish. I like to over prepare and I had a lot of Spanish songs in my playlist just in case. It seemed like people really wanted the Spanish music and we went hard with it and they even requested another hour.

Playing cumbias, merengues, reggaeton, and bachata music is a cheat code since they make people want to dance but its also good to have English classics in the back pocket in case the vibe wants to go there.

Bilingual djs should know their limitations and not bite off more than they can chew for the sake of the client and transparent communication is vital for the success of the event. Call Black and White Affair Djs for your Latin Bilingual Spanish dance party.

  A lot has to deal with what time of day the dj is playing. Like the weekend can have more of the festive vibe while the morning during the weekday can be more chill.

It’s the djs duty to rotate some new jams in the rotation so the workers are not hearing the same songs over and over again. Every time I do a retail event I create a new playlist so no one can say I play the same songs over and over again. Why play the original song that everyone knows? Play a song everybody knows but with a new beat and feel to it. Find out what the theme that the store is focused on. Also keep in mind that it is not a night club and keep the volume at a modest level. You do not want the patrons to be screaming over the blissful beats that you are playing.

When I do play people love the diversity of the music. It is about seeing who is in the crowd and feeding them. When I mention feeding them, I mean keep on giving them what they want. I like to go disco, then maybe funk, Motown, then some 80s 90s and 2000s. Its not all about playing the same things you hear on the radio but playing songs folks can appreciate it. Just make sure you are keeping tabs with management on what they want plus keep an eye on the workers and patrons to keep on giving them what they want and that’s the vibe!