A Good DJ

A Good DJ will:




• Make a personal appointment with you to go over your details, not just give you a call or send you an e-mail

• Check in with your Banquet Hall to review the details to make sure they have the same ones

• Abide by the rules of the Banquet Hall

• Check in with your photographer and videographer and work hand-in-hand with them

• Come and meet you at the door to get your wedding party organized for your introductions – not just stand behind their equipment and read the names off of your wedding program

• Make sure that the cake knife and server are next to the wedding cake and the champagne glasses are filled for toasts before those events take place.

• Get everyone's attention and give an introduction to the Best Man, Maid of Honor and any other dignitary that will be using the microphone

• Bring a back up plan

• Create a mood conducive to the moment

• And, oh yes, play good music and pack the dance floor

TOP TEN - Let's Compare

Recently DJ Intelligence (that’s a software company, not the collective minds of disc jockeys) released a comprehensive list of  the Top 200 songs for each decade, based on requests that DJs get at their weddings, school dances, holiday parties and other events.
How does this compare to the most successful songs of that time period though?



Let’s take the eighties for example. According to Billboard Magazine* the most popular songs of the decade were:



1. Physical/Olivia Newton John
2. Endless Love/Lionel Richie & Diana Ross
3. Bette Davis Eyes/Kim Carnes
4. Every Breath You Take/The Police
5. Say, Say, Say/Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney
6. Eye of the Tiger/Survivor
7. Flashdance/What A Feeling/Irene Cara
8. Ebony and Ivory/Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder
9. Waiting for a Girl Like You/Foreigner
10. I Love Rock & Roll/Joan Jett & the Blackhearts



Now the survey by DJ Intelligence lists the most requested songs of the eighties as:



1. Don’t Stop Believing/Journey
2. You Shook Me All Night Long/AC-DC
3. Livin’ On a Prayer/ Bon Jovi
4. Billie Jean/ Michael Jackson
5. Love Shack/B-52’s
6. Pour Some Sugar On Me/Def Leppard
7. Thriller/Michael Jackson
8. Celebration/Kool and the Gang
9. Footloose/ Kenny Loggins
10. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun/Cyndi Lauper



Surprising? Not one of the Top Ten Best Selling songs of the eighties made it to the most requested – or maybe most remembered - songs list. That may be explained simply by this: What we like to listen to and what we like to dance to may be two different things, and what makes us dance is what we remember the most. This may be something to keep in mind if you are making a music list for your event.



DJIntelligence was kind enough to send us a pdf of the 200 most requested songs of every decade, starting with the fifties. If any of our clients would like to see this to help plan for your event simply e-mail me and I’ll send you a copy.



Until next time – Mike



*according to Fred Bronson’s Book Billboards Hottest 100 Hits

Now That's Entertainment!

"The Boss" knows how to entertain.

A few years back a friend of mine went to a concert to see someone he had followed for years. He traveled a bit of a distance and was eager to finally see this artist live!

It was a big disappointment.



The singer came on the stage just moments after the scheduled starting time. He went right into his show, sang nearly all of his hits and finished with his grand finale - all in forty five minutes - and then it was over.



“It was still daylight out when we were leaving the concert.” my friend exclaimed.



Was he ripped off? “No!” I’m sure the concert promoter would say. The Rock Star was on time and played the hits the people came to hear. Yet, as I understand it, he never really spoke to the crowd, never really entertained them, and isn't that what musicians, comedians, hypnotists and magicians really are supposed to be, entertainers?



Think of the pop musicians that have had great success for many years running: Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Neil Diamond, Cher, Madonna. Yes they all have great music but they are just as well known for their live shows. They have as much entertainment talent as they do musical talent! [Some would argue the latest pop stars have more entertainment talent than musical talent, but we won’t go there right now].



Now let’s translate this to your wedding. Sure your cousins next door neighbor could come in with his i-pod with 10,000 songs on it and play all the music at your reception, but can he entertain your guests? Photographers fall somewhat in this category too. Although they are not entertainers (but I do know some funny photographers) they are artists. Again, Uncle Ed can come in and take all the pictures for you, but is he gifted at using Photoshop®? Does he know how to pose everyone correctly?



Maybe, I'm afraid, we think of these people as a common commodity, like a loaf of bread. One is just like another. But in reality they are like athletes, some are more naturally talented than others. And that talent is what helps seperate the ordinary events from the extraordinary ones.

Not pictures. Not music. Talent.

Until next time - Mike

Do You Remember

Do you remember what you were doing on October 10th, 2002, or maybe February 13th, 1996? What about May 5th, 2009? Can you remember everything you got for your birthday last year, or what you did on the last day of school when you were eleven years old?

The point is most people can’t. There are only certain moments, or certain days, that we can remember in detail. One may be the day a child is born, the other most likely your wedding day. Ask anyone who has been through both experiences and they can probably re-live the details as if it was yesterday.



Recently Modern Bride magazine asked couples and others that were guests at weddings what they remembered most about the last great wedding they were at, and by a margin of two to one they responded with the fun they had, or the entertainment. Second on the list was the wedding dress and third were the flowers. Almost forgotten was the food, the fancy invitations or the centerpieces.

Things to keep in mind as you are planning your wedding budget.

Until next time ~ Mike

True Stories

A DJ turns his microphone over to the Best Man and Maid of Honor right before dinner is to begin. They say a few words of encouragement to the Bride and Groom and turn the microphone over to someone else for a blessing. After that the DJ turns to the Photographer and says “watch my stuff for a while. I have to run some errands” and he puts his system on auto pilot and leaves. Of course there was a problem and the Banquet Manager had to turn the music off during dinner, and wait for the DJ to return.

Another photographer tells me of the DJ he worked with who, when the wedding party arrived and wanted to be introduced, would not go to greet them at the door and instead asked the photographer to go fetch a wedding program from them. He was not even sure if the program had the wedding party in the order that they were to be introduced, and had never even looked at it to be sure he could pronounce all of the names.

And then there was the wedding where I personally attended when the DJ sent the Bride and Groom over to the wedding cake for that ceremonial first slice. He called everyone’s attention to it - only to discover they had not made arrangements to have a cake knife and server available. After an awkward moment he uttered “We’ll have to get back to that,” and let the bride and groom stand there.

Finally, one of our local DJs is so impressed with modern technology that we’ve heard he has at times pre-programmed his system and then went to the bar to watch the football game.

These are not stories of Disc Jockeys in the big city or across the country, but rather right here in the Dubuque/Galena area.

Do you think these couples paid more than $500 for these people to DJ their one-and-only wedding day?