A Steak Dinner With Ron Jeremy

Let’s take a break from the straight forward direction this blog is taking and take a detour this time.  As promised, I’m going to tell you the story of how a stolen coat led to Ron Jeremy making an almost free appearance at a club I work at.

When I host karaoke, I always like to have a co-host with me.  I don’t discriminate, but it usually works out better when my co-host is an attractive female who brings an entourage of other guys and girls with her.  On the night before the debate, I was hosting karaoke with a great looking girl named JJ.  We spent all night giving each other a hard time and putting on a show for the audience.  At the end of the night, her coat was missing.  I figured that she was just a little tipsy and didn’t remember where she put it. 

I went down the street to a restaurant with some friends and acquaintances to eat before I went home.  During the meal, one of the girls at the table said “I found an awesome new coat at the bar!”  I immediately butted in and said “You have to give me the coat.”  “That was my co-host’s coat tonight and she left the bar really upset.”  The girl that took the coat was very apologetic and gave me the coat after we got done eating.

The next day, I went to the bar and returned the coat.  The owner of the bar was really happy I had retrieved it, and so was JJ when he called her.  He asked me what I was doing later that evening and I told him I was going to a debate about pornography between adult film actor Ron Jeremy and pastor of the XXX Church Craig Gross at Missouri State University.  The club owner said, “I know Ron, we hung out in Vegas a few years back.”  “I wonder if we could get him here tonight.”  I told him it was worth a shot and invited him to the debate.

The debate was good and each side made good points about their views on the issue.  Surprisingly, both parties had opinions that weren’t what one would assume based on their professions.  After the debate, there was a meet and greet, and the club owner and I were first in line.  Ron recognized my boss, and literally all it took to get Ron to agree to come to the bar was telling him that there was food there, and that he could have whatever he wanted.  Apparently, feeding Ron and Craig wasn’t in the deal their company made with MSU and they were both starving by this point. 

Immediately after Ron agreed to show up, the owner was on the phone to an employee telling him to send a mass text to over 400 people on their VIP text list, and let them know that Ron Jeremy was coming to the bar that night.

I was still skeptical even after witnessing Ron say that he would be there.  When I made it to the club, we frantically tried to get things ready and actually had a takeout steak dinner delivered to the club and on the table just in time before Ron arrived.  When he showed up, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards him as the DJ announced “The man himself is here!”  He waved to everyone and was escorted to the table as we all sat down and enjoyed our steak dinners. 

Throughout the night, Ron was very social and took time to get his picture taken with every single person there.  He made himself very approachable and talked to everyone.  The bar made record sales that night, and the event has since generated a buzz throughout the town increasing the overall business there. 

What a great impromptu promotional move huh?  I do have to say that personally I’m not into what Ron does for a career, but I think it’s pretty cool that I got to hang out with a pop culture icon.  I mentioned DJ P in the last blog, and how I hung out with him that night too.  I did, but even he knew he was taking a backseat to what was going on, and just enjoyed the night.  We all did.  This is the first time I can honestly say that a theft may have inspired something positive.  Even then, I think it’s in the eye of the beholder.

The wedding ceremony

As promised, this week’s entry will be about how to DJ an actual wedding ceremony.  I do, however, have to say that next week’s blog entry will be a story about how a stolen coat led me to meet and hang out with both adult film actor Ron Jeremy, and nationally known Disc Jockey DJ P.  After that entry I will come back and tell you how to DJ a successful wedding reception.  It's too good a story not to tell, and it will also illustrate how thinking outside the box can earn you money as a Disc Jockey. 

Playing music for a wedding ceremony is pretty simple, but there are a few things to watch out for.  First, you want to set the scene and figure out where your equipment will provide the best sounding audio for the people in attendance, and where your system will be the least obtrusive.  I always try to set up at the back end of the room facing the altar.  If you’re lucky, you might be at a venue that has a built in sound system and you will just be able to plug directly into it with either a laptop, iPod, or a CD player they might have.  It’s always important to research what equipment the venue does have beforehand so that you can come equipped with the adapters and cords to make things easy on yourself.  An even better DJ would do a sound check at the venue a couple weeks before the event to ensure the equipment he was going to be using was working properly. 

If you are responsible for the ceremony, that means you are most likely responsible for the preacher’s audio as well.  I like to use a wireless lapel microphone clipped to his or her jacket.  Being a battery powered condenser microphone, its range is very good and can easily pick up everything the preacher says along with the vows.  It’s always a good idea to do a small sound check if you can so you can find your feedback threshold before the wedding rather than during.  There’s nothing more effective at getting people to look back at you than a high pitched squeal during the vows.  Don’t forget, if you’re doing the reception too, you have to be around these people a while.

Usually the bride and groom pick the songs they want for each event in the wedding ceremony such as the seating of the parents, the song the bride walks down the aisle to, and every other important action in the ceremony.  This makes the hardest part of the ceremony simply playing their music at precisely the right time.  The only thing worse than awkward silence, is when it is followed by more awkward silence.  A good way to make sure you know exactly what is going on is attending the rehearsal if possible. 

            With everything said here, you should now have a good basic blueprint to go by when you DJ a wedding ceremony.  Building from a foundation such as this is a great way to find your own individual style later on.  Good luck!!

Booking A Wedding

Wow, it’s been a busy week!  One of my many adventures this week was hosting a new karaoke show on Tuesday night.  It went great, and as an extra bonus, nationally known disc jockey DJ P left his records and equipment in the booth.  Out of respect, I didn’t even remove the sheet that was over his turntables, but I did take a good look at his effects processer which was out in the open.  I would love to tell you all about it, but I’m going to have to do some research first. 

Today’s post is actually about weddings.  It’s almost mid February and that means wedding season is quickly approaching.  Weddings can be some of the most profitable events that a DJ can book.  They can also be the most stressful.  With weddings, there is no room for mistakes. 

The most important thing to do when calling your client or when you receive a call is to be prepared.  I have a sheet that I use for every phone call that lists everything I need to know about their wedding like the time, place, date, contact information, etc.  I begin filling it out even if I don’t actually book them so that if they do book, I don’t have to ask them again.  Even if it’s something as simple as saving them time, I always strive to do everything I possibly can to provide good customer service to my wedding clients. 

After I get the information, I immediately send out a contract and a wedding reception worksheet.  Both forms can easily be found online and are a necessity.  It’s never a good idea to DJ a wedding without a contract, even if you know the person.  It may be uncomfortable to ask a friend to sign a contract, but it’s really uncomfortable to not get paid. 

When I get the contract and the worksheet back, I then set up a time to meet with them.  Usually we’ll go to a coffee house to discuss their wedding and reception.  It’s there I try to cover everything I can possibly think of that needs to happen at their wedding.  We go over the sheet in detail, discuss pronunciations of names, what songs they want played, and what songs they don’t.  I always make sure to clarify whether I can play songs on the do not play list if they are requested by the guests.  Usually they say it’s okay, but occasionally they are completely adamant about leaving out a song.  I also use this time to build trust with the clients.  They need to know that I know this is one of the most important days of their lives, and that I’m taking it very seriously.

After that, all that’s left to do is DJ the wedding.  Stay tuned to my blog for some tips and tricks about how to DJ the actual wedding.

Welcome to my blog!

Thank you for taking a look at the Disc Jockey Source.  I hope you stick around!  This blog is meant to be a source of useful information for aspiring and professional DJ's of any type.  I've spent most of my time working as a DJ for sporting events, weddings, and karaoke shows.  I've worked over 700 different events to date.  I'm not, however, limited to these types of events.  I even do some "wiki wiki" type DJ work.  (I promise I'll get more technical later.)  I spend my spare time working on mixes and mash ups that I can use either professionally or personally depending on the content.  In this blog, I plan on writing about every aspect of all the types of events listed above.  I will also talk about the various equipment and software that I have used throughout my DJ career.  I may even share some heavily guarded secrets while I'm at it. 
Let's start at the beginning.  If you're reading this either you are or want to be a Disc Jockey in some capacity.  You're obviously intelligent if you're reading this blog, but I'm going to start very slowly just in case you're a beginner.  The first thing a person needs to get started as a DJ is music and a way to broadcast it.  One must decide whether to use vinyl records, CD's, mp3 files on a computer, or a combination of the three.  A lot of it has to do with what you're comfortable with.  There are still vinyl purists out there that say there is no other way to go than vinyl.  Others may not even know how to operate a record player.  My opinion is that you should probably start in the digital realm and go from there.  Why?  It's the cheapest way to get into the business and If you do start making money, you can spend it on the other stuff.  Also, who really wants to haul all those records around?  You may be able to fit a lot of records into a crate, but you can fit way more high bitrate mp3's into a laptop.  I've never been one to really mess with CD's but that's only because I started becoming serious about being a professional DJ after the invent of the mp3.  I saw where the industry was headed and quickly realized that going digital was definitely the right choice for me.  We've barely scratched the surface (pun intended), but I have a karaoke show starting in just a little while.  If you are a beginner, spend some time thinking about which format is right for you.  If you are already an established DJ, it would probably benefit you to think about where you're at in your career and what you could do better.  Is there a program or piece of gear that's been intimidating you?  Do you really know what your system is capable of?  Be honest with yourself and take a look, you'll become a better DJ for it.  Thank you for reading, and I guarantee another post within the week.