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dj playlist, wedding playlist, wedding music, wedding dj, club dj, connecticut dj, wedding djs in ct

Why Professional DJs Don’t use playlists

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Why Professional DJs Don’t use Wedding Playlists:

Playlists. They are the new DJ replacement according to some. What’s better than your own customized playlist for an event? Nothing! But, a playlist made by one person only caters to one person. If you’re having a wedding for example, that would mean that there would only be one or maybe a handful of people in the room who might enjoy your playlist. But being realistic here, the average wedding is around 150 guests.

That’s 150 different personalities, age ranges, music preferences, and dance preferences and thousands of possibilities for what will help guests to the dance floor to celebrate. This is why professional djs don’t use wedding playlists. A professional DJ is a master of observation. Every moment of every event we do, we are constantly scanning the room with our eyes to see who is in attendance and look at the demographic as a whole. Then we throw out a few tests to see what kind of an audience we have. Once we get the reaction we are looking for, we can then customize what we play on the fly seamlessly to ensure that all of your guests, young and old are able to enjoy the music and have fun.

It’s a speculation but, by all of the stories that are heard at meetings and events themselves, I can understand why some people are steering towards the playlist over having their DJ do their own thing. And that’s a matter of preference. But you have to go beyond the typical DJ stereotypes. When I do a wedding, it’s not the Aaron show. It’s all about the celebration. It’s my job to make sure that the people in attendance know that and are able to enjoy themselves as much as possible. But if you’ve ever experienced a DJ who wasn’t quite up to snuff who played only what their preferences were and did not fit the environment, that’s the equivalent to making your own wedding playlist. It’s the same result just driven by different means.

It is for this reason that it is so important to really choose the RIGHT dj for the job and not just the cheapest one that you found on Thumbtack.

Still not convinced? Here’s an example.

2 years ago I was helping a couple celebrate their wedding in Simsbury and the bride was VERY specific as to what she wanted played at her wedding. She was a huge fan of hardcore hip hop. Not the light and fun stuff you’d hear on the radio but, underground and pretty heavy duty hip hop. She handed me a wedding playlist at our last meeting and said, “Play these songs in this order from start to finish. Do not derive from this list you are not to take any requests. This is MY day, it’s not about them. It’s about me.”

That’s a pretty bold statement. And when you make that statement, you take 100% responsibility for the success of your wedding. The DJ becomes no more than a jukebox or ipod at that point. Because I always put my best foot forward to make my clients happy, I obliged her demands and during the wedding, started playing her list from start to finish. Besides the dirty looks I was getting from the audience, it was only her and 2 friends on the dance floor. Everyone else sat and just watched with a look that burned a hole in my stomach. I felt bad because I wasn’t able to do anything for her guests and my hands are tied.  A few songs into it, she ran up to me and said, “Why aren’t they dancing? Make them dance.” I reminded her of our conversation and she simply replied, “They should be dancing, this is good music.”

When she left the room for the safety of her bridal suite, I snuck in a few favorites and like magic, the guests ran to the floor to dance but when she returned, she demanded that I not play anything except for her wedding playlist, so we went back to it and everyone sat down and began to leave early in groups of 5 and 10.

Remember, what one person’s favorite song may be, might be someone elses least favorite. Think about your guests and the outcome. 2 things that a guest will remember most about your wedding are if the food was any good and if they danced.

spotify for weddings, wedding playlist, itunes for weddings, ipod wedding, no dj wedding, djs in ct

Use Spotify for your Wedding and SAVE

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Use Spotify for your wedding and SAVE!!!

You’re probably asking yourself right now, “Ok, you’re an entertainment company that specializes in weddings. Why on earth would you promote a cheaper alternative?” Let’s begin.

Recently, Spotify has been promoting their ability to DJ your wedding for you with the use of custom playlists for your wedding. How awesome is that? Just hook up your iphone to a speaker and you’re good to go! It sounds too good to be true.

I understand the need to be budget conscious on some things. But knowing what to invest in and what to be frugal with are a matter of priority. If you want that 10,000 dollar dress and as a result, can’t afford a professional wedding photographer to capture you in your Vera Wang 5 digit dress, $800 Chris Louboutin heels, and designer necklace, what good is spending $10,000 on a dress? Same goes for your entertainment.

You’ve taken great care for making sure that every last detail is how you want it. The venue is exactly as you dreamed it would be, the centerpieces are just perfect, and every chair back comes wrapped in linen and decorated with a bow. A beautiful setting fit for a queen. And right near the dance floor is a speaker sitting on the floor with your iphone sitting on top and a cord draped over the speaker. Charming!

Now here it comes time for your introductions and first dance. Who announces you and your bridal party in? Who controls the iphone while you’re busy with introductions? Can they use them simultaneously to announce you in and change the music and or volume if it’s too loud or soft? Will spotify decide it’s a great time to let your 150 guests know that you can enjoy even more music by using Spotify premium for just $10 a month? Will the person using the microphone stand far enough away from the speaker to not let it feed back and squeal with delight during your introductions?

Phew! Now that we’ve got the intros and first dance out of the way, we’ve got to do a toast to the happy couple. Your besties head up to the lone speaker on the floor and grab the microphone and set their whiskey sour on the speaker. (Where else would they put it? They have 3 pages of stories to tell) In a moment of excitement, the best man bumps into the speaker knocking your $600 iphone to the floor and to add insult to injury, siri does a shot of whiskey sour to soften the blow when his drink crashes to the floor. Your iphone needs to be dried out to prevent it from shorting out so you run up and quickly dry it off with an expensive napkin from your table only to find out that the phone is toast. You quickly beg someone for their iphone to use and try to download spotify into their phone to get your music back but alas, it won’t be your account because the phone is assigned to it’s owner with an entirely different email address. Your wedding list is gone.

Thankfully, you can still stream regular spotify so you choose one of the safe playlists like jazz for dinner and like clockwork, every 3rd song has a commercial before it. Nice! You want to dance with your father following dinner but can’t seem to remember what song it was because it was in your whiskey soaked phone and you didn’t need to write it down because Spotify had you covered. So you pick a song quickly and grab your dad. Theres a long pause while the phone buffers a new song and finally begins to play. You and dad dance for 3.5 minutes and at the end you hear a round of applause followed by, “Did you know? Spotify Premium is just $10 a month!”

I don’t think I need to tell you that there is more to come.


It’s no secret. You can have spotify for your wedding, of course! But, what do you have to play it on? Are you going to invest in a pair of $600 powered speakers (That’s as cheap as they get. We are an authorized dealer for many brands of audio and lighting), speakers stands ($90/pair), a microphone, extension cables to plug it in and tape to ensure that your guests don’t trip over your thrifty investment? After all is said and done, you’re going to spend at least that much on a wedding DJ. Its your wedding. You deserve BETTER.

 

Cocktail Music, music for cocktail hour

Something fresh for cocktail hour playlists

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Something fresh for cocktail hour playlists

Having killer cocktail hour playlists are important. Cocktail hour is a great time at a wedding. All of your guests get refreshed and mingle to some tasty beverages and treats from the kitchen and relax before your grand entrance.

One of the most common types of music played at cocktail hour is jazz and classical. We all know the common composers Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky. But what about something different for a change? Enter the Vitamin String Quartet.

This great quartet started in Los Angeles in 1999 and has become a sensation. Their biggest claim to fame is their arrangements of some of yesterday and today’s pop and rock hits such as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and more recently Lorde’s smash hit ‘Royals’.

The great feature to using a group like this for your cocktail and dinner hour is that it still sounds very regal and high end but with nuances of songs that people know and love. Take a listen to their arrangement of Royals.

timeless music, wedding music, wedding favorites

Timeless Music – A DJ’s secret weapon

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Timeless Music is the key to any packed dance floor.

Recently, we’ve been doing some late night mixes in preparation for New years Eve. The playlists have been ranging from today’s hits all the way back to 80’s club mixes. One of our listeners had said, ‘WOW! this really takes me back. I feel like a teenager again boppin’ around on the couch

That’s exactly what we were going for. As a DJ, our job is not just to have the latest and greatest but to fire up the memory time machine once in a while and take people back to those thrilling days of yesteryear in their youth. When you have a dance floor full of people of all ages, it’s important to engage the audience as a whole.

When you’re playing a set and you hit that one gem and mix it in perfectly, you see people’s eyes light up with joy. They’re instantly transported back to the age of 16. That, ‘AH HA!’ moment keeps people coming back for more and more every time.

When it comes to entertaining, there are no rules. If the beat’s alright, they will dance all night.

Music Requests for the Partygoer – Hey, can you play that song. You know the one. Yeah, you know…

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Making music requests for the party goer.

We’ve all done it. We’ve all heard that song on the radio that we love. We even know the name of the song, most of the time. But do you ever have that song title that’s on the tip of your tongue but you just can’t figure it out?

DJ’s are no different. We carry a massive song library with tens if not hundreds of thousands of music. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to remember each song, how it goes, the title, artist, and record label. But there is hope for you yet. If you’ve got a smart phone, pop onto your app store and download the latest version of SHAZAM!

Shazam is an incredible piece of software. Those songs that are on the on the edge of thought are all on there. All you have to do is hit the Shazam button and your phone will listen to the song you’re listening to and come back with the artist, song, and year it was recorded. This also works well at a party or wedding when you DJ pulls out a song that you love that you’ve never heard before.

So the next time you have a request, give Shazam a shot. You and your DJ will thank you. :)

The DO NOT PLAY list

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While on the Weddingwire forums this afternoon, I came across a post labeled ‘DO NOT PLAY LIST’
I was especially eager to see what brides thought about this and how varied the answers would be.

As expected, there are some standards and floor fillers that happen at almost every wedding you’ve ever been to. Things like Love Shack, Cha Cha Slide, and a few others.

What does the fox say, was another one that made the list. It’s pretty cheesy. Not sure where it would fit into a wedding but, hey… who am i to judge?

HIP HOP & Top 40 – It’s no secret, the music of today continually pushes the envelope when it comes to raunchiness. At a wedding, you typically have everyone from grandparents to kids there so, it’s important to have music that is at the very least PG13.

Don’t Stop Believing – This is the #1 song most requested at weddings. It has been for the past 5 years running. Such anthems are great for sing alongs and air guitar enthusiasts.

Miley Cyrus – Enough said.

Carrie Underwood – Before He Cheats – For a wedding? Really?

And these are just a few. What songs would you omit from your wedding celebration?

Will your song requests make the final cut?

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Dancefloor science – Will your song requests make the final cut?

Everyone has their favorite tune or band that they listen to. But how well do they translate to the dancefloor? Think about your ipod playlist or the radio station you listen to. What do you listen to while you’re at work, in the car driving home, or in the bar on a Thursday night?

Every song has a purpose. If you’re hanging out at your dad’s bar, he might be listening to the Bob Dylan or George Thoroughgood. If you’re in the car, maybe some uptempo rock or top 40 is in order. If you’re at work, more than likely your employer tunes into the ‘safe at work’ station that has the word ‘lite’ attatched to it.

But what about the dancefloor at a wedding, school, or corporate event. Chances are, you know what to expect from each. At a wedding, there are some standards that almost always get played. Things like Love Shack, Build me up Buttercup, and the YMCA are all time tested and proven floor fillers. Why? They just work. But what if you’re not into the standards and you want to hear some Manheim Steamroller? Chances are, it’s probably not going to happen. For no other reason other than, a DJ’s purpose is to play for the masses and their job is to pack the floor and keep it full.

Now, what if you’re the bride or groom? Does being the client give you any clout? Absolutely it does. You trust your DJ to make the right decision. After all, this is what you hired them for. Your favorite song may not lend itself to dancing. So where does it fit in? During cocktail hour or dinner service. Dinner is a great opportunity to ‘LISTEN’ to some great music. By playing some of your requests that aren’t danceable during dinner, this allows your guests to share in the joy of a personalized music selection by you. There’s no law that says, ‘KENNY G must be played during dinner.” It can be just about anything you want, within reason of course. Sepultura is probably a little difficult for some folks to digest. But, you get the idea.

So don’t worry about spending days on end thumbing through all of your MP3’s and creating a 5 hour long mix for your DJ to play. Trust your DJ and help them help you take the pressure off your shoulders. Give them a few suggestions that will tell them enough about your taste in music and like a tenured sommelier, they’ll be able to pair the perfect music for every occasion throughout the evening.

It’s our job to entertain. It’s your job to enjoy your special day. It’s all about you.