"Well, last year the DJ..."

Ha ha ha – such a great clip! Steve Harvey is tearing up Family Feud!!! I like the part where the other contestant says "I wouldn't want to see that either". Ha ha ha!

Not related to the clip at all but I was doing a Corporate Christmas Party in Calgary at Commonwealth Hall on Nov 25, the crowd was great, lots of people dancing, good times. Always a good event when you have a good 80+ peeps dancing at 1am so you keep going, venue is turning on the lights and trying to kick you out! Ha ha! Anyway was talking with the coordinator on the night (cause I thought the crowd was great and super easy to work with) and she told me why they had to look for a new DJ this year. Apparently the DJ last year was so bad with his song selections, not reading the crowd, crappy library etc, that when he went to the bathroom, one of her co-workers grabbed his iPod from the car, plugged it into the DJ’s system and started DJ’ing while he was away! Bahahahaha! So funny! So DJ’s out there, if this happens to you – you might want to take the hint that you suck! Ha ha! Crazy thing is I thought the crowd was so easy that you’d have to be an idiot to screw it up. Funny thing is that’s how this story came up cause I said to her “This is seriously such and easy crowd” to which she responded “Well last year the DJ…” and she then proceeded to tell me the rest of the story. Ha ha ha – so funny!

Open Mic - wickedly awesome or the worst experience of your life!

Open Mic during your reception can be wickedly awesome or quite frankly the worst experience of your life! And when I say worst, that can go a few ways; either it's so brutally long that it completely kills the mood at your reception OR the person talking is so drunk that literally everything bad that you have ever done in your lifetime comes out. Now this can be supremely entertaining for a few, but wickedly brutal for yourself! Ha ha ha! I had this one experience this summer where the Dad went on and on and on about his daughter and how she used to be fat, never thought she'd get married, then she lost a ton of weight one summer, then how he picked her up at a Rave and she was on mushrooms and her Mom didn't know. Like I was literally peeing my pants laughing and so was most of the crowd but pretty sure the Bride wasn't a fan! Ha ha ha! Hands down that was the best Open Mic all summer!

If you're debating Open Mic you need to do a risk/reward analysis on this proposition and ask yourself - "what's the upside to Open Mic?". That's for you to determine, but when it goes well, it goes really well. And when it's bad, it's catastrophically bad! Ha ha. So I'll leave that one to you...

When you give people a mic - you just never know what they're going to say - as evidenced by this video below - so awesome! Ha ha ha!

Steve Harvey is seriously awesome on Family Feud - love it. Sometimes I fire it up at the gym while I'm riding the bike and have burst out laughing because of something he said - best part is the peeps around me without head phones on think I'm a freak! Ha ha ha!

Anyway, keep those receptions rocking and if you're going to wade into the merky waters of Open Mic - good luck my friend! Ha ha ha!

Hey look it's Get the Party Started - Calgary's best DJ - NOPE - Chuck Testa...

Hey look it's Get the Party Started - Calgary's best DJ - NOPE - Chuck Testa...Ha ha ha! So wicked. Chuck if you're looking for a job as a DJ - DONE! You're hired!

It's been a crazy wedding season and I've been going every weekend since the start of June (except for last weekend) and finishing out the season with 2 weddings this weekend - woo woo! Anyway I've been so busy with everything that the blog has been getting neglected - tiss tiss! Hey look it's a DJ slacking on his blog - NOPE - Chuck Testa!

Saying Grace at your wedding

If you're going to have a prayer at your wedding - do it like this guy! I really thought the prayers in the movie Talledega Nights were going overboard and making fun of the South. But apparently, there's something to it... Ha ha ha! Pretty funny.

If you liked the video above - check this one - The Nascar Prayer - Songified - Boogity, boogity, boogity - AMEN!!!

90's Music - oh the memories...

This is a great 90's music compliation and most amazing part is it's completely acapella! Big props to Local Vocal out of Denmark!!! Super long video, but seriously incredible that it's all done sans instruments!

If you’re booking a DJ for your wedding – make sure you sign a contract

Why am I writing this? Well I’ve had a few calls/e-mails over the past month where the DJ has cancelled for an event (SKID!!!) and now the bride to be is scrambling to find a DJ for their August wedding. Looking for a DJ in July for an August wedding is like being that guy that’s looking for flowers on Valentines day at 8pm – you might find some, but it aint gonna be pretty! The best way to avoid all of this is to book early and sign a contract. Sure you have a verbal agreement, it’s all good in the hood, everything will pan out as planned – but what if it doesn’t?!?!?! See the clip below – just because you think something is going to happen, doesn’t mean it will…

Ha ha ha – love that clip!!! If your DJ punks you, no doubt you’re feeling like the hula hoop guy. Best way to avoid all of this – SIGN A CONTRACT!!! A DJ in any capacity that is professional will have you sign a contract, lock up your night and will deliver. In the event something happens, THEY should have you covered so it’s on them to bear the risk – not you! All the people I talked to who’s DJ has bailed – a contract was not signed. It’s a crucial step – lock it up! First of all you get peace of mind knowing that you’re covered and second do you really want to hand over a deposit to some dude on the internet without any kind of paper trail?!?!?! Really – like REALLY?!?!?! Best way to wrap all of this is via Beyonce – Single Ladies (you all know how this goes, but for emphasis I’ll put it in):

If you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it

If you liked it, then you shoulda put a ring on it

Don’t be mad once you see that he want it

If you liked it, then you shoulda put a ring on it

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

If you’re booking a DJ for your wedding – make sure you sign a contract – Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Disco saves lives!!!

Brilliant commercial by the American Heart Association about hands only CPR. Remember everyone - push to the beat of Stayin' Alive - Disco saves lives!!!

"You think you're better than me.... FOCUS!!!" Ha ha ha!

Wedding season and Summer tunes are here!!!

Bring on summer! We’re just about 3 weeks away from the official start of summer but in my head we’re already there – woo woo!!! I’m talking sunshine, BBQ’s, talking to your neighbors again (after hibernation), wedding season, AND the best thing of all - SUMMER TUNES! Best songs of the year start coming out right about now and there’s one in particular that should be getting love that isn’t. I absolutely love this track. I have YET to get tired of hearing it and I’m pretty much listening to it on replay everyday all day – ha ha.

Michael Jackson may be gone, but his tunes live on. It was riding number 1 on the Billboard 100 on the Dance/Club chart and yeah I couldn't agree more. Call your radio station – get this song played!!!

Booking a Wedding DJ - the timeline

I’ve had everything from people calling 4 years in advance to the week before – like really?!?!? You JUST thought you should get a DJ for your wedding NOW?!?! Ha ha ha – no jokes. For the person that e-mailed me for 2015 – yeah that’s cool, you like to plan in advance and I’m all for that, but c’mon that’s serious overkill! Ha ha.

To give you a little perspective from my side here’s a rough estimate of when clients are booking me:

• 25% are booking me 12 months or earlier in advance
• 50% are booking me 6-12 months in advance
• 20% are booking me 3-6 months in advance
• 5% are booking me 0-3 months in advance 

The numbers trail off and rightfully so – there are only so many weekends in the year and once they get booked up, there’s no more space!

So the question – How far in advance do I need to book a DJ? Answer you should aim for about a year in advance. If however you’re getting married on a popular day such as a long weekend or holiday – BOOK EARLY!!! This will be a high demand date for a DJ. Along the same lines if you’re getting married in August and looking to book a DJ – definitely aim for at least a year in advance. Granted I still have a few dates left in Aug 2011, but most of the Saturday’s were booked by Oct 2010.

The main point though is this – book us! Ha ha! But no for reals if you find a DJ you like - BOOK THEM!!! There’s no sense in rolling the dice if you’ve found someone that is going to rock your party and make your wedding day the highlight of the year. The call or e-mail I hate giving is when someone was interested but never acted early, they waited 6 months or so and are ready to go forward and I can’t because someone else booked me. I don’t like being a heart breaker, so for the love book your DJ early!

May 2, 2011 - time to vote...

Where the heck have my blogging skills gone to – been forever since my last post!?!?!? Different spin this time. May 2, 2011, it’s time to vote. Whether you like what’s going on or not, there’s no point complaining about it if you don’t do something about it. So let your voice be heard and VOTE! Although if you’re voting anything beyond Conservative in Alberta, just be aware that the math is severely stacked against you! Ha ha ha! But still get out and vote. The guy that’s running for the Marxist-Leninist Party needs your vote (there’s actually a dude in my riding that’s running for MP in this party)! Ha ha!

So I’m hearing a lot of people complaining about the election attack ads that are out there and peeps are complaining that we’re resorting to American attack ad’s and all I can say is this – If American attack ads are anything like this one – BRING IT ON! STILL one of my favorite youtube video’s of all time – easily cracks my top 10…

“Who on earth would support such a dummy” Bah ha ha ha!!!

Be original with your wedding reception - No copy cats!!!

If there’s one thing you don’t want to do at your wedding, it’s do what everyone else does at a wedding. True there are formats that weddings tend to follow and that’s cool, but really try to personalize the night and make it yours. You can do that through background music, your entrance, the overall feel on the night, the dance, and mostly by reaching out to your guests. Just because you think a wedding reception should follow a certain format doesn’t mean you have to do that. There’s nothing wrong with keeping the guests on their toes! In fact they’ll probably love it as they’ll think “Sweet, this wedding is going to be way more fun then the one we went to last week…”. If you’re not believing me on this one – just trust me – MAKE THE NIGHT YOURS!!! I really think that if you adjust the background music to the overall mood, it does affect the outcome when the DJ tries to fire up the dance. I also believe that if your Introduction of the Bridal Party is off tha hook and gets everyone involved, that it will have a positive effect later on in the night (during the dance). Your guests want to have fun at your wedding – period. If you can custom build your night, keep it upbeat, keep momentum up, I guarantee you wont have a problem filling the dance floor and keeping your guests entertained. If you’re curious on ways you can do this, give us a call – we’d be more than happy to help you make the night yours!

It's all about the BLING!!!

First things first, music choices/selections will determine if your dance is a success or not but things can only be so good if you stop at the music – it’s all about the BLING!!! What do I mean by that? I’m talking lights, effects, sound, and bass in yo face to turn your wedding reception (or event) from pretty good to pretty amazing! You NEED all of the aforementioned extras to transform your night into something incredible. I feel they are so important that we include them with every quote. Why? Because they create the right ambiance at your wedding reception (or event) and actually help to get people on the dance floor. Simply put, “If you build it, they will come”. In business and real estate it’s “Location, location, location”, at a wedding reception it’s “Music, music, music”, eerrrr, uhhhh…wait a second that doesn’t support my argument… Well it is true. It’s all about the music, BUT all the extras (bling, bling) are definitely a close second! Great parties do not happen by accident – it takes planning, reading the crowd, playing the right music, and then hitting your guests up from every possible angle with lights, effects, sound and bass! It’s all about the bling!!!

P.S. As a side note I can’t tell you how many people after walking into one of our wedding receptions (and I’m talking right at the start during cocktails) I hear someone exclaim “Oh Sweet!!! There’s a disco ball!!!”. That says it all. THAT’s what you want! I’ve even heard hotel staff say the same thing and they’re getting excited to work at a wedding reception that we’re putting on. Call me crazy, but if they’re doing this full time and they’re getting pumped that we have all the extras and this is something that they see week in and week out - that says a lot…

Play some Wedding Music!!!

I was DJ’ing a wedding a couple of weeks ago and I had this guy come up to me and say (keep in mind the dance floor was going, we had a decent crowd out there) “Hey can you play some Wedding Music?”. I’m totally into requests and love playing them, but a little direction is always nice – Song, Artist, Genre – something!. In my head I was like “K you’ve clearly had too much alcohol” but I replied in a simple fashion “What’s Wedding Music?” he replied “Ummm… you know… Wedding Music”. Oh right - Wedding Music!!! Ha ha. Anyway I asked him to narrow it down and asked for a specific track or Artist and he replied “I don’t know – Wedding Music”. Trying to help this guy out I said “K give me an era…What type of music do you want?” he replied “The 70’s... not this Pop stuff”. Which was rather ironic because I was playing “You Should Be Dancing” by the Bee Gees at that exact moment in time. After I pointed that out he said “No not this Disco crap, something from the 70’s”. Ha ha ha – I was so lost… Anyway after a few Disco tunes (didn’t want to kill it as there was a decent crowd on the floor with the disco vibe) I played “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond and my “Play some Wedding Music” friend was up on the dance floor. Like automatically. Ha ha ha! Best part is while he was dancing with his wifey he looked at me and gave me the thumbs up, like I hit that sweet spot (that’s what she said!). So yeah to all you aspiring DJ’s out there when someone asks you to “Play some Wedding Music” what they’re really asking for is some Neil Diamond…

So lesson of the day is help your DJ out a tad by giving him/her a little direction – Song, Genre, Era or Artist (it’s defo my fave when someone requests an Artist – that way I can work it in really easily to what's currently being played).

If you want some help before your Wedding Reception on requests – here’s a list from DJ Intelligence that has the Top 200 Most Requested Songs and a bunch of other lists in there. Click the hyper-link below.

http://www.djintelligence.com/charts/DJIntelligenceMostRequested2010.pdf

And to all you “Hey play some Wedding Music” guys – I Like!!!

Dance contest at your wedding reception

There's nothing more I love at a wedding reception than a dance contest. Timing has to be right, mood's gotta be there, but when it is - you got to hit that! I was DJ'ing a wedding reception a few weeks ago and there was an epic dance contest. Contestant number 1 was in his 50's, probably hasn't danced since the disco era and the other was a full on club kid who happened to be on "So You Think You Can Dance Canada" - so pretty even match up! Ha ha! Anyway it's not about who wins or losses, it's all about entertainment and these two dudes put on a SHOW!!! Contestant 1 got his groove on and showed John Travolta how to roll while Contestant 2 was keeping it real and using the moment to jockey the ladies! Ha ha! Who won? Well there are really no losers - it's win/win. As a DJ, if I can engineer these situations I'm all over it as it gives members in attendance the chance to be a part of the night and give everyone something to talk about. It creates/adds to the overall party vibe and that's really what you're trying to do.

Check out this video below - ha ha ha! It's so great! "WHAT IS THIS...HOW IS THIS LEGAL?!?!?!" Bah ha ha! If anyone does the Egyptian Hypnosis move on the dance floor, $20 coming your way - automatic!

If I could only be half - HALF - the DJ this guy is...

Now that the secret is out that I watch the Bachelor, let's get back to DJ'ing...

This is why we don't drink, use drugs, or....wait a second maybe we should! This guy is clearly on something. I don't know what it is, but I WANT some! Ha ha ha! Every DJ should aspire to be this guy!

The biggest secret the DJ Industry doesn't want you to know!!!

I may lose business as a result of this confession, but yeah I’m an avid Bachelor fan. Seriously the best show on TV! Ha ha! So now that the secret is out…

How is Michelle still on the show?!?!?!

Not sure who watches the Bachelor out there, but how is it possible that Michelle the “It’s my Birthday”, “I have a black eye” drama queen who orchestrates drama at every turn still on the show?!?! Like really… REALLY?!?! I think she’s the Devil. Then it got me thinking...She’s not the Devil, she’s Ursula from the Little Mermaid!!! Not only do they look similar, but they completely put their man in a trance and seduce them into their wicked ways. See the picture below for further evidence.

Need I say more? She’s absolutely driving me crazy, but hey maybe that’s a good thing since drama is king on this show. Did anyone else laugh out loud when Chantal (talking to Ursula) was like “Oh you’re 1 on 1 date card doesn’t say – love – in it like everyone elses”. At which point Ursula goes into a crazy rage that maybe Brad doesn’t love her. To further accentuate the point Chantal, says “Oh it probably doesn’t mean anything!” Bah ha ha, that was so awesome!

My faves at this point are:

• Chantal
• Shawntel
• Ashley S. (Not to be confused with Ashley the crazy dentist)

Usher ripped off OMG from the Simpsons?!?!?!

Christmas in December - wow, wow, wow! Ha ha ha! Oh so funny. My wife is going crazy from me singing this around the house. So I keep singing it - hoping the kids hear it enough and they start singing it too! Ha ha ha! It's the gift that keeps on giving...

Merry New Year!!!

Merry New Year! This has got to be one of my all time fave movies and this clip is MONEY!!! Hope 2010 was a good one and here's hoping 2011 is even better!

It was like Electric Circus all over again...

Electric Circus, ah those were the days. If you ever watched the show, you know what I’m talking about. Dancers going crazy, mad beats, and was a great way to get primed before you go out clubbin’ - was a necessary part of the night. Anyway I had an Electric Circus moment this past weekend – so check it. I was DJ’ing a Corporate Christmas party on Saturday and before the event the Hotel provided a stage and podium for the client to use for their speeches, awards, etc. After the formalities the dance opened up and I had this idea “Hey why not use the stage and put it in front of the DJ table”. Oh man it worked so well! Ha ha ha! First of all the group was great and they’re big into partying so that always helps, but I’m telling you the stage was a hit! Reminded me of the clubbin’ days and dancing on the speaker – ha ha ha! Oh those were good times. So the stage was full all night and such a hit that I’m actually debating about buying a portable stage to set up at every event! Ha ha ha! I need to give props to the group on the weekend as they were great (2^nd time I’ve DJ’d for them and they’re the bomb everytime!) but I’m telling you the stage took that party to the next level! It was like Electric Circus all over again…

If you want a stage at your event, say the word and it’s DONE!!!

Brilliant Commercials

I can't stand commercials and absolutley love the PVR because I can avoid all of that. But at times there are completely brilliant commercials out there and you gotta give the marketing teams props for coming up with them...

This one is so good on so many levels - love it! LOVE IT!!!

Kids - ha ha ha - gotta love 'em! The tilte says it all - Born to Create Drama - bah ha ha!