STARTING OFF: This page is about our philosophy and approach and also offers some great things to think of while shopping for a DJ. For specifics about our packages, please click on Spectrums, A Music Affair or Prices. We have been in business since 1970. I personally have been DJing since 1979 and I have done more than 1100 weddings myself and thousands of other types of events. There certainly is no set formula for success but the following information may prove helpful in setting the stage for success. I will use wedding receptions as the main example just because of the dynamics that they present and the fact that most of you reading this have been to several weddings.

 

COMMUNICATE TO THE DJ WHAT YOU WANT

It is very important to be sure your DJ knows what you want and what you think your guests will want. Suggestions or limitations about the music are very helpful for us to know up front. About 50% of our customers do not want us to play anything like the Electric Slide, Macarena, or YMCA. The other half thinks those are "must-plays" for their crowd. So obviously it is helpful to know your desires before we start. Personally, I am very tired of these songs, as well as a handful of others, but they do usually motivate a crowd to dance. So in many situations it is not just desirable to play these but often a crowd may not dance at all until a few of these are played. There are certainly exceptions to this. Some crowds won’t dance at all and other groups you can’t stop them from dancing. Many factors help loosen up a crowd. Some crowds need a higher blood alcohol level, for some it needs to be dark outside, most need a combination of these two. At a wedding reception if the bride and groom dance a lot, then the crowd will usually do the same. If they don’t dance then it is usually hard to get the crowd motivated, though it is certainly possible. At a corporate event, if the managers sit at the front table with their arms crossed staring at the dancers, don’t expect many people to want to dance.

 

The DJ can add a little bit of personality and that helps get the crowd loosened up too.  At a wedding reception the bouquet and garter toss can help get the party started by getting people out of their seats.  You know how everybody laughs when Grandma pushes a bridesmaid out of the way to catch it.  It is fun, it is real, not structured and therefore it helps to break the ice a little bit.  A dedication to the married couples can help to get people on the dancefloor.  Though, often it is just best to play music and not push the crowd too much. I usually like to wait to determine how much I should push until the event is underway, but if you have an idea please let us know. Remember, we have no set playlist; the timing and order are not set in stone.  We can be very flexible as to when, where, how and how loud.  We can offer suggestions for your event, so please ask.

 

KEEP IN MIND

There are a couple of things to keep in mind though.  First, usually the older crowd will be less inhibited to get out and dance.  They like to dance, they know how to dance and they likely have not had much of a chance to dance recently.  So cater to them for a bit.  Let them break in the dance floor and help build the energy.  The younger crowd usually needs several things to be addressed before they will dance.  They like it to be dark on the dancefloor, they want the music to be pretty loud, they don’t want to be watched as they dance and they often need a few drinks in them.

 

Second, an average song is about 4 minutes long. That's 15 songs per hour, and most events only have about an hour and a half to two hours of dancing. So the challenge for the DJ is not to see how many thousands of songs he or she can take to an event, but to have the right 30 or so songs for your particular event.  Also, it is unlikely that you or the DJ will know what the correct songs are until at the event when you can assess the needs of the crowd.

 

Another thing is that the same crowd on different nights will dance to different music.  A different atmosphere will set a different mood.  The weather, news or sports events can be a factor as well as how long they had to stand in line at the buffet.  Most crowds take a while to warm up, and this is a huge factor in timing when to start the dance music.  At a reception, a group of the bride and grooms friends may dance to new, energetic music at the nightclubs, but they may not dance to that music at a wedding until late in the evening, if at all.  Sometimes we get asked to start picking things up, or "Start the dance music."  Often it really isn’t about the music as much as it is about the energy of the crowd.  The music we play certainly does have a direct effect on the crowd, even the background music. Yet if they are not ready to dance, it really doesn’t matter what we play.  In fact, playing some song that is a great dance song, good enough that people take note of it and then notice that no one is dancing, can actually hinder the dancing later by placing in the back of their mind that this is not a dancing crowd.  If the timing is right, and the crowd is really ready to dance, then it starts off with enthusiasm and then you have a party on your hands! 

 

Here is an example of what happens quite often:  let’s say a corporate event that starts about happy hour.  People gather, drink, have something to eat and after an hour or so the person who hired us thinks that people should be dancing, so they instruct us to play, “I Will Survive” and “Brick House” or some other typical, overplayed song.  They watch and nobody dances, so they come up and say, “Turn it up!”  We comply and then you notice that people are migrating out of the dance area, on to the deck or into the next room because it is too loud to talk there.  Okay, now turn the clock forward about an hour, or more importantly about a factor of .1% on the blood alcohol scale and now people are dancing like crazy.  So I think it best to wait until a few people are ready to dance before you try to start it. You can guide and motivate a crowd, but it is very hard to force a crowd to do something they are not ready for. We also do many events where there will be no alcohol and usually the guests at those events do not need to be primed with anything.

 

Formalities like toasts, cake cutting, garter and bouquet toss are great ice breakers and should be done at the end of the meal.  Wait until most everyone is done eating but before people start to get bored.  It is always best if you can feed everyone at the same time, so that they finish at the nearly the same time.  Then everyone is on the same page or at least as close as possible.  The normal order that we recommend is: Dinner, Toast, Cake Cutting, Bouquet, Garter and then the First Dance.  This is important to keep in mind even at corporate events when you are not doing all of these things.  It is hard for a crowd to transition from eating and mingling to all out dancing.  Having a toast, or a, “Gosh, thanks for coming.  This party is for you, have fun!” speech from a manager can really help with the transition.

 

DON’T FORCE YOUR CROWD

It is best to offer structure to your event but don’t make it too rigid or the guests will be uneasy. 

 

I remember doing a wedding a few years ago, the bride had recently been to another reception and noticed that the crowd really responded well to the song “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger.  I remember her saying,”It was that song that started the party and we want the party to start right away!”  So she decided that right after the first dance for the bride and groom, she wanted to have the DJ play that as the second song.  It was an afternoon reception, so I suggested that we maybe wait a bit until the crowd was what I refer to as “On Board.”  She was sure that people would dance, it had worked so well at this other reception.  I voiced a little concern and suggested that she instruct the wedding party to dance to it to help “prime” the dance-floor.  She did as I requested and everyone danced just as she had hoped.  The dance floor was packed!  I followed it with “Twist and Shout” which would typically work well as a follow-up.  The problem was, that they weren't dancing because they wanted to, only because the bride had asked them to. They weren’t ready to dance yet, they wanted to finish eating and visit a little more.  It took about almost an hour to really get people on the dance floor again.  In this case I think it might have been a little more graceful to just start a little slower and we might have gotten more people to participate.  This was a typical wedding reception, with lots of family, parents and grand parents and the bride and groom were among the youngest there.  I always try to respect the customer’s wishes and their hopes for a great event, but sometimes things go more smoothly if you don't try to force it. Try sometime letting the crowd dictate the pace and direction a little. They might just surprise you.

 

Ending the event is important to think about too. Do you want to let it fizzle out and milk it for all it is worth, or do you want it to end gracefully with everyone still having fun and wanting more?  Think about a last dance song, maybe something romantic to send people home with a smiles on their faces.  Maybe a dedication to the newlyweds as a last dance would be appropriate.

 

Yeah, I like what I do and yes, I think of it almost as an art form, to select just the right song at just the right time to energize a crowd. I also think the beginning of an event is a pretty fragile situation. So be careful what you ask for. You are the customer and we will do our best to follow your instructions, but often the DJ does know best. That is just one more reason why you want a good, experienced DJ for your event.