DJ
It’s 9:00 on a Saturday…
During my 21 years as a wedding DJ, I have played Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” at 9:00 on a Saturday whenever possible. Hundreds of times. Only once – La Renaissance, September 2011 – did someone notice.
Read MoreWhen I launched my DJ career, it was ancient times
My partner and I started our DJ business 21 years ago on a whim. We had no experience and no equipment but thought we could make it work. Since 1997, we’ve performed at more than 400 weddings. I’ve also served as the minister at more than two dozen weddings, including the wedding of an ex-girlfriend. We’ve…
Read MoreThe Macarena is fine. It’s these two songs that I despise.
I was asked by someone on Facebook if, as a wedding DJ, I’m sick of the Macarena. Honestly, I’m not. I explained that even though I have led thousands of wedding guests in the Macarena over the years, I almost never get tired of a song that fills a dance floor with wedding guests. When…
Read MoreWhy I am still a wedding DJ after 20 years
I DJ’d my last wedding of the year yesterday. My partner, Bengi, and I launched this business 20 years ago in September of 1997 with our very first wedding. We worked for free and received a $200 tip at the end of the night. The next year were booked 25 weddings, and we never looked…
Read MoreProfessional Best Man (and the amazing things that have happened since I first proposed this job)
Five years ago I proposed a new job idea: Professional best man. It remains a role that I am waiting to fill. Let me explain. Although I meet many outstanding best men in my role as a DJ, I also meet many who are too nervous to deliver the toast, too drunk to assist a…
Read MoreMusic is not the most important part of my job as a wedding DJ.
Last night I wrapped up my 19th year as a wedding DJ. When we first launched the business back in 1997, I thought that music was going to be the most important part of my job. Learning to mix songs together with great precision and playing just the right song at just the right moment…
Read MoreMy daughter betrayed me. I’ll say it doesn’t hurt, but truthfully, it hurts a lot.
My daughter – who is in first grade – told her friends at school that I was a DJ. Her friends, most sensibly, were impressed. They made the motion that DJ’s make when scratching records and asked, “Does he do wiki-wiki?” “What’d you say?” I asked. “I told them that you weren’t that cool.” Then…
Read MoreFive of my more anomalous wedding anomalies (i.e. strangest clients ever)
I have worked as a DJ at more than 400 weddings over the past 19 years, including: A groom’s first and second wedding (different women each time) My ex-girlfriend’s wedding My other ex-girlfriend’s wedding My wife’s ex-boyfriend’s wedding My ex-wife’s ex-husband’s wedding (where I also served as the minister)
Read MoreWedding advice: No impromptu toasts.
Wedding season is upon us. On Saturday my partner and I will begin our 19th season as wedding DJs. When we started back in 1996, we still had a cassette deck in our rig and had no cell phone, laptop, or GPS. I don’t know how we did it. Almost two decades later, I’ve…
Read MoreThe Professional Best Man: A bride’s best friend, too.
Four years ago, I proposed a new job for myself: The professional best man. I was serious about the proposal but less than hopeful about my prospects, but since publishing that post back in 2011, a number of remarkable things have happened: Four grooms have attempted to hire me. Two lived in California. Two lived…
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