CD Holdout Enters Hard Drive World by Stu Chisholm

A CD Holdout Finally Enters the Hard Drive WorldBy Stu Chisholm

One DJ’s journey from reliance on discs to playing completely digital music

More than a decade ago now, a new format called MP3, coupled with a new program called DJ Power set the DJ world buzzing. Colleagues told me how, one day soon, our CDs would be obsolete; how a DJ would walk into a gig with nothing but a laptop and powered speakers and be fully equipped to rock a party. As someone who takes pride in being on the cutting edge-or, more accurately, at least being aware of what that edge is-it came as a bit of a shock even to myself how quickly objections sprang to mind!

The End of the World as We Know It?
For one thing, MP3 meant bad sound. DJs, trying to fit entire libraries onto the meagerly sized hard drives of the day, usually ripped them at 128 kbps or less. This reduces the size of a music file by literally chopping out and tossing away digital bits. The lower the bit rate, the worse the sound. I could recognize the MP3 sound instantly, and I was far from impressed. Years of DJ work have left me with some measurable hearing loss, so I figured that if it sounded bad to me, it’s going to sound even worse to everyone else.
DJs would make excuses, the most popular being, “People at gigs are all drunk-they don’t care.” My rants about the bad sound became so well known that one day, the gang at DJ Supply, my local DJ toy store, set up a well-attended demonstration that pitted MP3 against CD sound. Once we were all seated, they played a few seconds of a song twice. Then we were asked, “How many people say that the first one was the MP3?” Nearly everyone’s hand went up. The difference was obvious. I got a lot of apologies that night.

Another objection was that hard drives were too small, too slow and too expensive. At the time, a gigabyte or two was the high end of both technology and price. When I mentioned to colleagues that a library the size of mine would require about a half -terabyte, I was met with blank stares. “What’s a terabyte?” (It was, after all, the mid-‘90s.)
Then there’s the problem of time. Ripping my music library, which is notoriously vast, would require a major time commitment. A little thumbnail math broke it down something like this: If each song took only two minutes to rip, including disc handling and entering data, my mobile library of 38,000+ songs would take 1,266 ½ hours to rip. If I did it for eight hours a day, seven days a week, the project would take nearly 5 ½ months. The real world, though, will include things like bad rips and computer glitches, lunch breaks, weekend gig days and other distractions. A more realistic timetable was about eight to ten months.
My biggest objection, however, was the computer itself. While we depend on them to do everything from running our offices to editing and burning our music, the thought of my entire show depending on a glitchy, balky, fragile, crash-prone computer left me cold. These were the days of Windows 95, after all, and we knew all too well the “blue screen of death.”
The way my fellow DJs addressed this problem were diverse and creative. Some brought their CD library “just in case.” (Not exactly a confidence builder!) Lane O’Neill of Acclimated Sounds came up with what I thought of as the ultimate solution: two separate laptops, both loaded with DJ Power and equipped with hot-swappable, redundant hard drives. But again, this was the ‘90s, and such a scheme required a huge investment. A bit too rich for my blood. (Unlike Lane, I don’t have a day job.)

I Feel Fine
Lucky for all of us, technology never stands still. Over the years my objections have been nullified one by one. The MP3 can now be ripped at higher bit rates that introduce no audible distortion. Hard drives have gotten much faster, bigger and cheaper. Today, a half-terabyte (500 GB) drive can be had for less than $250.00, and prices are in a steady freefall.
While computers and their operating systems have gotten much more robust, they still remain too fragile and expensive (not to mention very prone to theft) for many DJs. But a few companies are aggressively attacking this aspect by eliminating the computer altogether! So, in 2006, I finally decided to make the transformation from a CD to digital DJ.

First, Get Ripped
I first heard the name Cortex from my equipment guru, Steve at DJ Supply. Looking a lot like the control unit of a typical dual CD player, the first Cortex unit-the HDC-1000 Dual Digital Music Controller-allows a DJ to play music directly from any USB mass storage device. Other companies have promised and subsequently delivered similar units, but the HDC-1000 was the first to arrive in stores. When the Cortex people got wind of my digital transformation and that I’d be writing about it, they immediately sent one for review. Before I could use it, I had just a little work to do…
The problem of ripping my music still remained, and over the years my library has only gotten bigger. First I had to find affordable hard drives large enough to hold all my MP3 files at 256 kbps (320 for classical music), and then find a way to rip my library, FAST. I was going to need some help.
I started with Lane. When he does something, he tends to do very painstaking research, and he didn’t disappoint. He recommended one of the smallest, coolest looking external hard drives I’ve ever seen: the 500 GB Western Digital “My Book.” I bought two, for a full terabyte.
At this point, I have to confess how I actually acquired them! Jeffrey “J.P.” Pausch of Two Left Feet Productions is also a long-time friend and fellow single op DJ. We’re both subscribers to Top Hits U.S.A., a popular CD service. He had already purchased a new laptop, USB hard drive and DJ software, but he works long hours at his day job, leaving him no time to deal with a massive ripping project. He made the proverbial offer I couldn’t refuse: do it for me and I’ll buy your hard drives for you! (J.P., you drive a hard bargain!)
Drives in hand, it was now time to start ripping music. Friends recommended a program called Easy CD DA Extractor, which is inexpensive and can be purchased instantly online. I loaded it onto my two desktop computers and a laptop. I’m also lucky enough to know Monty Boleyn of New Concepts Software (another long-time friend) who graciously loaned me a fourth computer. Lastly, I recruited yet one more friend; fellow music maven and internet radio host, John Matthews (a.k.a. DJ Brick), who agreed to come over on a weekly basis and handle large sections of my library with his laptop. That gave me a total of five computers to get the job done! They would rip all day long, from noon until 10:00 PM and then dump the tracks onto the big external drive overnight. My “team” and I managed to complete the job just 53 days!

Checking the Tags
Murphy’s Law loosely states that anything that CAN go wrong WILL, and at the worst possible moment. Such was the case when I learned about the importance of ID3 tags. It seems that the search features of the Cortex (and most MP3 playback systems) depend on them for quick track searches. Naturally I had configured Easy CD Extractor to get the filenames the way I wanted them, but ignored the ID3 tags as I was in blissful ignorance. As a result, they were either wrong or non-existent! This would’ve been a huge setback if it weren’t for a program that DJ Brick knew about called ID3 TagIt, available instantly on the web. This allowed me to make corrections in batches, costing me only twelve extra days. At last, the time had finally come to get fully acquainted with the Cortex unit!

Hardware Solution
Just opening the box told me that the folks at GCI / Cortex have focused on detail. The packaging used pressed board, like a heavy-duty egg carton, rather than Styrofoam, which is sure to please the environmentalists of the DJ world. Cradled within, under a clear plastic protective cover, was the Cortex HDC-1000, a smaller box containing the power supply, tabletop stands with mounting hardware and a set of RCA cables. The workbook-sized instruction manual was well written and illustrated.
My first impression screamed “quality.” Its all-metal case has a lush, shiny gray finish and the controls have a solid, quality feel. The jog wheel is especially smooth. At the very center of the unit is a USB port. Flipping the unit over, another USB port is dead center, flanked by stereo RCA jacks on either side. The only other feature is the power inlet, which has a clever cord clamp to prevent the power cable from wiggling loose in transit.
As instructed by the manual, the first thing to do is to check the Cortex website (www.cortex-pro.com) and download the latest firmware. This is easily done using a flash drive. Once downloaded via your PC, you can pop it into the front panel of the Cortex, power it up, and one click later the unit is up to date!
Next, I powered down the Cortex to attach the USB hard drives. Just about any USB mass storage drive will work, including iPods, flash drives and even optical disc drives, so you can still play CDs without dragging along a player! You can use a USB hub to connect up to four different devices that you can switch between at will. A late breaking update also added USB keyboard support, which is essential for searches, especially with an extremely large library. Cortex also provides a database utility, so you can get up and running fast. Without a db file, the Cortex unit must do a “verify” procedure to be able to search through music files. This could take a very long time. Instead, let the power of your home PC create the database. (Mine took about two hours.) Once completed, the HDC-1000 is ready for action within minutes of powering it up.

Trial Run
A week before its debut at a gig, I set the system up in my home studio and encountered all sorts of problems. Songs would skip and sputter, a search on one side would alter the pitch on the other and, eventually, I got the whole unit to crash. It was looking as if all of my objections to using a computer were embodied in this device! After a long conversation with Cortex’s tech support wizard, Jason, we determined that the unit itself was bad. Within 72 hours a new unit arrived. Customer support is superb, and with their help, I had it up and running within minutes. The only remaining glitches were mainly due to my own hard drives.
With the HDC-1000, and I’m guessing generally with this new breed of digital controller, preparation is everything. If your music files are right, and properly tagged, then the unit will perform well. Even without the keyboard, I was able to locate and load songs as fast or faster than pawing through my old CD cases. Searches can be performed in several ways; a file browser, which displays your file structure as it looks to your home computer; by songs; by artists; by genre; by album; by string. I chose album, so the experience would be similar to the way I normally work.
Mixing was every bit as easy with the Cortex unit as it was with a standard dual CD player. The pitch control has a huge range and the start is truly instant. My only criticisms were that, when cueing a track and hitting pause, there is a small bit of latency, so that you have to backtrack with the jog wheel a bit. Also, when you load a track, it instantly starts playing. You can turn this default feature off by putting it in single mode. There is also no center detent on the pitch control, which I prefer.
Having gotten a good feel for the unit, it was time to take the Cortex on the road…

An All-Digital Gig…(Gasp) Without the Computer
As usual during November, my calendar was running light, so my friend, Brendan Pfaff of Best DJ Service, allowed me to tag along to a scheduled wedding. I had mounted the Cortex, along with a mixer, into a lightweight SKB console case and put both of my hard drives and a compact UPS (uninterruptible power supply) into an SKB attaché style case. These replaced my large console cube and five large cases of CDs!
Set-up was simplicity itself. Find power, connect the hard drives and you’re ready to go!
Unlike my tests at home, the unit performed flawlessly at the gig. Brendan and I switched-off, he playing CDs and me playing MP3s for about half the time. There were no glitches at all. It was as if the Cortex knew that it was show time! (More likely, though, it was my careful preparation of the hard drives.) Afterward, a very happy bride told me that she couldn’t tell when a CD or MP3 had been playing and was extremely pleased with the sound.

The New Species Evolves
Yes, there are a few drawbacks. While the Cortex does work well using a single source for both sides, you can sometimes cause a song to “hiccup” when searching and cueing files on the opposite side. I didn’t experience any of this using a separate drive assigned to each side. Then there’s the display. The white-on-blue text is easy to read, but the display overall is a bit on the small size, with only four lines of 20 characters, for a total of 80. When you consider the amount of information on your typical cell phone screen, this seems a bit retro, but it does get the job done. The display is also recessed, so if you’re looking at it on an angle, you might not see the last line, which has your elapsed time and pitch information. I’d like to see support for LCD monitors on future versions.
Even without the keyboard, I became very comfortable with the search features on the Cortex. The sound is superb, the controls and features are as good as or better than most dual CD decks and, although there’s a bit of a learning curve, it can be mastered in under an hour. I also had to remind myself that this is the first unit of its kind, and as such, will not do all of the things that DJ Power, PCDJ and other software based systems will do. I expect that successive generations will catch-up, and fast. Similar units are on the way from Numark, Denon and others, and a second generation Cortex unit, the HDC-3000 will soon be shipping. For those who don’t want to wait, the Cortex HDC-1000 has set the bar high, and its small price tag removes the final barrier to any DJ wanting to make the transition to a fully digital DJ experience. The journey continues…so far it has been quite a ride!

A whole lot of people contributed time, information and hard work to make this article possible. Special thanks to Lane O’Neill of Acclimated Sounds, John Matthews (DJ Brick, www.glowingdial.com), J.P. Pausch of Two Left Feet Productions, Brendan Pfaff of Best DJ Entertainment, Jason & Peter of GCI / Cortex, Monty Boleyn of New Concepts Software (www.NCSoftware.com), Steve Tighe at DJ Supply (Warren, MI), DJ Dr. Drax and Paul & Denise Regoni . Thank you all!

Improvements Announced at NAMM
At the 2007 Winter NAMM show, Cortex announced some improvements to the HDC-1000, along with a slew of other digital control products for a variety of DJing styles (see our NAMM report starting on page 8).
The V1.8.8 software update package includes: scratch capability; play list creation (using the new Cortex Database Manager V 2.4; improved cue functionality and accuracy; and greater USB keyboard support.
A few companies are…eliminating the computer altogether
Mixing was every bit as easy with the Cortex unit as it was with a standard dual CD player

Buyers Remorse by Larry Williams

CHANGING PUBLIC PERCEPTIONBuyer’s Remorse

By Larry Williams

Strategies to reducing that second-guessing tendency

It’s amazing how embarrassed we feel when faced with the prospect of admitting we did something we are sorry for. A guilty conscience or the awareness of having made a bad decision leads to a desire to sweep it under the rug and tell as few people as possible because of the sheer embarrassment of it all.
We benefit when we apply hindsight to the operation of our businesses in an effort to improve the many different aspects of our service offerings. Unfortunately, hindsight is a rather common occurrence for many consumers too.
Sometimes the “perceptions” of which we are most unaware may be the very ones to which we should pay the most attention. A perfect example of this is “buyer’s remorse.” We have all felt this emotion at one time or another. It represents the regrettable feeling of purchasing a product we shouldn’t have. Sometimes this is because we were too quick to make a decision. Other times it is because we simply didn’t take the time to shop around for the best advice and/or best price.
You will often hear of buyer’s remorse near the beginning of the year when people are making New Year’s resolutions. Many people become committed to joining a health spa or purchase exercise equipment in the hopes that this purchased product will offer the motivation to follow their dream of getting in shape. Often this membership or equipment will then go unused because the excitement of the New Year’s resolution simply didn’t translate into motivation.
It is not uncommon to hear similar stories of buyer’s remorse from people who have purchased time shares, extended warranties or electronic equipment. For some, there may have been pressure in a sales presentation; for others, the regretted decision may have been driven more by desire than information.
Regardless of the myriad of possible reasons for it, buyer’s remorse is a very real condition that exists with our customers and one that we don’t consider very often. Since we are engaged in a profession that, for the most part, sells our customers on the services we will provide at a later date, this gives our customers a great deal of time to second-guess their decisions. For example, consider the bride who may excitedly tell close friends and family about her choice of DJ, only to hear “You paid how much?” in reply. This can and does sometimes leave a customer feeling their decision may have been premature, or at the very least that it’s not popular.
Fortunately, there is a very effective solution to negate the perception that is commonly associated with buyer’s remorse. Let’s look at that piece of exercise equipment. What would immediately make that consumer satisfied with the product they have purchased? Without question, it would be their immediate and continual use of the product. The same would be true with that health spa membership or electronic equipment.
When a customer is engaged in utilizing the product (or in our case, the service) they will immediately have a sense of satisfaction and good feeling about their product purchase or service they have previously hired.
But how can a customer utilize a service that is still many months away from being enacted? For starters, we can immediately get to work on the many important aspects of pre-event planning. By preparing contracts, receipts and other event paperwork in a timely manner we can immediately show our proficiency in how we conduct matters of business. Thank you cards can also offer an immediate sense of comfort to our customers.
Just think of how you feel when you begin to receive receipts and literature concerning that Caribbean vacation you just booked with your travel agent that is still several months away. It is entirely possible to build confidence about a previously purchased commodity many months ahead of its anticipated use.
The scheduling of appointments and follow-up with these pre-event consultations can also prove incredibly beneficial to our continuing efforts of customer service and satisfaction. Other follow-up calls and correspondences concerning vender referrals and/or special ideas that add a personal touch to their celebration will usually be very well received, especially when timed with the progression of planning efforts.
When you engage in a concerted effort to showcase your customer service qualities in the months leading up to an event, you are laying down a foundation of specialized service that can and will leave nothing but a positive perception of your company. When this is successfully implemented, the idea of an outside influence causing your customers to second-guess their decision will likely be met with a swift and decisive affirmation of the quality service you are already providing.
Consumer confidence is rooted in customer service. It represents the customers’ ability to feel confident and secure with the services that they have reserved. When we purposefully create an atmosphere of “inclusion” we can more effectively work to negate the possibility of a regrettable feeling that is created by hindsight.

Larry Williams is the author of Mind Your Own Business (ProDJ Publishing). He is a local chapter director for the ADJA and recipient of the ADJA’s 2006 Michael Butler Humanitarian Award.

Big Easy Update by Rocky Bourg

CLUB VIEWBig Easy Update

By Rocky “DJ Roxx” Bourg

For this New Orleans DJ, life goes on, but will never be the same

Post Katrina. No, it’s not a new breakfast cereal. It’s a status. A constant state of being that I and most everyone I see on a daily basis have found ourselves in since returning to our homes, businesses and lives after one of the biggest natural disasters to hit the United States of America. It is omnipresent. Its tentacles have reached into every crevice and shaken things loose.
Because of this tragedy and through circumstance and God’s grace, I rediscovered and reaffirmed my belief that there are more good people in the world than the nightly news would have you believe. Family that lived in an unaffected area provided us temporary sanctuary. Total strangers, unsolicited and totally unrequested, refused payment for things like an oil change or offered discounts on meals. I had never been on that side of such unselfish, true human kindness. I re-learned what the daily grind and the speed of contemporary life had hidden in its wake: that people are at their best, the most like their creator, when they are thinking of others. I want to be like that more often.

Rebuilding Begins
So, with my family safely stationed in Houston, it was time to get down to putting things back together! When I was finally able to return home, unfortunately without my wife, daughters, mother and many friends, I began the arduous task of assessing the damage to three houses, making temporary repairs and beginning the work of rebuilding a life.
I never want to remove wet carpet ever again. And by the way, never submerge and soak an amplifier or speakers in flood waters. It has a terrible effect on the acoustic ability of the gear. But I digress.
After spending several weeks without a single party or wedding at which to perform, and not much celebrating on the horizon, I was glad that I had chosen to be a two-career man. My paralegal gig was relocated to temporary quarters and I was able to get back to some semblance of normalcy; although I’ll never consider a two-hour commute to be normal.
Up to this point I had not even thought about how much I had missed being part of weekly celebrations and providing the soundtrack for special events. I was just glad that most of my gear and music library was safe and I would get back on the wheels, eventually. Prior to Katrina I had managed to build a relatively full calendar of events from August 27, 2005 to late November 2005. Post-Katrina, all those homecoming and school dances, wedding receptions, lucrative mitzvahs and my long running Saint’s tailgate party were gone and that income would never return. But what I was really beginning to miss was rockin’ the crowds, being part of Father-Daughter/Mom-Son dances, playing songs for special people at special moments that they would cherish long after the celebration was over and serving as the medium through which brides, grooms, sons and daughters could express their love and appreciation to those they cherish.

City Slowly Reconnects with Entertainment
A private country club where I was the recommended vendor had suffered major and extensive damage and would be offline for at least a year or longer, and remains so to this day. The population of my city was a fraction of its normal size and many other reception and event venues had also suffered serious damage. The short term outlook was not very promising, especially with the likely and serious reduction in tourist business that New Orleans depends on so heavily. Major conventions and sporting events that generated valuable business for the tourist and entertainment industries, were cancelled and moved. The December 2005 holiday party calendar was OK but nothing like recent years, understandably so. However, none of those effects were as hard to handle or had as great an impact on my business as what was soon to occur.
My friend and most trusted DJ of 15+ years had moved, and after the storm managed to obtain an in-house/recommended DJ position vacated by a Katrina victim who was not returning at a popular reception venue very near his new home but far from my neck of the woods. It was a perfect situation for him, both financially and logistically, and I could not contemplate asking him to sacrifice such a great opportunity. This was the most seriously troubling side effect of the changes forced upon my entertainment business. I was now back to being a single op. But, I just kept focusing on the positive effect it would have for my podnah and how he’d be able to spend more time with his family. Always look for the rainbow, even if it’s still raining.

A Boost from Big Gigs
Maybe it was karma or just blind luck, but after the holiday parties, many of the more high profile venues that, in the past, I had attempted but failed to acquire a working relationship with, began calling and inquiring about my service. I was able to adjust my rate schedule and expect to be as profitable as a single op as I was with two and three systems on the street. I was able to refocus on providing more pre-event service to clients and have seen the positive results of that as well.
My favorite gig, the Semi-Almost World Famous Allegro Bistro Saints tailgate parties returned on September 25, 2006 when the New Orleans Saints injected then withering Nawlins with new hope and resuscitated the spirit of an entire city. I guess it’s true: a new broom sweeps clean. No one, at least no one sober or sane, would or could have predicted the success of the Saints this season. I hope they realize what they have done for this troubled city.
Despite the many hurdles, my disc jockey business has managed to survive and is providing me with new opportunities to exercise my skills, stretch my imagination, and utilize my limited knowledge to grow my business in a less-than-perfect market. But we relish being less than perfect in the Big Easy. Dorothy said it best: “There’s no place like home.”
“Despite the many hurdles, my disc jockey business has managed to survive and is providing me with new opportunities…” - DJ Roxx

DJ Ahoy! by Mike Ryan

Gigs on party boats and other seafaring venues test your preparation skills

After lugging all my DJ equipment, one piece at a time, down a narrow dock ramp, up an equally narrow winding staircase to the boat’s second deck, with sweat dripping from my forehead, I mentioned to one of the ship’s crew: “I sure wish there was an elevator on this boat!”
She answered, “Oh, there’s one right over there,” pointing to a small door in the corner of the room. Thank you very much!

The Unique Challenge of DJing on a Boat
DJing on party boats is exciting and I always look forward to working on them. Party boats are usually very elegant and because most of the events are at night, it often becomes a romantic cruise on the water. And yet because of limited space of boats they’re one of the most demanding gigs you’ll ever experience.
Blondie sang “The tide is high”­-well, during one of my recent load-ins it wasn’t, making the ramp from the pier to the dock very steep. I always worry about my equipment rolling away from me and into the water, knock on teak. After safely getting my gear on board I heard a loud crash and the sound of shattering dishes. One of the catering staff was wheeling a “Queen Mary,” a tall metal food container, down the same ramp and it did get away from him, crashing onto the dock next to the ship with the evening’s dinner turning into seagull soufflé.
Speaking of food, often, but not always, you will get to eat; most crews are pretty good at taking care of you. Where can you go if you’re hungry? Remember, you’re on the water.
When it comes to the actual performance, once you’ve navigated all the logistical obstacles, DJing on the water still requires the high level of performance any client, private or corporate, might expect. One of the premier party boat companies in California, Hornblower Cruises and Events, operates 30 yachts, including the massive Inspiration (see picture), services six ports and is a “$30 million dollar business.” Hilary Rossi, Hornblower’s Assistant Director of Food and Beverage in San Diego is very serious about entertainers she hires to work their on their boats: “If a DJ thinks it’s okay to plug in an iPod® and just stand there, they are very wrong. It is about being a people person, and playing what people want.”

Water Hazards
The following are a variety of tips for a better musical boating experience…
Steve Cosio of I Buy Time, a radio ad buyer in Dallas, Texas (and former mobile DJ) recommends lightening you load: “Travel light…as light as possible….I had only one sound system and it was heavy. The manager of the boat almost didn’t let me onboard because the sound system was on casters. I convinced her that the casters were riveted on and there was no way to take them off. Once on board, I surrounded the wheels with gear so the unit wouldn’t roll.”
This comment reminds me that it’s a good idea to secure all of your equipment if there is even a slight chance of the gear rolling or tipping over. Remember, boats move. You’d hate to hear someone yell “Speaker overboard!” wouldn’t you? I’ve found, because of the tight dance areas, that using just one 8″ speaker and a 12″ or 15″ speaker with the treble turn all the way down acting like a sub works great.
Cosio has another great no-brainer piece of advice: “If you are prone to seasickness, it wouldn’t hurt to carry a seasickness patch in your gear and use it BEFORE you leave the dock!”
Don’t expect a six foot table to put your equipment on. Do expect to be put in a small corner with little room to move. Also, expect the ceilings to be extremely low, so watch out for feedback.
Warning: I promise you, your client probably won’t tell you in advance (make sure you ask) that he or she will want a microphone on the deck you’re not on! And forget about using your wireless on another deck (I’ve tried it). It’ll work just enough to cut out here and there, upsetting the client and making you look like an idiot. I always bring an extra powered speaker and wired mike for just such an occasion. Gene Barbic, co-owner of Warehouse Sound and Light in Miramar, California suspects that my wireless is having problems with all of the ship’s metal. Barbic says there are devices to help you DJ on a boat including a direct box, ground lift, remote and powered antennas etc.
When you have the boat rocking and your CD starts skipping (assuming you’re still using CDs) chances are the deck (floor) is bouncing and not your disks. I actually threw several perfectly good CDs overboard in dramatic fashion in front of the guests because I thought they were bad. (I now have a new appreciation for going computer.) Don’t forget to bring extra-long RCA cables in case you’re asked to patch into the ship’s sound system. Rossi adds: “Boat wiring is tricky sometimes and extra care should always be put to checking a system ahead of time.” In other words, make sure you find and paste to your memory all of the ship’s sound system’s volume controls. The last thing you want to do is navigate around all the guests and ship’s crew as you try to turn down the ship’s piped in music.
Often times, the boats are “home ported” at different locations other than where they pick you and the guests up, so at the end of your cruise be prepared to get all of your equipment off as fast as you can - the ship’s crew will appreciate it. Also, if the boat is returning to a docking area with “live-aboards” (people who live on their boats) near by be prepared to shut down the music as soon as you reach the dock.

Shipshape
Q: What’s the difference between a boat and a ship? A: You can put a boat on a ship!
If you live in a big city like San Diego, you may also have historic ships to party on. One of our ships, the retired air craft carrier USS Midway, is a blast to work on; plenty of space-it’s a big, really big ship! They usually put DJs inside the hanger bay, a massive area with a very high ceiling. Party lights look great and really fill the space.
However, as with all water craft, it too has its challenges, worst of all being the way the pier crew load equipment. Apparently someone figured using a fork lift would suffice to hoist my precious DJ equipment up several stories from the pier, over the water, and onto the main hanger bay. Once I actually rode with my equipment in a little cage attached to one of the fork lifts, teetering high in the air…scared me to death!
Bottom line, DJing on boats, big or small, poses some very unique problems to solve, but if you prepare in advance, these parties can be some of the most fun you’ll ever experience.

Mike Ryan started writing for news radio. He also DJ’d on KGB and KSDS. He mobiles as Mike on the Mike and is also the inventor owner of Frankenstand Powered Speaker Stands. Mike also works part time as a DMC tour guide. He has been the President of the San Diego Professional Tour Guide Association, a board member of his local NACE chapter and is currently the secretary of the San Diego Chapter of the ADJA.

Sea Songs
THE TIDE IS HIGH BLONDIE
SEA OF LOVE HONEYDRIPPERS
UNDER THE SEA LITTLE MERMAID SOUNDTRACK
DON’T ROCK THE BOAT HUGHES CORP.
SAILING CHRIS CROSS OR BACKSTREET BOYS
IF I HAD A BOAT LYLE LOVETT OR DAVE MATTHEWS
ALMOST ANYTHING BY THE BEACH BOYS
ALMOST ANYTHING FROM JIMMY BUFFET
YO HO HO, A PIRATE’S LIFE FOR ME DISNEY THEME PARK SONG
(Always gets a chuckle)
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND THEME
(Another chuckle, although a little nervous-sounding)

Nautical Terms You Should Know
Port = left
Starboard = right
Deck = floor
Overhead = ceiling
Bulkhead = wall
Forward = the front of the ship,
Aft = the rear of the ship
Head = bathroom (very important to locate ASAP)
Captain = the guy in charge of everything…and I mean everything!

Expanding Universe of Performance by Mike Fischer

DJs are opening their minds to the unusual and grasping a wider and wider range of gig opportunities

The evolution of the mobile disc jockey into a mobile entertainer has reached dimensions that even the most sage forecasters might not have envisioned yet a decade ago!
Years past, the disc jockey’s roles were fairly straightforward and clear-provide an on-site audio system and the ability to program audience-pleasing dance music. Vocal aptitude-at least in the industry’s infancy in the early 1970’s-was a bonus. Games were not even on the radar. Dance instruction was non-existent. Interaction was generally limited to mingling with the guests if the host graciously accorded a meal as part of the deal.
My, how times have changed!

Back to the Future: DJs as Vaudevillians?
Today, the “plain” mobile disc jockey is virtually an aberration, like an 8-track player or vinyl records prominently featured in a home. The new paradigm is the mobile entertainer, a multi-headed, multi-talented beast who can switch at the call of the wild to a comic, dance instructor, games master, emcee, prop fiend or music laureate with grace and often exceptional skill.
My, how we have returned to an old American art form-the new mobile entertainer is the vaudevillian performer of old.
With the new, improved, redefined mobile entertainer, are gigs limited to the rich buffet of wedding receptions and school dances? Not likely; as the mobile entertainer has evolved into a multi-faceted performance animal via out-of-the-box thinking, the types of gigs that mobile entertainers perform might benefit from some creative re-assessment.

All the World’s a Stage
Back in the early 1990s, many entertainers-myself included-sought ways to create more portable, flexible equipment configurations. While technology certainly fueled the ability to pursue this angle, the primary driver originated from the increasing number of facilities offering their space for events.
Art galleries, museums, touring yachts, private residences, gardens, and more evaluated their settings and determined that their facilities might offer something unusual, something personal, something more intimate than the utilitarian function of classic halls and air-walled hotel spaces. And, the public agreed.
So, entertainers had to find ways to work without a defined stage area, to access often ill-designed and cramped performance areas, to often work with less, to re-assess what mobile meant. Thus, smarter, smaller, more adaptable equipment configurations allowed entertainers to comfortably execute shows in the growing number of facilities offering their space for events.

Climbing Out of the DJ Box
Much like the venues that expanded their view of what they offered to expand their revenue stream, would you benefit by escalating your view of your services to, perhaps, tap into unusual and different events for your entertainment skills? Do you see yourself as solely a DJ or a versatile, well-rounded entertainer?
For instance, a couple of years ago, I served as systems engineer at Giants Fantasy Camp for a week in Scottsdale, Arizona. 23 set-ups in seven days (bull sessions, lunch time music, public address announcing at Scottsdale Stadium, meet-and-greet with the ballplayers) created a fairly intense work schedule. But the pay was respectable, the January sunshine wonderful and the opportunity to horse around with former major league baseball players such as Vida Blue, Darrell Evans, Tom Haller and Johnnie LeMaster was priceless.

Other entertainers have embraced the opportunities presented by non-traditional events.
Terry Moran of Crown Entertainment, serving the greater New England area, has spun at the Adult Video News Awards in Las Vegas (”Basically, the Grammys of porn,” he reports), Fantasy Fest in Key West, and during bicycle week in Laconia, New Hampshire for the past ten years. In addition, Moran and his company spin and emcee at more than 100 trivia events at pubs around New England annually. Oh, and Crown Entertainment also performs at 20 to 35 wedding receptions each year.
Matt Bixby of Matt’s Entertainment, serving the Willamette Valley area of Oregon, recently performed at a company party entitled “A Night of Games.”
“We did game shows all night that ranged from Let’s Make a Deal to The Price Is Right to Family Feud,” noted Bixby. “No dancing desired, but it was a scintillating success!”
Many, like Bixby, have embraced the transformation. “When I realized that I was an entertainer and not ‘just a DJ’, it was a huge personal reinvention. Now I focus so much harder on building a rapport with my guests before and during the event so that I don’t think of them as strangers and there’s absolutely no reason to be self-conscious or get stage fright.” Bixby even recently changed his company name from “Williamette Valley DJ” to the more personable “Matt’s Entertainment” to reflect his professional evolution. Bixby is actively marketing for further game show opportunities.

Break On Through
The bottom line is the seeing yourself as “just a disc jockey” may limit the types of events you may attract or the opportunities you might consider pursuing.
In my two decades as a mobile entertainer, I’ve secured work as a mobile DJ, dancer, dance instructor, dance floor “plant,” MC, engineer, public address announcer, character player, engineer, commercial spokesperson, voice actor and radio air personality. Some gigs were a bit more unusual than others, but all offered an opportunity to enhance my entertainment skills, keep my excitement level fresh and earn money.

Wedding receptions and school dances may be the volume leaders in the mobile entertainment industry. But, as more and more professionals are learning, unusual gigs offer fun, engaging and innovative ways to secure business and retain a fresh entertainment perspective. Certainly, the ride will be fun!

Mobile DJ, dance instructor, emcee, voice actor, writer, teacher, and improv comedian, Mike Ficher owns and operates Dance Express, based in Bend, Oregon. A regular presenter and host at Mobile Beat conventions, Mike has been expanding the public’s definition of mobile entertainer since 1986.
“When I realized that I was an entertainer and not ‘just a DJ’, it was a huge personal reinvention.” ­­ -Matt Bixby

DJ Shopper - Lasers: Lighter, Brighter, More Dynamic

Developments in laser technology promise more creative options, affordability and mobility

DJs know that their CD players have a huge impact on the audience. Those who use them to spin tunes can affect the way the audience behaves; it’s an easily recognizable fact. But CD players have had a greater effect than most DJs realize. It’s the technology that has made CD players affordable that is now being used in sophisticated laser light shows in Europe…and that technology is coming across the pond to a dance floor near you, at a price that’s not out of reach.
Recently we got an update on the laser industry from William Benner, Jr., who is the co-founder and president of Pangolin Laser Systems and serves on the International Laser Display Association’s board of directors. Much like those BASF commercials say, Pangolin is a company that makes the things you use better, rather than making the things you use. Pangolin’s technology can be found inside a large percentage of laser lighting devices used by DJs and other show designers.

Aiming for Visual Excitement
And what can be done with the new laser lights shows that are on their way? A lot, according to Benner, who described the three major uses for lasers in entertainment being used today.
Laser Graphics. This technology uses scanners and software, and can draw animated figures on a projection surface (screen, wall, etc.) This is popular for use at trade shows and can include scrolling text, animated figures, etc. A laser can project onto any surface, which means that you can even use the air walls in a hotel’s banquet or meeting facilities as projection surfaces. This opens up creative possibilities and widens the potential reach of your visual elements during a show. You could also use laser graphics to display a bride and groom’s name or notes of congratulations, etc. Essentially, the new graphic technology allows mobile users to access some of the excitement generated by large scale laser installations like the famous Stone Mountain’s Lasershow Spectacular in Atlanta, where images are projected directly onto the surface of a mountain
Overhead Beam Effect. Using a very light layer of theatrical fog in a room you can project beams over the heads of the audience. This is often used at corporate meetings and sales presentations.
“A laser does things that no other light does,” notes Benner. For example, a laser can be made to look like water, as in Disney’s Little Mermaid ride. This gives the audience the impression they’re under water.
Audience Scanning. This is something that is currently hot in Europe and Asia and will be coming to the United States soon, as two companies got the approval to do this here. Essentially, this method projects laser light directly into an audience, thus incorporating them into the light show and providing a powerful visual motivator. Using advanced technology, you can project images, color or almost anything imaginable onto the dance floor population.
The Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), part of the FDA, has required manufacturers to prove that any laser light they’re using doesn’t damage an audience’s eyes and Pangolin was able to do just that. As a result, a whole new opportunity has opened up in the US.
Benner points out that technology is now available to take simple Adobe® Flash® animation routines and turn it into huge laser graphics. “Flash animators can convert their images to laser graphics. This means that people don’t have to learn a new language or technique to create stunning visual images.”

Mobilizing the Laser Show
Other technologies allow laser shows to be controlled by DMX-compatible programming, bringing control of a laser show closer to the mainstream that most mobile DJs are familiar with. And while on the subject of being mobile, the newer solid state lasers are very compatible with the challenges of being on the road: they’re very rugged and much more compact than the previous generation of gas lasers.
It used to be that the lasers used in lighting were the same devices that came from the medical profession. As such, they weren’t really meant to be lightweight, portable and roadworthy. That’s not true any longer with solid state lasers. And it used to be that an effective laser light show required water cooling and a tremendous amount of electricity usually sourced through 220-volt circuits. That’s no longer the case with devices described by Benner as being about the size of a shoe box, which can be plugged into a standard 110-volt outlet.
“What has really propelled the market are the solid state lasers developed for CD players,” reports Benner. “Since there is so much attention to CD-ROM drives, this has enabled solid state lasers that we can use for projection.”

Blue-Ribbon Light
Since lasers are now available in red, green and blue, this means that the same processes that is used to create images with a traditional projector or television set can be used to create full-color laser shows as well. Blue lasers are now becoming more widespread thanks to the development of Sony’s Blue Ray media playback technology, according to Brenner. While they are currently the priciest lasers, as Sony’s technology becomes more widespread it is fully expected that the price will come down to the level of red and green lasers.
While a good laser projector still really can’t be called “inexpensive,” the $4,000 professional laser projector of today takes the place of one that, in the past, cost tens of thousands of dollars, required dedicated electrical circuits, and a constant flow of water for cooling.
For DJs whose budgets and creativity levels support it, a good laser show can totally involve an audience-both emotionally, by capturing their imagination, and literally, by making their dancing bodies part of the show.

PSWCDT - Way Beyond Sunday: Christian Music by Jay Maxwell

Positive, danceable party sounds can be found in today’s faith-based music

There are three trees in my backyard. When my wife and I moved into our home thirteen years ago, the trees were so small that we were afraid that someone would not see them when mowing the yard and accidentally cut them down. Another concern we had was that our Doberman, whose favorite pastime was gnawing on bricks, would either pull up a tree or would bite into one and literally chomp the tree in half. At times, the urge would come upon me to take a running start and jump over the smallest tree, just so I could claim that I was nimble and agile enough to leap over trees - not quite the same as Superman and his tall buildings - but a challenge just the same. To fend off all these possible threats to these young saplings, we erected a small fence around each tree in hopes of facilitating its growth. As the years passed, the trees grew taller and increased in girth. Today, the early threats no longer exist and I do not have the slightest inkling to don a cape and become a superhero and attempt to vault over a tree.
Each spring as I see how the trees have grown, I reflect on the growth in areas of my own life, including the growth of my business. The trees, like my business, must continue to grow if they want to exist and flourish in an ever changing environment. Even after a tree is mature, it must grow new bark and new leaves or it will cease to be a living entity. Though my company is proudly celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, we continue to grow by seeking ways to enhance our services to meet our client’s needs. One new area of growth for us is to offer Christian dance music in the song list booklet we give to our clients.

Positive Demand
It has always been our mission to have a keen ear available and earnestly listen to the desires of those we serve. Recently, many of our clients, including brides and grooms, sponsors of Girl Scout Father-Daughter dances, and several schools have requested that some Christian music be played at their event. When one first thinks about Christian music, songs such as “Amazing Grace,” “Rock of Ages” or “Jesus Loves Me” might come to mind-along with some serious doubts about anyone being able to party to these tunes. These worship standards would indeed be useless for firing up a dance floor and are probably best suited for the Sunday morning service.
While many of today’s praise and worship songs have embraced a modern feel so that worshipers can better express their spirituality in the sanctuary, even these songs are not going to generate a desire to move the body to the beat at an event such as a wedding reception. Initially, the few Christian songs that were requested were wedding favorites by Michael W. Smith (”Love of My Life” or “I Will Be Here for You”) or Steven Curtis Chapman (”I Will Be Here”). These tunes were typically requested for the bride and groom’s first dance so we included them in the Wedding category. Some artists had crossover hits, so groups such as Jars of Clay and DC Talk would be placed with modern rock songs and Jump5 or Amy Grant normally placed side by side with secular artists in a dance/pop category. By carefully listening to our client’s increasing requests for Christian music and tracking the success of each song, we have recently added a separate category in our song list booklet that we make available to our clients. We have also continued to expand our offering of Contemporary Christian music that will actually have people up on the dance floor.
After tracking the Christian music requests of our clients and researching the popular “danceable” Christian music we now offer a variety of genres of Christian music. This growth in our play list is meant to satisfy those whose primary interest lies in dancing to a beat normally found in Hip-Hop, Dance, or Rock. With the songs of Toby Mac, Kirk Franklin and Group 1 Crew mixed in with the usual tunes that actually have a positive (or at least a non-negative) message, you can circumvent the need to play music that advocates drug use, illicit relations, or any other inappropriate language or content. The majority of our clients indeed wish to get down and party to a solid beat and have good clean fun without the worry that something offensive will be blared from our speakers into the ears of their guests. As popular “top 40″ music has continued to contain lyrics that must be edited in order to receive airplay, people are becoming more cautious when they hire a DJ to entertain at their event. Recently, before we even played the first song at a school dance, the principal told us, “Don’t play anything that you wouldn’t want your grandmother to hear.” That statement stuck with me and has become the litmus test for what is appropriate to play at an event.
Keep in mind that I am writing this primarily from a growth perspective for my business. That is, my business has grown by offering this additional service of a large selection of Christian music to satisfy my client’s tastes. However, as a Christian myself, I also see this growth as a way to integrate my own faith with my business. Every aspect of how my company operates is based on Biblical principals, but the end product of what music is offered and played has at times been in contrast to that philosophy.

Positive, Not Preachy
Last month one of my closest DJ friends said he was ready to hang up his headphones after nearly 30 years as one of the areas best known DJs for school events because the music available for today’s youth had nothing positive to offer. On the surface there was truth in his statement, but on a closer look, I told him there are alternatives to quitting the business. One alternative is to find music that blends a danceable beat with decent lyrics. The message does not necessarily have to be “preachy,” but at least search for music that is encouraging a positive way of thinking and living.
This issue’s music list would be an excellent way to begin to discover new music to play to enhance your business. Begin your own research in ways to grow your business in such a way that your clients will be assured that you have the expertise to play songs that will be in accordance with their desire to entertain their guests without offending anyone. Instead of feeling embarrassed when you play songs with the lyrics “bleeped out” or the content isn’t what you would want to personally quote on the microphone, try to imagine people dancing to songs where the lyrics express making positive choices in life. We have done more that just imagine people dancing to uplifting music; we have witnessed it happening-after someone shouts, “Play something we can dance to!”

Righteous Party Beats

1 ACTIVATE STELLAR KART
2 ALWAYS BE YOUR BABY NATALIE GRANT
3 BE MY ESCAPE RELIANT K
4 BEAUTIFUL NAME ZOEGIRL
5 BEAUTIFUL ONE BY THE TREE
6 BIG HOUSE AUDIO ADRENALINE
7 BOUNCE MANAFEST
8 BURN FOR YOU TOBYMAC
9 CAN’T GO ON GROUP 1 CREW
10 CHANGE YOUR MIND NIFTY
11 CHOICES TRU LIFE
12 CRY NO MORE CROSS MOVEMENT
13 DEAD SERIOUS ZOEGIRL
14 DEVIL IS BAD Ws
15 DIVERSE CITY TOBYMAC
16 DO YA THANG 4-GOD
17 DON’T LOOK AT ME STACIE ORRICO
18 DREAMS 4-GOD
19 EVERYBODYS GOT A SONG TO SING GROUP 1 CREW
20 EVERYTHING CHANGES KATHY TROCCOLI

For the rest of the song list, get a copy of Mobile Beat’s May 2007 issue!