Rollin’ on the River: A Nightmare to Remember

Rollin’ on the River: A Nightmare to RememberBy Stu Chisholm

Veteran DJ encounters unexpected waves

Back when Mobile Beat first started out, there was a regular feature called “DJ Nightmares,” which was later changed to make the feature more inclusive of unusual, “extraordinary” events that may have had a more positive spin. With the classic definition in mind, I thought I’d present my own story of what can only be called a true DJ nightmare…

Hot Town, Summer in the City

With the sun shining and the heat of summer here in earnest as I write this, I’m reminded of the day last summer when I got a last-minute call to spin some tunes on a river boat. It sounded like great fun, so I jumped at the chance. Even better, the gig was a “reunion” tour of Detroit, designed to bring back former residents to relive old Motown memories as well as catch up with the changes the city has gone through. That meant that many famous local celebrities would also be along for the cruise. It sounded like the party of a lifetime!

But wait, not so fast…

The day would turn out to be one of the hottest days of the year. Adding to the misery was the summer humidity that is usually pretty high here in Michigan, but even worse right on the Detroit River. Unloading and parking in downtown Detroit, especially when you have a 24-foot cube truck, is INSANE. It took much longer than planned and my roadie and I sweated far too much. Yet we finally boarded the Detroit Princess with plenty of time to set up, and we had been assured that the boat had its own PA system that runs throughout the ship. All we had to do was tap my console into it and life would be good. In fact, I’d done that very thing on a sister ship in Lansing, so what could go wrong?

As it turned out, a whole lot.

Approaching the stage, the first thing we were confronted by was a setup including two Peavey high-end cabinets and two Gemini bass cabinets, powered by a single Peavey amp unceremoniously lying on the floor. No rack, no road case-nada. When I hooked in my console, the system sounded horrible! The lack of high end made me suspect that the normally rugged Peavey speakers were actually blown, and nothing seemed to be coming from the Gemini cabinets despite their being connected. Oh, and by the way, no “sound through the ship” as promised either. Time to head back to the truck for load #2.

Finally, we were ready to go, happy we’d built in some extra “just-in-case” time. That happiness would be short-lived, though. There was more misery to come!

Big Wheel Keep on Turnin’

The guests all arrived and, as I mentioned, a bunch of Detroit-area radio legends were among them, including Mr. Lee, Robin Seymour, Johnny Ginger and others. I’d prepared a special CD of super-rare Detroit stuff and was all ready to spring it on ‘em. The absolute best items were the last three tracks: a classic commercial for a local car dealership (any old-time Detroiter can sing the “Roy O’Brien” song), a rare Ernie Harwell piece on the Detroit Tiger baseball team, and a classic commercial for Faygo pop (soda, to all you non-Midwesterners), a Michigan original. I couldn’t wait to see the looks on their faces!

Instead, there was a look of horror on MY face when I found out that somehow-and I really don’t have a CLUE as to how-the disc got damaged! This was just after my changeover to computer-based performance, and I hadn’t had time to rip the disc to one of my hard drives. On inspection, the disc had somehow gotten a nick in the data layer; it looked like torn aluminum foil! (#!@%$!!)

Trying to regain my cool, I told myself that three songs out of over 40,000 would NOT make or break my show. I still had plenty of rarities and local tunes, and nobody would miss a surprise they hadn’t expected in the first place. Everything would be fine. And it would’ve been if that was all that had gone wrong…

Power Struggle

It was time for the presentations, so I made a brief introduction and then handed the host my nice Shure wireless mic. I also gave one to the first celebrity to speak. Upon introducing the first celebrity, the host then decided to flick the mic’s “off” button instead of the “mute” button, causing a blast of ear-wax-melting white noise to erupt from the speakers! Of course, everyone looked at you-know-who. (Note to self: Radio guys aren’t any more equipment savvy than a typical best man.)

One fact of shipboard life that nobody ever tells you about is that the electrical power on a boat or ship is not exactly the same as what us landlubbers are used to. It sometimes cuts out or flickers, if only for a split-second. And, of course, it was just enough to reset my CD players. So at one moment a song was playing and everyone was singing along with it, and then-POOF! Dead silence. The entire room full radio vets, celebrities and guests were once again gaping at yours truly. Restarting the song, I’d say something like, “We’ll just consider this the extended version!”

Sigh. I’m sure that these celebrities thought I’d simply caved under the pressure, yet I’d worked with many big names over the years and that simply isn’t an issue for me. Yet that bunch will never know it. I gave away one business card that night…to a guy passing by my home while we were UNLOADING my gear. It would’ve been a complete, classic “sometimes it’s better to just stay home” moment if the rest of the party hadn’t gone well, but everyone seemed to have a good time for the rest of the cruise.

Lessons Learned

Thinking back over the whole affair, I realized that even after more than 25 years in the business, there were still some things I could’ve done to prevent or minimize some of that night’s gremlins. Going in, I had never felt so prepared for an event in my life, yet my preparations had all centered on the content of my show and not the technical angle. While the weather, power and other issues weren’t any fault of mine, I had violated a standing personal rule by relying on information supplied by the venue (in this case, the ship’s electrical guy), something I never do otherwise. (Another note to self: venue staff members on ships aren’t any more reliable than staff anywhere else!) A UPS (uninterruptible power supply) unit will also be standard equipment when I play on ships from now on.

Next, no matter how credentialed or professional the people you are working with might be, never EVER skip the technical reminders. (In this case, telling the radio guys to NOT turn-off the wireless mics!) Even pros can stand a reminder every now and then, and I’d rather risk seeing a miffed celebrity than a whole roomful of annoyed guests. Lastly, I’ve rid myself of all vestiges of CDs! Any last-minute songs are dropped onto a flash drive, so there are no delicate discs to damage. Thanks to this less-than-stellar event, this DJ and his equipment are much more sea worthy!

Until next time, safe spinnin’!

A mobile DJ since 1979, Stu Chisholm has also been a nightclub DJ in suburban Detroit. He has also done some radio, commercial voice-over work and has even worked a roller skating rink! Stu attended the famous Specs Howard School of Broadcasting and has been a music collector since the age of seven.

Coming Out of the Dark…to Light Up the Future

Coming Out of the Dark…to Light Up the FutureBy Jorge Lopez

Learn to illuminate the big picture

We have all heard the statement “change is imminent.” For the mobile DJ this has become out industry reality. As we adapt consistently to every changing technology, we must, first and foremost, stay focused on what our clients want.

That’s what they depend on us for.

Of course what they depend on us for is sound, music and personality but what actually has the most intangible value is…creativity! An example of this is our ability to create and transform a dance floor and entire ballrooms with ideas. And this is especially true with lighting.

Atmosphere Around the (Cutting) Edge

Mobile DJs usually focus all of their attention-and lights-on the dance floor. This is definitely important, but we have a great opportunity to serve our clients better (and grow our business at the same time) by extending our creativity beyond the boundaries of the hardwood.

What I’m referring to is décor lighting, not in place of our dance lights but together with it, in a combination that provides a complete visual experience for party guests. Think about it: Especially for those of us that do corporate events, we would do well to keep in mind that the largest percentage of the budget for large corporate events is décor.

Remember also that a client may tell you that they only have so many dollars budgeted for entertainment, but keep in mind, they also have a budget for décor.

Décor Lighting: A Practical Example

The accompanying photo shows an event our company did earlier this year. It took place at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles in that facility’s Crystal Ballroom. It was an upscale 21st birthday celebration for a young man named Mark.

Here is what we used to create the rich atmosphere of color, reaching to all corners of the room:

1. 50 LED décor lights for up-lighting drapery
2. 2 Star Maze laser effects on drapes
3. 4 Martin MAC-250s (stage + dance)
4. 4 High End Technobeams (stage + dance)
5. 4 American DJ Mighty Scans (stage + dance)
6. 25 LED lights to up-light Lucite tables
7. 6 LED lights to down-light ice fruit displays
8. 4 LED lights to light martini bar
9. 1 Laptop with Martin Light Jockey software
10. 1 DMX cable complement
11. 1 DMX LED controller
12. 1 Wireless LED controller (back-up)

It is very important to remember that when you’re selling décor lighting that you’re really selling vision and ideas. Usually the client is less interested in how many lights you will be using and more interested in how their event is going to look and feel.

I understand that every event is different and not all are as large as Mark’s 21st birthday party. What I hope you take away from this article is the need to stop and ask yourself how you can improve your overall lighting inventory-beyond the obvious dance floor fixtures-so that you can service your clients even better and grow your business at the same time.

Your clients need lighting, and they’re going to get it from someone…it might as well be from you!

Power Tips for Décor Production

• Do a site inspection of the venue to confirm that there is adequate power
• Find out if there will be a cost incurred by the client for any additional power. You don’t want ANY surprises in this area!
• Make sure to use LED lights. LED lighting has made atmospheric lighting much easier to set up and offers a whole new spectrum of color control. Another key selling point is the savings in power-and, in turn, money-that low-power LED fixtures provide.
Jorge Lopez is the CEO of Invisible Touch and J&M Entertainment. Since its founding in 1979, Jorge has built J&M from a part-time mobile DJ business into a full-fledged, continually growing multimedia service provider for events of all kinds.

Business Blogging: Key to Wedding Success?

Business Blogging: Key to Wedding Success? By Andy Ebon

Blogs have become an unavoidable part of New Media. A blog is simply an online journal or diary, maintained by you, an individual or business owner. A blog is a self-service website, if you will, that enables you to write articles, post pictures, and field comments and responses, all in a variety of easy software scenarios.

“How can blogging be the key to wedding marketing success?” you might ask. Blogs are a search-engine-friendly, complementary piece to your existing website. Moreover, blogs address one major weakness of most websites. Most businesses don’t update their websites nearly often enough, which hurts them in search engine rankings.

Software Survey

There are three major blogging software platforms, and they all live on the Internet, not on your computer. They are: Wordpress, Blogger, and TypePad. Wordpress is free, open-source software. Blogger is free, owned by Google. TypePad has a free version, but except for the most basic features, is paid by subscription.

Blogger is the easiest to get started with. TypePad is nicely self-contained. However, the overall best software is Wordpress. All three products are accessed from any computer (with an Internet connection) with a web browser. You can access and update your blog from your office, an Internet café in Paris…anywhere.

One of the key benefits of Wordpress is being able to set it up in a file on your website. (For example, check out www.weddingpolice.com/blog.) Having the blog work within your website is helpful, because all the activity that your blog attracts, counts as traffic to your website. That adds up to better search engine ranking in Google and other search engine services.

What to Write?

Realize that blogs are frequented by prospects, peers, customers, industry contacts, and the media. Simply put, you should write for your primary audience. What would interest them?

Resist the temptation to make blog posts an infomercial. You will never gain a loyal audience that way. The balance should be roughly 75% informational and 25% promotional. Angles that will entertain and interest a reader often focus on another person or industry business.

For instance, write about the great photographer you worked with last weekend; how he staged certain shots you’d never seen before, and how easy he was to work with. Don’t forget to throw in a link to his website. And then, email him about the free publicity you’ve sent his way. He’ll probably set up a reciprocal link.

One of better mobile DJ blogs is authored by Jodi Harris, of Sight & Sound Events, in Las Vegas (http://sightnsoundevents.typepad.com/my_weblog/) Jodi’s blog content has evolved over time to share interesting information without being too self-promotional. The most successful feature is a monthly profile of a selected venue in Las Vegas. By showcasing places that Sight & Sound enjoys working with, Jodi provides good information to people planning their events, and gets a great reaction from her venue contacts. This is relationship-building magic.

Building Up to the Blog

From a technical standpoint, learning to blog is easy. The real challenge is writing on a consistent basis. Just once or twice weekly is fine. Don’t over promise. You can even write several posts on one day, and schedule them to become “public” on different days in the future. Using this feature allows you to keep your blog working while you’re on the beach, or just plain busy.

Before you start your blog, read lots of blogs, over a period of time. Not just mobile DJ industry blogs, but wedding industry, entertainment, marketing, and small business blogs. Read blogs about your favorite hobby. This will give you broad exposure to the world of blogs and will help you as you develop your own blogging style.

At first, develop your blog quietly. Work out the kinks over a couple of months. Then, you’ll be ready to “launch” and promote it, and reap the benefits.

More information and resources for blogging can be found at www.mobilebeat.com/wmblog/

Andy Ebon operates EBS Virtual Communications, a Las Vegas-based sales/marketing strategy and website development company. Now in its second decade, EBS has provided Internet and other electronic marketing solutions for companies in areassuch as: Associations, Hospitality, Entertainment, Weddings and General Business. In 2007 Andy refocused EBS primarily on selling to the bride and groom with his launch of The Wedding Marketing Network (www.WeddingMarketing.net), which includes The Wedding Marketing Blog (www.WeddingMarketing.biz). He is a sought-after seminar speaker, and recently returned to the podium at the Mobile Beat Chicagoland show, after being a keynote speaker at the very first Mobile Beat show, back in 1997.

Building Your Mobile Entertainment Brand, Part 1

Last issue we talked about how to apply common sense lessons from the big world of business to the uncommon world of mobile entertainment. In this article we’ll explore branding and promotional strategies and their relationship to one of the most challenging aspects of our industry: competing for attention.If you were to ask ten people at random to define marketing, it is likely that most, if not all, would mention advertising. I’ve done just that-asked clients or seminar audiences for a definition of marketing-countless times. To most people (mobile entertainment industry or otherwise) the words marketing and advertising are virtually synonymous. A few people offer additional examples, like trade shows, publicity, websites, or brochures. While these are all relevant promotional tools, they do not fully define the concept of marketing.

Some companies even go so far as to refer to their marketing function as “the advertising department.” Others say, “Our ad agency handles our marketing.” The dictionary cross-references advertising and promotion to the extent that a casual reader would conclude that they are the same thing. However, for our purposes here, let’s use the following definition:

Promotion is the process of delivering controlled messages about you and your products to your target customers, audience, and other stakeholders. Stakeholders may include your staff, vendors, community, financial investors or creditors, or the general public.

A Word About Branding

Just like marketing, advertising, and promotion, we hear the word “branding” used in a variety of business contexts. So what is branding anyway?

Branding is the creation of indelible images of you and your products in the minds of your target customers, audience, and stakeholders.

Your brand is a set of symbols-both visual and verbal-that creates a positive connection between you and your target audience. Your brand is the symbol of what you do and what you stand for. As such, promotion is a set of tools for building your brand.

Let’s look at some examples from the music world to illustrate this point. While music fans are unlikely to say “I really like the Rolling Stones’ big lips brand symbol” in casual conversation, they are likely to recognize that brand when they see it and think of what it stands for-the mark of the “World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band.”

Think of single-name artists and the images that come to mind: Beyonce’, Usher, Prince, Madonna, Sting, Cher, Ludacris, Rihanna. How about band names like Metallica, U2, the Eagles, OutKast, Coldplay, and so many others?

Likewise with jazz fans. All you have to do is say “Duke” or “Louis” or “Miles” or “Bird” or “Wynton” in a jazz context and an image comes to mind. Or how about country music? Hank, Willie, Garth, Reba, Loretta…the list goes on. We could do the same for virtually every genre of music. The name, logo, and other images remind fans and music business people of something special (hopefully something good) about the artist and their music.

Here’s the business point: Those artists sent controlled messages to their target customers, audience, and stakeholders consistently and over a long enough period of time to have become “brands.” You do the same thing in your mobile entertainment business as you build your brand.

Three Key Questions Regarding Your Promotional Strategy

As you review the many promotional options available, you may wonder what combination of tools is best for you. While the sheer number of promotional opportunities can be overwhelming or confusing, take comfort in knowing that you have control over your specific situation. Here are three key questions to ask yourself as you plan the promotional link in the marketing chain:

1. Do I need everything? The list of promotional tools includes advertising, publicity, trade shows, sales literature, showcase performances, demo DVDs, websites, newsletters, wearables, identity items and direct marketing. Do I have to use all of them? The answer is “probably not,” at least not all at once.

2. How much does it all cost? What can I afford? The range of promotional expense budgets for most mobile entertainment businesses is 1%-10% of total revenue. Some businesses spend more, some less. If you are spending less than 1% of your total revenue on promotion, you are probably not promoting enough. If you are spending more than 10%, you are either spending too much or your promotion is not working effectively to drive revenue up.

3. Who’s going to do the promotional work? What if I’m not good at writing marketing copy, doing graphic design, or creating promotional strategies? This is a big question, and points to the value of building a team that includes people with promotional expertise. That team can be made up of employees, freelancers, marketing service companies like ad agencies or publicists, or a combination of all three. The point is that someone needs to do the work, and if it is not you, then find someone who you can pay to do better work than what you would have done yourself.

Here’s the Point…

I hear some mobile entertainers say “I get my gigs through word-of-mouth. I do great shows and know how to please the crowd. I’m working as much as I want to by referrals.” Does that sound familiar? If yes, you are fortunate (lucky?). These days it takes a whole lot more to compete for clients’ attention.

Promotion is essential to long-term success in the mobile entertainment business. You need to promote and build your brand in order to get the attention of your target customers and keep that attention focused on you rather than your competitors. While this is a huge challenge, it is manageable if you approach it in a systematic way.

Note that I did not specify a dollar amount for your promotion budget, but rather a percentage of planned revenue. It is much better to back into the promotion budget after planning revenue than it is to first commit to all the promotional things you’d like to do, and then figure out how to pay for them.

Many mobile entertainers get burned by spending too much on the wrong things during the early stages of building their businesses. After getting a sour taste of the world of promotion, they go too far the other way and don’t use the available tools effectively. Still have a few boxes of fancy pens with your old phone number on them? How about too many size “small” logo t-shirts in the wrong color? You get the idea. You can prevent that problem.

Next issue we’ll pick up here and talk about the top ten promotional tools and branding tips in more detail. In the meantime, best wishes for success in mobile entertainment!
John Stiernberg is founder and principal consultant with Stiernberg Consulting, the Sherman Oaks (Los Angeles) CA-based business development firm (www.stiernberg.com). John has over 25 years experience in the music and entertainment technology field. He currently works with audio and music companies and others on strategic planning and market development. His book Succeeding In Music: Business Chops for Performers and Songwriters is published by Hal Leonard Books. Contact John via e-mail at john@stiernberg.com.