All right. DJ tips in under a minute. Again, live here at expo. We've got totem wraps, you have speaker stand covers, doubles, singles, triples, black, white, but the cool thing here is this, this is a table topper. It goes around your six-foot table. So when people go to put their drinks, oh, I can't, because there's something in the way. I think this is awesome. I'm getting one, because I'm sick of people putting their drinks on my table. And see, you can. So you cover your table up with this beautiful item black or white, unzips from a company called Skrim King, just skrimking.com, I'll put it in the description. But again, a great way to get rid of the drinks and problems on your table, Skrim King table topper, in under a minute.   ... [read more]

One of the biggest components of improving and transforming my company over the past two years has been networking with DJs in my area. I'm not talking about ADJA meetings or get-togethers with large groups of wedding vendors (although those are definitely valuable too). I'm talking about one-on-one, person to person meetings. You and another DJ sitting down for lunch or drinks to learn about each other and ways you can improve can be a huge benefit to your company! When I first arrived in Salt Lake City a little over two years ago I didn't know anyone. My little DJ side business was only making $350-$500 or so per event, and I was stru... [read more]

One of the key skills of a quality mobile DJ is their ability to handle unexpected situations quickly and efficiently. It follows that there is a general consensus that having backups of the gear we use at our events is essential for a DJ to truly be prepared. But what happens when our backups fail? I found out the answer that question just last night. After arriving at a venue I've performed at many times and beginning my sound check, I noticed one side of my dual wireless microphone receiver was acting up. Pressed for time, I opted to just use the second unit instead of troubleshooting the first and began to sound check with that mic. Within a few minutes, it also started having troubles, and my blood pressure rose ever so slightly. Luckily, even losing two wireless mics wasn't going to spoil this weddin... [read more]

The “silent dance party” or “silent disco” has been around for a while now, and has come down to an affordable level for many DJs interested in buying such a system, rather than renting. If you aren’t familiar with the silent disco concept, here’s a quick primer. Instead of pumping sound out through speakers, everyone in the audience wears a wireless headphone that can pick up one of two or three DJs playing simultaneously, with the signals going out through a broadcaster box. In this way, a club, for example, can serve multiple audiences with different DJ/music styles without having a separate room for each one. While there are some... [read more]

We often hear that first impressions are the most important, and this is all too true in the events world. As mobile DJs, we are already having to fight to make our professionalism and credibility stand out in a world filled with hobbyists and DJs who don't really care. There is a myriad of ways we can show that we care to clients and other vendors, and one of the easiest is through our first few minutes after arriving at a venue. Often, DJs are tempted to just pull up to the venue's front door, unload their gear, wheel it up to the event's room, set it up, and start blasting loud sound-check music with minimal interaction with venue st... [read more]

I first heard the word “pherein” (pronounced “fair- in”) from my wife’s mentor and artistic collaborator, Joseph Wesner. A sculptor of some fame in art circles, he created a series of abstract sculptures he called the “Pherein Series.” As he described them (and the term), “pherein” is a Greek word that means to both support and carry forward. I stashed this factoid in the back of my brain until one day when I was at my favorite DJ toy store with some cash, but no real plan. (Sound familiar?) For some reason, “pherein” popped into my head, which led to the question... WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? When we conside... [read more]

After an evening of DJing at the Corvette Diner in San Diego, Ed Bia was walking out to his car and tripped on a parking block, falling and painfully shattering his wrist. At the same restaurant another jock, DJ Daryl, during a Halloween weekend, decided to dance like Michael Jackson in front of the restaurant’s patrons. All of a sudden one of his shoulders popped out of its socket. It was so painful he fell to his knees writhing in pain. EMTs were called and, in front of the whole dining area, took Daryl out on a stretcher. (I recently heard Daryl had a stroke – hang in there Daryl.) DJ equipment reviewer DJ Brian Redd also suffered a stroke leavin... [read more]

In the mobile DJ industry (especially when DJing weddings), we often walk the line between a professional relationship and a friendship. While above all we are providing a service and thus interact with people through a business mindset, we are also intimately close to a couple and their family as they prepare for one of life's biggest moments. It goes without saying that we should strive to always keep our dealings with clients professional and courteous, we often can't help from becoming close to people as we repeatedly meet and learn more about their lives and their families. This is a good thing. The more we connect with people, the more we can personalize our service for them and the more they will be an asset to our company down the road. But while being friendly with a client before their event can... [read more]

OK, I'll admit it, the title of this article is kind of misleading. The two proposed explanations put forth in it are definitely not mutually exclusive; a healthy dose of each can be found in pretty much every Facebook DJ group. If you're not already part of a few of them, you may wonder if they are worth joining or are they only good for giving you a headache? My vote is for the former, and let me tell you why. You'll Learn What Not to Do For every post in a DJ group that contains gold nuggets of wisdom, you'll find 10 posts that suck (I'm not going to sugar coat it). Terrible grammar, pictures of sloppy setups, and people looking to just vent about their hate for a certain brand of speakers abound. I'll never condone rudeness or even interaction with people like this (you don't have the time anyway, y... [read more]

When packing our vehicles for events, there are certain things that always end up being loaded for every event: our music source (usually a laptop), speakers, controller or mixer, cabling, and maybe a table. We can consider these our "DJ Essentials." A lot of us, however, also keep our DJ bags loaded with other things that we know might come in handy or save our butts should things go south (extra batteries for our microphones or a spare hard drive with music, for example). With time and experience, our list of essentials grows to include some things that may not be as obvious to newer DJs, and today I present to you my personal "not-so-obvi... [read more]