Skepticle of the Live Band

I always thought it was interesting to have a live band. To truly do it right I think you have to have a combination of Live Band and DJ. The band always has to take a break and generally just puts on a CD of music. This turns into down time. All of the sudden the music is gone and people are just like, what do we do? You hope that they fill the air with events and speeches to pass the time, but sometimes you can't fill the whole space. I must say that this band that I saw this weekend at my friend's wedding was nice. They were really good. So good that I would even forgo a DJ. I always thought that if someone got a live band that it would be boring and people wouldn't dance, etc... I was wrong. That is what happens when you get a SHITTY band. The band we saw was Entourage, part of duBois Productions. These guys were worth the money. The guy had a really nice voice and even when his mic blew during the first dance, he jumped off the stage and sang a cappella to the couple. It was a nice and quick touch. He also has 2 other female singers with him who can both blow. If you got the 5 figs to get these guys, I definitely recommend them because they totally changed my mind on live bands @ weddings for all time.

Sell me, don't patronize me

After talking to all these vendors, you got to wonder if they actually know how to sell people. I mean they got to be able to sell to a certain extent otherwise they wouldn't still be in business. But once you drop the fact that you are looking at another vendor, which isn't theirs, they go into overdrive. What are they offering? Did they do this and that? Why are you choosing them? Normally I wouldn't mind it because they are just trying to make the sale, but for some reason this last one just irked me a little.

So the vendor that got a little under me was Robert Poff @ Station Identification DJ services. Richard called me to follow up on an email inquiry/response that he had sent me. I proceeded to tell him that I was down last weekend and met with a couple of DJs already and was looking seriously at one. He asked how did I choose which ones to go with. My answer was price. Straight up. On a budget, so started from the bottom and moved up. He was taken aback by that response. He proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't be looking at price. Telling me how he convinced people from a certain range to go with him. Let me tell you, this guy isn't cheap. His prices for Ceremony and Reception are 2K+. Out of range. He was confident though that he could change our minds. Then he goes on:
RP: Did DJ show you videos?
Me: No. He showed me pictures.
RP: I do that, he should do that. You should see how he is in action.
Me (thinking): Videos are just your best performances, you can weed out all worst ones, so it doesn't tell me the complete picture. Bet you were drunk and fell off the stage once also. Do you have that on video?
Me: I looked him up on the internet and he got positive reviews.
RP: How many?
Me: He had a few.
RP: I have 100s of reviews. I do 1-2 events a weekend, about 150 events a year, your DJ should have 100s of reviews. Can your guy mix?
Me: Yeah, he will beat mix and he used to mix at clubs.
RP: Did he show you a video?
Me: No (get over the video fool), but I am sure he can mix and keep people dancing.
RP: You know what I do? I take you into our studio and mix for you.
Me (thinking): Woo hoo! *twirling fingers* white boy mixing
RP: Give me any genre and any song and I will mix them.
Me: OK
RP: Well I am really sure that you guys will like us and you should come in.
Me: Ok.

I am sure that if I told him something else about the DJ, he would have tried to one up them. there was more to this conversation, but I just didn't want to write it up. You and your vendor are suppose to gel with your personalities. I don't respond well to people who are critical of others. Turn off. Hyperspace and talks non-stop. Turn off.

This guy was a turn off. I don't know how he got so many people to go with him. Oh and the kicker is, is that he is a compilation of DJs. He does the selling, someone else does the DJing. Wonderful. Sign me up! NOT!

Celebration - Hell No!

Why do DJs always have the inclination to start the dancing with "Celebration"? I hate that song. I liked it before when like the Oakland Raiders used it and it was bad ass because you are surrounded by a bunch of bad ass, dressed up, done up freaks and they are singing along like little fruitcakes. But after double digit weddings in the past two years and hearing the song at basically every single freakin' one of them, I can officially say that wedding DJs have ruined that song for me FOREVER! All I think is Grandpa Joe and Grandma Jane alongside Uncle Roger and Auntie May dropping it like its hot like they have just jumped through a time machine to the 70s. I am sorry. I live in the present. I live in the 2 triple 0. 21st century. I want 21st century music or at least music that I listened to when I started listing to Wild 94.9 in middle school. I want my stuff to be hip to the hop with B Rabbit tearing it up on the mic.

When the party gets started at the wedding, we are going to turn this joint into Club Leong. Those old people don't even stand a chance. Might as well leave before the cake comes out if you don't want to break your ear piece. Its going to be like Tijuana on College Night at the Safari Club. No Grandma this isn't your wholesome ho down, this is the loud and rude battle time. Bring your A game suckas!

Then my fiancee hits me in the head and snaps me back into reality. 4 piece jazz quartet it is. Yes dear. Well, it is always good to dream.

Who needs a DJ when you got an iPod

So begins the search for the next vendor who would like to suck the money out of my wallet. This next vendor is the DJ. The guy who spins music or rather hits some buttons to play music from his computer. Can't I do that? Can't I just jack some mixes from the radio and mix them together to make one long ass track? I think I can. I think I can set it up so it looks like there is a DJ. Move the MC duties to someone else, like a cousin or friend or something. But then people wouldn't be able to get their requests in like "I Like Big Butts" or "Ice, Ice Baby" or "Rumpshaker" or the classic "Hoochie Mama".

I think the DJ is going to be more than I hoped for since we are pigeon holed into using a list. Well that is what happens when you got a cheap place, got to play by their rules.

Website Song vs. Our Song

Seems like I have struck a good cord with the song that I picked for the website. What goes into picking a song for a website? Do you want to put your song on the website? Unless your song is 3-6 months old and meaning you probably started dating 7 months ago (WHOA NELLIE! SLOW YOUR ROLL), then probably not. No one remembers crap from 6 months ago. You need to put a song that is in the now. That invokes some emotion, that brings out the love snappy person in you. Well this song doesn't really for me, but it is the song of now. It is nice and slow and uplifting and all that other happy googly eye stuff and it is like a "love" song because we are in LOVE.

What is our song? If you don't know, then you have to wait to find out. It is all happy and gooey and stuff.

I know what you are thinking: "BARF!"