Things that get on our Nerves

Things that get on our Nerves

We start anew at every party. for the most part, most of the guests don't know who we are. Even if it's a referral, they still don't know. It's not like we're rockstars, and everyone knows what to expect. We're DJs, and we don't have a reputation, Well at least some of us. So, we get a lot of stupid questions at the start of every party.

“ Did you bring anything good?” is the worst. It's easy to get nasty and say “No”. That will definitely chase them away. They'll go right back to where they came from and say the DJ sucks. A cancer starts, and you'll never recover.

Everything's Relative,

33 & 1/3 Rule for Song requests and sets

The 33 & ⅓ Percent Rule

The worst part about a family and friend function is the range of Ages of the guests. They go from newborns to the elderly. So, the party lacks the same taste in music. The kids like new stuff, and the grandparents like oldies. A DJ can't possibly please everyone with anyone song.

It's all because music is a personal thing. Every song that's ever been recorded appeals to some people and irritates others. And most songs irritate most people. Each one of us can tolerate only some of the seemingly endless set of songs pause. It all has to do with the beats per minute, the baseline, and the singer.

Last Dance - Last Call

Last Call for The Last Dance

The closing reflects the party. A wild party merits an energetic closing; A boring one, something typical. It’s just another read for the DJ.

The closing actually begins when you approach the client for overtime. “This is a Great Party”, you might say. “You’ve got me another 15 minutes. Do you want to keep going?

Sometimes the client says “No”. It doesn't matter why. It’s just that the party’s over, and you’ve got to announce it.

Your closing succeeds before the last song. This lets everyone know they just have one more dance.If the DJ Waits until after this song, Some of the drunks will, no doubt, demand more music. The DJ, then, gets caught between the drunks and the client. The client won't succumb to the drunks desire for overtime, and the drunks will probably just think the DJ's an idiot for stopping. To avoid this problem, into the closing, the DJ could incorporate the phrase, “This is the LAST CALL for the Last Dance. Everyone, especially a drunk, knows what that means.

Because you’ve partied with these people for several hours, you know their mood. You really didn't at the start of the party. You just saw them mingling. That's why an opening follows a format, and a closing follows a Feeling. An opening strives to get people to listen; and the closing, to get them to applaud. You're really good when you get them to cheer.

The closing should convey for thoughts. You want to thank the house, acknowledge yourself, recognized any guest of honor, and introduced The Last Song. The Thinking of the house secures future business from the banquet manager or owner. If you think about it, you and the guests were invited to play at someone's house. You messed it up, and now you're going to leave. The banquet manager and staff didn't have much fun while you and the guests were there. They had to serve and clean. So, they deserve and acknowledgement at the end of the party. Call them out by name and ask for a plus. This is the best way to endear yourself to them. After the party, meet the banquet manager and exchange business cards. Banquet managers present their holes to prospects, many of whom ask about entertainment. You want the banquet managers to recommend you. It's another way to get referrals for your company.

You also want to acknowledge yourself. Some of the guests may need entertainment, and you want them to book you. So, invite them to the setup. A party is the best place to do business. That's why many of them are held in the first place.

You must acknowledge any guest of honor. They're the reason for the party. This announcement will get the lowest response of the closing. And the difference between this response and the one for their acknowledgement in the opening defines your performance. The greater the difference, the better the party. But be aware of parties with loud openings and louder closings. The difference may not be that great: and the performance, that good. It's just that the party was Lively, and any competent DJ would have gotten it cheer.

The introduction of the last song ends your rap. You can play anything. But it should be appropriate. Let it play out, and then turn off the lights. You don't have to say anything else. You did everything you had to do. You effectively closed the party.

Trivia (Audio or Visual)

Trivia (Audio or Visual??)

Trivia is a great Phil between songs. It gives the DJ something to do when there's nothing else going on. Hey DJ can always get everyone's attention by offering a prize for the answer to some trivial question. But trivia can often be very controversial. Some of the guests will think they won when they really didn't and it causes problems. And a DJ doesn't need problems. Each one is a cancer that spreads throughout the party, stifling the credit of the DJ. When an Irate guest complains to other guests about the DJ, they probably didn't even have a thought, but now they to share the complaint.

That's because, generally, the bond between two guests is stronger than the bond between DJ and guest. The guests can complain about it, and it's Acceptable. But a DJ can't complain about a guest to another guest. It causes more problems and sometimes even turned the party against the DJ. The DJ will then just say it was a bad party. But it really wasn't. It was a bad attitude.

Audio trivia causes the most problems. that's when the DJ asks a question. Usually, there's a clear-cut winner, the one guest who boldly and loudly shouts out the answer in front of everyone else. But sometimes, it is not that easy.

8th grade dances produce the most problems with audio trivia. When the DJ announces a trivia contest for a prize, the students Rush the setup. They may even knocked into the equipment. The DJ asks a question: the students shout out answers; and someone eventually gets it correct. That someone gets the prize, and then the controversy starts. Some other students will, no doubt, claimed they were first with the answer. They may or may not be right. Some know they're not; they just want the prize. But whatever the case, the DJ has to deal with all the losers. Some will whine; and others, fight. And everyone who didn't get a prize will think the DJ sucks. The guest who got the prize is happy. But the cancer isn't worth the happiness of just one person.

Visual trivia prevents cancers and reaps the benefits of audience participation. The winners are always clear-cut, and no one ever dispute a loss. Basically, the DJ asks to see a specific item at a specific place, and once the item is produced, the winner is announced. The rest of the guests can only accept defeat and admire the prize. No one ever complains, and cancers never start.

25th wedding anniversaries provide optimal parties for visual trivia. “We're celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bobby and Marie”, the DJ says. “And I've got a fabulous, designer t-shirt for the first person who can come to me with a 2 and a 5 in consecutive order in the serial number of a bill of any denomination”. “:A 2 and a 5 in consecutive order wins you a t-shirt at the 25th anniversary of Bobby and Marie”.

So, the first one up to the DJ with a 2 and a 5 when's the T-shirt. The DJ announces the winner, and everyone knows. No one can say they shouted out the answer from the back of the room before anyone else. No one can even say they were the first to pull out a bill. They didn't meet all of the objectives. They didn't arrive at the DJ before anyone else with a two and a five.

Bills or paper currency are random items. No one ever thinks about their serial numbers. But everyone knows where to look to win. And a DJ can use any number for any party. The numbers for a sweet 16, 10-year review Union, and they prom for the class of 89 are obvious. But certain ones for a bowling banquet or company party aren't. When they're not use the date.

Most visual trivia, however, isn't random It's conscience. For example, a DJ can seek a union card, prom picture, article of clothing with the name of a community. People consciously have these items, and their psyched the DJ wants them for a prize. So, the winners with conscience items are often more enthusiastic than the winners with random items.



Free publicity for future referrals can also be implemented into trivia. “I've got another fabulous, designer t-shirt to give away. This time, we'll give it to the first person who can take a picture of the T-shirt and hashtag it with (Your Company name or Tag) and post it to social media. A few people may take shots, each one eventually going into a photo album or online on social media. Everyone will see the first Flash, and the guest gets the prize. No questions asked, and no cancer started. Visual trivia makes one person happy and everyone else pay attention to win later on. And that's very important. The DJ needs to keep the attention of the people at the party.

Guests Requests

I’ll be with you in a minute!

Requests can ruin a party. A guest who takes too long to make one can force a DJ into a bad cue and/or an unprepared rap. The DJ, then, appears incompetent. If you control the requests, you’ll remain sane. But if you don’t, you’ll experience anxiety, self-consciousness, and sometimes, professional suicide.

Two laws determine the number of requests you will get at a party. The first law states the larger the party, the greater the number. And the second law states the later the party, the greater the number. The reason for the first law id obvious. There's just more people to make requests. The reason for the second law is proximity. Late in a party, people are dancing, and no one notices anyone leaning across the set-up for a request. But early in the party, everyone notices someone walking across the empty dance floor to the DJ. This unnerving experience prevents many requests at the time when they are needed the most. In short, these two laws realize a DJ can be overwhelmed with requests late at a Large Party.

To plan a strategy for handling requests, we must consider a law of life. People are used to waiting. They wait for doctors, bartenders, photographers, and DJs on the radio. So now, they can wait for mobile DJs, too. We command the music. Everyone knows we've got to keep it going, and they'll respectfully wait while we do our job. People are like that.

Of course, we do more than just command music. We prepare dj script, activities, and contests, and we need time for them, too. But the use of time for them is different than the use of time for music. When we're commanding music, we're cueing, selecting songs, or controlling the equipment, acceptable actions for a DJ. But when we're preparing something, we're observing. We know what we're doing. But everyone thinks we're just spacing.

That's when guests hound us for requests. They call out “HEY” or motion for us to come to them. We can't be rude. So, we go right over. There's no telling how long we'll be, even if we're controlling the conversation. A song might run out, and then we scramble for another one. This may lead to a gap in the music or an inappropriate selection. In the final analysis, a request interrupted the flow of the party.

We can't interrupt the flow, and we can't maintain it if we don't prepare. So, we've got to make everyone think were commanding music when we really preparing something. Put an earphone on your ear, look through your music, or play with your controls. This looks like something a DJ should do. And then, when someone approaches you for a request, put them on hold until you're ready to deal with them. You should never go unprepared into a request. You never know how long you'll be.

The simplest way To put someone on hold is to give them a quick look and then hold up right your index finger. This Is the universal sign for “I'll be with you in a minute”. Everyone knows that, and they'll easily wait while you do your job. That's the law of respect.

Liability Insurance

Liability Insurance

Last week we discussed equipment insurance - This week it is LIABILITY Insurance. Liability insurance ia another thing that most DJs and entertainers do not have and wait until the last minute to get when the place they are playing at requests  certificate. This can mean not getting the booking in some cases.

Our friends at N.A.M.E. offer Liability and Equipment insurance as just a couple of things you are eligible for when you become a member. You can even get insurance for one day or multiple days. Minimum premium is $175.00 You can visit them at: http://www.nameentertainers.com Mention you heard about them from the DJ Entertainment School Blog!

What’s your number?

What’s your number?

Students in Junior High School are the biggest Geeks in the world. They're just starting to notice the opposite sex. But they don't know how to act. The girls stand in cliques, and the guys fart and throw things at the DJ. These guys are four years away from their sexual peak. So, they're horny, too.

And it is this horniness that drives them to the cliques. But the cliques won't accept them. They're tight and intimidating. When a guy approaches one to ask a girl to dance, the other girls giggle. The guy doesn't even wait for the response; He feels rejected and leaves. The girl doesn't feel badly, though. She's still with friends. But the guys alone; his ego, bruised. He quickly realizes that the humiliation of rejection outweighs the pleasure of a dance. So, in junior high school, the guy has to have either a lot of courage or a callousness to humiliation to approach a girl.

Here lies a paradox of adolescence. Girls act like they don't want to be asked to dance, but they really do. In fact, they'd rather reject a dork and not get asked at all. That's because a girl who doesn't get asked is perceived ugly. It's another example for the adage that kids are cruel. They pick on one another for names, stupidity, and incoordination. But the worst is when they pick one one another for looks. A guy who gets rejected is perceived ugly, a girl who doesn't get asked is perceived ugly. No guy wants to be ugly. So, instead of getting rejected and finding out he is, he just doesn't ask anyone to dance. The girls, then, are the ugly ones.

None of this would happen if the guys had suaveness. But they don't get it in junior high school. They don't understand the open-ended question. They go right up to the girls and ask them if they want to dance. It’s easy for the girls to say “No”. So, that's what they say. It gives them superiority over men. A girl won't dance with a guy unless she wants him. She'll reject everyone until that guy asks her. If he doesn't, she's still satisfied. She got asked and that makes her beautiful.

When you consider the Paradox and the guys lack of suaveness, you understand why guys room one side and girls stand in the cliques on the other side at a junior high school dance. Eventually, the girls get bored and start making requests and dancing, and the guys start congregating and bothering the DJ. The DJ must maintain control. And the best way to do it is to get the guys and girls to mingle. Of course, the DJ has to overcome the social inadequacies of the adolescents. The DJ has to teach the guys to ask open-ended questions.

Before the dance, count out 50 business cards and number them 1 through 50 in blue or black Ink. Count out another 50 and number them 1 through 50 in Red ink. Give both sets to the people at the door of the dance and tell them to give a blue or black card to each one of the first 50 guys and a red card to each one of the first 50 girls.

At the beginning of the dance, you'll see the guys go to one side and the girls go to the other side. Shortly after your opening, tell the students to look at their cards. The guys have 50 cards in blue or black, and the girls have 50 cards in red. The first guy and girl to find one another with the same number each win a prize. And then, play a slow song. The result is amazing. The guys run up to the girls and ask “What's your number?” The first couple to produce the same one wins the prizes and gets invited start the slow dancing. All other couples with the same number should also dance. Tell everyone to hold onto their cards. They never know when they'll need them again.

This activity presents three benefits. First, guys and girls will continue to ask one another for numbers, thinking the DJ's going to give away more prizes. If a guy and girl don't have matching numbers, this question might get them talking and eventually, dancing. Second, the students will put the cards in their clothes, forget about them, and then their mothers will find them when they do the laundry. This may lead to referrals. And third, you're preparing the students for their future. At this dance, they're asking for numbers for prizes. In high school they'll ask one another four numbers for dates.