A new year brings new changes. I've finally decided to step into the 21st century and start a blog for our deejay business. Welcome to those reading this.
Hopefully, throughout the course of this blog, you will get to know me (Kay Lynne), my partner Johnny V, and Funtastic Sound.
Where to start? [add psychedelic effects here as we tumble back in time]
I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with
my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi ... wait a sec ... that was Steve Martin in The Jerk. Seriously, tho, I have had a love of music as long as I can remember. At the age of three I was taking dance lessons - tap, ballet, jazz. Doesn't matter. At three it all looks the same. To the parents and the audience. All we knew at three was that we needed to keep moving our feet and smiling. When I was a bit older I would sit in the basement for hours and make up dance routines and lip sync to songs. It didn't matter what it was: James Brown, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the soundtrack to Mary Poppins. I was the STAR!
My parents taught me the honest-to-God love of music. There were always great sounds floating through the house. Ike and Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers, Marvin, Smokey and the others mentioned above. I have vivid memories of my mother in a short short mini skirt and go go boots doing the pony and mashed potato across the floor while my dad would pull up his pant legs and shimmy across the floor like the Godfather of Soul.
The 60s turned into the 70s. I was in High School during the time of Disco AND Rock. You had a choice - sparkly dresses and high heels or jeans and layered shirts. Didn't matter. I could go from listening to the Bee Gees and Donna Summer to Queen and Foreigner. I ate it up, enjoying each new sound as it came into existance. (MTV? MY GOD, it was like the second coming!)
Long story short. I was at a dance club one night and watched a house deejay work the room. He would stand behind his equipment and knew every single song that he played. I would watch him - how the hell he knew the all the lyrics to "Make You Sweat" or "Strike it Up" I never knew. I just knew I wanted to do what he was doing. I wanted to be able to command a room full of people to get up and have a good time. (Do you realize what kind of power you have when you can get the whitest boy in the room to get up and dance like he doesn't have a care? THAT'S power! LOL)
I saw an ad in the paper for a company that was looking for mobile deejays. They would train you. Give you equipment. It was your job to entertain. To make it look ... gulp ... easy. That was 1991. I've been doing it ever since. (And, yes, I DO know every lyric to "Make You Sweat" and "Strike It Up".) I can't imagine doing anything else.
My requirements for a good DJ:
ReplyDeleteA thorough knowledge of music;
Stage presence;
Professionalism and the ability to read an audience;
Enthusiasm;
A great bustline.
LOL - even if it's a male dj?
DeleteBut I do agree, Tim. DJs SHOULD have a solid knowledge of all types of music--not just one genre. A prospective client needs to discuss this with his/her DJ. Otherwise, you can have wedding guests from ages 8 to 80 and the only thing the DJ knows how to play, for example, is Club/House or Hip Hop/R&B. Not that there is anything wrong with any of those, mind you. (But it may be the only music the DJ actually has!) There is a time and place for everything. However, successful weddings usually have a playlist that spans many genres. That way everyone is happy. And, yep ... that is my ultimate goal ... to make sure the guests are happy.
We are deejaying a wedding this October and, during a sit-down meeting with the bride and groom, she stressed to me how important it was that her family and friends were to be with her that day and that the music played would encompass her life. A soundtrack to their lives together. I think that's a neat sentiment.
My requirement is listening to me. When I had my 40th celebration, there were songs I requested that weren't played and songs that I specifically requested not be played that were. I was so displeased to pay that much money and have my wishes ignored.
ReplyDeleteI'm positive you listen very well and give the customer exactly what they want. You are just that type of person.