Grandmaster Flash; one of the pioneers of Beat Juggling.
Before sampling machines and software on laptops that let you digitally loop a sequence on a track, DJ’s used to do something called “Beat Juggling.”
Beat juggling is the act of playing section of a song on one turntable, and at the precise moment when the beat ends, cueing it up on a duplicate record, on another turntable. This was often done to extend a part of a song that a DJ particularly liked; perhaps one that really got people dancing. Beat Juggling was also used in order to create unique compositions, using multiple turntables and one or more mixers.
It is said that beat juggling with a small section of a beat is looped using two copies of the same record was first done by Kool DJ Herc at a disco club in 1973. The idea caught on and later was refined by other early hip hop DJs like Grand Wizard Theodore (arguably, the first DJ to scratch out loud in 1977), Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa.
This meant that DJ’s couldn’t fire up an iPod, or open a folder of thousands of tracks stored on a laptop, it meant they had to physically carry bulky records to their events, and quite often have on hand TWO of many of the same albums!
“Scratching” came about by mistake, as the DJ was cueing up the next beat and enjoyed the sound that it made. This eventually became the artform that it is in the hip-hop world today.
Afrika Bambaataa. Also known as “The Godfather of Hip Hop” – produced one of the first major breakdance tracks called, Planet Rock. He invented turntable techniques that eventually spread throughout the world. The first song with beat juggling and scratching to hit the mainstream charts was by mixed by Grand Mixer DST performing on the turntables in Herbie Hancock’s dance track, “Rockit.” As a result, scratching and turntablism was first exposed to the masses.
Here is an idea… How about a wedding fit for a King? An Elvis-themed wedding can be as elegant and fancy, or as fun and crazy as you would like it to be.
Elvis had many faces over his life. He was a lady killer, rockstar, country man, Las Vegas staple, and clean cut man of class, depending on when you saw him over his career. Also, Elvis’ Blue Hawaiin period can allow for a more laid back pacific feel.
So what can you do?
First and foremost, pick out the Elvis look you want most and dress your bridesmaids and groomsmen accordingly. If you still want some traditional tuxedoed look for your wedding ceremony and really only want the Elvis theme for the reception, the perfect way to incorporate the theme subtley is by dressing only the goormsmen of the wedding party’s feat in Blue Suede Shoes. Then choose a matching shade of blue for the bridesmaids gowns!
But if you really want to go all out, how about ushers who are all dressed as Elvis impersonators for the big day? And how about a ballad for the wedding march and walk the aisle to Elvis singing “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”.
Once you hit the reception, anything goes.
Peanutbutter and banana sandwich horsduerves are a must for a conversation piece. Also, add some 50’s sunglasses on every table and some hawaiin leighs.
Door prizes rock. They create anticipation, excitement, and also increase the amout of guests. It is not unheard of for office parties these days to charge a little bit more for their party admission so that door prizes can be given away, in raffle form, and people are willing to pay it.
My partner in crime, Maria DJ (of MariaDJ.com), she just did a great one for ITT where they gave away a laptop and iPods, and all kinds of cool gadgets! There isn’t always that much left over revenue for super high-end prizes, but with a little planning, door prizes can still happen and they can still be fun.
Last weekend, I was the disc jockey for a real fun party with gift certificates to places like Dunkin Donuts, Home Depot, and Target. People ate them up, on the edge of their seats, waiting for me to read the winning numbers. We also did a Twist, Macarena, Electric slide and Limbo contest with prizes for the best dancers.
There is a fine line, however, between giving out LOTS of door prizes so that everyone gets something, and also watering down the prizes too much so that they are not appreciated.
At a recent office holiday party that I DJ’ed and MC’ed for, they tried something new this year. Rather than giving away 4 or 5 gift certificates at about 20-25 a piece for various locations, they gave away a load of 5 dollar ones.
In the end, people didn’t seem to care as much and weren’t excited, as the give-away was kind of drawn out and with not much pay off.
This is NOT a DJ Kenny Casanova Set Up. A Professional Disc Jockey is very concerned with image.
The other day, I saw a message posted on a message board explained how to DJ your own wedding. I was like, “huh? How can you do that?”” It is true that you could save money, but at what expense? I just thought I would throw a few thoughts at you on why I believe that the professional DJ is needed especially at a wedding, at all costs.
1. If you are planning on anything traditional at your wedding, you know that you will need a sound system, including microphones for things like speeches, toasts and/or blessings.
2. An iPod cannot speak and offers no interaction with the guests. A good DJ hypes up great introductions, instructs on custom activities and also special announcements. If you have a crowd that needs prodding to jump up and dance on their own, an iPod will just sit there and allow the night to unfold into a boring reception.
3. While the iPod itself may cost less than a professional wedding DJ, how do you plan on amplifying the music? Sitting around an iPod dock isn’t going to cut it. To rent professional equipment, you come very close to some DJ’s actual price.
4. The professional wedding DJ also acts as a wedding planner/organizer. An iPod doesn’t know when is the best time to toast, dance, eat, drink and/or cut the cake actually is. , etc. Experience is something that can’t be pre-programmed.
5. A professional wedding DJ doesn’t just play random “shuffled” songs. The good DJ looks at the audience at hand, reads the crowd and constantly adjusts the music selections to get or keep people dancing.
6.Finally, what happens if your rented equipment fails. Do you want to rent an additional backup system to have on hand?
If you are having a laid back small reception, you may be able to get away with supplying your own background music. However, if you are hoping for a crazy party with dancing, energy and excitement, no machine can replace a man.
Drop me a line with any comments! I would love to hear them. ken@theDJservice.com
