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
The Peas have just given their fans a taste the album’s first single dance track “The Time (Dirty Bit).” This track samples the iconic theme from “Dirty Dancing,” “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”
“You should expect deeper, a little bit darker electro beats and a little bit more of relationship issues on this one, a little bit more touching on that.” Fergie told MTV News. “But darker beats and a lot of funny stuff, as well, a lot of funny stuff.” Fergie said the song, “sort of sums up the current vibe of our group.”
Is Using a Wedding Planner Really The Right Choice for Everyone?
Not everyone can afford a real wedding planner, and quite often, some people do not even want one. Sometimes it would seem the quote “the more the merrier” when it comes time to do some wedding planning, however, for some, this may not be the case. In more cases than not, having “too many cooks will spoil the brew.”
Most often, people can help and everything will be just fine and turn out exactly how you wanted. However, wedding party members or relatives who either take it on themselves to become part time wedding planners can either become an asset to you, or can actually be a source of stress.
There are a few things to think about when bringing friends and family in for additional help.
1. Are you deciding for yourself what you are expecting the extra person to get done?
2. Do you really want to give them ultimate control, or rather guided direction? It is best to ask a few people for help with one small goal, then to put a lot on one person and have someone feel like they are actually in charge. If you put a family member “in charge” things may not go exactly your way, with the wrong person at the helm.
3. Has the person in question been helpful before, or are could they potentially be overly opinionated and pushy in times of stress?
4. Can you risk the friendship? I have heard horror cases where differences in taste result in problems. Weddings are stressful and can cause all sorts of in-fighting.
5. Does your spouse REALLY like the idea of the person helping?
So if you choose not to have Aunt Bertha run things now… You are not alone. If you have rented a hall that often books weddings, usually there is a person in charge of things that go with your expense. Use them!!! (Remember, however, they also have their own agendas as far as things to cut corners and save money. One way they do this is to push to have the cake cut earlier so that they can send staff home.
Also your wedding DJ is often your best bet for party planning at the reception. If they are a professional, not only will they be able to read your crowd and play all the songs you want, as well as others will enjoy, but they will organize the events along with your caterer and photographers so that everything comes off without a hitch.
VJ Video Jockey – DJ kenny Casanova Albany Weddings
Today, a “VJ” is a Video Jockey, but not like the ones you used to see on MTV and VH1. They are a hybrid between a mobile DJ and a performance artist who plays music and creates moving visual art from video on large screens, often at events such as concerts, nightclubs and music festivals.
With media files being easier to handle and manipulate and share across the board, it was only a matter of time before mobile DJ’s added visuals to the act, i.e. music videos and the like.
Hitting most of the major cities’ club life, we are now seeing a trend for DJs to move into the video world. There is now a growing need to add some kind of visual for every audio track played. This mindset is spreading like wildfire.
What some VJs are doing now are playing all music video format for dancing, with inserted video backdrops for tracks that people want to hear that do not have a music video available.
Following the trends being set by others, I now offer the same packages to my customers! Word up!
November 3, 2010 – Looks like the Black Eyed Peas are in for another lawsuit. In 1999, Bryan Pringle submitted this song, “Take A Drive” to Interscope Records, the same label as Will I.Am and Fergie. Back then, almost nobody heard the track. Today, there is a very similar track all over airwaves, everywhere.
Musician Bryan Pringle is now accusing someone of stealing his track “Take a Dive”, and end up transitioning the hook into the pop group’s smash hit, “I Gotta Feeling.” Bryan copyrighted the song in 1998, and then sent his unreleased demo along to many record companies, including Interscope, EMI and UMG.
The group has been engaging in what the lawsuit calls “a pattern and practice of intentional copyright infringement with respect to the unlawful copying of songs of unknown or lesser-known artists”. Bryan is now seeking damages, net profits from the sale of the song, and future credits and royalty payments.
Whenever a DJ or producer uses a sample in a song these days, laws mandate that the original artist gives permission and gets credit, after a negotiation of whatever that credit may be. Both the owner of the song and the artist on the sample are allowed to reap the benefits. However, it looks as if The Black Eyed Peas have taken some costly shortcuts.
Here is the track in question:
Here is The Black Eyed Peas track:
This is the group’s second lawsuit like this and we hope the courts figure everything out. The first one was recently just re-filed by musician Phoenix Phenom, with their original track in question called, “Boom Boom Dynamite.”
DJ Kenny Casanova dropped a line to MC Hammer, a rapper from the early 80s who found great success in legally using a sample from Rick James’ mega-hit “Superfreak” with, “U can’t Touch This.” MC Hammer stated that he had not heard of the lawsuit and requested a link to the track in question. After that we asked him what he thought and he stated, “Will I.Am is my very close brother.” That was it. LOL!
Anyhow, check it out for yourself and let us know what you think!
Mr. & Mrs. Pete & Michelle Sefcik, under the masks.
As you probably already know, I am a huge “theme wedding” fan. In fact, I am set to have my own on a pirate theme wedding come next April when I marry Maid Maria. This past Saturday, I DJ’ed a Halloween wedding in Grafton, NY that was great fun.
Something interesting that I would like to share; groups of people came in themes to match the tables organized into costume categories!
Halloween Theme Wedding Seating that Counts
An interesting idea for a Halloween theme wedding is to organize your guests by costumes at each table. There are different ways to do this. You know your guests better than I do. You can either try and get a list of what people will where, or attempt to offer movie themes and other group-like categories for your guests to chose from.
At this particular wedding, we had a Superhero table, complete with Batman, Superman, Clark Kent, Wonderwoman, Spider-man, Wolverine and a Transformer to boot.
We also had an Wonderland Table, with Alice, the Queen, The Mad Hatter, and a Door Mouse. And, one other cool table was The Wizard of Oz table, with a male bearded Dorthy, The Lion, The Witch and a person actually dressed as a chuck of the yellow brick road!
Another table was the Seriel Killer table. Another grouping was cartoons. Another setting was monsters. For your Halloween wedding, the grouping ideas can be endless.
Early on during the cocktail hour, as certain characters started to enter, I gave them their own entrance, aligning their costume to a related song. It was really fun to give them each time to shine by playing songs that went well with each character. Great fun was had by all!
