It’s been a couple of decades since The Who (or what’s left of The Who) was relevant in the pop eye. Why did the NFL feel the need to travel back in time to find it’s half time music act? While they were an awesome live band in their prime of the 70’s, by the early 1980s, old age, arthritis, and other various ailments have stricken the band and many members have been replaced. While this is understandable in show business, the Superbowl’s rendition of the band made me wonder just WHO is now in charge of the once great band.
A few months ago, THE WHO, was billed as the half-time performers at this year’s 2110 Super Bowl. At that time I was like, “Man, they are going to have to get out the Geritol for this one.” I had seen some current pictures of Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend and honestly had no idea how they were going to pull if off.
But come on! Did the NFL really think we would fall for it? Who is fooling who? While the band sounded okay due in part to Millie Vanilli lip-sync technology, the entire segment was bizarre to watch with the replacement of the band’s front man. I don’t get it. It is mind-boggling to me why Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend would allow Tom Baker, aka Doctor Who, to replace Daltry, as lead singer. I mean, do they really think we wouldn’t notice?
I don’t begrudge the duo for wanting to keep the band performing. But it’s clear that their best days (or even okay days) are way behind them, and that a time travel exposition to the past may not be one that should be revisited.
It was a total mystery to me why the NFL booked The Who in the first place, until I saw Tom Baker complete with his Austin Powers scarf, filling in for the 65-yer-old Roger Daltry who no longer has it in him. Then it came to me. If one of the buttons popped on Tom Baker’s shirt, no one would have any Janet Jackson flash backs.
All joking aside, as a DJ in my thirties, I feel a lot of sympathy for those aging rockers who want to rock out and look like they did years ago. I am sure that being fifty or sixty on the outside doesn’t matter to most of them, as they still like the teenager idol superstar they once were. However, Tom “Doctor Who” Baker should lose the microphone and stick with traveling the space time continuum in his little green phone booth, robotic dogs and sonic screwdrivers.
A DJ has to keep up on music. It’s not optional. In fact, any good DJ should love music so much they couldn’t not keep up on music.
A few nights ago, I watched the Grammy Awards. There were some great performances, and a lot of talent featured. I love how the Grammys feature all different genres of music and expose amazing musicians to people whose natural inclination would not be to gravitate in their direction.
Here are the artists that were nominated for Best New Artist this year at the 2010 Grammys. Even if it is does not seem like your genre, give it a try. You just might like it.
We’ll start with the winner, the Zac Brown Band, playing Chicken Fried. I also love their Toes.
Book your DJ early! Our weekends are getting booked really solid well into the fall already. Once you get your deposit in, the date is secure. If you hesitate too long, we might book the date up! Drop us a line at 518-506-3305, if you are thinking about planning a party.
DJ Kenny Casanova
What was special about this past Tuesday, though, really? We booked 8 gigs in one day! I guess it was party planning day or something. It seemed that most of the day, all I did was write up contracts. Maybe shock set in and people saw that January was gone and it was time to start thinking about stuff AFTER THE WINTER. I don’t know. It was awesome, but now my head is spinning trying to keep them all straight. LOL! We are really lucky to be this busy though, and thankful for the work, in a time when the economy is down and people aren’t doing so well, across the board. Thank God for all he has done for us!
Maybe, times are picking up. That would be great! It does seem like there is more spending going on. Hopefully that means there is more money to spend, rather than less debt being created.
We are going to be very busy this summer. In one day, we booked four wedding receptions, a grad party, a banquet, a middle school dance, and a photography gig. With an average of one party on a Friday, and one party on a Saturday, on top of our already full plate of late night Friday gigs at Villa Valenti Pub in Troy, NY – Tuesday was a whole month of gigs.
(Not like I am complaining! Wish more days were like Tuesday!)
Being relatively high on web searches, due to lots of gigs, and also very affordable, I have found that it helps to book early. You usually want to book the DJ you want about 6 months ahead of time to play music at your wedding reception. This gives you plenty of time to plan and do what you need to do.
Also, another tip. Think about priorities. Before you start planning your own wedding, what do you remember about one of the best weddings you have ever gone to? Usually it was great fun (entertainment) and/or the food. If the top two things your guests will remember are entertainment and food, make these your top priorities.
Do your homework. Find the Entertainment and the food first. If you know exactly the band or DJ that you want, and/or the catering company you want, get their available dates and then start looking for the best place. Many brides book a hall on a certain date, only to find that the DJ that they really wanted or the catering company couldn’t accomodate that date. I have had many customers a year ahead of time book me BEFORE they even knew where the hall was going to be, because they liked our product and also our price.
Karaoke at a wedding can be great in small amounts!
If you have a wedding coming up, you want it to be different. How about a little karaoke?! While it is not for everyone, it could be right for you.
If you are considering adding a nice karaoke package to your wedding reception, you are the type of bride and groom that really want your guests to get down with the music. Right? It is true. Karaoke will start of your wedding reception with something memorable, and karaoke is certainly a fun option for participants. However, as Spidey once said, “with karaoke comes great responsibility.” (Or something like that.)
First off, you really need to check out your DJ to see what his actual karaoke background is. He could be a great wedding DJ, but not that cultured in empty-orchestra performances. Has your disc jockey won any best of karaoke titles a number of times, like Kenny Casanova (shameless plug) ? Does he (or she) have great karaoke gear with sweet cordless microphones and hot current selections as well as the old classics songs that everyone loves, like DJ Kenny Casanova?
While it is hard to exactly explain what it is that makes a karaoke DJ “#1” in the eyes of his or her karaoke following it probably has to with a combination of personality and fast pacing. That is what makes us different.
Personality. It is something your DJ either has, or doesn’t have. There are no personality classes. You cannot learn this. The only way to really judge personality, is to see it for yourself
Ask to see your DJ playing karaoke music at a public venue. If you would like to see us, we ask our customers to stop by Villa Valenti Pub in Troy, NY every Friday night.
The reason we get booked for a lot of weddings and sweet 16 birthday parties is by having potential customers come to our public gigs and test them first. If they invite you, do it! You can see them in action, unannounced, uncensored and unknown. Then you can judge for yourself, without watching an edited video of only their best moments.
Musical sweetness.
How do you know, if what you are seeing will translate well for you? Your karaoke DJ should be funny and fun and keep the party going, but not a spotlight hog themselves. Some karaoke DJ’s are unbooked musicians looking for an outlet to shine. Your wedding is not the place for this. You don’t want your KJ to get on the mic and attempt stand up comedy. Your guests want to hear music, not speeches, but a little bit of quick mic work in the appropriate places after or before a strategic song can be classic.
Timing, timing, TIMING! It really is everything. No silence please. No dead air. This is important. When dead air happens – PEOPLE CRINGE, and the fun stops. People get tired and move on with their lives. The DJ kills the dance floor. Have you ever been on a dance floor and there is a quiet buffer space between songs? What do you see the dancers do? They either freeze and stand there like scared deer in headlights, or go and sit back into their dinner seats. BOTH OF THESE OUTCOMES ARE POOR! Silence equals BAD DJ!!! Look for the DJ try their hardest to keep everything moving and leave no room to sleep for the karaoke audience.
Once you have chosen the right DJ who also has karaoke, consider these precautions.
1) SCHEDULED KARAOKE TIME – Not everyone likes karaoke, so limit it to either scheduled performances by a few key players, or open up say the very last hour. If you open it up for the entire reception, it will not be special and will become more annoying than anything else.
2) SET LIMITS – Do not allow multiple songs by one guest. Maybe one or two, but you do not want your wedding reception to become a a karaoke concert staring one or two key players.
3) SCAN SONG SELECTION – Make sure your DJ runs all the songs by you, if they could be considered questionable. Some songs out there have ridiculous amounts of adult content and just are not right for a wedding. (HINT – if there is cursing, or a song by the 2 Live Crew, beware!)
So that’s it. Karaoke can really be a blast, but be careful. If you are, it can really add to the final flavor and make it a great night for everyone!
DJ Kenny Casanova has won best karaoke titles a number of times. While it is hard to explain what it is, exactly, that makes us “The Best” in the eyes of our patrons, they tell me that it has to do with personality and fast pacing.
Personality. It is something your karaoke DJ either has, or doesn’t have. You cannot learn this. The reason we get booked for a lot of weddings and sweet 16 birthday parties is I have potential customers come to public gigs and test us first. It seems we seem to pass with flying colors. They tell us that we are funny, and fun and keep the party going. We don’t get on the mic and attempt stand up comedy. We know that people want to hear music, not speeches, but a little bit of quick mic work in the appropriate places after or before a strategic song can be classic. We mix our party DJ success with the karaoke.
Timing is everything. No dead air, is important to us. When it happens – I CRINGE! Have you ever been on a dance floor and there is a space between songs? What do the dancers do? They either freeze and stand there like deer in headlights, or go and sit back in their seats. BOTH OF THESE OUTCOMES ARE NOT GOOD! We try our hardest to keep everything moving and leave no room to sleep for the karaoke audience. Admittedly, we end up trying to pick more of the fast songs that singers want to sing first, but do leave room for a couple of slow dances, where necessary.
So that’s it. Book us for your next party and add karaoke! You will love it!
