On Thursday and Friday, July 16 & 17 2015, I got to rock the turntables for a corporate event hosted by Radio Shack & Boombotix wireless Bluetooth speakers. On those two days, I was providing the music for Radio Shacks in both Bennington VT and Hudson NY on the Boombotix Speaker truck.
Boombotix CXT International Promotional Truck
It was a really cool gig. I got to set up my Numark NS7 turntables on a fully customized CXTInternational truck & trailer to promote Boombotix speakers, a really small powerful bluetooth speaker that you can clip onto anything. It was an awesome product and an awesome gig.
What happened was, Kenny got booked to replace the regular Boombotix DJ and was brought in to do two events for participating Radio Shacks. Both Radio Shacks were having a summer jam sale, pushing their electronics and other goodies in a summer version of “Black Friday.”
Many loyal customers who were already used to this annual event were there bright and early, all lined up to get their hands on the precious door-buster sales and save money! Radio Shack did not disappoint, and neither did their sponsors BOOMBOTIX for hiring us to bring music to the excitement!
Corporate Event at Radio Shack
I did a lot of scratching and old school throwback tunes and a great time was had by all. We had some funny activity dances and also some funny moments with pulling kids up to be a guest DJ to scratch on the wheels of steel.
As I always say to my clients, if you have the guts to go with a wedding theme, then it really makes the night better. As you can see, at a recent hockey theme wedding I was the DJ for in Altamont NY, the bride and groom did just that. I hope the pictures help you with your planning!
One of the things that leads a wedding to success is when the hosts, the bride and groom, think of every little detail and make their guest comfortable. Here is a nice little added touch that can actually increase the length of stay time attendance in your older demographic.
KAMALA SPEAKS – The Official Autobiography of WWE Wrestler Kamala by DJ Kenny Casanova
This blog is mostly “Wedding & Party Planning” advice, but I wanted to take a moment to mention other genre of entertainment I have experience in, publishing. Recently, I was the ghostwriter of an autobiography for a WWE professional wrestler named…
“THE UGANDAN GIANT” KAMALA
James Harris is a former WWE headliner & main eventer. Selling out arenas internationally, “The Ugandan Giant” Kamala, wrestled for 30 years everywhere against Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and every major star of the 80s and 90s. He was one of the most terrifying and unforgettable villainous wrestlers of all times.
DJ Kenny Casanova’s first published work
At 6’7, 385 pounds, this big man was known for wearing tribal face paint, white stars on his chest and a yellow moon on his belly. As a credit to his portrayal of this character, he was truly believed by fans to be an uncontrollable, dangerous monster. In his scariest match ever, however, he recently lost both of his legs to diabetes. Now his story is available to all.
WHY ONE OF OUR DJS AS THE WRITER? I, DJ Kenny Casanova, played Kamala’s mysterious handler “Kim Chee” on a number of occasions and worked with many top wrestlers from the 1980s on. As well as being a pro-wrestling manager since 1994 with WWE ring announcer experience, I’m also a Fulbright Scholar, an English teacher/writer, and a wedding DJ & event organizer. After learning about Kamala’s battle with diabetes, I figured Kamala’s story alone in book form could be one answer to lost earnings. So, I picked up the phone and made the call. At first, Kamala wanted to make sure my offer was real. It’s not often someone wants to do something without much back in return. Therefore, I had to be grilled by his friend, “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware.
WRITING THE BOOK – After getting The Birman’s blessing and after six months of interviewing Kamala, many more names from the wrestling world stepped up to help. I worked with Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Jake The Snake Roberts, DDP, and even The Insane Clown Posse’s Violent Jay. To write this book from all the interviews has been quite an experience to say the least. After it was written, we had some help with the fans too, to help with the project. Click here to see our successful KAMALA SPEAKS – kickstarter campaign
HOW TO BUY KAMALA SPEAKS – If you have read this far, you must want to read it or be the proud owner of an autographed copy by Kamala and Kenny. Once again, to purchase the book, just go to KamalaSpeaks.com. For more information, email me at ken@theDJservice.com.
FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO IF A LOVED ONE CAN’T ATTEND YOUR WEDDING
The world is now flat. In today’s modern world, technology plays a massive part in how people share moments like weddings with their friends and family around the world. The internet brings us all closer, when we can’t be there physically.
Virtual Wedding Guests Ideas – Streaming your wedding to anyone, anywhere, on iPads, Laptops and even cell phones.
Many social media outlets are all making the world a smaller place. Weddings are starting to pop up among these resources to connect people who otherwise could not make it to the newlywed’s special day.
Think about it. With today’s technology, people can easily allow real-time streaming of any real life event – FOR FREE. If a loved one can’t be present, people can now just open their event to mobile devices to anyone, anywhere. This is a great idea for couples who want to include more and more people in the wedding and do not have the resources to pay for every guest to be present.
Whether your wedding is at The Crossgates Banquet House in Albany, NY or if you are planning a destination wedding at Humming Bird Hall at Montego Bay, Jamaica, a virtual wedding guest is an awesome option. Virtual wedding guests can save you and your guests money because it cuts down on travel. A virtual wedding makes it so no matter where in the world your guests sit, they can still watch your wedding ceremony unfold live on the World Wide Web.
FIVE TECHNOLOGY IDEAS TO BRING A GUEST CLOSER TO YOUR WEDDING:
There are many different ways to use mobile devices to create virtual wedding guests. Below is a very detailed DIY recipe link for beginners on how to stream your own Virtual Wedding for free:
The Sheldon iPad-Head idea could be perfect for your virtual wedding guest
1) The iPad-Head Virtual Wedding Guest
If you are a Big Bang Theory fan like I am, you may remember this. There was one episode where Sheldon didn’t want to leave the house, so he slapped an iPad-like tablet on top of a coat rack with a hanging shirt on it and created some kind of relay device on wheels to escort him around, without ever leaving the house. This is a very primitive form of The Bruce Willis film, Surrogates, however, the iPad-Head idea may be all you need to make your wedding stick out.
Apple has created the technology to allow for a very easy way for a virtual wedding guest to attend your wedding from afar. Try setting up iPad-heads on fake bodies and sit them right in chairs at the ceremony or reception. Then, have your guest run Facetime and it will be like they are actually there! They can talk and interect with other guests, as well as the bride & groom.
Virtual Wedding Guest Booth
2) Streaming Wedding Reception Booth
Here is an idea, in case you want more fun activities at your wedding reception. Set up an area in your reception hall and time set aside just for live interaction with virtual guests, online.
To create your own “Virtual Guest Booth Stream Station,” prop up either web cams, laptops or iPad/tablets so that virtual guests see the action from the virtual wedding guest booth, and also video chat with those who stop by.
SMART TVs – There are also Smart TVs now that makes creating a stream station even easier. Samsung has a TV that has a camera built into top frame, much like a laptop camera. They even have Skype built into the platform and a Skype button on the remote control. The age of the Jetson’s is upon us!
The more decorative and fun the booth display turns out, the more apt people will be to interact with your virtual wedding guest.
3) Video Toast with Virtual Guest – Digital Projection:
As a wedding activity, set up a special virtual toast maybe to take place before the best man’s speech. What you can do is get a PowerPoint / Digital projector and actually broadcast a Skype video call, or Google Hangout to the rest of your live guests. Then, have the virtual guest stream a toast to the whole room.
The Laptop Table of Virtual Wedding Guests via SKYPE
4) The Virtual Wedding Guest Laptop Table:
Whenever we had a big get-together at my grandmother’s house for a holiday, we always had “the kids table;” a place where only the kids sat. Borrowing from this idea and if your virtual wedding guests are game, you can set aside a whole table just for laptop virtual wedding guests. Put each laptop at each table setting and make it so each webcam allows each guest to see each other through a single-face platform, like Skype.
While a program like Zoom would work better than this because of its multi-user platform, this allows for walk-ups at the live event to interact with the people on on the laptops. It also makes for a great experience!
Because of technology, you can now stream your wedding live to anyone, anywhere for free!
5) FullWebcam Stream Virtual Wedding :
So you want to just stream your wedding for many guests to enjoy? Great idea! There really is something to be said for “keeping it simple.” Do some surfing and select a streaming video website. Several websites allow you to stream live from free web streaming sites.
You probably do not want to have the added stress of setting up and checking on the virtual wedding web cam throughout the night. Therefore, it is probably a good idea to ask a close friend or family member to fully accept the responsibility and go through a practice run with them.
Have fun with the creation of your virtual wedding guests! Whatever you choose to do, this idea will increase the chance that more of your loved ones will be present for your special day!
– DJ Kenny Casanova is an Albany, NY Wedding DJ. If you are interested in booking DJ Kenny Casanova, call or TEXT 518-506-3305.
Ed Sheerhan tops this 25 List of Modern Wedding Songs
WEDDING MUSIC LIST WITH VIDEO LINKS FOR 2015
There are so many LAME cheesy old wedding song lists on the internet, that from time to time, I wonder if people are actually writing new DJ lists or just passing along the same irrelevant out-dated crap. Can you say Delilah Show?
Here is 2015 list of songs that could work very well at your wedding for those of you looking for modern new songs that you can slow dance to.
TOP 25 WEDDING MUSIC LINK SONG LIST FOR 2015
Most of these songs are tracks released this year, or maybe a year or so old, but you certainly won’t find oldies here:
