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.
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.
For those of you who don’t know me that well, I am a DJ, an experienced pro wrestling ring announcer, and NY certified high school English instructor for the Capital Region Career & Technical School. I like listening to music, writing unpublished novels, long walks on the beach and long trips to the Chinese Buffet.
I work my hardest to help at-risk students pass with a Regents diploma, and also prepare them to have the must-needed communication skills to survive in today’s modern workplace. Every day, my 12th graders fine-tune their assignments for me and save them. In the end they will have a professional portfolio that will make them look valuable to a prospect employer when they get out of the “hell hole” that is school.
Finding motivation with my students is a tough job. Most of them would be a another drop out, and are with me as a last chance. Many of them do not want to be there, so you have to do stuff to make it interesting to them. After all, which would you rather do? Listen to an ipod, play Rock Band, or write an argumentative essay in MLA format for me? Being a full-time DJ as well, often helps me to connect with them.
Last week, I was teaching an “Easily confused words lesson” when we came across the words “Illusion vs. Allusion.” Students knew the term illusion, but sometimes spelled it with an “A”. With this spelling, it means to talk about someone else’s work within your own work.
Students often use the wrong word in their papers, due to a lack of practice and sometimes a lack of care. They often misappropriate “their, there, they’re”, “to, two, two”, and “your, you’re, ur” (ur, being the anti-English teacher text lingo for the word “your”.) I would say 75 percent spell college C-O-L-L-A-G-E, and laugh when I tell them that one day they plan on going to a posterboard with ripped out magazine pictures glue-sticked all over it.
Keeping up on the music that matters to my students helps make me to provide relevant examples, as well as makes me a good DJ.
In the allusion talk, we discussed how Robbie Williams’ new hit, “Hotel Motel Holiday Inn,” was actually an allusion to old school rap band Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” Another example to help them understand the word was Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” dropping a Lynard Skynard work into the chorus, over a Warren Zevon sample.
Being a wedding DJ that is easily booked five or six times a week during the busy seasons, it is my business to know music. Knowing the new stuff that my students dig, is very advantageous as a teacher. Making fun of the whole Taylor Swift / Kanye West thing at the VMA is pop culture to them and using this topic to define vocab words and put them into sample sentences, is much better than using content that doesn’t matter to a high schooler.
It works. It also helps me find some cool sweet 16 gigs!
Okay. Now that I have this, I don’t know what to write. My other site is TheDJservice.com, but it is more informative, and not writing intensive.
Well….. As your favorite Capital District DJ specializing in weddings and parties, I am now giving you a little bit more, here at TheDJService.com/blog – or – DJKennyCasanova.com. Here, in this super slick blog, I will give you my insider opinion on local party trends, Capital District happenings, music, and the world at large.
It’s lengthy, it’s fresh and it’s cougar-friendly, too.
Tell your brother, tell your mother and tell your friends to check out my new blog, yo. If you read it, you will love it.