THE ALBANY HILTON aka CROWNE PLAZA IS A GOOD PLACE FOR A WEDDING

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of being able to DJ for Liz & Chris at The Hotel Albany, (now called The Albany Hilton) on 40 Lodge Street Albany, NY. (They have been coming for years to Villa Valenti Pub, a place I have been a disc jockey at for karaoke for a long time, and subsequently, they knew what they were getting into by booking me!)

LOCATION – You know a place must be good when it is busy, right? There were five other events in the hotel on this particular Saturday. It was very busy. There were two school functions, some kind of brunch, and a class reunion right next door to our spot at the main dining hall. While the very busy nature of the hotel does say that they a name to consider when looking for a venue conveniently located at the foot of Albany with easy access to 787, there was one problem during cocktail hour for this particular event; the busy swimming pool.

COCKTAIL HOUR – The cocktail hour was scheduled to take place outside the main dining hall, in this case, for an hour and a half. However, with all the people around and school functions, the swimming pool on the floor below us was packed more than I have ever seen in, being a DJ in the Albany, New york area for 13 years.

The way the hotel is set up is kind of like a mall where the cocktail hour takes place, in that you can look down and see the floor below. Honestly, the other times I have provided the mobile disc jockey wedding reception services as DJ Kenny Casanova at the Crowne Plaze, the swimming pool below had never played a factor, auditorily. This time, however, it sounded like The YMCA, and the village people were nowhere to be found.

(NOTE – since the Hilton took over the hotel, they have put up windows to reduce swimmingd sounds. Great move!)

Liz, the bride, has really been fun and supported us for quite sometime at our other gigs, so we wanted to make this day the best we could for her. Therefore, we set up, free of charge without discussion, to “drown out the swimmers below” – pardon the pun.

It worked for the most part. The other event coordinator at the class reunion came over a few times to ask us to turn down the acoustic music, and tunes we were playing, as not to bother the guest next door at the other party. But we managed to find a happy medium to mask the pool party splashing and it seemed to work.

One good thing about the class reunion as a neighbor, the guests were able to swipe different Hors’ Dourves free of charge off the other party!

STAFF – Everything else went off without a hitch. The staff is great to work with and made everything go really smooth, despite the fact that the event coordinator of this wedding was replaced somewhere in the middle of the reception, due to scheduling conflicts. The hotel also helped out immediately during set-up with a wiring issue and their AV guy went above and beyond to keep things professional and clean, with no visual eyesore factor to the guests.

The wait staff was friendly and helpful, and also very fast and efficient in serving all the guest. Some venues take too much time up, cutting into the dance portion of the night. This was not the case.

FOOD / DRINK – The hot Hors’ Dourves were really good. The dinner food was just average; not great, not terrible. This party was more about the drinking anyhow… and the bartenders did do a great job keeping the glasses filled with minimal wait.

In the end, a pretty good time was had by all, as many of the guests wanted the party to be extended. One good thing about booking at The Albany Hilton is that when the wedding reception is over, they have a great in house bar that stays open very late to move your after party to.

All in all, this event was my first one under the new Hilton owned Hotel Albany name. In the end, it proved to still be a great location being only a minute off of 787 in downtown Albany, with good employees, decent service and average/mediocre food.

ALBANY HILTON aka CROWN PLAZA WEDDING

For more information on using us to be YOUR wedding DJ, call 518-506-3305

STILLWATER’s #1 PREMIERE DJ SERVICE

(518) 506-3305. Affordable Stillwater, NY wedding DJ / Mobile disc jockey with huge library of new music & classics, Digital Photography & Lights!

NEW HITS & ALL THE CLASSICS: Want top quality in music entertainment and disc jockey services for your event in Stillwater, NY? Then look no more! TheDJservice.com mixes today’s best new music with all your favorite throwbacks and classics in Stillwater, NY.

Want to have a hand in creating the playlist? No problem! Help create the playlist or leave it up to us!

#1 LOCAL DJ SERVICE IN STILLWATER: DJ Kenny Casanova and TheDJservice.com is #1 for most DJ related Google searches in the Stillwater area. Booked sometimes 2 years in advance for dates, you may want to lock in your date near Stillwater, NY as soon as possible!

STILLWATER DJ SERVICES & WHAT WE BRING TO THE PARTY:

•200,000 song library
•DJ/MC experience since 1996
•Professional Photography “The DJ Cam”
•Interactive events, dances, & activities
•Digital Slide Show Projector
• Music Video Package
•Voted #1 Karaoke DJ in Stillwater
•Radio Personality Experience
•Ring Announcer Experience: WWF / WWE
•Biggest Laser Show in Stillwater, NY
•Professional Gear Bose L1 Stick & Peavey
•Very affordable prices!!!

CONTACT US NOW FOR PARTIES IN AND AROUND STILLWATER NEW YORK!

Call us or TEXT us at 518-506-3305, or email ken@thedjservice.com. Check out www.theDJservice.com for more information!
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STILLWATER WEDDING DJ SERVICE POINTS: If you want an affordable experienced DJ for your wedding reception with countless local venue hall relationships, our local Stillwater office serves points around Bemis Heights, Ketchums Corners, Saratoga National Historical Park, Stillwater village on US-4, Brown’s Beach, East Saratoga Junction, Snake Hill, near Saratoga Lake on NY-9P, Stillwater, US-4, Stillwater Junction, on County Road 75, Wayville, on County Road 70, Willow Glen, on NY-67 all on a regular basis for music entertainment disc jockey mobile DJ services.

Stillwater, NY… Thank you for the call! Here is a video of a Typical DJ Kenny Casanova Wedding Intro, with the ring announcer energy many request!

WANT FUN? ADD CONFETTI!

Here is a unique idea to add to your wedding or event? How about a customizable confetti bar? This is a great conversation piece and activity that also serves a purpose for decoration. The confetti toss can then be a great group activity for the introduction of the bride and groom, or the first dance of the evening, perhaps.

Here is how you can add this fun decoration and group activity to your wedding or event:

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DIY WEDDING CONFETTI BAR

1) SECURE ONE-COLOR CONFETTI ASSORTMENTS – Buy a bunch of different confetti samples from a party supply store, or better yet cut up special papers yourself!

2) PREPARATION – If you are making your own confetti , look for cheap different lightweight (low pound) paper at your favorite art store. Then use paper shreaders, paper  cutters or even hole punchers to render the individual confetti pieces. A combination of different methods to manifest the confetti will make for more unique assortments and better results/

3) PLACE INTO SERVING BOWLS / VATS – Once you make pure piles of one color confetti, display each batch in some kind of serving bowl/container.

4) ADD SIGNS – Let the guests know what the bar is for, and also inform them when they should launch the confetti.

5) ANNOUNCE BAR – Have your DJ announce the concept of the bar to your guests during cocktail hour before the bride and groom have arrived so that there is plenty of time for guest to mix and match their own custom confetti mixes. Part of the fun of this wedding idea is that people have the time to mix and match a baggy full of confetti so that they can throw a batch of their own hand-selected mixed confetti.

This can really be a great activity, but please make sure to first check with y our catering hall/location to make sure that their are no restrictions on confetti. (Some halls don’t allow it.) Here are some pictures below to better help you visualize the potential of a wedding confetti bar.

DJ KENNY CASANOVA’S WRITING WORK

One of TheDJservice.com’s disc jockeys, DJ Kenny Casanova, has his roots in entertainment as he is a former rign announcer and also a former wrestling personality. In early 2014, Kenny decided to try his hand at writing as well, setting out to write a book as a fundraiser for a retired WWE wrestler he had worked with who had lost both legs to diabetes.

In the past, Kenny Casanova portrayed a wrestling manager named “Kim Chee” on a number of occasions in the Northeast, for a huge monsterous wrestler named “Kamala.” Some 15 years later, Kenny heard about Kamala’s plight and figured his story in a book form could be one answer to Kamala’s lost earnings. So Kenny interviewed WWE Legend Kamala, as well as a number of other famous names in wrestling, in hopes to create Kamala’s autobiography to help him offset the double-amputee’s medical costs.

From these interviews, Kenny put book together and put it up on the social media platform, KICKSTARTER! where everybody chips in to help make something happen. Using the Kickstarter funds as a means to collect pre-sales, along with some really great reward incentives including the book itself, fans rallied behind Kenny’s idea.

Kenny went into a full-fledged self-publishing mode, creating a press called WOHW.com. He got all kinds of press for the book, additional content by famous wrestlers and arranged for countless interviews to plug the book.

With the Kickstarter money, Kenny hired an editor, a book layout guy and also had enough funds to actually print the book.

It is our pleasure to report that Kenny raised $17,500, which was $5,500 over goal! After the Kickstarter campaign, remaining book sales surpassed $10,000. An finally, an additional $35,000 was also raised in cash by fans wanting to help when the Kickstarter had ended on a Gofundme collection.

If you are interested in the book check out www.KamalaSpeaks.com

It has guest passages by  Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Koko B Ware, Insane Clown Posse’s Violent J, Jerry Jarrett, Cowboy Bill Watts, Kevin Sullivan, “Brother Love” Bruce Prichard, Barry Darsow (aka Repo Man / Smash of Demolition), “The Mountie” Jacques Rougeau, Nikolai Volkoff, “The Genius” Lanny Poffo, Jesse Barr (Jimmy Jack Funk), Boris Zhukov, Ivan Koloff, Bill Anderson, Marty Jannetty, Bobby Fulton, Tom Brandi, Jimmy Hart, Ken Resnick, Bill Apter, Insane Chavo Guerrero Sr, Adrian Street, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

BOOK PROMOTION INTERVIEWS –

STEVE AUSTIN – After Kenny finished the first draft, he called another “wrestling bad-ass.” It turned out Stone Cold was one of “the biggest Kamala fans ever as a kid.” Therefore, Steve Austin brought in Kamala as a guest on his Aug 19, 2014 podcast, launching the Kickstarter  campaign first on, “THE STEVE AUSTIN SHOW.”

ROWDY RODDY PIPER – After the dust settled from Austin’s interview, Kenny called The Hot Rod and arranged to have him chat with Kamala for the September 8th, 2014 airing of his talk show. The two of them worked together in the early 80s and certainly had a lot to talk about. James said this was his favorite interview ever, and Piper said, “I really learned a life lesson about the positive attitude that James Harris has about life.”  You can listen to it and download it at “PIPER’S PIT”

A REVIEW OF AN AWESOME BBQ SERVICE IN ALBANY, NY

Are you thinking of throwing a party but have no idea what to do for food?  How about a BBQ service that offers WHOLE HOG pig roasts with a cool billiards theme?

They do it all. When I was the DJ for a party they did last year, I was blown away. 3 Ball has the most impressive custom-made smoker, “Smokezilla,” that I ever saw.

3 Ball BBQ menu is also out of this world. Not only do they carry the best in traditional BBQ entrees, but they also have “Global-Cue” categories featuring Brazilian BBQ on skewers and Korean BBQ dishes. I personally couldn’t get enough of their scrumptious seafood gumbo!

ANY SIZE PARTY – If the idea of too much food from a massive HOG isn’t what you are looking for for your smaller backyard BBQ, how about a smaller suckling pig with some other pork platters and sides? They really aim to please.

If you want to book them for a party, check out 3BallBBQ.com, or call 518-522-7102.

VOTED #1 TROY DJ

(518) 506-3305. Affordable wedding DJ / Mobile disc jockey in Troy, NY with a complete library of new music & classics. Also – Digital Photography & Lights!

If your Troy event is at Franklin Plaza, Franklin Terrace, or even The Hilton Garden Inn off of Hoosick Street in Troy, NY, then we are the DJ service for you!

NEW HITS & ALL THE CLASSICS: Want top quality in music entertainment and disc jockey services for your event in Troy, NY? Then look no more! We mix today’s best new music with all your favorite throwbacks. Want to have a hand in creating the playlist? No problem! Help create the playlist or leave it up to us!

#1 LOCAL DJ SERVICE: Kenny Casanova is #1 for most DJ related internet searches in the area. Booked sometimes 2 years in advance for dates, you will want to lock in your date near Troy, NY now! DJ Kenny Casanova has a great voice with WWE ring announcer & sports broadcasting experience …and his tag team partner… DJ Maria is also the area’s #1 female DJ on Google in Albany & Troy, & Troy, NY areas!

TROY DJ SERVICES & WHAT WE BRING TO THE PARTY:

•200,000 song library
•DJ/MC experience since 1996
•Professional Photography “The DJ Cam”
•Interactive events, dances, & activities
•Digital Slide Show
•Our Music Video LCD Package
•Voted Capital Region #1 Karaoke DJ
•Radio Personality Experience
•Ring Announcer Experience: WWF / WWE
•Sports Broadcasting Experience
•Karaoke & with a very large track library
•Huge Laser Show
•Professional Gear Bose L1 Stick & Peavey
•Very affordable prices!!!

CONTACT US NOW FOR PARTIES IN AND AROUND TROY NEW YORK! Call us or TEXT us at 518-506-3305, or email ken@thedjservice.com. Check out www.theDJservice.com for more information!

LOCAL TROY COUNTY SERVICES: If you want an affordable experienced DJ for your wedding reception or party with countless local venue hall relationships, our local Troy County office serves Castleton-on-Hudson, East Greenbush, East Nassau, Frear Park, Hampton Manor, Hoosick Falls, Lansingburgh, Nassau, Poestenkill, Rensselaer, Rosemont Park, Schaghticoke, Troy, Valley Falls, Van Allen Park, West Sand Lake, Wynantskill, all on a regular basis for music entertainment disc jockey mobile DJ services.

LOCAL VENUE LIST OF CONTACTS:

If you are still looking for  a hall, here are some contacts from our Top 50 Venue List:

1) Franklin Terrace – 126 Campbell Avenue – Troy, NY – (518) 274-3421
Website   –    Menu   –   Directions   –   Pictures   –   Email

2) Franklin Plaza Ballroom – Fourth & Grand Streets – Troy, NY – (518) 270-9622
Website   –    Menu PDF   –   Directions   –   Pictures   –   Email

3) Sterup Square – Carousel Ballrooms – 2113 NY 7 – Troy, NY – (518) 279-9600
Website   –    Menu   –   Directions   –   Pictures   –   Email

4) Revolution Hall at Browns – River Street – Troy, NY
Website   –    Pictures   –   Email

Other remote points that we handle include: