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In Albany, NY come this time of year, people usually begin to call their wedding DJs and their wedding photographers to plan their weddings. Common places customers are looking for their wedding receptions often include higher-end golf green clubs and also large ski resorts, like Jiminey Peak. However, the early booking seems to be a little late this year.

With all the snow and coldness we have experienced in Upstate NY, party planning as a whole for a while their had been put off a little, for fear of inclement weather. Because of the late start, I expect to see more weddings being scheduled for later in the year, than usual.

It’s not all bad, however. If you are a bride or groom in The Capital Region, you can still be an optimist and look at the positive side of things. Right now in Lake Tahoe, California, the spring/summer wedding season might be one big snow day cancelation altogether! If snow on your wedding day means a lucky sign of fertility and prosperity, Lake Tahoe couples being married today, need to get out and play the lottery.

Yes, ladies & gentleman… Friends family…. This is exactly what over thirty feet of snow looks like, on the ground, at one time. This picture is real. It is not Alaska, or the North Pole, or the icey planet Hoth from the Empire Strikes Back. This shot was just taken in front of Tahoe Donner Ski Resort in California, where they hold many weddings, just like our Jiminey Peak.

Tahoe has received over 50 feet, that’s 600 inches of snow this season alone. Different storms recently dumped over 100 inches each, in only the span of few days. And it is not over. The Weather Channel says that there is even more on the way.

Can you even imagine driving up to your wedding on a road like this?

Now that’s a white wedding.

DJ Kenny Casanova
www.TheDJservice.com

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NEW WEDDING SONG INTRO MUSIC LIST FOR YOUR BRIDAL PARTY ENTRANCE

There are a lot of “Wedding Introduction Music Song Lists” out there that look like they were written in the early 80’s. The 80’s had some great music, don’t get me wrong, but in my opinion, the majority of people getting married today did not grow up in this era, so most of these songs are no longer relevant.

One reason these old cheesy introduction lists are probably still floating around is because of Google and the overall imortal power of the ominous internet. The other reason, perhaps, is that their are a number of cheesy old wedding DJ’s with brady bunch tuxedos and gray santa beards who do not want to let go of their tired shtick.

The grumpy grandpa wedding dj’s who look look like Doctor Demento love cheezy theme songs like “Axl F” from Beverly Hills Cop, “Power of Love” by Huey Lewis, and Dirty Dancing’s “I’ve Had the Time of My Life.” However, I would argue half of my bride & grooms today have never even seen the movies related to these lame songs.

Do you want an introduction party song that picks up the crowd? Since the trend in wedding receptions has moved from classy slow songs to more of a party atmosphere, most couples are now looking to set this intended tone with their grand introduction, so you are not alone. This list, then, should be perfect for you.

MODERN INTRO SONG LIST

While I have added some of classics to this modern song list, you will find far more songs from the past 10-15 years, and far more that will hype your crowd. “Drum roll please…” (Uggh.) Anyhow, here it is:

Forever – Chris Brown
I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
Viva La Vida – Coldplay
Justin Timberlake – Sexyback
The Way I are – T.I.
Crazy In Love – Beyonce Feat. Jay-Z
Bitter Sweet Symphony – Verve
Bring ‘Em Out – T.I. Feat. Jay-Z
Walking On Sunshine – Katrina And The Waves
The Time – Black Eyed Peas
Yeah – Usher Feat. Ludacris & Lil’ Jon
Low (Apple bottom Jeans) – Flo Rider
Pump It – Black Eyed Peas
Fire Burning – Sean Kingston
Party Up – DMX (Instrumental)
Firework – Katy Perry
Love And Marriage – Frank Sinatra
Sandstorm – Darube
Gettin Jiggy With It – Will Smith
I’m A Believer Smash Mouth
Hot & Cold – Katy Perry
Say Hey (I Love You) – Franti, Michael & Spearhead
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
I like It – Enrique Iglesias
Now That We Found Love Heavy D. & The Boyz
Pour Some Sugar – On Me Def Leppard

Hot In Herre – Nelly
Inner Circle – Bad Boys (Theme From Cops)
You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC
Big Pimpin’ – Jay-Z Feat. Ugk
Milkshake – Kelis
Kiss – Prince
Super Freak – Rick James / MC Hammer (Combo)
Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe – Barry White
Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) – Big & Rich
Jump Around – House Of Pain
Womanizer – Britney Spears,
Pony – Ginuwine
Intergalactic – Beastie Boys
Imperial Death March – Star Wars
Thunderstruck – AC/DC
Lets Get Ready To Rumble – Jock Jams
Walkin’ On Sunshine – Katrina And The Waves
Ch-Check It Out – Beastie Boys
Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen
Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z
Party in The USA – Miley Cyrus
Everybody – Backstreet Boys

The Final Countdown – Europe
Another One Bites The Dust – Queen
Down – Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne
Calle Ocho – Pitbull
Thriller or Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
I Like to Move It, Move It – Reel 2 Reel
Whip My Hair – Willow Smith
Jump – Van Halen
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
Get Ready For This – 2 Unlimited
Shake Your Booty – KC and The Sunshine Band
Rocky Theme Song / Eye of The Tiger – Survivor (Combo)
Tubthumping – Chumbawamba
Welcome To The Jungle – Guns N’ Roses
Lets’ Get Loud – Jennifer Lopez
Here For Party – Gretchen Wilson
Enur – Calabria
The Power of Love – Huey Lewis & The News
Here Comes the Hotstepper – Ini Kamoze
Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne
Let’s Get It Started – Black Eyed Peas
Celebration – Kool & the Gang
Walk This Way – Run-D.M.C. featuring Aerosmith
Party Like A Rock Star – Shop Boyz
Right Here, Right Now – Fatboy Slim

Here is a review on Hulk Hogan’s recent appearance on American Idol, as well as the show itself. DJ Kenny Casanova is a pro wrestling personality and a professional disc jockey. This makes him the perfect expert to review the recent Hulk Hogan appearance on American Idol. “Huh? Wait. Did you say you are a pro wrestling wedding DJ?”

As you may or may not know, I have had an extensive history in sports broadcasting experience. I was a ring announcer and a pro wrestling personality, including experience with a few announcing spots right here in Albany, NY for the WWE at The Times Union Area. This, of course, coupled with my keen karaoke-laden and disc jokey musical background, makes me an expert to speak my mind and review the recent Hulk Hogan appearance on American Idol, and the new direction of the iconic show.

So, enough about me. What did I think of the show? First off, for those of you who missed it, here is a clip of Hulk Hogan’s appearance on American Idol:

Hulk Hogan’s Idol appearance was perfect… Not too short, and not too long. It was just enough Hulkamania to add flavor to the show. Arguably, Ryan Seacrest may have “over sold” the Hulkster’s punch and this may be considered ridiculous to the avid hardcore wrestling fan. However, Ryan’s work rate in this spot was the perfect balance of fun for mainstream and young viewers on network TV.

What you actually missed from this clip was a vignette of the two Idol contestants having a mock wrestling match in their hotel quarters. The big reveal was that these singers hit it off due to their love of pro wrestling. Therefore, the big surprise was that the biggest name in wrestling came out to give them the thumbs up, personally. I think the spot was classic. It was a great moment, overall.

Following up on a previous blog about American Idol that I posted here on whether or not the new judges had what it takes, I have to say that until now, I honestly had lost interest in following every broadcast. The audition tapes were good stuff, as always, but when it went live, I didn’t think the judges were living up to their post-Simon challenge this year, due to being overly nice to every contest. It seems that, for the most part, there wasn’t much of any judging going on.

The judges need to show some tough-love, rather than tell everyone that they “loved it.” No one this season had the pistachios to step up and pick up Simon’s slack. Nobody has been brutal enough to tell someone, “you had a poor performance,” when they really did, without couching it in a lame hard-searched compliment. Nobody had the guts to tell someone they suck. That is, until Hogan did a run-in on Ryan Seacrest.

On a positive note, however, I believe that the performance music quality may have been improved by the AI band, and also the singing has been better by some of the singers this year. Also, the entertainment value has gone up. This clip, which I missed live, made me actual wish I was viewing in.

Saturday was a busy day for me as I had three different gigs at three very different venues; all with different set ups. I had a mid-day wedding at The Edison Club in Rexford, a 30th karaoke/birthday party at Patroon Inn, and a music video dance party in Wynantskill. Incidentally Maria DJ also had a birthday party at Villa Valenti Pub. Busy as usual for TheDJservice.com and everything turned out really well, in the end.

Of course, the most important gig was the wedding. A real nice military guy named Dustin married a girl from the Philippines in a Champagne and Appetizer celebration reception. (There was no real meal, but a lot of fancy finger foods to graze on.)

The Edison Club is a well-kept wedding secret in Rexford. I guess, however, anybody one could argue that most everything that is any good in Rexford is kept quiet, due to it’s low key profile. (I few years ago, I had no idea where Rexford even was. Neither, by the way, does google maps.)

The Edison Club of Rexford New York is in fact a nice golf course, with a great backdrop of a lot of green. (Green is always great for outdoor wedding pictures. It brightens everything up much better than inside wedding church shots. Keep this in mind when planning!) It is not near any other businesses and inside the club house, it has a sizable layout for weddings.

The Edison has a giant space that is sectioned of into three different sections. One area becomes the ceremony, the other is a cocktail hour bar setting and the third is the dinning space for the reception. The dinning area actually has a stage with a very large square dance floor, with tables all around the outside edges. Recently remodeled, it is a pretty good place to have a wedding ceremony without having to go very far for the reception.

My complaint is really only a wiring issue that probably nobody notices, anyhow. (The stage doesn’t have outlets. Therefore as the DJ, you have to run a cord off the stage and out where it can potentially be seen. Besides this, it really is a nice hall.) If your disc jockey knows what he is doing, this shouldn’t be a concern.

If you are planning a smaller wedding, they do have means for you, perhaps, if you are not looking for much of any dancing. There is also a smaller room in the back of the building utilized for banquets that do not involve dancing, as there is no dance floor. It is a nice round room with a lot of windows and an ambient fireplace. (This facility does not provide a lot of access for guests or wedding professionals to move their bigger packages or gear into, but then again, it probably isn’t used for weddings much anyhow, due to the lack of dance floors.)

If you are looking for a decent place to have your reception, it’s worth giving a call.

Here are my Top 10 Ways to Avoid Wedding Disasters, in music form. “Huh? How does that work?”  Well, just think of these ten songs while planning your special day and you will have a safe and fun time for everyone. Each tip from this “playlist” (written by DJ Kenny Casanova) has a song that represents a potential “disaster-in-the-making” when you do not plan against it. HerAnd now for your Wedding Disaster playlist:

10. “Just The Two of Us” – Will Smith
Make sure your wedding is a reflection of both of you; the bride and groom. Sometimes we forget to put in the personal likes and dislikes that make the event special. In the end, everyone should have some of the traditional wedding to make them happy, but also a mixed in balance of things that are important to the newlyweds.

 9. Be careful not to waste… “Money” – The O’Jays
“Do we really need that extra decoration in the bathroom?”… “Do we really need a violinist in the hallway?”… The Wedding Industry is a big money maker. It is often easy to get caught up in all the options and wish for the very best of everything. This can get very costly, if you don’t pay attention to the little costs.

 8.  Plan out the ceremony and… “Have The Time of Your Life” – Greenday
The Ceremony is the most important thing. After all, the reception is actually the celebration of having had the ceremony. Spend a little time putting things together to make it memorable.

 7. “I need Somebody to, HELP, not just anybody.” – The Beatles
Know who is running the show. This means if you hire a boring officiant for the ceremony, your ceremony will be boring. Also, if you hire a bad band, people will not enjoy themselves, or on the inverse, hire a lame DJ and get tons of hokey stuff like chicken dances and The Macarena.

6. “Singing in The Rain” – Gene Kelly
Make sure to have a back up plan for everything that could go wrong. People often think, it could never happen to me, but they are the same ones who end up with ketchup all over the bride’s wedding dress. If you don’t keep this in mind, all your people could be stuck out in a rainstorm.

5. “More Money, More Problems” – Biggie Smalls
Stay to your budget. If you let them, the wedding professionals, caterers, and even your guests can end up costing you a fortune. Figure out what you want to spend and stick to it!

 4. “I’m Here For The Party” – Gretchen Wilson
It is not a good practice to get plastered the night before. Do you really want to be hung over on perhaps the biggest day of your life? If a bachelor / bachelorette party is set up for the night before, be careful you don’t spoil things for the day after.

3. Be a good host and think of…  “Everybody” – Backstreet Boys
While it is your “day,” the reception will only be fun for everyone if you include everyone. That means perhaps playing some music you may not particularly like, or allowing something to happen for the good of the whole that you may not be particularly fond of.

2. “It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right” – Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
Quite often, the bride takes over. Ladies, if you want the groom to enjoy himself, let him have a little fun in the planning as well. And if you have a groom that shows little interest in the planning element, give him total control of something. SOmetimes a theme wedding is a great way to get the groom in on the fun.

1. “Lose My Mind” – DMX
Don’t get stressed out and sweat the little things. If something doesn’t go exactly as planned, take a deep breath and move on. No one will care. We are all human!