New York DJ

Most of the time when I DJ weddings, the couple will know or at least have in mind their first dance song. Often these songs are ones the groom and bride have a personal connection to, or have lyrics that are appropriate to their relationship, or are simply classics, like "At Last" by Etta James. But sometimes couples aren't sure of a song yet when they hire DJNYC, and they ask if I know of anything good. I really enjoy telling them of some songs that I think would be great first dance songs, and that probably aren't on any "cookie cutter DJ" first dance lists. What I tell them next is to not just look at all these rather same lists of favorite first dance songs that are all over the internet but instead to explore a bit more, especially going through their music collections to find a special song. Then, if they still want one of the first dance "staples," great. At least the couple thought about it a bit and realized you don't have to pick one of those well-known songs.

Now and then I'll be posting an entry of a first dance song I think would work great but is likely not well known. First up is one of the songs I suggest most to couples, "I Want You to Be My Love" by the group Over the Rhine. It's from their album Drunkard's Prayer, and is a stunner of a tune. There's a lovely piano melody; the lyrics are simple, true, but also feel entirely fresh; the female vocals have a perfect balance of passion and tenderness. When I hear the song's last line, "And I want you/And all you've been through" it gives me the good chills.  

Over the Rhine – I Want You To Be My Love

As I mentioned a few posts ago in my first entry about overcoming DJ fear, I’ve found that the mobile DJ, to many clients I’ve met with, has a bad public image problem. People fear that the DJ will turn their events into nightmares by making a lot of bad choices – from their appearance, to their music selection, to their MC style.

In the first post on this topic, I covered how to ensure your DJ shows up dressed appropriately for your event. Here, I will discuss another anxiety clients seem to have: either that they’ll hire The Cheeseball, a type of all-too-familiar DJ who spins schmaltzy soft rock songs and forces cringe-worthy tunes like “The Chicken Dance” on guests, or that they’ll hire The Ham, another well-known type of bad DJ who is constantly on the microphone and way too pleased with himself and his stale jokes. Some clients I’ve met fear they will get a single DJ who has both of these undesirable qualities.

Having a DJ like this at any kind of event can make for a terrible night. The good thing is, though, this kind of hackneyed DJ-ing approach is fairly easy to avoid – provided you, the client, be willing to politely but firmly articulate what you expect from the DJ. Here’s a few tips on how to do that:

First, if you are meeting with a big “event factory” DJ company, that you ask for a meeting with the DJ who will be performing at your event. Because these companies have many DJs, you might only meet with the head of the company, who may note your non-cheesy, non-hammy preferences, but then, when the actual DJ comes to the venue on the day of your event, you might meet him and see, to your horror, that he’s excitedly flipping through a library of "Macarena" remix CDs. Be warned, though: Often these big entertainment companies are not the best to use if you want a more discreet, original vibe to your event, as they work with volume, and with that often comes a cookie-cutter approach that seems more suited to blander tastes.

Second, when you are meeting with your DJ – whether he or she is from a large, medium, or small company – tell him as clearly as you can what you’re NOT looking for – the goofy participation dances, the schmaltly or overplayed songs, a guy who is always on the mic, a DJ who brings party favors and leads games, etc. Explain you don’t want generic or "forced" fun, and then articulate as clearly as you can what you DO want. A good DJ will listen to you and let you take the lead in how your event should feel.

Third, when you do articulate your wants and don’t wants to the DJ, pay close attention to how he or she responds. If the DJ fights you too much on how you see your event, or insists that you need generic or forced elements to have a good time, just move on. This is completely not true. However, if the DJ insists that he or she may need to encourage people to come to the dance floor now and then by getting on the mic in a discreet and upbeat way, or that some very recognizable or classic songs may have to be played at some point if the crowd is hesitant to dance, this is often the sign of a good DJ with some experience, as a bit of “sugar” is sometimes needed to get people up and dancing initially at many events. And, if you like the DJ and are thinking of using him or her, make sure to of course get a few references.

By using these tips, you can be a lot more confident that at your event, except for perhaps when it comes to the food offered, there will be absolutely no cheese and ham!

By far, one of the best things about being a DJ in New York City is the prevalence of so many cultures in the area. Often this is reflected in all kinds of events, such as weddings, corporate parties, or private parties. At DJNYC, we look forward to these events as a chance to spin new and exciting songs and learn more about music from different parts of the world. And often it is from these events that we’ve added great songs to our music collection that we now play regularly. Simply put, these events make us more knowledgeable about music, and better DJs.

Last weekend, I DJ-ed a wedding in which the bride was from India and the groom was from Hawaii. At the wedding Indian bhangra music, Hawaiian guitar songs, and some Irish tunes were played. It was a great time all around, and the guests were very open to exploring the sounds of each of these cultures’ musical styles, as you can see in the photo above. (More photos from this event can be seen at the DJNYC Music Guide, located at www.discjockeynyc.com)

If you’re meeting with a DJ for a multicultural event in which music is needed from cultures that you feel most DJs might not be that familiar with, you should make sure you bring up certain important points. Here are what I’ve found are three of the most important:

1) What Experience Does the DJ Have? – Ask if the DJ has performed an event with your particular mix of cultures. If he hasn’t, that shouldn’t automatically be a deal-breaker. Ask, then, if the DJ has experience playing events where mixing different kinds of music from different cultures was needed. If the DJ has this experience, this is a good sign, since then you will be able to “coach” them a bit about the specific cultures’ songs (see #2) much better than a DJ who has not had this kind of experience. Make sure to ask them what their approach or style is when it comes to mixing in what kind of music at what times. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for references to get the perspective of clients for whom this DJ has performed multicultural events. Any DJ who is telling you the truth about their experience will not hesitate to provide them.

2) Offer to “Coach” the DJ a Bit – Don’t worry if the DJ does not have or know intimately all the music that you want played. Having experience with multicultural events and therfore knwoing how to balance the music of the event is the key thing. You may have to guide the DJ to a website or a store where they can obtain your specific type of music and familiarize themselves with it. Or, you can provide a list of songs and some options on where to find them. Another option is simply to provide the DJ with a CD or digital files of the songs you’d like played. Also, if you have specific songs in mind for, say, the really lively dancing portion of the evening, and you think the songs to rather untrained ears may sound too slow, make sure to tell the DJ a bit about why you believe these songs will work. This kind of guidance and communication will make both the DJ and yourself feel more confident that a great night will be had musically. Finally, if dancing is involved at the event, inform the DJ when the dancing is expected to take place. For example, not all cultures prefer to dance after dinner – some might traditionally do it before.

3) Ask the DJ to Do Their “Homework” – If a DJ knows how to play a multicultural event, but has not spun that particular culture’s music before, any good DJ knows they must familiarize themselves with this music before the event to know how each song feels and approximately when to play them. Ask the DJ his or her process for familiarizing themselves with the music, and insist that they spend some time with it as opposed to just previewing the first few seconds of the songs five minutes before the event begins. For example, when I was asked by a client to play Philippine dance music at his wedding, I spent time sitting down with it beforehand, and I wrote down notes to help get a feel for which tracks felt most upbeat and danceable from my perspective and what other genres of music it could go best with. The night of the wedding this really paid off, as I had a happy crowd dancing in front of me – and perhaps, hopefully, wondering how I knew the songs so well!

Ahh, summer is only about a month away, and one of the best kinds of music I like to start welcoming it with at events when the weather starts to tease us with a bit more sun and higher temperatures is the mellow, sunny feel of some great reggae, be it roots or new reggae. I try to play some reggae at events all year. Sometimes, to give people a shot of musical sunniness in the gray dead of winter in NYC, it’s really refreshing to hear a set of it. But when summer starts to roll around, come on — reggae’s a must.

Over the past several months, the single "No One" by Alicia Keys has been very popular tune. I like it, but to me, it feels a bit spare in its original mix. However, this "reggae-fied" version seems to give the song just the fullness and bounce it needs. Unlike some reggae remixes of pop or R & B songs, grafting on a reggae sound here does not seem forced at all – I think it actually goes so perfect with the vocal melody of "No One" that I wish this was the orginal mix on her new album.

This remix is also excellent in that the reggae style it’s done with feels just right – it’s not too beat-heavy, nor is it too light or "new-agey." That balance is excellent, because it allows me to be more versatile, which a DJ always loves. For example, I can be playing a new R & B hit, then play this remix, then go right into some classic roots reggae like Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, or Desmond Dekker.

Okay, this mention of sun and reggae is now making me more anxious for summer than ever. Let’s hang in there, soon we’ll be wearing shades nearly every day again!