New York DJ

"Do you want to hear disco at your event?" we often ask our potential clients.

Just hearing the question makes many clients we meet with cringe. They’re thinking, of course, of the most tired or embarrassing disco, like "Y.M.C.A." or "Play That Funky Music" and don’t like to think of their events having to feature such predictable music.

Now, we also often also meet with clients who are comfortable with mainstream disco being played at their event, but we understand that there’s those who wish to stay away from it. However, because in our years of DJ-ing events we’ve seen how disco works as one of the greatest musical icebreakers around – its crisp studio production, easy-to-dance-to beats, and iconic songs are very effective at getting all kinds of guests to get up and dance – we’d like to both defend it a bit and offer some suggestions as to ways to include it in your event but yet also steer you clear of Boogie Clicheland.

Despite much mainstream disco being overplayed, some of it still works magic. There are anthems like "Stayin’ Alive" that, despite it being played more than McDonalds has served customers, continues to pack the dancefloor and up the energy at most corporate events or weddings – it’s a song that somehow puts all ages of people in a fun mood, from those in their 60s to those in their 20s. But some of the disco that we find works best are not purely disco songs, but are of other genres that have a disco feel mixed in, like Earth, Wind & Fire’s "September," or hits from Michael Jackson’s disco-influenced classic album "Off the Wall," and even the synthpop of the first Madonna album and New Order’s enduring New Order 12" single "Blue Monday."

Another way to lead into disco is to include more current songs that hearken back to it – from Daft Punk’s late ’90s club anthem "One More Time" to many of the more hip songs of the last few years, such as tunes by the Scissor Sisters and last summer’s pop-punky "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by the Ting Tings. These newer songs all have a disco influence in their beats, synths, guitar riffs,and sometimes even vocals. Of course, there are some for whom no evidence will change their opinion of disco as beginning and ending with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and therefore to them the genre will always be cheesy and undesireable. But hopefully some will consider these aforementioned songs as a way to not think of disco as perpetually uncool, or at least as a way to be more open to including disco in your event if you know the guests will want it.

Finally, instead of listing off familiar disco classics to play at your event that most of us know already, here’s a few disco songs that we think are accessible and great but aren’t at all played out. The first, Firefly’s "Love (Is Gonna be On Your Side)" is one you’ve likely never heard but has an excellent groove and euphoric chorus; BBQ Band’s sexy jam "On the Beat," might be recognizeable; and the synthy, tropical-feeling "Give It Up" by KC’s (yes, that KC) you’ve defintely heard, but likely not in a long time, and we think you’ll be glad you finally are again.

Have a listen to all three:

It’s easy to think of the common advantages of having your wedding outside the city – you and your guests won’t have to fight merciless Manhattan traffic, parking will likely be in a well-maintained lot with plenty of extra spaces, and you can involve the outdoors in so many ways you could not at venues in the city – from having a ceremony on the beaches of the Hamptons to having a tranquil cocktail hour under the stars where you can actually see the starlight. (For a some of our favorite venues in Manhattan, go here. And for some of our favorite venues outside Manhattan, but still inside New York City, go here.)

Our years of experience DJ-ing weddings has made us quite knowledgeable in suggesting venues for couples seeking to get married in the city. However, we also often perform at venues outside New York City, and, in having done so, we have found out perhaps the most surprising thing of all about them – that there’s not just those huge, faux country club suburban “wedding factories” out there beyond the five boroughs, but an impressively varied array of unique and eclectic locations that a couple can choose from.

Here are, in no particular order of preference, five of these out-of-city venues that we have performed at and that we feel have both a great atmosphere and a friendly, professional staff:

1) Castle on the Hudson (Tarrytown, NY – 25 miles from the city): A medieval-style castle (pictured) overlooking the Hudson River that is now a hotel, the castle is an historical landmark that is ranked highly among hotels in many travel magazines, and one can see why – inside and out, the castle feels painstakingly restored to its late 19^th century origins, so much so that you can’t help but feel quite regal when you step inside. See photos from a wedding we performed there.

2) Belvedere Mansion (Staatsburg, NY – 100 miles from the city): From the cozy mahogany wood and oil paintings depicting fox hunts on the walls inside to expansive grounds that include a terrace and a pond, this venue radiates a cozy, Englishy old school country club atmosphere without feeling at all “stuffy.” As a bonus, the mansion is located near Rhinebeck and other small, quaint towns in the Hudson Valley, an area known for its antique shops and wineries. Photos from a wedding we performed there. 

3) Liberty House (Jersey City, NJ) – This venue, located on the lush grounds of Liberty State Park, features an awe-inspiring view of lower Manhattan sure to impress even those who live in the metropolitan area. With the venue having a capability for putting on ceremonies and cocktial hours seemingly only feet from the Hudson and the aforementioned great city view, you might even feel closer with Manhattan than if you were at a venue inside Manhattan. Photos from a wedding we performed there (06-10-06). 

4) Bedford Historical Hall (Bedford, NY – 40 miles from the city) – This smaller, more intimate venue (pictured), which seats about 150 people, seems most appropriate for those who’d like a little more freedom in how they’d like to arrange their wedding. Unlike many venues inside and outside of the city, this one didn’t seem to have a bevy of on-site staff. In fact, I believe there’s none, since the venue is maintained by the Bedford Historical Society. The hall, built in the early 19th century in a simple Puritan-ish architectural style, is like a “blank canvas” that you and/or your wedding planner can “do up” inside any way you like – given that you respect the hall’s old age and be gentle to the windows and the walls when you’re dancing to "Get Low" by to Lil’ John and the Eastside Boyz. While the hall is less of a “turnkey” venue, what it offers is the chance to create an atmosphere inside a cozy space that feels more like you’re doing something first, and like it’s not a place that has the same wedding arrangement every week, just with different people attending. Photos from a wedding we performed there. 

5) Atlantica (Westhampton Beach, NY – 80 miles from the city) – This striking venue combines the elegance of a lavishly-adorned ballroom with the simple but overwhelming beauty of a panoramic oceanfront view. And if that weren’t enough, it’s in the Hamptons, always an easy way (especially in the summer) to get guests from New York City as well as those from out of state to enjoy staying the entire weekend. Photos from a wedding we performed there.

Because more couples seem to be searching for indie music to play at their weddings, we’ve put together more iTunes playlists (mixes 6 and 7) of our favorite indie wedding music. As mentioned in my last post about our previous mixes (go here for that post), while some of these songs are great for first dances, more of them you’ll likely find can be used in other areas of your celebration, especially to establish your own unique atmosphere (but still accessible to the parents, as well as those cousins from Indiana)  during cocktail hour or dinner.

Of particular note on these mixes are "In the Morning" (mix 7) by Club 8, a Swedish duo (pictured) that combines pleasant jangly guitars with sunny, ethereal female vocals and a touch of loungey mellowness in the tradition of groups like The Sundays, The Cardigans and Saint Etienne. This song would fit in perfectly during a dinner, and because it has a vintage, breathy Astrud Gilberto quality to it, it could even be mixed in with some samba. Also check out "The Luckiest" (mix 6) by Ben Folds, a piano-driven song that pairs a beautiful vocal melody with endearing lyrics about a clumsy guy who feels so fortunate to have found love. This song seems custom-made for a first dance – and even more so if one of you is considered a bit klutzy!

Mix 6 is here, mix 7 is here.

Many clients we DJ for are first attracted to us because of our awareness that a wedding doesn’t have to feel like a wedding. While these couples still want some traditional elements, like a first dance and a cake cutting, and want an overall sentimental vibe, they also want songs played throughout the celebration – and especially during the early part of it – that aren’t they typical wedding fare like overplayed jazz standards, stale ’70s and ’80s lite rock, or more recent but often generic-sounding Top 40 hits.

The couples who want their weddings to have an unpredictable soundtrack often request many songs and artists that fall into the genre called "indie" rock or pop music. Because this label is a catch-all for so many different sounds – from the cerebral, melancholy pop of a band like Death Cab for Cutie to the ethereal guitars of M83 to the nervy symphonic electronica of the English duo Frou Frou (pictured is the cover of their album, Details) – it’s often hard to define what exactly unites all this music, besides it being the iPod of an East Village or Williamsburg hipster. From our perspective, though, it’s rather simple to know what qualifies as "indie" – any new-ish rock or pop sound that’s a bit under the radar, eclectic, unexpected, or sometimes all three.

Here’s a few more iTunes mixes of songs we’ve played for couples over the years, and some we haven’t but think would be quite appropriate for anyone looking for a more offbeat feel to their wedding music. (Also included are a few songs from artists that influenced today’s indie music, like The Pixies, R.E.M. and the Velvet Underground.) We posted Part 1 of these mixes last month, a list of acoustic indie first dance songs, which you can listen to here. The songs on these subsequent mixes are intended for the earlier parts of a wedding, but certainly not all are intended as first dance suggestions. Some of these tunes will strike you as excellent first dance songs, especially the Magnetic Fields’ funny and tender "The Book of Love," (on mix 5) but most others, like the alternating blissful and exhausted tone of Frou Frou’s "It’s Good to Be in Love" (on mix 3) are less custom-made for a first dance than they are simply songs that offer a more original perspective and/or sound to evoke a sentimental mood than most mainstream pop. Therefore, you’ll likely find you can fit these in anytime during the cocktail hour or dinner of a wedding.

Okay, enough introduction: For Part 2 of our favorite indie wedding songs, click here. For Part 3, here. Part 4, here. And Part 5 here. And coming soon: Our favorite indie wedding dancing songs, for when you’ve had a few drinks and your non-cliche music-lovin’ butt wants to get shakin’.