New York DJ

Freddie King – Now I’ve Got A Woman

When we meet to talk with clients about music for their event, often the first thing we notice is that they've already dejectedly decided the music they really like and want to hear won't be able to be played at their event.

It may be a designer in a fashion show thinking that the music she wants to use for her fashion line will be too ethereal a sound to keep the audience interested. Or a couple who loves moody acoustic indie pop but thinks it would be too much of a downer to play a little at their wedding Or an organizer of a corporate party who worries that the employees won’t dance because they tend to like raw Southern hip-hop and their bosses wouldn’t. Whatever the case, whatever the event, it seems this kind of unfortunate premature musical censorship is everywhere.

It often comes from a good place of common sense or consideration, like an organizer at a art opening knowing that prospective buyers might not want to hear his beloved deep cuts of ‘70s classic rock all night long. But some of our clients’ decisions that their favorite songs or genres won’t work comes not from a good place at all, but instead from having met with conventional, unimaginative DJs that tend to work for bigger, more cookie-cutter DJ companies. We’ve heard from these clients that some of these DJs have told them straight up that the only way to get a party movin’ is to play disco all night.

Whatever the reason for clients' doubts in the music they love, one of the first things we tell them – no matter what their event –  is to open up their mind, revisit their CD collection or iPod, and make their “dream list” of songs they want to hear, with no censoring allowed. Put anything in you would love to hear. Not only does it make the process of selecting music easier, but also more fun. It will get you excited about the possibilities of hearing this music, as opposed to nixing songs right away and feeling frustrated that the soundtrack to the event is already not what you would like.

Now, will all these "dream songs" end up making the cut when the event arrives? Sometimes many of them do, sometimes they don't. But what always happens is that when we see these “dream lists” and talk a bit with the client to see what music is most important to them, we can then use our experience in knowing what of these songs will work given the mood that is wanted at the event, as well as what kind of guests will be there, and what kind of structure the event will have. Then we can suggest which songs to keep, which to think about not using. For example, a pair of melancholy indie songs at the more sedate moments in a wedding can feel absolutely right and even moving. So can a set of obscure hardcore punk during the more boisterous moments of a corporate party. And even a little experimental progressive rock can enhance the feeling of an art opening, if played at the right time.

By far, many more of the songs you really want at your event then you ever think you can play are actually able to be fit in, but not only that, they can be made to add to the atmosphere of the event. But to do it, you have to begin by letting the DJ know what you really want to hear. And if that DJ looks at your list, smirks, and says something about how you can't have a party without having "the Y" on your list, well, you know the time has come to find a different DJ.

If you’re rather unfamiliar with the genre, you might think blues music, by definition, wouldn’t be the most suitable for an upbeat event like a cocktail party, wedding reception, fashion show, or other kinds of events where the point of the music is to keep the energy high. While a great blues tune might be full of passion and accomplished musicianship, it’s easy to see why the often slow pace of the songs, or their subject matter – such as hittin’ the booze, there not being any more booze, women who done the singer wrong – would be too much of a downer to add anything to the mood, or could take away from it.

Of course, this will depend on your guests – if they tend to enjoy blues music a bit, you’ll likely be able to get some hips movin’ to some John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, or other classic blues artists and the often downbeat subject matter won’t be as noticed, or will be appreciated. But even if you’re unsure of the crowd’s affinity for blues, you can still often play a little at any event.

This is because, in addition to the biggest theme of blues tunes being, well, having the blues, another, common strain of blues tune is when a bluesman lays down a rollicking rhythm to simply being amazed at a sexy woman in his presence. Whether this blown-away and sometimes even intimidated exhilaration comes from not gettin’ any for awhile, an overactive libido, or simply having some long-needed good fortune, we’ve seen that this kind of blues song adds a dose of vintagey sexiness to any event.

A great example of this kind of a song is by the Mississippi-born blues legend Sunnyland Slim (his real name was Albert Luandrew). To those who aren’t familiar with the blues, his name might not be in the first tier of bluesmen such as Hooker, King, or Muddy Waters, but it’s not for a lack of talent.

With “She Got a Thing Goin’ On” – which likely appeared in its original version on the album Really Chicago’s Blues in the late ‘60s – and many other faster-tempo tunes he recorded during his long life, the longtime Chicago resident creates an infectious mix with his exclamatory vocal lines and his groovin’, backroom-of-the-bar, boogie-woogie piano playing. You’ll find it hard not to tap your toes to the swingin’ rhythm created by a deft mingling of percussion, guitar, piano and harmonica, as well as the joyful vocals. And as a bonus, you can’t go wrong with a song that celebrates a woman’s sexiness – it makes the girls feel good, and when they do, the guys tend to feel good, too.

Sunnyland Slim – She Got a Thing Goin’ On

With the holidays over and the two coldest months of the year ahead, now is the time when winter in New York City and much of the country quickly loses its romantic appeal and instead becomes, to be polite, a real drag. Sorry to remind you, but remember, the weather doesn’t really get consistently nice around here again until around the time we have to get our taxes in.

So, to “tropicalize” the atmosphere of events that you may have planned in the next two or three months of our annual struggle through blizzards, slush, and 37-degree rain, here’s two songs that are sunny, cozy, and fun. Both are Jamaican rhythm and blues tunes. If that genre sounds unfamiliar, don’t be surprised. It’s a rather small and obscure style, but fortunately some of its best songs recently have been made much more accessible for those of you who don’t have the time or interest to spend digging in record crates for hours a day by the release of the excellent compilation Trojan Jamaican R & B Box Set. Both songs here are available on the box set, as well as a few other less comprehensive compilations.

Jamaican R & B, born in the late ‘50s, is both like everything and nothing you’ve heard before. It combines shuffling jazz beats, the upbeat horns of what would soon become ska, festive Trinidadian-accented vocals of calypso, and a bit of the sultriness and gritty attitude of rhythm and blues and early rock ‘n’ roll. Most people are familiar with each of these styles, but put together in the right amounts, they create a sound that feels new and fresh and most of all, cozy and friendly.

Both these mid-tempo songs here have pleasantly catchy melodies that will get your snow-stained shoes tapping at any sort of event. “Continental Shuffle,” by Rico and the Matador All-Stars, a brief but swingin’ instrumental with masterfully mellow, pre-ska “skank” of a horn riff, immediately seems to brightens the mood of any room when we play it. The same reaction happens when we spin “Nobody Else,” by Owen Gray and the Jets. With its sturdy piano, its warm, fuzzy saxophones and its sweet calypso-inflected vocals, the song sounds like what Ray Charles might have recorded if he got his start in Kingston.

Have a listen to both; I think you’ll agree they’ll make things feel a little less “January-ish.”

Matador All-Stars – Continental Shuffle

Owen Gray & the Jets – Nobody Else