Spruit/Strang @ MCA

It is my pleasure to begin this blog entry by honoring a special figure: The letter "I". Imagine this letter in your mind if you will: It is constructed of one horizontal bar at its top, the same-shaped bar at the bottom of its body, and a vertical bar in the middle. Why am I mentioning this simply-crafted and widely used character? This letter represents what the basic floor plan of the Museum of Contemporary Art resembles. My partner Chris and I recently deejayed the reception for Jennifer Spruit and Tim Strang at this space. This was my second visit to this massive, classy, art-laden venue, and there were many surprises and learns that were awaiting me when I traveled there last Saturday.

Granted, this was one of those gigs where I had to meet the couple, gather the music and details, and then perform all in the not-so luxurious timeframe of one week. In other words, "bada-bing, bada-bang, bada-deejay." Seriously. This happens often in this business, and it's no surprise when one of us receives a call and states that the wedding will be on the same week that you get the call. Jen and Tim were very cool and relaxed when we had our final meeting; their laid-back attitudes kept me mutually laid-back, which is always appreciated. Just like the construction of the aforesaid letter "I", their vision of the night was for there to be simplicity throughout the evening: wedding, cocktails, dinner, a speech, and lots of dancing. Their layout was certainly nothing that I had not experienced, yet with the time I had on my hands, I had to hustle like Speedy Gonzales after a can of Red Bull to get everything in order.

For anyone who has ever visited the MCA, one can only describe the main floor (a.k.a. floor 2) as any word synonymous to "big." Essentially, the space is one giant captial "I"—or capital "H", for those who have a sideways perspective towards things. With so much space to cover, Chris and I were going to need a strong setup to get the job done; two speakers was definitely not going to be enough. Our awesome music director Erik equipped us with two distinct outfits: For dancing and cocktails that were being held near the back entrance, we had our basic setup—two 15" speakers, two CD decks, a mixer, and a corded microphone. For dinner, which was being held in the center and near the front entrance of the floor, we used two 10" speakers and another mixer, in which a cordless microphone and my iPod were connected. We were both okay setting up the main rig, but for the dinner setup

1. No taping on the walls or on the art.

2. No sounds should be made during setup while a ceremony is going on (i.e. a soundcheck).

You can only imagine how silently we chortled when we attempted to pull gaffer tape during setting up for dinner. Rip! Rip! RIP! Giggle. It was a challenge, but we accomplished it well.

Musically, the rest of the night was a combination of relaxation and fun: the relaxation came from the instrumental and vocal jazz that we played during cocktails and dinner; the fun came from the blend of 70s and 80s favorites and current hits that we played during dancing. For this gig, I gave my partner Chris (who did an awesome job, by the way) a lot more time and space to play while I took requests and kept watch of the room. My partner is very talented in the deejay department, and I wanted him to get a better feel for the general deejay process. In other words, I was covertly training him to be a lead deejay. I love me. Moving right along, there were a lot of songs I haven't tried before on a dancefloor, such as "837-5309 (Jenny)" and "What I Like About You." I smiled when the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'" kept people dancing. It's an awesome classic rock song that either works or doesn't, and I'm glad it did not lean towards the latter. There were a few current/past top forties sprinkled in the mix, such as "Crazy in Love" and "Hollaback Girl". We ended the night with the Fine Young Cannibals hit "Good Thing" and with Van Morrisson's "Have I Told You Lately", which were two great ends to a very well-mixed night of dancing.

The big embarrassment I faced in this evening was—and, it was my first time doing so—breaking a flower vase. Dun dun dunnn! When I was setting up the dinner rig, my blazer brushed against one of the long, long branches of the floral arrangement, messing with the balance of the vase, and thus, causing it to tip and fall with a unmistakable crisssssh. My hands went straight over my mouth when that happened. Yes, it wasn't the end of the world…or my deejay career, thankfully…but I did not want the bride or groom to throw a fit over the loss of something they paid for. Instead of getting scared, cowering behind one of the art pieces, or acting as if I did not do a darn thing, I went around to the caterers and the people at the MCA to make sure the area was cleaned and glass shard-free. I even spoke with Jennifer's best friends and offered my concern and attention to them. Surprisingly, it is not an expectation for the deejay to do anything in this situation, but I wanted to show the people around the museum that I was no flake—I took ownership of my accident and did my best to alleviate the situation. Ah, the taste of responsibility. Very scrumptious.

In a nutshell, this wedding went like a blur, but I was glad to be a part of it. And just like the good ol' letter "I", the event was simple, clean, and, well, let's just say the "I's" have it!

- Brent Rolland, resident deejay

Assistant: Chris Weiher
Wedding Coordinator: Paula Florell (You are awesome—thank you for everything!)
Catering: Wolfgang Puck (thank you for the great food, Nicole!)
Photography: David @ Edward Fox Photography (Great job!)

Special thanks to all the vendors and people at the MCA who made this gig a success.