Swan or Swayne?

If you've ever been to architectural Artifacts on Ravenswood, you'll know that they have a collection of unique parts, pieces, facades, glass, etc. What does this have to do with Megan Wolfe and David Swain's wedding? This unique, fun space is where they exchanged their vows and made a everlasting commitment to each other. Yaaaaaaaaa!! Love is in the air.
Hafeez and I provided music on it's cues during the ceremony, played to the enjoyment of the guests during cocktails and dinner, and rock the "Kasbah" during a happening dance session. JNL (Rachel) catered the event. I emceed the introductions of the bridal party. Here's the thing! I introduced the bestman as Tony (Swan), and then did a retake (Zwan), and finally did another retake (Swain). Third times a charm! And an applause proceeded. Congratulations to Megan and David! You guys are great.

Equipment: fig coffin, 3 G2s, wireless mic, and lots of XLR and power cords.


This picture is of the space and was taken from Arhitectural Artifacts' website.

Brian Carey (resident deejay, photographer, web master)

Chicago is our backdropppppp

Megan said," Tim Musho and I (Megan Taylor) rocked the Adler as we celebrated the marriage of Andria Long and Bob Pryzlinski."
Tim said, "We came into the event being Megan's 2nd lead gig of the weekend. We arrived and loaded out. The dusk of the busy day was setting on the chill of Chicago skyline after a little rain."
Megan said, "My heart was pumping, scared, excited I knew we had a big night ahead of us. Slideshow, cocktails, introductions, dancing, agendas... what will happen only god knows. That is what I learned. The art of deejaying is in the moment. The creation of the music is the present and defined by our choices. Where will we lead the crowd... that is something I always wonder the moments before my events. The crowd was great, ready to party, and ready to celebrate. And celebrate we did. Favorite songs of the night.... "Safety Dance, Erotic City, Tainted Love, I Melt with you.... take it tim..."
"Well, I wanted to come in this event totally supporting Megan to a kick ass gig. I did just that. I knew she could do it and did. It is fun to see someone DJing and knowing exactlly where I can help (cause I've been there and still am). I also there is a lot of things I don't know. Experiment!! That is the key. do things differently cause I never know the out come. In Djing I need to fail with song to find the ones that work. It's just part of life as a DJ," said Timmy.
"I learned about performance tonight. I need to be confident and act so to build the confidence with my crowd. I had a lot of fun on the microphone, leading and introducing the party in. Tim was an awesome assist and helped me really listen for the experience of sound that charges out of my speakers. The party got down and dirty... it was a success," love Megan.

Place: Adler Planetarium
Vendors: Food For Thought, Jill Norton Photography, Fig Media
Date: September 30, 2006
Equipment: 2 Pioneer CD J 800, Pioneer mixer, 2 G2 Eon speakers, 1 10 inch Eon, 2 Powerbooks, microphone

puttin on the Ritz

Video Documentary of the couples Celebration and Commitment at the Ritz Carlton in downtown Chicago. Mark Kauffman directed a lovely and successful event like a cool and deliberate master of ceremonies, and there were at least two going on simultaneously, no easy task and he and his crew made it look if not easy at least incredibly professional. Tom Kehoe was creating like crazy- the spaces were fabulous, we did a ceremony with sofas in the round! The couple did their own heart felt vows at the epicenter. We adjourned to live marimbas and a sumptuous cocktail hour, a huge mirrored, plexi and water buffet piled high with cheeses, vegetables and a cornucopia of food adorned with orchids, passed appetizers, and a steamed dumpling station. Dinner chimes and fig dj Lucy called us to dinner and dancing- the room, was breathtaking! Sky scrapers of glass, water and orchids bedazzled. The newest thing - square tables and straight back chairs arranged with style and designed to match the old world charm of the dining room and bring in hip - marrying masculine with grace. We danced, toasted, cut the cake. We got super cute shots of the couple trying to bite the cake. Most of the guests exited to roll in the sweet tables, set up in the cocktail area, not great for dancing but hey, there was a live chef making toasted ice cream thingys with cherries. Afterward everyone stuft themselves with sweets they were ready for dancing. We got lots of fun shots, beautiful shots, and after reviewing the footage tonight I am excited to get our edit complete and share with our grooms who did a wonderful job of celebrating themselves.
Michele Gustin, Lead Video Artist
Saturday September 30th, 2006 at the Ritz Carlton, Chicago

CS Magazine / Fashion Week / Millennium Park / Fig Media

First blog entry...

I deejay cool parties. I work all over the great city of Chicago. September 27th I was spinning under a tent on the Chase Promenade at Millennium Park. It was a pre-function for a fashion show put on by Macy's (who is taking over Chicago) and CS Magazine (they love us). Blue Plate provided hors d'oeuvres and booze, Frost provided the technical production, and Avron's Sound Machine provided the sound. I just had to bring decks and my music - easy! Hafeez helped out and was dancing and taking photos. My set included Beck, Len, Daler Mendhi, Lo-Fidelity All-Stars, Lou Reed, The Bravey, Big Audio Dynamite, Thelma Houston, Klint, Mr. Scruff, and many more. The gig was only an hour and a half and I got paid a million dollars! I lied about that last part. There were lots of pretty people there. I rocked the house, and we were in and out super fast. I will add Millennium Park to my long resume of great Chicago locations, and CS is another satisfied customer!

The Secret Garden

Imagine this: It’s Monday morning. You’ve just woken up and are walking down Michigan Avenue heading to work. You’d rather not, you’ve had a great weekend, and all you want to do is get a couple more hours of sleep before you start your week. And then you hear music. You’re not quite sure where it’s coming from. But it sounds GREAT! Suddenly your morning shifts. You’re getting excited. You’re thinking, “Why can’t I start every week off like this?”

The event that brought Fig down to the Water Tower Park on Michigan Avenue this fateful Monday was “The Secret Fashion Garden.” It was a fashion show presenting outfits designed by students at The Illinois Institute of Art. Andrew Ettenhofer brought Fig in to provide music for the event. Carrie Lannon emceed the event, describing the outfits and how they were made.

I’ve dj’d a few fashion shows since working for Fig and they are so much fun! Intense, too. Cues need to happen on the spot, switching from one song to another as each model comes down. In this case, there were two different shows – one at 8am and another at noon. Andrew and I came in with an idea to play mash-ups (two songs that are merged together to sound as one). While we were getting ready for the first show to start, we started talking about the music and if it was the right choice for the event. Carrie was going to be speaking over the music and we didn’t want the vocals from the songs to interfere with that. So we decide to switch it up on the spot. This is what we’re good at. We’re like the A-Team combined with Second City. We prepare for war, but are able to handle anything that comes up in the moment and switch on the fly. It was cool to be able to think of alternatives in a moments notice. An idea came into my head, and I went with it.

For the 8am show, I played some Hotel Costes like stuff mixed in with some St. Germaine and Mr. Scruff. Jazzy, electronic, lounge type stuff. It worked great. Perfect for the morning. The only downside was that it didn’t have a strong beat. It wasn’t danceable. Between shows, Andrew and I trade off and on hitting everything from Motown and funk to hip-hop and house. I also throw in those mash-ups I was dying to play while going back to the drawing board for the music for the noon show. I come up with some jazzy house mixed with some funky breakbeat and a little eclectic world beats.

What I liked most about this event was playing music for people that wouldn’t normally hear it. And getting creative in the process. It was like I was on a playground and I could play anyway I wanted. I was doing all sorts of effects and tricks, one of which I just learned the night before. This was a chance for me to express myself and my creativity and I used it well. I love scratching. I love beat matching. I love putting two songs together that you wouldn’t normally put together. I love making new sounds, new effects, adding to what’s given me and interacting with the world around me. Oh, I love showing off, too. I pushed my creativity on decks to a new level with this gig. It only gets better from here.

--Jonathan Hood

Prep Sports: St. Rita Mustangs vs. Providence Catholic

Hello everybody,

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging a Fig gig! On September 22nd, Hafeez and I trekked out to Providence Catholic to see them battle our St. Rita Mustangs. There was a little conflict of interest on Hafeez's end, since he was actually a graduate of Providence! Regardless, he did his videography wonderfully and my photography turned out well also.

The big problem we ran into on our way to this gig was the GETTING THERE part. Good ol' MapQuest gave us the runaround and had us confused and lost for quite a while. In traffic. During rush hour. Seriously, why do people still use MapQuest if they know it's going to be wrong? Has MapQuest ever been accurate for you? Because it's consistently conned me into believing it on several occasions. You'd figure that I, as well as many other people, would learn by now and just use an actual map. We ended up getting to the football field in plenty of time and were able to get some establishing and warm-up footage for the game.

I learned a ton this night, since it was my first time using the digital SLR at night. Steve taught me a bunch before I left Fig, and I wound up teaching myself a lot more when everything was more hands-on. I was having a little trouble adjusting to manual mode, but ended up loving the creative flexibility it gave me to get more unique shots. Simply having control of exposure and manual focus made me really happy.

Hafeez and I were worried for a bit around halftime, when it began to lightly rain. We dug into our high-end arsenal of A/V equipment and whipped out our defense: plastic garbage bags! I was glad the rain let off after 10 minutes or so, because it was such a pain having to focus the camera through a plastic baggie. But regardless, I was proud of the shots I came up with and they look great on the PSO website.

The game itself was particularly exciting. It was a low-scoring game, which I personally love because both defensive lines were making big plays. It came down to a field goal by St. Rita with 3 seconds left in the 4th quarter to win. Good stuff.

Overall, a great night with footage and photos to prove it. Is there any way we could maybe fly to the game next time?

-Owen

A Toast, a Roast, and a Boast

This weekend was very challenging. It was work. Hard work. And fun too. Sometimes I forget about that. That I dj because it's fun. Sometimes I get lost in the work that goes on behind it. I was getting all the equipment together for all the gigs on Saturday and we had a TON of equipment. We had seven gigs all over Chicago. When we're busy like this, we get each dj's equipment together so they can just pick it up and go. Every time I do it, I feel a TON of fear. I basically own all the gigs. I hold myself responsible for making sure all the equipment works, that each dj has the equipment he/she needs, and that all the equipment that goes out comes back in. After all the dj's take their equipment, a thought always comes over me. "What did I forget?" Thankfully, nothing.

Being responsible for the success of seven gigs is nerve racking. Not only do I have the weight of my own gig's success, but I also have the weight of the team as a whole. What I try to tell myself is that each dj is skilled enough to handle a situation where a piece of equipment is missing. And each dj is responsible for checking their own gear before they leave. Why doesn't this put me at ease? Because I care. The minute I start asking questions about a gig, I become invested in it. I want it to be a success.

I'm looking back at my gig this past Saturday and I'm asking myself if it was a success. The couple was Jennifer and Eric and they had were having a party at Catalyst Ranch, a fun venue that's like a playground for adults. They were married earlier this year and were having a celebration for their friends and family. Celebrations like this are always hard. When guests aren't invited to the wedding, but are invited to the reception, there are a lot of feelings that come up. Guests are less likely to come to celebrate the marriage and more likely to celebrate the open bar.

What I discovered this weekend is the key to having a successful post-marriage reception is make the guests feel special. Jennifer and Eric set up a "mock" ceremony that was more like a roast. The guests were given canes (Eric has a big cane collection) that they could keep and were asked to tap them on the floor rather than clap. Many of Jennifer and Eric's friends are actors, comedians, or improvisors. The mock ceremony ends up turning into a comedy show where Jennifer and Eric are not only celebrated, but so are the guests. Everyone was laughing and tapping their canes. My assistant, Jessica, and I were on the floor dying it was so funny. This is how I want to be celebrated. Successful? Yes.

As far as the music is concerned, cocktails was all about cheesy 80's love songs. We played such tunes as "Forever Young" and "Eternal Flame." It was fun searching through my cd's trying to find the cheesiest stuff that would work with the crowd. After almost every song, someone in the crowd would say, "This is my song!" and they would sing a long. Going into dancing, it was the same kind of vibe. Guests would sing a long and dance by their tables as well as talk with one another. People would sometimes come into the room dancing. It was hard to actually get people on the dance floor though. They loved Top 40. That brought out the most people. "Thriller" followed up with "Sexy Back" then "Promiscuous" and "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone" was also a big hit. When it's put at the peak of a set, all the girls go NUTS! Jessica came up with some great song ideas throughout the night. My favorite was when she suggested "Mickey." I threw it on after Kelly Clarkson and it fit in perfectly.

--Jonathan, Lead DJ

Client: Jennifer Incorvaia & Eric Lindberg
Producer: Erik
Assistant: Jessica

Marine DJ with Pearson/Pence

Tobey booked a wedding gig 48 hours before the event. The kind of event I dream of, "Client books with another company and days before the event they feel they are working with an inadequate DJ, then they call fig and ask for our help." Then I come in, create a great event and the client remembers fig forever and always recommends me. Well, here I am, after creating a successful event with only 48 hours to perpare. I came back to fig on Thursday after a gig with the managers at the Park Hyatt and Tobey had set up a meeting for me with Keri and Brad. I got the majority of the music from them in that meeting and drove out to the Harrison Manor House on Friday for the rehearsal. Got everything down flat and got the list of songs they wanted to dance to. As the gods would have it, the songs were stuff I like. Chris, my assistant was great at helping me with the ceremony and then moving things to the dancing area as I worked the dining area. There were awesome speeches and a tight family atmosphere and steak that you could cut with a butter knife. Dancing had some changes as one of Brad's friends played some guitar to start and the songs ended up being the 1st dance song, we then jumped to father/daughter and right into opening the dance floor. Chris and i had some great dance sets and Chris, hungry to learn DJ, jumped into mix many of the songs. The bride told me that night,"Now that's Marine DJ's". I Love It!

Erik Friedly

Langenfeld/Perry @ Courtyard by Marriot, downtown

Wow, this was a fun one! I love it when a client likes The Shins, Wilco and Flaming Lips. It's fun to work those styles into Sexyback and Golddigger. It's a lot easier to do when I am playing great soul sets or white soul, "Small Faces, Rolling Stones, etc." There are few things more complimentary then seeing the Bride and Groom slow dance to "Jesus, etc" or "Do You Realize". The hardest part of this event was the fact that people wouldn't leave the B&G alone when a good slow song was playing that they wanted to dance to. Even when I announced that we were starting the 1st dance someone would come up and converse with them. Then Dayne gave the nod as if to say, "Just start the song so I have a reason to walk away from these people". Then at the end when I announced the last dance song, Mary and Dayne came up to dance and a few people interupted their moment to say goodbye. WTF, let the B&G have a moment together!
Mary and Dayne are a great couple and were an awesome end to my 3 gig weekend. Thanks for the tip M&D, I was able to enjoy a great Mars Volta show last week because of it.

Erik Friedly

Prep Sports and fig Shorts

From high above, the stadium lights can be seen flicker on as dusk fades to dark, setting the scene for tonights fight on the freshly cut field. The marching band sounds a spirited tune of the high school fight song, as the stadium's bleachers - brimming over the edge with students, facutly, and parents alike - fill the crisp autumn air in hopes of inspiring their team to a convincing victory over the unsuspecting visitors.
Taking the snap from under center, the quarterback drops back looking to pass. Being flushed out of the pocket, he rolls to his left, frantically scanning the 48 yards of field in front of him, looking for an open receiver. Feeling the pressure from an oncoming defender, he throws up a prayer into the corner of the endzone, wanting nothing more than to see that ball fall into the hands of his all-state star receiver, jockying for position to make the play. The receiver and defenseman both look up, leave their feet, and...SNAP



This has been a common scene for a handful of videographers and photographers, including myself, at fig media.

Since the last week of August of '06, fig has been working side by side and helmet to helmet with Prep Sports Online, bringing the complete experience of being on the sidelines with your team Friday night to the computer monitor in your office cubicle Monday morning. With video highlights, crisp photographs, and in-depth articles documenting the gridiron grudge-match, Team fig has been scoring big with every hand off from PSO.

Since the first week, I have put together documentary video and photography for one of three games every week. For the first week, I took the video role for two games; two games that were played at the one and only Soldier Field. This was a dream come true. For many people, the Chicago Bears may just be another football team. But for me, the Bears organization has played as a strong foundation in my family life. In the fall of 1991, my grandfather took me to my very first Bears game wherein they played a Sunday night game against Dan Marino (my childhood hero) and the Miami Dolphins. And for every football Sunday after that until my grandfather passed away, he and I spent our Sunday afternoons sitting high in the southwest corner of Soldier Field until the game clock read 0:00, even if the Bears were losing 42-6. So to have the privelage that first week to be on the field for the purpose of my passion is something that I will never forget.

And while every game cannot be played at the historic Soldier Field, I have found another outlet to spur me on during the games Friday nights; photography. Taking on the photographer's role my second week (Simeon v. Bolingbrook) was the very first time that I was on my own with the camera...a fact that I hadn't realized until a half hour before the game, making me suddenly very uncharacteristically nervous before the event. But after putting myself through a bit of a crash course on the camera the day before (i.e. "oh, what does this button do?") I was more comfortable in adjusting my settings throughout the night, allowing me to be in the best position to take the picture you see above, and be awarded with pic of the week honors.

Since that week, I have felt stronger and more confident going into each following photography gig; a confidence that I feel has carried itself into my personal life. When I am walking around a scene with a camera in my hand, I feel that I can go anywhere I want and no one can tell me otherwise. I came to this realization after being on a couple of photography gigs and finding that in order for me to grow my art, I need to take chances and put myself in the best position possible. A lesson that i have realized i need to take into my life outside of the camera. If I want to grow as an artist and a person, I need to force myself into the best position possible to achieve a desired outcome, no matter what the challenge or neigh-sayer.

Stephen Fabro

Green Tie Ball

Green Tie Ball is a party and a party that I will not miss again. The party had great musical talent, the best food samples of Chicago, good looking people, a great view of the city, and who else but Fig Media.

This year Fig was asked to be a part of the yearly Gateway Greens event “The Green Tie Ball” which drew in a crowd over 3,000 people. Andrew Ettenhoffer served as producer of the Fig team and worked closely with Dakota Schultz of Gateway Greens and the Experiential Agency to add the “fig flavor” to one of the hottest parties of the summer. Fig offered two different teams and services to the party, fig DJ Lucy Wieczorek spun for most of the evening and into the night, in the ever hip W Hotel Lounge, with her assistant Lola Olateju dancing at her side. Fig photographer’s Megan Taylor and Stephen Fabro were also there to capture the crowd, food, music, entertainment, celebs, and more on camera. Fig also took this opportunity to screen their work, as Lydia Kopeke edited the photos into a live projection mix that was screened on both sides of the stage.

Fig Media is the Media for Madhatter's Ball 2006

This year's Madhatter's Ball, which benefits Lookingglass Theatre and hosted by Billy Dec, David Schwimmer, and Joey Slotnick, was held at the House of Blues. As a member of the Lookingglass Junior Board I attended the yearly event and also was the producer of our fig team. We served the party with creative style and expertise.

As producer (Megan Taylor) I worked with a talented team that included:
Director, Videographer, & Editor Melissa Martens who created theatrical visuals for the big screens at HOB, a sponsorship documentary of Lookingglass Young Ensembles program, and directed videography the night of. Brian Carey and Tim Musho the swat team duo documented the event with creative photos. And videographer Chris Weiher and editor Billy Rod supported the team the night of.

Fig's creativity was all over the event... our media was on all screens to be scene and our team could be found running all over the multilevel theatre capturing the party. The evening was a success and I am very proud of our partnership with Rockit Ranch Productions, XA, and Lookingglass Theatre. It was very exciting to document and be a part of event that included Macy Gray performing and celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson. I am looking forward to pushing our creativity even farther next year.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I Give You The Newlyweds!

Tori Brovet and Rich Izzo wanted a night that was them. Meaning non traditional, intimate, fun, and ideal to their taste. The setting was The Swedish American Museum Center, located at Clark and Foster, in Andersonville. I played Brian Eno as the wedding party, including Rich, walked down the isle and transitioned to Michael Kamen's "Plasir d'amour", a spiritual piece, as Tori walked down. For the recessional, I played "The Newlywed Game" theme song. This was their way ending the wedding ceremony with a classic, fun song. It was a hit! I was assisted by Steve Fabro (photographer, editor, and apprentice dj), the photographer was Doug McGoldrick, and the caterer was the Hearty Boys (whom fig has worked with many times). Some of the dance highlights included Rich's favorite song "One" by U2, and "The Time Warp" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show followed up by "Rock Lobster" by the B52's. Tori and Rich had many great moments on the dance floor together. The gig was a big success. I did a great job creating an everlasting memory for the newlyweds. Congratulations to Tori and Rich!

Brian A. Carey (resident deejay, photographer, web master)

Google by Eric Anderson

So we did an event for.....GOOGLE! Google was holding a meeting seminar at A New Leaf, a venue that fig has worked many times in the past. We were responsible for all audio/visual aspects of the meeting, including, projecting a slide show presentation on a 7x10 screen, maintaining audio levels, and also providing deejay services for thier cocktail hour and dinner. We were able to get into the venue the night before, thank god, to set up the equipment for the actual presentation. Professor Jonathon Hood helped with the set upthe night before, and because of his extensive knowledge in audio, we were able to trouble shoot some issues that we had that night. But with all of the equipment set up for the presentation the night before, we weree able to go in the day of, all ready and rearing to go! Hafeez Sarumi was my right hand man in the operation and provided a hand with all aspects of the gig. The presentation went off without a hitch and Kat from Google said that the job was delivered flawlessly! Once that aspect of the job was done, we moved into the dinner and cocktail part of the night. For that Professor Hood spun some amazing jazz music to help set the mood for the eliquent dinner. Using his standard rig, The Professor was able to provide music that helped keep the night moving. The dinner lasted a few hours and by nine, fig's job was complete. And all of our hard work was acknowledged when Kat told us that everything was done perfectly!! Alas, another successful gig that was delivered to the clients satisfaction.

A Wedding and a Birthday

Adam Gibson and Nicole Donohoe got married at the Wallace Bowl in Wilmette. The site reminded me of Greek ampitheater. The wedding was beautiful. Japanese lanterns decorated a lawn where the ceremony took place and the guests sat in a raked semi-circular seating area made of stone with wooden benches. Fig provided microphones and speakers for sound reinforcement. I was really disappointed with how the space sounded. Looking back, I would give myself more time to try a range of possibilities with speaker placement to get the best sound, as well as prep all the participants to have the microphone close to their mouths when they are speaking.

We also dj'd the reception at the nearby Michigan Shores Club. Walking around in this building's Old English style is like being in a castle. We played world music during the cocktail hour and broadened it up during dinner with classical during the entree and moving into soul, R&B, and some vocal jazz as the dinner wound to an end. Dancing was a ton of fun. The bride and groom kicked it off with their first dance and after a couple minutes, they broke off to find their parents and brought them out. After another couple minutes, everybody split up to grab somebody else to bring out. This continued a few more times until the dancefloor was packed. And it stayed packed for most of the night. The music ranged from vocal jazz, to motown, to oldies, to disco and funk, to 80's, to top 40. My favorite combination of songs during the night was "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" into "Funkytown" into "Sexy Back" into "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley.

Little did everybody know, that at midnight I was turning 28! I had so much fun celebrating my birthday with these people. I love it when I'm playing music that I like and dancing and interacting with everybody and laughing and smiling!

--Jonathan (Lead DJ)

Tobey Geise (Assistant DJ) - Helped during the ceremony and transition into dinner.
Karen Aronoff (Assistant DJ) - Helped during the transition into dinner and through the rest of the night.

A Bat Mitzvah and A Firehouse

Imagine 45, 13 year old girls jumping up and down, while screaming the lyrics to pop/rock artists like: Panic! At The Disco, Sean Paul, and Shakira. The floor at the Firehouse Grill was literally jumping, and the decks were dancing on our table. As the requests came pouring in, and Brent Rolland kindly taking them, I continued to play on. The event was a Bat Mitzvah for Dr. Steve Weine's daughter Kate Weine. I worked with the music to execute Steve and Kate's vision for the night, which was fusing both of their music styles together to create an atmosphere that was to the liking of all of their guests. It was a great night, a fun night, and an exhausting night! LOTS OF FUN!

Brian Carey,
Deejay, Photographer, Web Master

Assistant-DJ Brent Rolland

Limelight in the Limelight

On Friday, September 1st, Rita of Limelight catering had her birthday party at Chicago Illuminating Company. The party was amazing. We played great music, there was great food, and there was great dancing. On one end of the room was a 3 foot high stage where we (the deejays) were set up. On either side of us, go-go dancers did their thing on white and lime colored cubes. Yellow and orange stage lighting illuminated the stage.

I played some of my best sets that night. We started off with some head-bobbing background music and around 9:00, we kicked into dancing. The go-go dancers came up, Dave (Rita's husband) gave a thank-you over the mic, and I threw the party into some disco with Disco Inferno followed up by You Should Be Dancing, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, and Funky Town. The dance floor was packed. After mixing up some 70's and 80's, I did Bamboleo, Marc Anthony's I Need to Know, Sexy Back by J.T., and then Billie Jean. The night was about mixing things together creatively, seamlessly, and energetically.

The crowd was amazing. Everybody was feeling the music and dancing the whole night. When the go-go dancers would take a break, people from the crowd would come up onto their platforms and take their place. There was also people dancing on the bar. So many great stories from the night, but many of them must be kept in confidence. What happens at the party stays at the party.

--Jonathan

Producer: Andrew Ettenhofer
Lead DJ: Jonathan Hood
Assistant DJ: Brian Carey