Wong/Cehovic @ The Drake

Have you ever tried eating a croissant with a pair of chopsticks? Me neither. It's true: Some French and Chinese objects just do not go together. The same cannot be said for my first clients in the month of August, however. Lisa, of Chinese heritage, and Georges, a French doctor, recently had their wedding ceremony and reception at the super-swanky Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago, and me and my partner Chris Paluch were there to provide a musical background for their celebration.

The evening mixed the best of Chinese and French culture: Following Lisa and Georges' celebration was a ceremonial Lion Dance, which consisted of a pair of dancers in a huge, lavishly-decorated dragon-like creature and other dancers playing loud percussion instruments. It was certainly a sight to see. During the night, I played a lot of cool French tracks that Georges supplied to me, including Charles Aznavour, Yves Montand, and Catherine Deneuve (a very famous French actress, to boot). I also played some great Latin, downtempo, and 80s hits, including one of my favorite English bands, Level 42. Dancing was quite fun during the evening, as I played a combination of disco, Motown, and some hip dance music. As the crowd thinned out a bit during the evening, Chris and I played less dance music and oriented towards more cool, lounge-type tracks, including Thievery Corporation and a bevy of French artists. One of my favorite "moves" of the night was playing "Last Night a Deejay Saved My Life," which then progressed into me dancing with a lovely Chinese woman for the duration of the song. I love when things like that happen.

Georges and Lisa were both very grateful to Chris and I for our services, and I was glad to be a part of their cultural evening. Now, if I can only figure out how to get a croissant between a pair of chopsticks…

– Brent Rolland, resident fig deejay