Obiala/Dowling @ A New Leaf

Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" is a prime example of a song that snuggly fits into the "cult 1980s favorite" category. Featuring sinister, streaming synths, subtle slap bass, and a sultry beat that you can step-dance to, this tune from the musical Chess is one that its fans hold near and dear to themselves—including our clients, Julie and Jake, who requested this song at their reception to honor their upcoming honeymoon in Thailand. Jon Hood and I were the deejays for this young couple's wedding celebration at Chicago's very own A New Leaf; an evening that was, just as the aforesaid Murray Head song details, "a show with everything but Yul Brynner." Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Now, if you are a deejay (and thank you for coming by and reading!) and have performed at A New Leaf, then you must know that the building is situated within residences—most of them inhabited by families with young children. Because of that fact, it is up to us as deejays and upstanding citizens to respect that rule by situating our speakers in such a way that they do not disturb the next-door neighbors. Near the end of our setup, we were informed that we had to move our speakers. Oop. Apparently, one of our main speakers on the second floor was positioned too far forward, and our 10" speaker on one of the landings in the left balcony (connected to the main mixer) could not be used for main-floor music reinforcement. This request did not sit well with Jon, as that caused him to change his plans completely. I did my best to hold space and keep Jon calm. Eventually, he worked the situation out: We placed our two main speakers in the back, and we utilized the 10" only for speeches. With this setup, not only were the music and announcements heard clearly during the event, but the configuration was more direct and had less cordage. Jon and I even used our people skills: I went around to the guests announcing the beginning of dancing, while Jon handled all the other microphone work. We came out better than we would have before.

Music was of high importance this evening, and Jon and I covered all bases. We began the evening with Chicago-themed songs, like Sinatra's "My Kind of Town" and "Sweet Home Chicago" by the Blues Brothers. I played some great instrumental jazz during cocktails and dinner, including Jeremy Kahn, Duke Ellington, and even a bit of rare Latin treats from Vince Guaraldi. Jon served up such downtempo artists as Zero7 and Thievery Corporation. During dancing, we double-teamed to create one of the most electric floors we have ever produced. This was the first time that I ever played the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" and the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize." Yes, really. My first time. Go figure. Regardless, those songs—and many of my other selections—hit gorgeously. My "highlight" spin was Lionel Richie's "All Night Long." This track totally matched the lively mood of the crowd. In fact, I left my post from behind the decks and joined the guests on the dance floor. I even danced with Julie, the beloved bride! Truthfully, I do not get to physically join in the celebration at every gig, so every chance I get out on the floor, I enjoy myself fully.

Jake and Julie thanked us both graciously for a great time. Julie stated that this was "the best wedding party that she had ever been to." I'm sure she knew that it was her wedding party and not someone else's. Even with the anger and struggle that occurred at the beginning of the day, we took each situation at a time and sorted through them, enabling ourselves to perform well and throw a wonderful party. Rough starts can always lead to smooth endings—that's where it matters most. Because of this memorable celebration, I was inspired to write my own lyrics to "One Night in Bangkok":

One night at New Leaf with the Fig deejays jammin'
They overcame the speaker discrepancy
All night the crowd kept the dance floor slammin'
Who could predict that this would go so sweet?
I can't believe the bride danced right in front of meeeeee!

Daa-daan!

– Brent Rolland, resident deejay

Don't Know What to Title This

Not many people know this, but A New Leaf only allows speakers on the Mezzanine level of their space.

Floorplan of A New Leaf:


The family next door has a baby and doesn't appreciate loud music. The rule at A New Leaf is that music can only be on the Mezzanine level. When speakers are placed further in, the sound is too loud for the neighbors. What we've done in the past is put one or two smaller speakers further down along the railing, like so:

Floorplan with previous speaker placement (green squares are speakers)


I've always done this type of arrangement and worked it out with the venue to keep the volume at a low level for cocktails and dinner, especially with speakers towards the front. Those speakers are mainly there for announcements and speeches, but also help spread the sound out. What upset me about this gig, was that we were told we had to put both speakers upstairs up against the back wall. Our layout then looked like this:

Floorplan with current speaker placement (green squares are speakers)


The speaker that was closer to the railing on the mezzanine was used to help push the sound from the upper floor into the rest of the space. The problem with this new arrangement is that speaker no longer pushes sound past the upper stairs. The reason is because of how the space is constructed, it's further away from the middle, and more importantly, anybody upstairs will block the sound from leaving that area. The drawing below shows the space a crowd will take up. Note: there is also a similar size crowd in the middle and front areas, but I didn't include them.

Floorplan with current speaker placement and crowd on second floor (pink blob is the crowd on the second floor)


Now, I understand there is a family next door. However, a good speaker placement within the space can provide great sound that everyone can hear without being too loud to offend neighbors. It's pretty simple, actually. Many times, I'm working with clients that are not aware of the sound restrictions in the space and this severely limits the flow of the evening and what happens during the night. Any announcements that need to be made, will not be heard by everyone. With my vast experience of crowd management within this space, and the help of an experienced dj who's great with rapport, I was able to make flow work for my gig here last Saturday.

Julie and Jake had their reception at A New Leaf with yours truely and Brent Rolland at the helm. Sally and Dan from Hearty Boys were bringing in the scrumptious food. This wedding was a blast. Even with the new speaker arrangement, we were able to make it work. To manage the flow of the crowd into speeches, we made three announcements. The first was upstairs to all the people on the mezzanine. The second, we plugged a mic into the speaker downstairs and pointed it into the middle section. The third was pointed towards the front. The speaker downstairs was only used for speeches and announcements, which was approved by the venue. It seems pretty simple. Right? Well, it was. When we went into dancing, we did the same thing, with one exception. Brent prepped everybody first by going up to them individually to let them know, and then I came in over the PA. It was easy as pie. I think what sets us apart from other people is that we're willing to find ways around our limitations to make an event work. Originally, speeches were to happen by the balcony on the mezzanine level. When we were told to move our speakers, I adjusted how speeches were going to happen and let the Julie and Jake know. They would not be heard in the original location and even though it looked like Julie and Jake were nervous about the location changing, I knew it was for the best and went with it anyway. It turned out to be the best place for them in the end and everyone heard them great.

As far as dancing, I've never seen prepping the crowd work so well. Almost everybody came upstairs for the first dances and stayed the rest of the night. We never had an empty dance floor. Brent and I each took a side and tag-teamed back and forth all night. The food was AMAZING! The crowd was WONDERFUL! And I've never seen a bride and groom enjoying their party so much as Julie and Jake!

Cheers!

--Jonathan Hood, resident dj & dj operations manager
also on duty: Brent Rolland, resident dj

More New Faces of fig

Many of you wonder, what is it like in office? It always seems so crazy, creative, wild, fun, hectic, etc. For those of you wanting a glimpse into the lives of the figgies and how crazy it gets, here some photos showing just how crazy it gets...


















--Jonathan

Williams/Bradford @ Hotel Orrington

Welcome to "Weddingpalooza!"

This is the period when the Fig deejays gear up for receptions, ceremonies, and any other events that fit well with the magic word of "wedding." Although my first event did not contain bushy-haired hippies and drummers with bass drums larger than their car, this one did honor the holy matrimony of my clients, Kevin and Tonya. Along with my partner Andrew Ettenhofer, wedding planner extraordinaire Hope Weis, two skilled photographers from Stuart Rogers, and Bruce Kite from the luxurious Hotel Orrington in Evanston, we joined forces to produce a classy, fun afternoon for the couple and their guests.

The reception began at 11:30 in the morning. According to Tonya and Kevin, music was certainly the core of the afternoon. It was my responsibility to come up with a cocktail mix, a dinner mix, as well as all the music for the afternoon. Cocktails showcased the cool sounds of Najee, Incognito, and Kirk Whalum, to name a few. The dinner mix was really nice, as I played a lot of smooth jazz covers of familiar songs, such as "Joy and Pain" and "That's the Way Love Goes." As for dancing, I handled most of the playing, while Andrew filled in when I had to step away from the decks. The big pleasers were the "Cha-Cha Slide" and a very unexpected request, Parliament's "Knee Deep." Yeah…I didn't recognize it myself until I heard it at the event. There were also a few slow songs here and there, but for the most part, there were some fun, energetic soul, disco and R&B songs in our mix. I really felt a lot of ownership around the music of the event, as I worked hard to locate and gather every song that they requested, as well as use my musical knowledge to set the mood of the day well.

Were my efforts all in vain? Listen to this: At at the end of the afternoon, at least four or five people—including one of the bridesmaids—complimented either Andrew, myself, or the both of us on our great job and collaboration. The most wonderful happening occurred right before I left the grand ballroom: This tall, lovely woman by the name of Leslie Wesley (yes, that is her real name, and it does rhyme!) sought me out and not only did she give me praise for my hard work, but she also asked for my card and a copy of the smooth jazz dinner mix that I made! That was the icing on my virtual wedding cake. Yum.

Truly, this was a successful, yet mellow event. As mentioned before, this was an afternoon gig, so most people were not crazy-drunk (or just plain drunk or crazy). This was a conscientious and mature event, and I fit in well with my professional attitude and my music. I am really fortunate to be on gigs where that can happen. Let's see what the next wind of "Weddingpalooza" will take me.

– Brent Rolland, resident deejay

(Special thanks to Hope Weis, Eric @ Stuart Rogers, and Bruce @ the Orrington for everything!)

Billboards also know as Adventures of Tim and Brian

A lot has happened in the past two years.
Love
Managment

Swimming With The Fishies

I dj'd a gig at the Shedd Aquarium last Friday. The gig was for Shedd's professional junior board, roughly 800 people. David and I were set up in the main entrance area, food and bars were located in the center and off into the wings. We started the night off with "beach" music like Beach Boys or Jimmy Buffett. The guests lingered mainly in the center or off in the wings. They didn't come into our room until about an hour and half into the gig. I don't like it when this happens because I'll start thinking that the music isn't good enough to attract people into my room. Realty isn't the case though. The bars and food were more attractive to the guests because they were only interested in drinking. It's very unsatisfying when guests just want to drink. When the bars closed, the guests vacated within one song. The bars close, I look down to change cd's, look up and everyone was out of there. All the same, we still had fun. David handled most of the requests - there were a LOT of them. I read the crowd and played the music. We hit pretty much everything, from 80's to hair bands, to hip-hop, to latin. People would scream when I'd play a song, then go back to talking. We never got a unified dance floor going. Most people wanted to drink and talk. The others would dance in their own little groups. It was like a meat market where everybody was there just to drink and hook up. We got really great reviews on the music. Handed out a lot of cards. It just wasn't that satisfying. I want to be appreciated for doing a great job and didn't get that. So the question becomes, how do I feel satisfied without looking to others in order to get it?

--Jonathan

All In! All Done! - Sold!

Morgan Park Academy threw a fundraiser at Adler Planetarium. It consisted of a silent auction and a live auction to raise money for their school. They flew in an auctioneer from Washington to handle the emcee work and auctioneering. The dj booth was set up in the Galileo room with 6 speakers spaced out from there down past the sun. If you haven’t been to the Adler, you have no idea what I’m talking about. James leaded this gig with a broken hand. Chris, Tim, David, and myself set the space up. It was a huge set up with cables and speakers running rampant. A little exaggeration. It was a well thought out plan that was executed with extreme precision. I think we’re getting much better at these big set ups, both in placement of the equipment and in execution of the set up. It was like clockwork. James pointed, we moved. He was the brains, we were the brawn. Tim and David took off after set up and Chris stayed to assist me with the deejaying while James kept an ear on the big picture as the producer of the event. Music during the evening started off with some tunes from the Hidden Beach collection, moved into classic jazz standards, and then I hit some of what I’m know for – worldly down-tempo electronic lounge along with some lightly sprinkled deep house tracks. I love this stuff. I had just gotten some new stuff off emusic.com and I had been waiting to play it. Finally got the chance. I love this stuff. We also did music cues for the live auction. When an item sold for high amount or if it was an intense bidding, we would play 10-15 seconds of a song. My favorites were “Oh Yeah” by Yello and “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones. We also played the Bull’s theme song when tickets to one of their games came up, and “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey when White Sox tickets were auctioned. James made sure that the space sounded great by monitoring the speakers and adjusting as conditions in the room changed. He also tended to the Auctioneer so he could sell the items. Chris was tending to me and also keeping an eye on the big picture as well. We worked well as a team and made sure the evening was a success.

The New Faces of Fig

A day at fig:












I spent a day taking photos of the figgies today. It was a CRAZY day, as you can see.

Ted Kupper's Bar Mitzvah After-Party @ Whirlyball

I know what you're probably thinking, after reading the title line: Whirr-lee-bawl. What is this…Whirr-lee-bawl? Imagine a fervent fusion of jai alai, hockey and basketball and with a heaping helping of bumper cars and a dash of extremeness, and you have the fun sport that has entertained—and possibly bruised—many people for quite some time now. The Fullerton location of this franchise was the venue for a cool bar mitzvah after-party for young Ted Kupper and 75 of his friends. Oh, yeah. We were in for a supposed ride wilder than Whirlyball itself.

The concept of this celebration was only to concentrate on having a fun time, as all of the traditional events (i.e. the hora, the breaking of the bread) took place one week before the party. This event was complete with a pizza buffet, laser tag matches (lovingly called "Lasertron"), unlimited video gaming, and three hours of non-stop music. My partner Ryan and I headed up that latter department, and we played a lot of great punk, rap, and mainstream hits. We had a few dancefloors here and there as well. Our main challenge was to keep the kids in the room that we were in, as it was my task to announce which groups (designated by wristband colors) would be next to play both Whirlyball or Lasertron. Unfortunately, being in a large venue with copious electronic eye candy, that just did not happen. That caused some confusion as well as questioning among the kids, along with the fact that the rounds changed from 15-minute periods to 10-minute periods during the day. Whoa. Ted's mother, Janet, had to run around and inform the kids on which groups would be next. I felt disheartened that she had to do that, but as the day progressed, I noted that as "teamwork", as opposed to anything else, as I did my part inside and outside of the buffet/deejay room, informing kids about the schedule. For the most part, everything seemed to work out well. I did not hear any complaints of kids missing their turn or such. Plus, in fairness and honesty, that circumstance turned out to be somewhat of a blessing, for if a large group of kids had to bear with one another (and yours truly!) in a rather small, dimly lit room for three hours straight, that probably would have made for a less enjoyable time for them. I think there's a word for something like that…like, "classroom." (My apologies to any teachers that are reading this. I'm only kidding!)

The end of the afternoon was quite memorable, as a snowball dance occurred. This was Ted's main request, and I made sure that it was fulfilled. I utilized the ne'er-forgotten favorite, James Blunt's "You're Beautiful", and the kids followed suit. My goodness…Ted was definitely ready for this part of the day. He appeared as if he was on a pleasant prowl for his next dancing partner after every "snowball" call. I was giggling inside, for I thought that Ted's comfort factor and eagerness to dance was refreshing. Not all of the other kids were prepared and/or ready, which caused a bit of awkwardness during this moment, but it turned out really well. Ryan and I ended on a slow rap song (whose title escapes me at the moment), and a small "mitzvah mosh pit" ensued. With that, the kids exited from our room and went about their merry ways.

Whirlyball is the kind of place where you want to walk around and experience every inch of its space, as well as take in all the gaming and things to do. One could go absolutely crazy and get lost, as well. With this group, there were not any worries. Ted and his friends exhumed an appreciable level of maturity and were able to take care of themselves well in this place, which I totally adored. I appreciated the fact that kids came in during the afternoon and were able to enjoy our music and playfulness. Thinking back, I could have been a total wet blanket and coerced the kids into staying in our "deejay zone," but that would have been rather pushy and selfish. I'm glad the kids were free to have their choice of what to do. I totally love how my assistant Ryan and I worked well throughout the day, keeping each other positive and supporting one another, even though we were up against empty floors and all the goings-on outside. It may have been tough being in somewhat of a "box" for three hours, but we got through it successfully. All in all, this was a enjoyable, energetic day that was all about Ted, his friends, and Whirlyball.

(By the way, is it my turn on the court yet? Well…is it?)

– Brent Rolland, resident deejay

(Special thanks to the Kuppers, the Koestrings, and to Jenn and everyone at Whirlyball!)