Quizzo!

Blogs are rather ubiquitous tools for sharing one's personal information in an open space. Here is one of my characteristics that many persons do not have the foggiest notion about: I am a huge fan of game shows. I grew up watching the wacky Whammies of Press Your Luck, the incredible Instant Bargains of $ale of the Century, and the persnickety pricers and Plinko players of The Price is Right. My mother states to this day that my very first words were "Ten thousand dollars!" Naturally. My adoration of quiz programs has meshed with my other love—that of Japanese animation—to form one of my current dreams, which is to host and produce anime-themed game shows for conventions. On a certain Monday, one phone call brought me one unexpected step in that direction: I received a call from Tobey (our office goddess!) at the Fig office, stating that they needed someone available for a last-minute gig: a game show. I did not care that I was not home for even an hour when I received that call—I was on it faster Richard Dawson's lips on a female Family Feud contestant. This was an opportunity not to be missed.

Quizzo is a trivia game provided by the National Trivia Association that is played by individuals or teams at numerous bars and pubs throughout the United States (hence the "National" part!). The game consists of seven categorized rounds; each round is comprised of ten questions, each worth ten points. The team or individual with the most points at the end of the game wins a great prize, such as a free round of drinks or bar swag like T-shirts and hats. Mmmm…swag. Swag good. Anyway, think of Quizzo as a friendly Frankenstein of sorts, as it combines elements of numerous game shows, including 80s cult favorites Face the Music, Trivia Trap, and the ever-beloved Jeopardy!. As host, it is my duty to invite bar guests to play, have all the question sheets and score sheets ready, to provide music for periods before, after, and between rounds, and to pretty much keep the flow of the game going.

My first experience with Quizzo was held at River Shannon, a quaint bar in Lincoln Park. On the first day I was assigned to emcee the game in question, me and my partner Lauren learned the ropes of the game from our Chicago Quizzo Representative, Mike Metreger. He set up Lauren and I extremely well by detailing all the rules, equipping us with all necessary score sheets, and also giving us pointers on how to handle contestants and awry situations. We were both ready to play…yet, the four people who were at the bar were not interested in playing, and no other people came in during the time Lauren and I were there. Poopie. Still, we received the information necessary to host successfully.

The second week, however, was a huge improvement, as we had three awesome teams play against each other. I did not think of myself as nervous on my first day as a host, but I did a few nervous things, such as forgetting to mention the teams' names before beginning round one. Tiny mishap, but I brought it back in the second round. The rest of the game was smooth and flowed My partner for that week was Joe, and he did a great job playing music during the night and being my second set of eyes for the crowd, as well as my liaison for joke opportunities: We offered a "shot beer bonus" during the music round, in which the team with the most points in the music round would win a free round of shots. One of the teams, named "Dunder Thunder," used their musical expertise and teamwork well to win the round. One thing that I didn't notice about the team is that its player size doubled from the beginning of the game. Joe noticed this frivolous fact, however, and passed it on to me, and I pointed it out to the crowd, which resulted in a good laugh. Heh, it is amazing how alcohol brings people together. I had so much fun hosting Quizzo this day, but I also had a realization: Hosting is so much more than meets the eye. Yes, I have led and emceed numerous events in my time, yet this game show boasts a different venue, a different crowd, and a different atmosphere—one so, well, different, that it encourages me to be looser and more relaxed in my hosting style.

I dislike shameful plugs, but what the hey: If you are in the mood to show your smarts and win some prizes, while gathering a lot of fun, music and drinks along the way, please come down to the River Shannon (425 West Armitage in Chicago) on Monday nights from 8-10pm to play Quizzo! You, your brain, and your beer gut will be glad you did!

– Brent Rolland, resident Fig deejay

Wang/Yang @ The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Oh. My. Lord.

I feel I should title this blog "Hot Asian Women, part II." (Yes, I wrote a part I a year or so ago.) From the pictures you'll see below, you can see why I have the such said inclination. This reception was one of the best parties I have ever deejayed, particularly because of the super-celebratory crowd that was there to welcome the bride and groom, Grace and Jeff. This crowd was here to par-tay. Another reason why this was such a memorable night was due to the fact that although rain befell the area of the Notebaert and caused the ceremony to begin later than scheduled, every single element of the night went smoothly—including the first dance, the speeches, the bouquet toss, and even the awesome projection rig (which is, mainly, a projector, a computer, and a huge screen) that my partner Joe Martinez set up successfully. Every little element that could have gone awry…didn't. Thank God.

Okay–back to the pictures of the party!

– Brent Rolland, resident Fig deejay


Photos by Brent Rolland and Joe Martinez

Skadden Idol @ The House of Blues Restaurant

Erik and I provided a karaoke setup for "Skadden Idol," a watered-down version of "American Idol" created by and produced for the folks at Skadden-Arps, a Chicago law firm. As I have learned, this company has run these fun competitions for the past four years, which automatically generates some important data: This is something that they were totally looking forward to. I have been on karaoke gigs where just a few or no one dares to throw away their inhibitions and sing a song or two. The participation level was so high for this group, I could hardly keep up with the song changes! Wheee-ew!

Take a look at the photos below to view some of the fun moments of "Skadden Idol." To this day, karaoke for me has never been so…satisfying.











– Brent Rolland, resident Fig deejay

Sychra/Savino-Sullins @ Spiaggia

Please enjoy these photos from Diana and Justin's wedding reception at the luxurious Spiaggia in downtown Chicago. More to come!

– Brent Rolland, resident Fig deejay





Photos by Brent Rolland and Chris Paluch

Ingersoll/Nocas @ the Chicago History Museum

Carrie Ingersoll and Scott Nocas made history—that is, they celebrated and commenced their wedding at the Chicago History Museum. Jonathan Hood and I were the deejays for our couple's big day. I speak with humility and gratitude when I say the following: I do not think that Jon and I have worked so hard at a full wedding such as this.

Prior to the wedding, we set up a two-speaker cocktail system outside the main hall, and also prepared the main ceremony setup: two-speakers, a wireless microphone, a mixer, Jon's computer, my iPod, and a back-up CD player. We performed the full outdoor ceremony that was complimented by specific classical music tracks, After the ceremony, Jon and I quickly broke down the ceremony setup and moved into the dining hall, in which we had to set up our rig while everyone was in a separate area enjoying their cocktails. That was a challenge, for the guests were mingling in-between the area of the ballroom where we were set-up (the left side) and the dining tables were hidden (the right side). Jon smartly laid down and taped his wires before we started the ceremony set-up, which saved us some time. A bit sweaty and tired from the combination of summer heat and tiredness, we completed our setup, and we were ready to go.

For me, the joy in this was mostly taking the proverbial driver's wheel and leading the event, although I was the assistant to Jon. Emceeing is a love of mine, and although there were points where I was dog tired from setting up/breaking down equipment and checking on other thing, I was happy to host and have fun with the audience. One of the cool things about the evening is that the dinner tables all had movie names on them (which made sense, as the groom, Scott, works in the movie industry). I had a ball pointing out some of the tables during the speeches, especially "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" table. All the people were in the good category, I was sure. Holding the hosting role made for a good interactive experience for me.

From there, the rest of the event was fun. Jon deejayed the entire night and had people dancing and enjoying themselves, especially Carrie and Scott. One of my favorite songs of the night was Bill Withers' and Grover Washington, Jr.'s "Just the Two of Us." It's rare when it is requested from the couples I work with, and I was glad to hear this sweet soul song.

So, there was a lot of hard work that went into this day, but it's all in the name of satisfying our clients, and that is what we did.

– Brent Rolland, resident Fig deejay

John Wilson's 50th at the W Lakeshore

So this was a 50th birthday bash thrown for John Wilson by his wife Deanna at the lavish W Hotel lakeshore and about 60 of his closest friends and familiy. In terms of agenda, there was not much to the night - cocktails for a hour and a 1/2, dinner, and a short speech from the man of the hour thanking his guests. While this sounds straightforward, it lead to a unique situation in terms of getting in relationship with the crowd and getting dancing started later in the night. With weddings, the structure allows for early interaction with the crowd, getting them warmed up to the deejay. This event, however, was more like a corporate pary in terms of that element, with no real time bulit-in to actually acknowledge the crowd.
The Hybrid.
Brian recognized it and spoke with the crowd, introducing John, which let them actually see the deejay. During dinner, the crowd was getting a bit antsy, doing more mingling with each other, I was getting antsy myself, wanting to get the party started...
Getting dancing was a little tough at first. But, just like a coporate gig, there is always one person who will come up and ask for something to dance to, fun, current, etc. A woman did just that, and she wanted to hear current stuff. Brian put on Hey Ya, and that got the crowd out. Over the course of the evening we hit a lot of genres, songs ranging from Rock Around the Clock, to Usher's Thats What It's Made For during dinner. Cocktails consisted of a lot of midtempo lounge style music, with a world beat feel to it. I played songs from brazilian artists, french, and a variety of latin beats. Even a bachata was played for one guy that had an overwhelming desire to show off. There were some great song transitions over the night - I Like Big Butts is always a crowd favorite, which was followed up by My Humps, in a pair praising posteriors. The keyboard outro on that song allowed Brian to completely shift gears and have the crowd rock out to end the night. A good time was had by all, and Deanna said that her 50th is in 3 years - so fig can do it all again!
Summing up the night musically:

• Bossa no. 5, Riolistic
• Tabou, Les Nubians
• The Right Kind of Lover, Patti LaBelle
• Hey Ya!, Outkast
• Rapper's Delight, Sugarhill Gang
• Livin' on a Prayer, Bon Jovi

written by Alvin Black III, assistant deejay

Debowski/Pantazis @ Cite at Lake Point Tower

This was my first time at Cite. The view from the 70th floor was spectacular. My assistant Matt and I were blown away by the view. It's too bad that I couldn't sit back and enjoy it at my fullest. I was zoned in on the Isabelle ans Steve's wedding. We were making sure to hit all the ques, and get festivities moving forward. At one point during cocktails, I found myself being the deejay, helping the fig video crew set up, and helping out the photographers (non figs) with where they were setting up their photo loading station. I've been in that position as a photographer myself, and wanted to help out. I was in the event zone.
Isabelle and Steve's vision for the music was a Jazz theme. The venue was perfect for this occasion. It was classy, elegant, and "Chicago". The other element that played a big role in the music was their ethnicities. Steve was Greek and Isabelle was Polish. So, I played sets of 30's and 40's jazz vocalists songs, and then sets of Greek and Polish music (provided by Steve's cousin, Chris). Alternating between the two genres. The music fit them and their guests perfectly. There was a magical moment during the night. Just after Isabelle and Steve finished cutting their cake, fireworks at Navy Pier went off. I played Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" during the fireworks as Billy Rood (fig videographer) captured the Bride and Groom holding each other close, as the display went on in front of them. A magical moment. It was the perfect timing and the perfect wedding for a moment like that.

Brian Carey
deejay/photographer

Hinda Incentives on the Anita Dee 2

On Saturday, June 2nd, the employees of Hinda Incentives were treated to a night out on the Anita Dee 2. The Anita Dee 2 is a 3 tier cruise yacht docked on Chicago's Navy Pier. The boat set off at 7pm for a 2 hour cruise. I worked with Patty and Connie at Hinda to work out the details of the night. Musically, these two hours were filled with live piano and cocktail tunes. The music flowed through out the boat by way of the house audio system. Employees were celebrated and thanked for all of their hard work by the Michael and Brad, the COO and CEO of the company. Alvin, my assistant, and myself found that we were short one XL cord-the cord that I was going to use for speeches. I did some trouble shooting and was able to use a shorter cord for the mic. The cord was about 5 feet, so I made sure to instruct speakers to "sorry your going to have to stand right here and not move". If they move out one more foot the cord would be yanked out. I used quick humor to deflate the embarrasement of the situation. It worked! At 9pm, the boat docked in it's slot on the pier. Some guests got off of the boat, calling it a night, and the majority stayed aboard. We played off of the employees and their requests the whole night. We played a lot of current hip-hop, some disco, some Motown, and one requests that stick out are Miami Sound Machine songs. Thanks for reading.


Brian Carey
deejay/photographer

Monday @ the MCA

Lead DJ Erik Friedly
Assistant DJ Emily Hard
Projectionists Tim Musho and Billy Rood

Monday night we did a 4 hour cocktail party for J & J Invision, a textile company. The MCA can be a very difficult area for sound and has a lot of option for projection. With our experience their we knew we could do a great job providing we had a site visit. Tim and I did the site visit and got their vision down, even adding a projector to make it better.
When you first walked in you saw a projection welcoming you the aniversary party for J & J Invision. As you walked down the center of the museum you saw another projection of a slideshow Tim made showing some of the history of J & J.
The next part of the center had Emily and I DJing. If you have ever been to the MCA it is like a big capital "I". When you first walk in it is the bottom part of the "I". Then the center section is the tall center of the letter and the restaurant area is the top. Then you can leave the top to go outside.
This is how I got audio to everyone. I had a 15" and a 10" speaker on one corner where the bottom and middle of the "I" meet. to fill out the bottom and part of the middle. I then had a 15" speaker in the middle of where the DJ decks were and another toward the top to fill out the rest of the middle and add support to the top. Then on the wall between the top ond the outside I had one more 15" to fill out the top area. This takes a lot of XLR and extensions and like Phil Spector, creates a wall of sound.
We also added a 10" outside until 9pm.
4 hour cocktail partied can be tough with no crescendo of a dance floor at the end. However, they seem to pop up anyways. As Emily and I moved into the last half hour, many dance style songs were chosen and we had pockets of dancers until the end.

My highlights were playing Cheap Trick and Urge Overkill and having someone asking who it was and having a pleased client!

Erik Friedly

Lewis/Shule Wedding @ the Hilton (used to be DoubleTree downtown)

I have to start of by saying; I love a catering/service staff that feeds me well. Soon as my assistant Tanya and I were set up we went over the schedule with the catering manager. Then he asked if we wanted to eat now or later. I said now, as it is much easier for to concentrate on the client and the party if I am already fed. I didn't know what to expect having not worked her since it changed from a Double Tree to a Hilton. But I got a good club sandwich with hot fries, I am guessing from their restaurant. I've had my share of pre-made, soggy toasted bread, club, but this was hot and good!
Now I am onto the party. Maria Lewis and Chris Shule booked with us about a year and half ago. I remember seeing them in the calendar a lot and wondering when we would get to that date. Then it was here and it was time to have fun.
It was a small crowd of about 65 and I have had a few more then usual of these smaller receptions. My fear rise a little more as you need to have a higher percentage of the crowd dance to have the dance floor look good. What helped is the size of the room was consistent with the size of the crowd. So it felt good whether there was 8 people on the floor or 30.
The most difficult part for me was the Father/Daughter dance. Maria's father is older and was not feeling well by the time of the dance. He decided to go home and Maria danced with her father-in-law. It felt uncomfortable at first, but then Maria danced with her young son Lance and we had a great "awww" moment. When everyone came up to dance it started strong for the 1st two songs then started to wane. This is has been typical for me on smaller weddings, so I start to leave the 3 like style songs in a row and do two before I move on. Also, if something isn't working I moved on. A big key for me was to see the reactions of the people not dancing. I read that some would enjoy certain songs and were never going to dance. Then I concentrated on the reactions of those that would and started keying in on them. I then spatter in Chris and Maria's must plays to keep the crowd dancing around them. Tanya was a great assist in giving ideas and watching the crowd for me. She saw things that I wasn't catching and her choices went well. I love that we at fig have assistants; it makes DJing so much more exciting.

In the end I had really enjoyed the people that danced. I got a few songs in that got people, which I perceived as not dancing, on the floor. Especially, You Dropped a Bomb On Me and Brickhouse. I also had a great House/Electronica set mixed in with some Hip-Hop toward the end that really ended the night well. Chris and Maria picked their last dance song and I felt proud of my work.

Lead DJ: Erik Friedly
Assistant: Tanya Cascoe

Gadeken/Pollyea @ The Newberry Library

This was my second time at the Newberry this season. Jessica and Dan's ceremony was in the lobby area of the Newberry, and then the room was turned over for the cocktail hour as the Bridal Party went out front for photos. They had a music style that combined classic rock and indie rock. Jessica got me a disc with their cocktail mix, already put together. As cocktails transitioned into dinner, I continued to play a classic/indie rock mix of songs. It was music that fit them, and was appropriate for dinner. Jessica and Dan had a special moment, they sharred a toast to each other. Dan had contacted me earlier in the week, and asked me to play the Bob Dylan song "Shelter From the Storm" directly after his toast to Jessica. Dan beautifully spoke of the story behind Dylan's song, and how it related to his own relationship with Jessica. Erik, my assist, played the song directly after his speech, as planned. It was perfect. The fig videographers were crying. I did my job.

Brian Carey
deejay, photographer

Nicole and Patrick a night to remember

Last Friday Lauren Pollock and I (Megan Taylor) deejayed the wedding reception of Nicole and Patrick at Newberry Library. The reception was a beautiful event, flowers by Gowder Designs, catered by Levy, and run by planner Ali Phillips. Cocktails were held in the middle room at Newberry from 6-7pm and reception to follow in the east room. The couple was fun, young and had a very great bridal party to support them and support a fun evening. I was touched by how supportive the bridal party was to cheer, hold space for speeches, and support the evening. The atmosphere makes for a great place for me to not worry about the guests, but support the great evening. Lauren kicked in her latin dj skills and played for the catering staff to not just play for the party but the support as well before the guests arrived. The party was so up my alley, as I played for young fun people, who wanted to hear just the music that I like and know well. Hip hop forever made the crowd go crazy, and as is my fav to play. I kicked up my transitions with beat matching mixed in with bar hit fav's. In fact enjoy my list: 1. Someone Like You- Van Morrison--first dance 2. L.O.V.E.- Nat King Cole 3. The Way you Look Tonight- Frank Sinatra 4. You're nobody til Somebody loves you- Dean Martin 5. I've got you-under my skin- Frank Sinatra 6. Mack the Knife- Bobby Darrin 7. RESPECT- Artetha 8. Ain't Too Proud Beg- Temptations 9. SUgar Pie Honey Bunch 10. Got to Give it Up- Marvin Gaye 11. You sexy thang 12. That's the way I like it 13. Sex Machine- James Brown 14. Super Freak- Rick James 15. Lady Marmalade- Patty LaBelle 16. September 17. Shake Your Groove Thing 18. Stayin Alive 19. Bouquet 20. Garter 21 Wonderful World 22. At Last 23. Wonderful Tonight 24. Tupelo Honey 25. Jump Jive and Wail 26. Bamboleo 27. Let's get it Started 28. Hot in Herrre 29. Rock Your Body- JT 30. Crazy- Gnarls Barkley 31. Like a Prayer 32. Kiss-Prince---didn't work, cut early to: 33. You Shook me all night long 34. Walk this Way-RunDMC and Aerosmith 35. Ice Ice Baby 36. Tricky 37. Jump Around 38. Yeah 39. Perculator 40. Sexy Back 41. Up in Here-DMX 42. Hypnotize- Notorious BIG 43. Buttons- Pussycat Dolls 44. Hey Ya- OutKast 45. Smack That- Akon 46. Naughty Girl- Beyonce 47. Pony- Genuine 48. You're Beautiful - James Blunt 49. I've Got Friends In Low Places - Garth Brooks 50. Livin on a Prayer- Bon Jovi 51. Pour Some Sugar on Me- Def Leopard 52. What I Got- Sublime 53. Get Right- Jennifer Lopez 54. Give it to Me- Nelly Furtado 55. Summer Love- Justin Timberlake 56. American Pie- Don Mclean 57. You're Stil the One- Shania Twain