Kaiser/Kalemba @ Womens' Club of Evanston

Okay…allow me to state the obvious: I am a guy. A dude. A man. El hombre. With that in mind, here is an interesting inquiry:

Why would I spend my Saturday evening at a women's club?

(And, no…I do not have a new hobby of dressing in drag or picking up older chicks.)

The best reason—and the only reason—that I was at a womens' club this weekend was to emcee and deejay a wedding for a very fun couple. Pauline Kaiser and Matt Kalemba were going to hold their post-wedding celebration at the Womens' Club of Evanston. Everything was in place, except for one thing: Music. They had a situation with their originally-chosen deejay, and they chose fig two weeks before their wedding date to provide a fun evening for them and their guests. I partnered up with Emily Hard, who has been with me on some rather energetic gigs. We teamed up to make a great night for our clients and their guests. Little did we know that the party was going to be made for us as well.

The Womens' Club of Evanston fits exquisitely well into this part of the state: it is a very stately, clean, and accomodating venue, not to mention flowery. Flowers in the pots, flowers in the grass, flowers patterned in the carpet…you get the idea. Heck, I was surprised that there were mens' bathrooms there. Heh. Anyway—wedding reception. Emily and I were greeted by Ted of J&L Catering and Carol of the Womens' Club as soon as we arrived. We (and our gear) were situated on a wide stage in the second floor ballroom. Our only dilemma of the night was finding power: While I was changing into my suit, Emily gives me a call on my cell phone, stating, "Brent, we need power! None of the outlets are working!" Good thing that I had my fly up at that time, or I would have left the bathroom looking like a fool. I went upstairs and joined Emily, along with Carol and the Club's electrician. It was a bit weird, seeing as how the catering staff (who was behind the curtain we were standing in front of) had perfect power. We later discovered that our power was working all along—it appeared that one of our power strips was inactive. Boo. It was a good thing that we had our much-needed juice at that time, for if it had stalled, we would have not been in good shape to perform. From setup all the way until the end of dinner, all the events flowed smoothly. When it came time to dance, that was when the mood began to rise positively.

Dancing started a bit earlier than I had expected. I was thinking we were going to begin at 8:30, but we started closer to 8pm. Totally fine by me. Something told me that people were ready to bust loose. Pauline and Matt started the night with their first dance, Dave Matthews Band's "Where Are You Going." After their family and wedding party dances, Emily kicked things off with Nat King Cole's "L-O-V-E." From there, we played everything from Motown to 80s to country and polka as well. Emily and I talked about our transitions during the night as if we were playing musical chess—which we were. I tried some rather cool and new transitions during the evening, including going from "Roll Out the Barrel" to "Love Shack," and "Sweet Escape" to "Come on Eileen" and "Dancing Queen." Whatever we played, the crowd was with us the entire time, and they filled the dance floor up wonderfully for the whole night. It was quite special being on a stage in front of a crowd of over 100+ people with bright lights hanging over us, as if Emily and I were young musical gods. What is even more rewarding is the picture of looking out to the crowd to so many happy, smiling, singing, dancing people. That is what deejaying is all about, as far as I'm concerned.

The greatest moment of the evening happened near 10pm: We were playing the final songs of the night—"Livin' on a Prayer" and "What a Wonderful World." After the final soft, yet raspy tone from Satchmo's song faded out, a grand round of applause ensued. Emily and I thought the evening was all said and done. The next thing that happened threw our expectations completely out of the Club, as a chant from the crowd crescendoed:

"ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!"

Oh…crap.

This is a stunning, yet sticky situation that I sometimes get into; I say "stunning," for it is a wonderful thing when people want more music; I say "sticky" as well for it is my duty to stick to the house rules and end at the appointed time, or face the consequence of losing the respect of the caterers and the venue. At first, I oriented towards the timeline, smiling kindly to the audience and mouthing out "I'm sorry! We have to go!" This action was much to the dismay to the crowd. Suddenly, Paul from the catering staff comes up to me and states, "You can do one more song." Gold. Those words were like the kiss of an angel to me. (Thank God Paul kept his lips to himself.) It is once in a blue moon that we are given leeway to go a bit overtime, and this was definitely one evening With that, I got on the microphone, and stated to the audience that we were going to do one more song. My goodness—did they ever cheer! We ended the night with "Last Dance," and tons of applause and cheering. I could not ask for a better or more satisfying way to end the evening for such a celebratory crowd.

I honestly do not know what else to say, so I will compliment my clients: Pauline and Matt were such a joy to work with and to be with, and this caring couple exemplifies the meaning of how to celebrate and be fully invested in their wedding. It was great to be invested in their special day as well. I guess it's worth it going to a womens' club—no matter what you are!

– Brent Rolland, resident fig deejay

(Many thanks to Russell Lowe, our fun photographer; to Ted, Paul, and the whole bunch at J&L Catering, and to the lovely Carol and everyone at the Womens' Club of Evanston for a magnificent night!)

comming soon!

Martin/Melone @ the Adler Planetarium

The stars definitely came out for Michalene Martin and Mark Melone, who celebrated their wedding along with 200 of their loved ones at the scenic Adler Planetarium. My partner Kelly Hendricks and I were the deejay team poised and ready to play a night of music. The most enjoyable part of this evening was the fact that dancing virtually "happened:" Right after dessert, I received a request for some swing music, which I graciously went into. After that, I played a few fun 60s songs, and that got people bobbing their heads and moving their bodies. I then moved into Sam & Dave's "Soul Man," and the bridesmaids began to move towards the floor. From there, with every choice I made the dance floor was packed for almost the entire night. I felt that every song I played was a hit with the crowd, which does not always happen at each gig I perform at. Possibly the coolest move I made during the night was that I took a few seconds to dance with one of the bridesmaids who wanted for me to dance with her to Michael Jackson's "Rock With You," and coming back to the table just in time to pop in Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line." Whoa-ho-ho! I think I could have called myself "DJ Bond—James Bond" at that moment. We played everything from hip-hop to 80s to funk and big band classics. I even think I hit my record of "the most Michael Jackson songs ever played at a wedding"—which was four for this night. We ended on Donna Summer's "Last Dance," which couldn't have been a better ending for the sizable crowd that were on the dance floor. My only disappointment was that I did not get to see both the bride and groom at the end of the night to thank them, but I was assured that they were pleased. I sure was, by golly. Typically, I am a person of structure—I like to follow a set timeline and take cues to begin events as they are called. Performing at Michalene and Mark's event strengthened my ability in loosening my structured self and going with the flow. Change is certainly a good thing.

– Brent Rolland, resident fig deejay

The Inside Scoop Behind Our Gig Check-ins

Here's a look behind the scenes of what it looks like to check in at fig. We break our gigs down into three categories: Losses, Learns, Wins. You'll be able to figure out what each category means after you read through. The goal is to figure out what went wrong so we can correct in the future, what went well so we can recreate it, and what skills did we develop that we can bring back to share with others.


My gig from last Saturday:

Eve & Christian
Embassy Suites (downtown)
around 100 guests
Jonathan Hood lead & Russell Furman assist

Losses: catering manager didn't know was not experienced in coordinating an event and running a timeline. There was supposed to be a receiving line, but they were behind in opening the room. Schedule got pushed back about 15-20 minutes. Lining the wedding party up took longer than it should have - they had a lot of questions, jokes, comments, etc. Eliminated part of the schedule (dancing during intermezzo) to hopefully speed the timing for the food, but it didn't help much. Half the crowd left between 10-10:30 and it looked like the party was going to die. Not that many people were dancing during this time.

Learns: ask more questions about the introductions (ie. how are they lining up for the ceremony, do they want to keep that order, where are they going in the room). Take the time to vision out introductions (how they are entering, where they are going). Don't rely on anyone else to run the show - at the first sign that they don't have it handled, handle it. Working with the venue/caterer on timing of food can be crucial to a successful event (had we gone with the original schedule, their steaks would have been overcooked). When you have a bride and groom that aren't making decisions, make the decisions. If they don't like it, they can either suffer or say something - give them something to push against.

Wins: working in the moment with the catering manager to make sure the entree came out close to on time. Moved speeches around and eliminated a few items to keep things moving. Had great rapport with everyone involved. Kept bride and groom in the know about decisions that were being made. Owned the event more so than I ever had (not only was I a dj, but I also acted as the event coordinator). Got Russell on the 1's and 2's, playing music during part of dinner and handling music and mics during speeches/announcements. Worked the must play list in well during the night. When I thought the night was over (the room died around 10 and half the guests left), brought it back with Bust a Move. Had a killer dance set once I brought the crowd back. Recorded the whole thing.


--Jonathan

Live From the Flannel!

Jonathan and Tim, rockin' it in Harbor Springs, MI baby! Annie and Paul heard about fig at a holiday party for Kirkland and Ellis at the River East Art Center. They saw Andrew and myself (Jonathan), loved the music, and wanted us to dj their wedding 380 miles to the north. The reception was in a building that looked similar to a barn, except nicer. Rafters ran across the ceiling, the inside of the walls were exposed, plants were placed around the room with lights in them, tables were dressed elegantly, and everyone looked as cute as could be. The sun was setting across the lake during dinner and created a romantic atmosphere to an already romantic day.



Tim and I stayed in a very homey and country hotel that had the look and feel of a cabin (complete with wooden walls and ceiling, and a couple walls with plaid wall paper). The Birchwood Inn, according to their website, “is a bit like donning a pair of favorite dungarees and a soft flannel shirt.” Very true. Felt like going hunting after a few hours stay. The town was small and quaint, with the feel of the 20’s or 30’s. Main Street was the main street and downtown was 2 blocks long. Stores with an old-style front to them line the streets and at the end of Main Street was a church with a tall steeple. With the silence that was abundant throughout the town, Tim and I were waiting for two gunslingers to come out of a local bar and have a showdown. All seriousness aside, this town was very relaxed and a nice change of pace from the city of Chicago.



Dancing started off with some old big band era songs, featuring artists such as Ella Fitzgerald. We made our way into some oldies with Build Me Up Buttercup and Same Old Song, before heading into some 70’s like E, W, & F’s September, and then heading into all different directions after that. County, 80’s, pop, hip-hop, rock – it was all part of the evening as the crowd packed the dance floor at the start of dancing and continued dancing through to the end. A few down times happened during dancing. Senorita by J.T. cleared the dance floor, and then Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough brought them right back. The crowd wasn’t really into the more clubby dance stuff such as Murder on the Dance Floor and Can’t Get You Out of My Head, but the bride loved it. The crowd was more of a rock crowd, so dancing was a balancing act between poppy clubby stuff for the bride, country for the groom, and rock for the guests. Overall, I think we did a good job of pleasing everybody.




On a different note, exclusive artist gigs are tough as nails. The pressure is much higher on these gigs, especially when I’m out of state. The thought through my head is, “Better not mess up!” Of course it happens because I don’t want it to. I’ve been getting much better with recognizing the pressure and making the appropriate adjustments which typically means talking out what I’m feeling so I can concentrate on the gig. Checking in with the clients is always a good idea throughout the night and maintaining the rapport. Taking a walk around the room is another. One thing I’ve run into in the past with artist gigs is that the client is looking for someone to make people dance and have a good time. It typically doesn’t work this way. I don’t make people dance. Either they want to, or they don’t. Sometimes the expectations might be a little off when it comes to this because some clients may want me to raise the dead. If your crowd is dead and just wants to sit and stare, there’s not much I can do. Sorry. What I’ve been getting really good at lately is noticing red flags in my meetings and addressing points of concern. Typically I can weed out the gigs where I might run into this scenario. If the bride and groom are invested in their event, meaning they’ve thought a lot about it, but not so much that they are control freaks and if a little detail doesn’t happen they freak out. I don’t know how I got on this topic because this gig was SO not this. The bride and groom were a very cute couple and Annie LOVED to dance. This helps out a ton because the crowd will typically follow the bride and do what she’s doing.

I think I’m rambling at this point. I’ll close by saying that I can’t wait for my next artist gig. I’m also looking forward to doing more gigs where I’m traveling and seeing exotic places.

--Jonathan Hood leading w/ Tim Musho assisting

Chang/Kang @ the Garfield Park Conservatory

"Chang, Kang…they're almost the same name—they rhyme!"

Such humorous words could only come from the father of the bride. But this entry is not entirely about him—this is about Grace and Tony, a couple I had the pleasure of deejaying for this past Saturday. With sensational 80-degree weather and the lush green setting of the Garfield Park Conservatory, my partner Matt Carlson and I were definitely one with nature for this wedding celebration.

This evening, I was pitted (or, for the sake of the venue, should I say "potted?") against a big musical challenge: trying to satisfy the musical requests of the bride and the groom. The conundrum was that each of them supplied me with a list of songs that contained completely different genres: Grace was more inclined to hip-hop, funk, and house music, while Tony was more of an 80s-90s one-hit-wonder child. My main j-o-b and j-o-y is to make sure my clients hear their favorite songs during the night, as well as to read the crowd and play whatever will keep them dancing. It could have been the fairy spirits from the pink fairy plants that were housed in the Conservatory, but Matt and I pulled through really well. Some of my favorite transitions during the night were going from P!nk's "Get the Party Started" to Madonna's "Hung Up," as well as the movement from Marvin Gaye's "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" to a slowed-down version of Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby," which we ended the night with, believe it or not. The greatest part of the evening involved a huge dance circle to DJ Sammy's "Heaven," Darude's "Sandstorm," and a really great track from Paul Van Dyk. Although we could not get to all the songs the bride and groom requested, we played a majority of them and were able to spread them out wonderfully during the evening.

I do not think I have ever been up against such a challenge, but seeing that I am still alive, I have strengthened myself from this gig. Grace and Tony were quite grateful for our performance, and I was glad to have played for them. Here's to more green pastures, and fun deejay gigs.

– Brent Rolland, resident fig deejay

Kaya/Bilgin @ Swissôtel

Megan Taylor and I are definitely not of Turkish heritage, nor are we dancers of the nationality. After spending some time spinning music for the wedding of the lovely Ceylan Kaya and her husband Efe Bilgin, we left with some really great dance steps—and a great deal more. The attractive Turkish couple had their wedding ceremony and reception at the beautiful Swissôtel in downtown Chicago. We were on the top floor of the hotel, which proudly showcased one of the most breathtaking views of the city. The evening was filled with a load of awesome music: the ceremony featured a grand selection of the Gipsy Kings; cocktails and dinner contained a compilation of various artists like Norah Jones, the Eagles, and Stan Getz (as well as a rousing live song performance from the best man) and dancing featured a whole lot of upbeat dance music, including the original versions of Ricky Martin's "Cup of Life" and Shakira's "Wherever, Whenever." We also played a lot of great Turkish songs that definitely brought the crowd to the dance floor—both those of Turkish and non-Turkish backgrounds. The biggest song of the night—and I have the right to say this, for it was played twice—was a song titled "Simarik" (a.k.a. the "kiss-kiss song") by Tarkan, a Turkish pop artist. If you ever have a chance to listen to this song, you'll understand why it was part of our line-up. This was an energetic and cultural evening, and I was glad to learn a few dance steps along the way.

– Brent Rolland, resident fig deejay

The Air and Water Show @ Navy Pier

Swoosh!

That minute morsel of onomatopoeia could very well be the sound of a turbo-charged F-16 Fighting Falcon flying over your abode. If you were in Chicago and happened to stop by Navy Pier on Sunday, August 19th, then you would have seen Jon Hood and myself there, as we partook in the 49th annual Air and Water Show. Our main function at the Pier was to broadcast the radio coverage of the show that came from WBBM News Radio 780, via an AM/FM radio that we connected to our mixer. Notably, this was a challenge, for we were in the farthest northern part of the Pier, and it was tough to get decent radio reception in the space we were in. Luckily, Jon had a portable CD stereo that had a radio receiver on it, and after adding some wires and connections, we successfully got some reception—and the rather clear type, thankfully. Additionally, between commercial breaks, Jon and I piloted an amazing set of music for the entire afternoon. We played nearly everything, from blues to funk to 80s to popular radio fare. This was a very laid-back event, but we treated it as important as any gig we have done before. Sadly, the show was canceled due to rain, but that did not stop Jon and I from ending the day with some awesome music. We definitely earned our "deejay wings" that day.

– Brent Rolland, resident fig deejay

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

Bat Mitzvahing in the Ice Box

Horra. Southside. At the wonderful event/art/cafe space the Little Black Pearl, nestled down in hyde park figDJs Alvin and Melissa did their thing for one Miss Naomi Itzkoff's Bat Mitzvah. Things started off with a ceremony that Naomi was quite nervous about, but did marvelously all the same. Dinner was buffet-style, and while everyone bum rushed the grub, Alvin had on some crooning goodness (think sinatra, buble, cole), including Nat King Cole's rendition of "More", which was Naomi's parents first dance when they got married. As people started to wrap up eating, Alvin started to ramp up the music, getting some motown and funk to start the party off.

Now here is what's surprising about this group of kids: they had a strong
affinity for music you would assume that would be more their parents speed. So
all night there were requests for Elvis, Temptations, and so forth.

Disco, motown, a bit of 50's/60's, and a lot of newer top40 was the order of the night. After about an hour 1/2 of dancing, the crowd had formed a circle and started to watch people as they got in the middle and did their thang. Melissa at this point felt it would be good to play some games, and get everyone involved. Melissa got the kids doing a Soul Train line, follow the leader dancing, and Scavenger Hunt Chairs, a hybrid of Musical Chairs and a Scavenger Hunt, which was a huge hit! She deftly went from one game to the next, commanding all of the attention throughout. So for the last 45 minutes Alvin played a few slower tracks for the adults - some Sinatra and Van Morrison, went into a three hit combo of Hava Nagila, Shout, then Footloose which had everyone up on their feet. At 11, Melissa and Alvin handed over the mic to Naomi who thanked everyone who came. A fun event in a very cool space. Chalk up another win!

So what got the kids jammin?

• Bulid me up Buttercup, The Foundations
• Do You Love Me, The Contours
• Everytime we Touch, Cascada
• Girlfriend, April Lavine

written by Alvin Black III, fig resident deejay

PS: the icebox referred to the AC that blasted down directly onto the DJ that could not be cut off independently. Despite a bit of shivering and numbness in the fingers, Alvin and Melissa still rocked.

Jalvonathan Blood III - the Third Strike!

Before the blog proper starts, something should be addressed:

Who is this Jalvonathan Blood III? He is the amalgam of new jack DJ Alvin Black III and veteran DJ Jonathan Hood. When they team up on gigs, people dance, ridiclousness occurs, memorable times happen. This is the 3rd consequative gig they've done in August, are currently batting 1000 going into this gig...

At the spacious River East Art Center, figDJs Alvin Black III and Jonathan Hood rocked the reception for Jim and Blair, the Schade-Doyle Merger is what the union goes by in the streets. Starting with cocktails, which was a mix of upbeat 80's and house music, this party had all of the makings of a fun night. The beginning was not without flaw however, as the intro song would not play, but that problem was handled deftly in the moment, as Jonathan realized the crossfader was on and the reason for not hearing anything. Getting those mistakes out early got Alvin and Jonathan ready to rock the party. The groom used to be a DJ, so Alvin and Jonathan had to bring their A game to the party.

Dinner served
Speeches deilvered
Antsy Crowd
Time to Dance!

Dacning started off right after a rousing round of the Norte Dame fight song, which went into a trifecta of MJs Rock With You, beatmatched into Celebration into We Are Family, and everyone was up dancing. There was an extensive list of music provided, which initally lead DJ Alvin wanted to work closely with, but decided to go with his gut reactions to the crowd and work in any of the songs listed. Lots of requests were made, which at times threw a rock in the stream of Jalvonathan Blood III, but their flow broke up any pebbles in the way. 80's, old school hip hop, top40 with a dash of rock was the music of the night. As things progressed it got a little crazy - grown men had ties around their heads, belly's and chests were exposed, and their was something of a champagne slip and slide in the middle of the dancefloor after some bottles of bubbly were opened. At the end of the night, Jalvonathan played Donna Summer's Last Dance, and Alvin gets pulled on the floor by a lovely woman and he got down with her, and then with a friend of hers. Thats what DJing is all about. Closing things up was a round of thanks from the groom and a shout out to fig media - excellent!

Hits of the night included:

• Humpty Dance, Digital Underground
• Dont you want me Baby, Human League
• Glamourous, Fergie
• One more time, Daft Punk

Another gig rocked. The streak stays intact. Jalvonathan Blood III - the Third Strike!

written by Alvin Black III, resident deejay

Rock On, Wayne! Sorry, I Mean Matt!

Okay, so Wayne’s World has absolutely nothing to do with this wedding, except for the part where they say “Rock On!” because that’s exactly what we did. Mario and Elizabeth had their reception at the Sunset Country Club. The fig team of James, Billy, Megan, Tanya, Matt, and myself rocked this party as both photographers and deejays. Matt and I were on the decks playing a wide variety of stuff, with a concentration in rock. Classic rock, modern rock, indie rock, hard rock, rock & roll, light rock, hip-hop. Wait. Hip-hop? That’s not rock! True, but we hit it anyway because the crowd was loving it.

I had a few mistakes, which seemed to be the theme of the weekend, mistakes on all my gigs. Darn it! I hate it when that happens! I wish all my gigs were absolutely perfect. On this one, we played the wrong track for the cake cutting, Matt’s Motown cd had the wrong track listing and we ended up playing “Motown Philly” during a Motown set early in the evening, and I called Elizabeth’s dad the wrong name for a song that was dedicated to the two of them. The cake cutting song we quickly faded out, and then back in with the right song. Same thing with the Motown Philly. For the wrong name, “Woops. I mean Patrick.” I called him Robert. Robert? Where did I get that from? Who knows. I felt frustrated after that. It seemed like the whole weekend was off for me and things kept going wrong. The best thing for me to do in that moment was to take a walk. Matt took over while I stepped out, got some fresh air, breathed, walked around the crowd, saw who was there, relaxed, became part of the party again, started bobbing my head to the music, came back to the dj table, and went back to work. From then on it was smooth sailing.

Matt and I rocked the bajeebers out of that crowd and had them begging for more at the end of the night. The only downside was a few drunk idiots who wanted to hear the electric slide. I swear, I’m going to stop bringing this song so I can’t play it. I told them it was on the do not play list, that I’m not going to play it, yadayadayada. After several times of pestering me, the pestered the bride who gave in and said we could play it. I ended up not playing it because the music wasn’t going in that direction and played to the crowd. But those couple pesky guests came back and were like, “Why didn’t you play our song asshole!” Okay, they didn’t say asshole, but they were thinking that based on their tone. I gave in then, because I was tired of them pestering me and giving me a hard time. So, much to my dismay, and to the dismay of the bride and groom who ended up leaving the room during the song, I played the electric slide.

The thing that really pisses me off to no end with this song is that people come up to me and say, and I quote, “This will bring everybody out.” The strange thing, everybody WAS out! They were LOVING the music I was playing. And I don’t NEED this freakin’ song to bring people out. Why? Because I’m good. Unlike other wedding deejays who need to play songs with special dances associated with them (or lyrics that tell people how to dance to them) because it’s the only way they can get people to dance to their crappy music other then getting on the mic and telling them what to do (“It’s air guitar time! Break out your air guitar!” as I heard at one banquet hall from the other side of an air wall at a venue that shall remain nameless). So am on a rant right now, and I’m okay with that. Because I don’t need no stinking slide or a microphone to get people to dance. How do I do it, you ask? I play good music. Period.

Whew! I wasn’t really expecting that when I sat down to right this blog. Feels good expressing it though. One of these days, I’m going to get on the mic and lay out the ground rules for requests. “No need to request the electric slide tonight folks. Why? Because I’m not going to play it. Why? Because I’m good.”

--Jonathan, lead dj
Matt Carlson, assistant

Yingling/Jose @ The Carleton in Oak Park

That's right, friends—Oak Park, just as the title boldly states. This suburb is known to be one of the cleanest, quietest, and most picturesque in all of Chicagoland. Just between you and me…it honestly is. Typically, I would not be hanging out in this part of Illinois if I did not have something important to do. Thankfully, I did have something important to do: a deejay gig. Yes. Charlie Yingling and Hector Jose, who are both doctors and very delightful gentlemen, wanted their wedding day to be fun, relaxed, and full of their favorite dance and 80s choices. The couple was aware of the "cheesy deejays" who donned in sequined vests and brought fog machines—and they were sick of it. My partner Matt Carlson and I had the remedy for that, as we were the guys who were going to doctor up a healthy and enjoyable evening for the couple. Professionalism and good music was our prescription, and we were ready to deliver it.

The event took place at the beautiful Carleton Hotel. This is one of those hotels that's either hit or miss if you are walking down the street and trying to locate the darn place—like I was a while ago. The second entrance to the hotel was situated ever so snugly between two of its restaurants, so much that I had to do a double-take at my site visit there to self-verify that I found my destination. The coolest factors included free parking and a direct passageway into the grand ballroom straight from the parking lot. Me like convenience. Convenience good.

I will start my gig deliberations with one positive factor: the guests. Right after I announced, "Welcome to Charlie and Hector's wedding celebration" at the beginning of introductions, resounding applause and cheers ensued. Ooooh…what a good vibe. It has been a while since I have worked with such a warm, loving and celebratory crowd, and Charlie and Hector brought the best people to their event. The couple and their wedding party walked into the uplifting electronic track "Sunchyme" by Dario G, and near the part of the song when the drums came in, I introduced the couple into the room to one of the loudest and most welcoming receptions ever. The guests cheered and clapped to the beat and started the evening off at a very high point. It's always a good sign of a probable successful evening when you know the crowd came to celebrate.

Matt and I played mostly 80s, new wave, disco, dance music, and some light Motown and funk sprinkled in the mix. Erasure was the somewhat "featured artist" of the night, as we hit four of their hits during the evening: "Always," "Star," "Chains of Love," and "A Little Respect." We even got away with the ill-fated "Electric Slide," which actually drew a good number of participants. Boogie-woogie-woogie they certainly did. Some of the more entertaining songs of the night included Mr. Big's guitar-laden "To Be With You," in which Charlie and his maid of honor Megan did a fun interpretive dance to. A boom-boom-boom-and-a-bang-bang-bang went Basement Jaxx's "Do Your Thing." The night ended with the rousing Olivia Newton-John tune, "Xanadu." Little did I know that a majority of the people who were there were going to: 1) scream, and 2) get out of their seats and back on the dance floor because of this song. Seems like "Grease" was not the word at this party. (Sorry, Olivia-dear.) The party ended at exactly 11:30pm…and thankfully, none of us turned into mice or pumpkins. We ended on time, much to the affirmation and gratefulness of the Carleton staff.

Everything was simply delightful about this gig. Heck, even the hotel was located on Pleasant Street—which is the truth! Ah, sweet irony. Charlie and Hector were such gracious hosts, and it was so rewarding to be their deejay for the evening. It was almost as if they were our patients, and we gave them a healthy dose of hospitality and great music. That's just what us doctor-deejays ordered.

– Brent Rolland, resident fig deejay

Legacy of House Wedding DJ

So, I had this artist gig on Saturday at the Hotel Allegro. The bride and groom were Rachael and Dominic. A very sweet couple who like club music. Tiesto like stuff. What they wanted for their wedding was a club-like feel with a house set at the end with artists like Deep Dish, Basement Jaxx, and Chemical Brothers being among their favorites. I was looking forward to this gig all year (they booked me at the end of 2006). I don’t get to play techno, house, club, dance, whatever you want to call it (I like house, but you can substitute your own terminology) that often for weddings. House parties, actual HOUSE parties, are a different story. But for a wedding, it’s a real craft.

The guests at weddings come from different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, age groups, personalities. Music at weddings will typically span a range of genres. I would LOVE the opportunity to play all of dancing sticking to just house and hip-hop. That would be my ideal wedding gig. Hasn’t happened yet. Someday…someday…

Rachael and Dominic were married in the same room as their reception. For the ceremony, we played three songs. One song for the groomsmen and groom as they walked in, one for the bridesmaids and bride as they walked in, and one for the recessional after they kissed. The songs for the processional were timed perfectly. My favorite was for the bride; as she walked in, the song hit the climax of the song were it crescendoed as she walked down the aisle and decresendoed as she reached the end. It created a beautiful moment that would probably not be able to be repeated if we were to do it a thousand times. Coordinating the timing of people walking in to a song is difficult because of the different factors involved – speed of people walking, length that they walk, timing when each person ends to when each person begins, and not being able to walk through the timing until the rehearsal which typically happens the day before.

Another factor to this wedding is that it was an artist gig. I didn’t realize until we’re half-way through dancing when I got how much pressure I was putting on myself to do a great job and not fuck up. As it happened, I fucked up. A couple times. And I got really frustrated with myself when it happened. The mistakes weren’t anything disastrous, some horse clomping (when two songs are being mixed together and not matching up right), a cd skipped, and the sound went out for a few seconds. I wanted so much to do a perfect job, that it created a lot of stress for me. Most of the night I wasn’t having fun because I worried about other people having fun. How could I forget this basic rule of dj’ing? My best gigs are where I’m having tons of fun. That’s when I’m on, beatmatching like crazy, making creative transitions and mixing, and dead on when it comes to reading the crowd. This gig was probably a 6 on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being my best. I had some pretty sweet transitions, people were dancing the whole night, but there were times when I songs weren’t coming to me and I would pick something last minute hoping it would work. There were also times when my beatmatching was up to my standards. I also played songs that didn’t go over so well. They were must plays, and I didn’t sandwich them in very well.

Learns coming off of this gig are to use my assistant, in this case Billy, to talk out what’s going through my head going into the gig. Talk about the expectations I have for myself, for the party, for the bride and groom, for the guests. Another learn is to go over the must plays more and think about what would go well before and after them to get an idea of where to place them during the night.

I’ve only had a few artist gigs, so I’m learning the pressure that these gigs bring. I feel like I need to be at the top of my game, and I should be, but I should also be at the top of my game regardless of whether or not someone books me specifically. The learn here is to understand what it takes to get me to be at the top of my game and to recreate it. Here, it’s talking about the pressure I’m feeling so I can move through it and have fun. Also, practice before the gig starts. Get into a groove early and notice where I’m getting out of the groove and what were the factors that did that. Then readjust the course heading to get back in the groove.

I think that’s about it when it comes to the learns coming off of this gig. Overall, it was a big success and I can’t wait to do it again. If you or anyone you know wants a house dj, let me know. I’m itching to get my hands on another one of these.

--Jonathan, lead dj
Assistant – Billy Rood