Novotel Holiday Party

On Saturday the 14th I packed my gear and headed into the city to work a gig at the Novotel Convention Center on the Esplanade.  It was a holiday party for hotel staff, a gig that I got being refered from a Christmas party back in Decemeber (thanks Julie!!)

Usually with larger hotels it is very difficult getting the gear into the room however hotel staff let me park in shipping and recieving and it was a short walk to the service elevator.  So much easier then sharing elevators with hotel guests let me tell you!

Jeff Day the housekeeping manager hired me for the gig and he did an excellent job of organizing the event.  The room was clad with black drapery with LED lights shining through tubes of colored fabrics adding a real nice touch.  The table set-ups were immaculate giving it that touch of class fit for a king and queen or for tonight the hard working hotel staff...

Room is a view...

Jeff also hired an illusionist to perform during dinner.  Vladomir the Magnificent did a handfull of tricks with his act very comedic at times.  I was impressed with his table trick shown below...

Vladomir the Mangificent!

Another nice touch was the use of the projector.  We had several movies playing during the night.  Dance favorites...Footloose and Dirty Dancing made the movie playlist and I couldn't help but to throw on Breakin' a movie from 1984 about the world of breakdancing....horrible movie...lol.   Thinking back though Saturday Night Fever would have been even better.  Travolta rocks...but I digress...

The hotel staff ethnicity was varied bringing with it different musical tastes.  Top40 was still the common theme with some reggae and latin thrown into the mix.  Dinner started at 8pm so by the time dinner finished I only had around 2 hours to play since they wanted to close down early to prep for some big events the next day.  I only wish I had more Calypso music with me.  I played "Follow the Leader" which was probably the track of the night bringing everyone together on the dance floor.  But that track along with "Hot Hot Hot" is a rather (poor) selection of Calypso a genre I am lacking severely...but I am working on fixing that!

Dance Floor Opens

Follow the Leader!

Pitbull's "Shake Senora", Don Omar's "Danza Koduro" and "Lengon" by Banda Blanca also seemed to be the crowd pleasers on the night.  I have to say I had a great time.  The staff was there to enjoy themselves.  They were super nice and very hospitable.  Probably why they are employed by the hotel to begin with.  I am hopefull for some future events with this group and am thankfull to Jeff for hiring me. 

Oh and on a side note...special shout out to Jeremiah...thanks bro!

Here is the set list:

1 - September - Earth Wind & Fire
2 - Got To Be Real - Chery Lynn
3 - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
4 - Village People - Y.M.C.A
5 - Moves Like Jagger  - Maroon 5
6 - I Got That Feeling  - Black Eyed Peas
7 - Party Rock Anthem  - LMFAO
8 - The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
9 - Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
10 - Lady In Red - Chris De Burgh
11 - I Got That Feeling  - Black Eyed Peas
12 - Good Feeling  - Flo Rida
13 - Shake Senora  - Pitbull ft. T-Pain
14 - I Know You Want Me  - Pitbull
15 - Calabria 2008 - Enur feat. Natasja
16 - Rasputin - Boney M
17 - Le Freak - Chic
18 - Life (Is What You Make It) - Colonel Lite and Frighty
19 - Murder She Wrote - Chaka Demus
20 - Twice My Age - Shabba Ranks
21 - Action - Nadine Suntherland
22 - Follow the Leader - Soca Boys
23 - Danza Kudoro - Don Omar
24 - Club Can't Handle Me  - Flo Rida
25 - We No Speak Americano  - Yolanda Be Cool VS D Cup
26 - Bon, Bon  - Pitbull
27 - Suavemente - Elvis Crespo
28 - Lengon - Banda Blanca
29 - On The Floor - Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull
30 - We Found Love  - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
31 - Only Girl (In The World)  - Rihanna
32 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love  - Usher ft. Pitbull
------------
Prizes Interlude with some fun tunes...
33 - Chicken Dance
34 - Macarena - Los Del Rio
35 - In The Navy - Village People
36 - You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
-------------
37 - You're Still The One - Shania Twain
38 - Angels - Robbie Williams
39 - All Night Long - Lionel Richie
40 - Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
41 - Just Can't Get Enough - The Black Eyed Peas
42 - Suavemente (Kiss Me)  - Nayer ft. Mohombi & Pitbull
43 - Give Me Everything  - Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer
44 - Memories  - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
45 - Dirty Talks - Wynter Gordon
46 - S & M Remix  - Rihanna Featuring Britney Spears
47 - Mr. Saxobeat  - Alexandra Stan
48 - Criminal  - Britney Spears
49 - If We Ever Meet Again - Timbaland featuring Katy Perry
50 - Sexy And I Know It  - LMFAO
51 - Levels  - Acivii
52 - Latin Moon  - Mia Martina
53 - You Make Me Feel… - Cobra Starship

Soundspin02

Well it is a new year and what better way to start it off with a new mix upload for your ears to enjoy!  Unlike the first mix which was more of a "housey" affair this mix features some pretty heavy and dirty techno tracks which may do some damage to your speakers...

Look out for Poison by Lauhaus.  I absolutely love this track which I talked about in one of my earlier posts.  The mix starts off with a nice little melodic vocal number in "Changed" and then slowly gets heavier and harder towards the middle of the mix where "Special Stuff" and "Follow" adds a little darker element.  Both "Follow" and "Finally Mine" were both featured on John Digweeds "Structures Two" release which means these tracks are time and tested on dance floors throughout the world...

1.     Changed – Mario Basanov

2.     Desitination Education – Gui Boratto

3.     Finally Mine (Gorge Remix) – Misstress Barbara

4.     Nope – John Lagora

5.     Limiter (Dualton Remix) – Erphun & Jim Rivers

6.     Poison (Anton Pieete & Bart Skils Remix) – Lauhaus

7.     Special Stuff (Tony DeClerque Remix) – Flow Superstars

8.     Follow – Phaneoh Feat Maetrik

9.     While My Wiki Gently Leaks -  John Acquaviva & Olivier Giacomotto

10.   Krakra Hurricane – Luigi Rocca

11.   Animals (Manuel De La Mare Savanha Remix)

12.   Fact – Stefano Nofereni

Here is the mixcloud post:

Soundspin02 (Jan 2012) by Soundspin on Mixcloud

To download the mix click here

New Year's at The Ben Wicks

Four years ago a good friend of mine Larry hooked me up with a New Year's gig at the Ben Wicks Restaurant and Pub in Cabbage Town.  Last night was my fourth time Djing, owner Robert and his wife Andrea having me back to ring in the new year and as usual it was good times.   No where near as hectic as last year...apparently a facebook post went a bit viral causing mass numbers to show up... however the vibe was great as usual. 

The Ben Wicks Restaurant and Pub

The pub being a hangout for local residents draws in lots of people with varying musical tastes and age groups ranging between 25 and 55 and thus requring a wide range of track selection.  Top40 was still the main genre with lots of disco and retro 80s added in the mix. 

Here are some pics thru the years...

Larry, Karen & Myself 2011

Early on in the night 2011

Packed dance floor 2010

New Years 2009

I am getting in the habit of forgetting to save the set-list...I keep getting distracted at the end of the night and then shut down before remembering :(  Anyhow, here is hoping to a super 2012!

If you happen to be Cabbage town make sure to visit The Ben Wicks the Burgers are fabulous.

Happy New Year everyone!

Andrej's Management Christmas Party

The first holiday party of the season for me this year was a gig held at the Novotel Hotel near Vaughan Mills. A group of 100 people or so gathered for the annual Andrej's Management Christmas party. A good friend of my sisters, Josie, who works at the company was nice enough to suggest me for the job!

Dinner was buffet style and the food selection was amazing. The Concord room, the larger of the three meeting rooms, was cozy but opened up into a large reception area with it's ceiling sharing that of the lobby one floor up with a huge open staircase connecting the two. Kind of an interesting set-up since with the doors open I was probably entertaining not only the parties guests but the people checking in or having a drink at the bar above!

Great crowd!

There were lots and lots of prizes raffled off as well as spot prizes for the people on the dance floor. Thankfully the people running the show were smart enough to hand out all the raffle prizes b4 dancing started. Nothing is worse for a DJ than to stop the music every 20 minutes or so to do another draw!



Myself with Josie...

November was a slow month this year so it was a great opportunity to try out some new tracks that I picked up since the last party! Loving some of these new top 40 tracks...

Avicci - "Levels"

Flo Rida - "Good Feeling"

Benny Benassi ft Gary Go - "Cinema"

Pumped Up Kicks - "Foster the People"

Anyhow as always... met some great people and had a great time as usual! 

Longrun Fundraiser

Once again I teamed up with Hollywood Heaven this time for an event at Woodbine Racetrack. Every year the "Longrun Thourobread Retirement Society" hosts a fundraiser to help find homes for horses that are no longer fit for the raceway. Check them out at http://longrunretirement.com/

This year's gala spared no expense when it came to the entertainment line-up! Hollywood Heaven supplied some of the best look-a-likes the company has on offer with Shania Twain, Tina Turner, Young Elvis, Michael Jackson (with full band backup and dancers) and Lady Gaga all performing throughout the night.

Here are some pics from the event...

 

Shania starts off the night!

With horses comes country music and what better way to start up a night with Canada's favorite Shania Twain singing some upbeat tunes such as "Up" and "Party for Two!"

 

 

Tina!

I have worked with this Tina Turner impersonator on several occasions.  She's got a powerfull voice...can dance...and oh and definitely has the legs...

 

Gino as "Young Elvis" has entered the building...

I met Gino for the first time.  He is an Elvis perfectionist...you have to be especially if it is your full time job.  If you are looking for an Elvis impersonator that is as authentic as they can be...look no further.

 

 

 

The MJ Experience with full band and dancers!

 

Bishop Soul and his dancers performing "Beat It"

What can be said about the Michael Jackson experience.  This group of performers has it down packed singing favorites such as Rock With You, PYT, Shake Your Body, Billie Jean, Beat it and Thriller.  You can find them regularily performing at Stage West and who just recently performed at the Woodbine Casino.  This act has travelled the country keeping the legacy of Michael alive!

 

Lady Gaga

 

Lady Gaga track list included all the hits...Bad Romance, Born This Way, Paparazzi amongst her other favorites. 

 

This night was all about live performaces and my part was to play the backing tracks to all of them  apart from MJ.  After Gaga, I took over the dance floor to finish the night off DJing.  It was a great night!

 

For more information check out www.hollywoodheaven.ca for some of the best look-a-like entertainment available!

MK - Burning Remixed!

"my body's burning for you wanting and waiting for more...give me...all that you can give me...I'm wanting more...you make me beg for more...caress me...your touch is sending me bring me down to reality...."

For those that frequented the night clubs back in the early 90s would no doubt remember this lyric from one of my favourite classic house tracks...



MK - Burning (1991)

Fitting that the other night while checking out ZipDJ - a DJ pool I use to get all my latest tunes from - that at the top of the main window where it shows all the latest releases was the song "Burning" by MK. 

 

Here is what the Defected label had to say about it:

 

"Burning is the quintessential MK tune. Nearly 20 years old yet sounding as fresh as the day it first surfaced, it still inspires clubbers and producers alike to this day and is one of those tracks that pretty much any producer worth their salt would love to get their hands on"

The deep bass line, the chords and the sweet vocal is never tiresome. The release on ZIP Dj contained the original "Vibe Mix" along with two new mixes one by James Talk & Ridney & the other by Round Table Nights. Now, I am usually not the biggest fan of remixes of the classics...I mean why mess with a good thing? However, I have to give full props to Round Table Nights for their rendition of this classic.

A slight twist on the chord arrangement and a nice deep tech house feel makes for a nice refreshment of the original which will undoubtedly be included in a future soundspin mix.

Check it out a preview of it here on youtube:

 

 

It is also available now on iTunes.  Buy it!

Tweet Tweet...

I have had a twitter account for a while but never bothered using it for some reason.  Well I've decided to see what the hub bub is all about.  You can follow me @sound_spin or click on the follow me link on the right!

See you in twitter land...