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...

Finding Gems thru iTunes

I remember the days of Napster.  It was officially released in 1999 over 11 years ago!  I am not going to get into the legalities of peer to peer music sharing however back then it was the best way to find old tunes that were hard to come by at the local HMV.  I remember searching hours for songs from my earlier years...a lot of it recorded from vinyl to mp3 format...oh the quality....

Fast forward to 2003 and Apple launches it's "Itunes Music Store."  I never really payed much attention to itunes until I got my first iphone 3 years ago.  I started using iTunes at home cause of it's cool interface and apple remote app on my iphone...that just rocks.  

However one area where I find the itunes music store is awesome is finding music...the stuff you have forgotten about...and when you hear it you say..."I remember that....I LOVE THAT SONG!!!"

I have been collecting music for quite some time now however my mp3 collection is no where near the size of the 14 million or so downloadable tracks at itunes!  

Here's how to find those forgotten about gems:

1. Install Itunes if you don't already have it.

2. Visit the itunes store via the program.

3. Search for a song...maybe something you remember from your highschool days.

4. You will most likely find 10-20 references of that track from different albums.  Check the albums the song is found on and it will most likely be on some compilation.

5. Click on the compilation album...and voila....

For example...the search for the track "Friends" by Whodini results in a bunch of results:

Search "Friends" by Whodini

If you click on "Old School Hip Hop Greats" under album this is what you get:

Wooot!  "Roxanne's Revenge" by Roxanne Shante!!  Sweet track!

Doing this will find tracks that are common in genre or were hits that year and so on.  If you find another hidden gem then search for it and continue the process.  You will be suprised what you find and how easy!  There are tonnes of compilation albums online!

 
Give it a try and happy hunting...

That Girl is Posion!

When Bell Biv Devoe released the track "Poison" back in 1990 I was the square root of sixteen, times sixty-four, divided by thirty two plus eight....  It was a massive song reaching #1 Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

Bell Biv Devoe - "Poison" (1990)

Fast forward to 2011 and one of my favorite DJs Steve Lawler released a mix compilation called Lights Out - Decades.  On disc one you will find a track called "Poison" (Anton Pieete & Bart Skils Remix) by Lauhaus.  If I were (a lot younger) and in a club (ie the Guvernment) I could listen to this over and over and over and over again.  It makes me want to scrunch my face...picture Billy Idol with his lip curled....and bounce my head to the beat.  This btw is the definition, in my oppinion, of a dirty house track.   I absolutely love this remix!  You can check it out here on youtube:

I like it so much that I am going to feature it on Soundspin Vol 2.  It will be surrounded by some heavy techno and tech house tracks.  It will be hard...and it will be dirty....

Since I am on the 90s theme I found a nice remix of Arman Van Helden's "Witch Doktor."  That may find it's way into the mix too!

So stay tuned.

Saverio & Alison's Wedding

Having a wedding in late September can sometimes result in very unpredictable and unwanted weather. The days leading up to the wedding was cold and dreary with most probably thinking summer was gone for good. Not this wedding day though! The clouds cleared, the sun came out and the temperature rose to result in a picture perfect day which is what you want especially when hosting your wedding at a golf course.

Saverio and Alison were wed at the at the Wyndance Golf Club in Uxbridge with roughly 120 guests witnessing the event. Alison is the sister of a friend of mine, Ryan another fellow hockey referee in Markham. Both Ryan and Saverio work for the Toronto Police Service which is why Alison, unbeknownst to Saverio, was escorted to the ceremony in a 1957 Chevy Toronto Police Crusier with the old school siren blaring making the golfers on the 18th probably nervous. It was a nice touch and definetly made for some good picture taking after the ceremony.

Alison's ride - '57 Chevy Toronto Police Cruiser!

The ceremony and cocktail hour was held outdoors before the guests filed into the dining room which was nicely decorated and intimate since the room was designed for smaller groups and we were definetly close to capacity. The wedding party was introduced by myself with Alison providing me with a little background info on each person (another nice touch) and of course appropriate entrance music including "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang, "Let's Get It Started" Black Eyed Peas, "Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy" Big and Rich, "Shook Me All Night Long" AC/DC and "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson.

Room and Set-Up

Myself along side fellow reffing buddy Ryan...brother of the bride

"Save a Horse Ride A Cowboy?" In the past I rarely received requests for country music. I knew nothing of it, so usually shied away from it claiming I didn't have any when asked except perhaps "Achy Breaky Heart." But ever since I agreed to DJ an all country affair last year I had to get up to speed and found myself appreciating this genre of music. "New Country" is a whole lot of fun and being a mobile DJ you need to be versatile so I can now line dance with the best of them...well not so much.....

Probably the most memorable point of the evening for me was the father of the bride's speech when he handed Saverio a cigar that he had saved from when she was born!  I had never seen that before and with him being a very loving family man...brought the room to tears.  (luckily my daughter is only 3...got some time...)

With the speeches over and the bride and groom making rounds after dinner the dancing got going late, roughly 10pm and with the party ending at midnight I only had 2 hours to work the dance floor. With a smaller crowd and varying musical tastes it was a lot of work to keep everyone moving and the dance floor full. In the end though the night was a great success. With a beautiful ceremony, awesome food, lovely guests and a super easy going Bride and Groom you can't go wrong....oh plus no one got arrested ;)

Here is the track-list for the night:

1 - She's Everything - Brad Paisley (First Dance)
2 - Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
3 - The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
4 - Party Rock Anthem (Main) - LMFAO
5 - I Got That Feeling (Radio) - Black Eyed Peas
6 - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
7 - Village People - Y.M.C.A
8 - Fire (Album Mix) - Raghav
9 - September - Earth Wind & Fire
10 - Thank God I'm A Country Boy  - John Denver
11 - Boot Scootin Boogie - Brooks and Dunn
12 - Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
13 - Fire Burning  - Sean Kingston
14 - Give Me Everything  - Pitbull
15 - Do You Remember - Jay Sean
16 - Firework (Radio) - Katy Perry
17 - Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
18 - Hot N Cold (Single) - Katy Perry
19 - A Little Respect - Erasure
20 - Home For A Rest - Spirit Of The West
21 - All Summer Long (Radio Edit) - Kid Rock
22 - Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel
23 - Single Ladies - Beyonce (Garter Toss)
24 - Dancing Queen - Abba
25 - Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
26 - Night Fever - Bee Gees
27 - All Night Long - Lionel Richie
28 - We're Here For A Good Time - Trooper
29 - Spirit In The Sky - Doctor & The Medics
30 - Only Girl - Rihanna
31 - Co-Pilot  - Kristina Maria
32 - We No Speak Americano  - Yolanda Be Cool
33 - Dynamite - Taio Cruz
34 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull
35 - Mr. Saxobeat - Alexandra Stan
36 - One Love  - David Guetta
37 - Hello  - Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette
38 - I Know You Want Me (CalleOcho) - Pitbull
39 - Sexy Chick - David Guetta ft1. Akon
40 - Dirty Talks (Single) - Wynter Gordon
41 - Tonight (I'm Loving You) - Enrique Iglesias
42 - If We Ever Meet Again - Timbaland
43 - Party Rock Anthem (Main) - LMFAO
44 - Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy - Big & Rich
45 - Honkey Tonk Stomp - Brooks & Dunn
46 - Toes - Zac Brown Band
47 - American Honey - Lady Antebellum
48 - Someone Like You (Single) - Adele