After a week hiatus last week due to St Patty's Day (they brought in a live band) I was back at it last Saturday night. When I got to the bar just prior to the end of the Leaf game this time around the bar was jam packed.
After a quick setup I got started right after the Leafs lost in OT. I went with some classic tunes with Oasis, Sugar Ray, The Proclaimers and with patrons starting to sing along to 'Home for a Rest' by Spirit of The West and 'It's the End Of The World As We Know It' by Great Big Sea I knew we were in for a fun night!
There was as 40th Birthday celebration and soon enough the group of people celebrating started up a makeshift dance floor. Special shout out to Martin!
As you can see from the set list below It was quite different from 2 weeks before. A lot more energetic last night... And we went the distance closing up around 2:45am! I did my best not to repeat any tracks... Got to keep it fresh. Did pretty good apart from maybe 3 or 4 tunes.
Here is he set list from last Saturday...
1 - Wonderwall - Oasis
2 - Speed Of Sound - Coldplay
3 - Every Morning - Sugar Ray
4 - Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers
5 - Take Care - Drake
6 - Give Me All Your Luvin - Madonna
7 - Cinema (Radio Edit) - Benny Benassi
8 - Color On The Walls - Foster The People
9 - Part Of Me (Single) - Katy Perry
10 - 500 Miles - Proclaimers
11 - Home For A Rest - Spirit Of The West
12 - It's The End Of The World As We Know It - Great Big Sea
13 - Good Life - Kanye West ft. T Pain
14 - Umbrella - Rihanna ft Jay Z
15 - I'll Be Lovin U Long Time - Mariah Carey
16 - Cant Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy ft. Mase
17 - Hypnotize - Notorious B.I.G.
18 - Just Can't Get Enough (Main) - The Black Eyed Peas
19 - Memories - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
20 - We Found Love - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
21 - Rise Up (Club Mix) - Yves Larock
22 - Loca People - Sak Noel
23 - Sexy And I Know It - LMFAO
24 - Good Feeling - Flo Rida
25 - Dirty Talks - Wynter Gordon
26 - Phenomenon - LL Cool J
27 - Ride Wit Me - Nelly
28 - Love Removal Machine - Cult
29 - No Rain - Blind Melon
30 - Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode
31 - It Wasn't Me - Shaggy
32 - Who Am I - Beenie Man
33 - Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth
34 - Wild Thing - Tone-Loc
35 - Good Life - Inner City
36 - Keith Murray / Home Alone - R. Kelly
37 - Return of The Mac - Marc Morrison
38 - Ghetto Supastar - Pras Michael
39 - Work Out (DJ Intro DJ Outro Dirty) - J. Cole
40 - Young, Wild & Free - Wiz Khalifa
41 - Niggas In Paris - Jay-Z & Kanye West
42 - Ayo Kiss Kiss - Chris Brown vs 50 Cent
43 - Hold My Hand - Sean Paul ft. Keri Hilson
44 - Up! - Shania Twain
45 - Toes (Radio Edit) - Zac Brown Band
46 - What's My Name - Rihanna ft. Drake
47 - Criminal - Britney Spears
48 - I Remember - Deadmau5 & Kaskade
49 - Without You - David Guetta ft. Usher
50 - Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna
51 - Hello (Club Edit) - Martin Solveig
52 - Mr. Saxobeat - Alexandra Stan
53 - Call on Me - Eric Prydz
54 - One More Time - Daft Punk
55 - Get Get Down - Paul Johnson
56 - Ghosts N Stuff - Deadmau5 ft. Rob Swire
57 - Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
58 - Cinema - Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go
59 - Beautiful People - Chris Brown & Benny Benassi
60 - Levels - Avicii
61 - Chicken Fried (Radio Edit) - Zac Brown Band
62 - I Love This Bar - Toby Keith
63 - International Harvester - Craig Morgan
64 - Crazy - Alanis Morissete
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Are You Rob Base?
My buddy Frank at work sent me an email entitled "Flowcharts Explained" and in it was the picture below. I almost fell off my chair laughing...
Let's see...
Definitely want to rock right now and I also came to get down. For sure I am not internationally known.
Dammit!!! I cant rock a microphone....
I'm NOT Rob Base!!!
Every DJ who ever owned a vinyl copy ofthe 1988 smash hit "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock will no doubt have a massive hissing sound with a barely audible "hit it" at the start of the record due to over scratching.
Epic track...
So the question is...are YOU Rob Base??
Let's see...
Definitely want to rock right now and I also came to get down. For sure I am not internationally known.
Dammit!!! I cant rock a microphone....
I'm NOT Rob Base!!!
 |
| Are You Rob Base? |
Epic track...
So the question is...are YOU Rob Base??
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Fusion Workstation DJ Bag
I love bags! Especially bags with lots of pockets! Just check out my referee bag - the Reebok 10k backpack/roller bag or my camera backpack - the Kata 467. I just recently purchased the Native Instruments S2 controller and desperately needed a bag to go with to protect the investment.
After some light Internet research I came across the Fusion Website and it's DJ Star Product Awarded DJ Gig Bag - The Workstation DJ. (Check it out here: http://www.fusion-bags.com/products-in-dj-bags/sound-audio-workstation-dj-47621)
Most of the reviews I found talked about the features especially how the S2 fit! So I am not going to talk about the bag itself there are plenty of reviews - but I will say - QUALITY product! Anyhow I am just going to show you what I got in there!
I picked up the bag from Long & McQuade for $175CAD including taxes which I found very reasonable especially with our southern neighbours always getting price breaks on stuff. I went with this bag because I figured I would want the option of carrying lots of stuff and for $10 more then the smaller "DJ Mix bag " it was definitely worth the price up.
One thing I notice though is that even with nothing placed into the "Audio Bin" section it is quite a tight fit with my laptop and S2 controller. I have a PC laptop which is not the thinnest..pretty standard I guess. After filling it with some stuff it almost feels like I am putting too much pressure on the S2 buttons.
An option would be to remove the audio bin section and have all the extras sit loose in between the S2 padded section and the laptop.
Anyhow this is what I got in the bag with some room to spare (booklets / CDs etc)
Padded Removal Compartment: NI S2 Controller
Laptop Sleeve - 15" Laptop
In the Audio Bin:
NI X1 Controller...in its carry case.
NI Audio 8 Sound Card
Denon Headphones
Line 6 XD-V30 Wireless Mic System
Laptop Power Adaptor
NI S2 Power Adaptor
Headphones
Odyssey L-Stand (taken apart of course)
Front Pocket:
Iphone Power Adaptor
Camera
Business Cards
Side Pockets:
Various Cables
The bag fits a whole lot...but again...I still feel that the audio bin and laptop may put too much pressure on the S2 controls but I have been mashing my X1 for a long time now so I sure it will be fine. All the stuff sitting in the audio bin is sitting loose so I think the bag's width just might be a tad narrow.
With all this gear in it the bag sits at a whopping 35lbs! The single strap with this kind of weight is only good for short distances and using the backpack straps will cause you to break a sweat in no time carrying this much weight.
The Fusion website mentions it fits a 17" laptop. Not sure if this is a typo but the padded slot will not fit a 17" that's for sure...
Anyhow though I would share and would definitely recommend this bag!
After some light Internet research I came across the Fusion Website and it's DJ Star Product Awarded DJ Gig Bag - The Workstation DJ. (Check it out here: http://www.fusion-bags.com/products-in-dj-bags/sound-audio-workstation-dj-47621)
.jpg) |
| My New Fusion Workstation Bag |
Most of the reviews I found talked about the features especially how the S2 fit! So I am not going to talk about the bag itself there are plenty of reviews - but I will say - QUALITY product! Anyhow I am just going to show you what I got in there!
I picked up the bag from Long & McQuade for $175CAD including taxes which I found very reasonable especially with our southern neighbours always getting price breaks on stuff. I went with this bag because I figured I would want the option of carrying lots of stuff and for $10 more then the smaller "DJ Mix bag " it was definitely worth the price up.
One thing I notice though is that even with nothing placed into the "Audio Bin" section it is quite a tight fit with my laptop and S2 controller. I have a PC laptop which is not the thinnest..pretty standard I guess. After filling it with some stuff it almost feels like I am putting too much pressure on the S2 buttons.
An option would be to remove the audio bin section and have all the extras sit loose in between the S2 padded section and the laptop.
.jpg) |
| Top Open |
Padded Removal Compartment: NI S2 Controller
Laptop Sleeve - 15" Laptop
In the Audio Bin:
NI X1 Controller...in its carry case.
NI Audio 8 Sound Card
Denon Headphones
Line 6 XD-V30 Wireless Mic System
Laptop Power Adaptor
NI S2 Power Adaptor
Headphones
Odyssey L-Stand (taken apart of course)
Front Pocket:
Iphone Power Adaptor
Camera
Business Cards
Side Pockets:
Various Cables
.jpg) |
| A Whole Lot of Stuff!!! |
The bag fits a whole lot...but again...I still feel that the audio bin and laptop may put too much pressure on the S2 controls but I have been mashing my X1 for a long time now so I sure it will be fine. All the stuff sitting in the audio bin is sitting loose so I think the bag's width just might be a tad narrow.
With all this gear in it the bag sits at a whopping 35lbs! The single strap with this kind of weight is only good for short distances and using the backpack straps will cause you to break a sweat in no time carrying this much weight.
.jpg) |
| Massive! But fits everything I need! |
The Fusion website mentions it fits a 17" laptop. Not sure if this is a typo but the padded slot will not fit a 17" that's for sure...
Anyhow though I would share and would definitely recommend this bag!
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Mammoet's Vegas in Waterloo!
Late last January I hooked up with Hollywood Heaven for a corporate function in Waterloo. The winter was a mild one but they made it slightly warmer by bringing Vegas North of the border...
Mammoet's yearly corporate party's theme was to move the sin city to Waterloo, Ontario by hiring Hollywood Heaven to do just that. Magicians, Vegas show girls, Marilyn Monroe, Rod Stewart, Elton John, a singing Impressionist, Sinatra and the King himself Elvis all made the entertainment lineup!
Hollywood Heaven also brought in a sound and lighting company to provide a massive stage and state of the art lighting rig. The room was most impressive.
Marilyn Monroe started off the show with a few of her best numbers including "I Wanna Be Loved By You" and "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend." She then took over MC'ing duties for the night introducing the rest of the acts.
Next, Rod Stewart took over and as cool as can be belted out a few of his most known songs in Having a Party, Maggie and Don't Get Around. For his last number "Legs" he had a bunch of the ladies in the crowd up on stage for some fun antics and at one point crawling on his knees and lifting skirts (just above the knees...) while singing the chorus line.
Elton John followed with a high energy set singing and playing his piano while the showgirls joined on stage to dance along.
The singing impressionist who I have seen now on several occasions impersonates over 300 singers while taking songs and changing the lyrics to give it a comedic element. This has got to be one of the funniest acts I've seen and he did not disappoint. It didn't take long until the crowd ended up in stitches laughing so hard.
Vegas would not be Vegas without these last two acts.... Frank Sinatra and the King himself finished off the show with both singing some of their greatest hits. Here's a pic of Frankie singing "New York New York" and Elvis singing "All Shook Up."
Both Elton John and Elvis provided several opportunities for the crowd to join in with a few slow dances so when it was my turn to take over I started strong with "Moves Like Jagger" filling up the dance floor quickly.
It was an easy crowd to play for with genres including the latest top 40 tracks, country, rock and a little bit of retro 80s. Things were going so well that the client asked me to continue playing an additional hour. By that point the top 40 dance tracks and the light technician had the place feeling like a nightclub!
In all it was a great night. The entertainment was superb, the ambiance stunning and the crowd there to have a good time.
Here is the playlist on the night:
1 - Moves Like Jagger (Clean) - Maroon 5 featuring Christinal Aguilera
2 - I Got That Feeling (Radio) - Black Eyed Peas
3 - Party Rock Anthem (Main) - LMFAO
4 - The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
5 - September - Earth Wind & Fire
6 - Got To Be Real - Chery Lynn
7 - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
8 - Village People - Y.M.C.A
9 - Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) - BIg & Rich
10 - Good Time - Alan Jackson
11 - The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert
12 - American Honey - Lady Antebellum
13 - Lady In Red - Chris DeBurg
14 - Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel
15 - Give Me Everything - Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo
16 - Good Feeling - Flo Rida
17 - We Found Love - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
18 - Shake Senora - Pitbull ft. T-Pain
19 - Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
20 - Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna
21 - Sexy And I Know It (Single) - LMFAO
22 - You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
23 - Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
24 - International Harvester - Craig Morgan
25 - All Summer Long (Radio Edit) - Kid Rock
26 - Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off - Joe Nichols
27 - Just Can't Get Enough - The Black Eyed Peas
28 - We No Speak Americano - Yolanda Be Cool
29 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull
30 - Bon, Bon - Pitbull
31 - I Know You Want Me - Pitbull
32 - Calabria 2008 - Enur feat. Natasja
33 - If We Ever Meet Again - Timbaland
34 - Beautiful People - Chris Brown
35 - Dynamite - Taio Cruz
36 - Do You Remember - Jay Sean
37 - Born This Way (Radio) - Lady Gaga
38 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull
39 - 2012 It Aint the End - Jay Sean
40 - Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
41 - Love Shack - B52's
42 - Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
43 - Don't You Want Me - Human League
44 - Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
45 - Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex
46 - The More I Drink - Blake Shelton
47 - I Love This Bar - Toby Keith
48 - We Found Love (Single) - Rihanna
49 - Memories - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
50 - Call on Me - Eric Prydz
51 - One More Time - Daft Punk
52 - Dirty Talks (Single) - Wynter Gordon
53 - S & M Remix (Main) - Rihanna
54 - One Love - David Guetta
55 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull
56 - Dynamite - Taio Cruz
57 - Ghosts N Stuff - Deadmau5 ft. Rob Swire
58 - Stereo Love - Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina
59 - Firework (Radio) - Katy Perry
60 - Levels (Original Mix) - Acivii
61 - I'm Outta Here! - Shania Twain
62 - Man! I Feel Like A Woman! - Shania Twain
If you are looking to spice up your next event be sure to call Hollywood Heaven. Just make sure to request me as your DJ ;)
Mammoet's yearly corporate party's theme was to move the sin city to Waterloo, Ontario by hiring Hollywood Heaven to do just that. Magicians, Vegas show girls, Marilyn Monroe, Rod Stewart, Elton John, a singing Impressionist, Sinatra and the King himself Elvis all made the entertainment lineup!
Hollywood Heaven also brought in a sound and lighting company to provide a massive stage and state of the art lighting rig. The room was most impressive.
.jpg) |
| Vegas Theme at the Waterloo Inn |
Marilyn Monroe started off the show with a few of her best numbers including "I Wanna Be Loved By You" and "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend." She then took over MC'ing duties for the night introducing the rest of the acts.
.jpg) |
| Marilyn Monroe the MC for the evening! |
Next, Rod Stewart took over and as cool as can be belted out a few of his most known songs in Having a Party, Maggie and Don't Get Around. For his last number "Legs" he had a bunch of the ladies in the crowd up on stage for some fun antics and at one point crawling on his knees and lifting skirts (just above the knees...) while singing the chorus line.
.jpg) |
| Rod Stewart Performing "Legs" |
Elton John followed with a high energy set singing and playing his piano while the showgirls joined on stage to dance along.
.jpg) |
| Sir Elton John! |
.jpg) |
| The Singing Impressionist |
Vegas would not be Vegas without these last two acts.... Frank Sinatra and the King himself finished off the show with both singing some of their greatest hits. Here's a pic of Frankie singing "New York New York" and Elvis singing "All Shook Up."
.jpg) |
| Frank Sinatra performing "New York" |
.jpg) |
| Young Elvis with the Showgirls |
Both Elton John and Elvis provided several opportunities for the crowd to join in with a few slow dances so when it was my turn to take over I started strong with "Moves Like Jagger" filling up the dance floor quickly.
It was an easy crowd to play for with genres including the latest top 40 tracks, country, rock and a little bit of retro 80s. Things were going so well that the client asked me to continue playing an additional hour. By that point the top 40 dance tracks and the light technician had the place feeling like a nightclub!
In all it was a great night. The entertainment was superb, the ambiance stunning and the crowd there to have a good time.
.jpg) |
| A Happy Dance Floor! |
Here is the playlist on the night:
1 - Moves Like Jagger (Clean) - Maroon 5 featuring Christinal Aguilera
2 - I Got That Feeling (Radio) - Black Eyed Peas
3 - Party Rock Anthem (Main) - LMFAO
4 - The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
5 - September - Earth Wind & Fire
6 - Got To Be Real - Chery Lynn
7 - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
8 - Village People - Y.M.C.A
9 - Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) - BIg & Rich
10 - Good Time - Alan Jackson
11 - The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert
12 - American Honey - Lady Antebellum
13 - Lady In Red - Chris DeBurg
14 - Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel
15 - Give Me Everything - Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo
16 - Good Feeling - Flo Rida
17 - We Found Love - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
18 - Shake Senora - Pitbull ft. T-Pain
19 - Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
20 - Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna
21 - Sexy And I Know It (Single) - LMFAO
22 - You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
23 - Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
24 - International Harvester - Craig Morgan
25 - All Summer Long (Radio Edit) - Kid Rock
26 - Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off - Joe Nichols
27 - Just Can't Get Enough - The Black Eyed Peas
28 - We No Speak Americano - Yolanda Be Cool
29 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull
30 - Bon, Bon - Pitbull
31 - I Know You Want Me - Pitbull
32 - Calabria 2008 - Enur feat. Natasja
33 - If We Ever Meet Again - Timbaland
34 - Beautiful People - Chris Brown
35 - Dynamite - Taio Cruz
36 - Do You Remember - Jay Sean
37 - Born This Way (Radio) - Lady Gaga
38 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull
39 - 2012 It Aint the End - Jay Sean
40 - Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
41 - Love Shack - B52's
42 - Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
43 - Don't You Want Me - Human League
44 - Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
45 - Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex
46 - The More I Drink - Blake Shelton
47 - I Love This Bar - Toby Keith
48 - We Found Love (Single) - Rihanna
49 - Memories - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
50 - Call on Me - Eric Prydz
51 - One More Time - Daft Punk
52 - Dirty Talks (Single) - Wynter Gordon
53 - S & M Remix (Main) - Rihanna
54 - One Love - David Guetta
55 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull
56 - Dynamite - Taio Cruz
57 - Ghosts N Stuff - Deadmau5 ft. Rob Swire
58 - Stereo Love - Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina
59 - Firework (Radio) - Katy Perry
60 - Levels (Original Mix) - Acivii
61 - I'm Outta Here! - Shania Twain
62 - Man! I Feel Like A Woman! - Shania Twain
If you are looking to spice up your next event be sure to call Hollywood Heaven. Just make sure to request me as your DJ ;)
Monday, 12 March 2012
My Sister's Big Fat Greek / Portuguese Wedding...
When my sister announced her engagement and plans for the wedding day naturally I offered to Dj the wedding. I didn't want her to spend money on hiring a Dj and I really didn't want to have another Dj be subjected too the constant badgering by my mom and her sister asking to play even more Greek music!
One thing I didn't consider though when I volunteered was the logistics of the wedding day. I mean normally I head to the hall 1.5-2 hours b4 the gig, set up and away I go. But that day I had to deal with my wife getting her hair done, loading the car with equipment & 2 kids (the Caravan is a wonderful thing), a luncheon at my moms, setting up, attending the wedding and then finally getting to the hall for family pictures, finish setting up and being ready to get the night going. Pheeeeeewwww!
The wedding ceremony was held at the Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in traditional Greek fashion. My daughter was a flower girl...however after a car ride nap with ensuing crankiness in time when she was to perform her duties...she ran down the carpet to see her mommy so fast the camera wasn't fast enough to snap a pic! With my sister being Greek and her husband Portuguese the priest offered his blessing in both languages...well in English as well to make it a third. Here are few pics from the church.
The reception was held at the Mississauga Grande and the glassed in Atrium made for a great place to snap some family pictures and host a cocktail hour. With the ceremony and family pictures out of the way it was time to get dinner and the party started. Luckily for my sister we have a brother who is great with the mic and he gladly took on MC duties oh...and he also made the wedding cake! I picked all the intro music which turned out great...it got the 200 or so guests going and made for a wonderful final entrance to the new wedding couple. They moved straight into their first dance with Aerosmith's "Don't Want to Miss a Thing."
Djing any ethnic type of wedding can be a difficult task especially when you don't know the music. I had a good handle on the Greek side of things, my mom made sure of that... and a sit down with my sis' brand new sister-in-law helped me with the Portuguese music. I was asked to limit the Greek and Portuguese music though but it didn't take long after starting the set off with some latest top 40 for my mom and her sister to come and bug me. My mom loves to dance so can't really blame her.
Except for a brief spell of daughter sleep deprived crankiness...like her mother she gets REALLY cranky when she goes past her normal sleep schedule...and actually learning how to DJ one handed with daughter in my arms...the night went without a hitch.
Congrats guys!
Here is the play list on the night...
1 - Moves Like Jagger (Clean) - Maroon 5
2 - Party Rock Anthem (Main) - LMFAO
3 - The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
4 - I Got That Feeling (Radio) - Black Eyed Peas
5 - Village People - Y.M.C.A
6 - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
7 - I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
8 - Dancing Queen - Abba
--------
Greek Set
Portuguese Set
--------
10 - We Found Love - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
11 - Shake Senora - Pitbull ft. T-Pain
12 - Danza Kuduro (Single) - Don Omar ft. Lucenzo
13 - Good Feeling (DJ Intro Clean Mix) - Flo Rida
14 - Give Me Everything (DJ Intro Clean Mix) - Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer
15 - Do You Remember - Jay Sean
16 - Rain Over Me (DJ Intro 1 Clean) - Pitbull ft. Marc Anthony
17 - Where Dem Girls At (Clean) - David Guetta (Bouqet Toss)
18 - I'm Drinking Rum & Redbull - Beenie Man & Fambo (Garter Toss)
--------
Greek Set
Portuguese Set
--------
19 - Life (Is What You Make It) - Colonel Lite and Frighty
20 - Murder She Wrote - Chaka Demus
21 - Twice My Age - Shabba Ranks
22 - Action - Nadine Suntherland
23 - Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth
24 - Just Can't Get Enough (Main) - The Black Eyed Peas
25 - Sexy And I Know It (Single) - LMFAO
26 - Beautiful People (Extended Mix) - Chris Brown
27 - Memories - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
28 - Call on Me - Eric Prydz
29 - One More Time - Daft Punk
30 - Up & Down - Vengaboys
31 - We Like to Party - Vengaboys
32 - Mallorca - Loft
33 - Yeah - Usher
34 - Home Alone - R. Kelly
35 - Headlines - Drake
36 - Suavemente - Elvis Crespo
37 - Bon, Bon (DJ Intro Clean Mix) - Pitbull
38 - Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna
39 - Suavemente (Kiss Me) - Nayer
40 - Co-Pilot (Single) - Kristina Maria
41 - Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
42 - Ghosts N Stuff (Extended Vocal Mix) - Deadmau5 ft. Rob Swire
43 - Rise Up (Club Mix) - Yves Larock
44 - One Life Stand (Extended Remix) - Ian Longo
45 - Mr. Saxobeat (Extended Mix) - Alexandra Stan
46 - Dirty Talks (Single) - Wynter Gordon
47 - S & M Remix (Main) - Rihanna
48 - Levels (Original Mix) - Acivii
49 - Rule The World (D-Unity Remix) - Steven Lee & Granite
50 - Shots (Clean) - LMFAO featuring Lil Jon
51 - Oh My Gosh (Remix) - Usher
52 - Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
53 - Amazed - Lonestar
54 - Night Fever - Bee Gees
55 - Amazed - Lonestar
56 - I Thought I'd Seen Everything - Bryan Adams
57 - I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
One thing I didn't consider though when I volunteered was the logistics of the wedding day. I mean normally I head to the hall 1.5-2 hours b4 the gig, set up and away I go. But that day I had to deal with my wife getting her hair done, loading the car with equipment & 2 kids (the Caravan is a wonderful thing), a luncheon at my moms, setting up, attending the wedding and then finally getting to the hall for family pictures, finish setting up and being ready to get the night going. Pheeeeeewwww!
The wedding ceremony was held at the Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in traditional Greek fashion. My daughter was a flower girl...however after a car ride nap with ensuing crankiness in time when she was to perform her duties...she ran down the carpet to see her mommy so fast the camera wasn't fast enough to snap a pic! With my sister being Greek and her husband Portuguese the priest offered his blessing in both languages...well in English as well to make it a third. Here are few pics from the church.
.jpg) |
| My Dad Giving the Bride Away! |
.jpg) |
| Almost Married! |
The reception was held at the Mississauga Grande and the glassed in Atrium made for a great place to snap some family pictures and host a cocktail hour. With the ceremony and family pictures out of the way it was time to get dinner and the party started. Luckily for my sister we have a brother who is great with the mic and he gladly took on MC duties oh...and he also made the wedding cake! I picked all the intro music which turned out great...it got the 200 or so guests going and made for a wonderful final entrance to the new wedding couple. They moved straight into their first dance with Aerosmith's "Don't Want to Miss a Thing."
Djing any ethnic type of wedding can be a difficult task especially when you don't know the music. I had a good handle on the Greek side of things, my mom made sure of that... and a sit down with my sis' brand new sister-in-law helped me with the Portuguese music. I was asked to limit the Greek and Portuguese music though but it didn't take long after starting the set off with some latest top 40 for my mom and her sister to come and bug me. My mom loves to dance so can't really blame her.
.jpg) |
| The Happy Couple...Stella & Nelson |
Except for a brief spell of daughter sleep deprived crankiness...like her mother she gets REALLY cranky when she goes past her normal sleep schedule...and actually learning how to DJ one handed with daughter in my arms...the night went without a hitch.
Congrats guys!
Here is the play list on the night...
1 - Moves Like Jagger (Clean) - Maroon 5
2 - Party Rock Anthem (Main) - LMFAO
3 - The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
4 - I Got That Feeling (Radio) - Black Eyed Peas
5 - Village People - Y.M.C.A
6 - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
7 - I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
8 - Dancing Queen - Abba
--------
Greek Set
Portuguese Set
--------
10 - We Found Love - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
11 - Shake Senora - Pitbull ft. T-Pain
12 - Danza Kuduro (Single) - Don Omar ft. Lucenzo
13 - Good Feeling (DJ Intro Clean Mix) - Flo Rida
14 - Give Me Everything (DJ Intro Clean Mix) - Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer
15 - Do You Remember - Jay Sean
16 - Rain Over Me (DJ Intro 1 Clean) - Pitbull ft. Marc Anthony
17 - Where Dem Girls At (Clean) - David Guetta (Bouqet Toss)
18 - I'm Drinking Rum & Redbull - Beenie Man & Fambo (Garter Toss)
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Greek Set
Portuguese Set
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19 - Life (Is What You Make It) - Colonel Lite and Frighty
20 - Murder She Wrote - Chaka Demus
21 - Twice My Age - Shabba Ranks
22 - Action - Nadine Suntherland
23 - Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth
24 - Just Can't Get Enough (Main) - The Black Eyed Peas
25 - Sexy And I Know It (Single) - LMFAO
26 - Beautiful People (Extended Mix) - Chris Brown
27 - Memories - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
28 - Call on Me - Eric Prydz
29 - One More Time - Daft Punk
30 - Up & Down - Vengaboys
31 - We Like to Party - Vengaboys
32 - Mallorca - Loft
33 - Yeah - Usher
34 - Home Alone - R. Kelly
35 - Headlines - Drake
36 - Suavemente - Elvis Crespo
37 - Bon, Bon (DJ Intro Clean Mix) - Pitbull
38 - Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna
39 - Suavemente (Kiss Me) - Nayer
40 - Co-Pilot (Single) - Kristina Maria
41 - Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
42 - Ghosts N Stuff (Extended Vocal Mix) - Deadmau5 ft. Rob Swire
43 - Rise Up (Club Mix) - Yves Larock
44 - One Life Stand (Extended Remix) - Ian Longo
45 - Mr. Saxobeat (Extended Mix) - Alexandra Stan
46 - Dirty Talks (Single) - Wynter Gordon
47 - S & M Remix (Main) - Rihanna
48 - Levels (Original Mix) - Acivii
49 - Rule The World (D-Unity Remix) - Steven Lee & Granite
50 - Shots (Clean) - LMFAO featuring Lil Jon
51 - Oh My Gosh (Remix) - Usher
52 - Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
53 - Amazed - Lonestar
54 - Night Fever - Bee Gees
55 - Amazed - Lonestar
56 - I Thought I'd Seen Everything - Bryan Adams
57 - I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
Sunday, 11 March 2012
The Dragon Bistro - March 10
Last night I started playing again at the Dragon Bistro in Unionville (www.thedragonbistro.com). This time around though the owner Mike wanted to keep the music in the bar area which meant no dancefloor. He wanted me to just play some tunes to create a decent vibe for the patrons having a few drinks...
It was as a little different for me since normally I am banging out music to keep a dance floor going. So instead my set list was filled with tracks I normally don't play. I brought a simple set-up...my new Traktor S2, my lappie and one powered monitor. I also plugged into the house system to spread the sound throughout the bar area.
It was good times last night.... nice laid back atmosphere, great staff, drinks with some buddies and listening to some good music.
See what I can come up with next time I play.
Oh I forgot to mention...the WINGS rock!!
Here is the set-list:
1 - Come Over - Estelle
2 - Price Tag (Radio Edit) - Jessie J ft. B.o.B
3 - Billionaire - Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars
4 - Aston Martin Music - Rick Ross
5 - Cant Believe It - T Pain ft. Lil Wayne
6 - Miss IndependeT - Ne Yo
7 - I'm Not Afraid - Eminem
8 - Hey, Soul Sister - Train
9 - Nothin On You - B.O.B. ft. Bruno Mars
10 - Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars
11 - Criminal (Single Version) - Britney Spears
12 - Electric (Radio Single) - Shawn Desman
13 - We Made You - Eminem
14 - Jamboree - Naughty By Nature
15 - Young, Wild & Free - Wiz Khalifa & Snoop Dogg
16 - What You Want - Mase & Total
17 - Work Out - J. Cole
18 - Ghetto Love (Extended) - Karl Wolf
19 - Headlines - Drake
20 - Closer (Main Mix) - Ne Yo
21 - Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode
22 - She Sells Sanctuary - Cult
23 - New Sensation - Inxs
24 - 500 Miles - Proclaimers
25 - Knee Deep (Single) - Zac Brown Band
26 - I Love This Bar - Toby Keith
27 - Patio Lanterns - Kim Mitchell
28 - Ridin' Solo - Jason Derulo
29 - What Dem Girls Like - Ludacris
30 - Hard - Rihanna ft. Young Jeezy
31 - Got 2 Luv U - Sean Paul ft. Alexis Jordan
32 - Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys
33 - Just A Dream - Nelly
34 - Moment 4 Life - Nicki Minaj ft. Drake
35 - Mo Money Mo Problems - The Notorius B.I.G.
36 - Gone Till November [Remix] - Wyclef Jean
37 - Five O'Clock - T-Pain ft. Lily Allen & Wiz Khalifa
38 - Lighters - Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars
39 - Without You - David Guetta ft. Usher
40 - So What - Pink
41 - Beautiful People - Chris Brown ft. Benny Benassi
42 - Memories (Extended Mix) - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
43 - Enjoy The Silence (Minimal Remix) - Yvan & Dan Daniel
44 - Say It Right (Quentin Harris Vocal Mix) - Nelly Furtado
45 - Personal Jesus (Dirty South Remix) - Depeche Mode
46 - Lazy (Mowgli Goes Deep Mix) - X Press 2 ft. David Byrne
47 - American Boy (DJ Perry Edit) - Estelle & Kanye
48 - He Got Game - Public Enemy
49 - So Good (Radio Edit) - B.o.B.
 |
| The Dragon Bistro Unionville |
It was as a little different for me since normally I am banging out music to keep a dance floor going. So instead my set list was filled with tracks I normally don't play. I brought a simple set-up...my new Traktor S2, my lappie and one powered monitor. I also plugged into the house system to spread the sound throughout the bar area.
 |
| Simple set-up with my new S2! |
It was good times last night.... nice laid back atmosphere, great staff, drinks with some buddies and listening to some good music.
See what I can come up with next time I play.
Oh I forgot to mention...the WINGS rock!!
Here is the set-list:
1 - Come Over - Estelle
2 - Price Tag (Radio Edit) - Jessie J ft. B.o.B
3 - Billionaire - Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars
4 - Aston Martin Music - Rick Ross
5 - Cant Believe It - T Pain ft. Lil Wayne
6 - Miss IndependeT - Ne Yo
7 - I'm Not Afraid - Eminem
8 - Hey, Soul Sister - Train
9 - Nothin On You - B.O.B. ft. Bruno Mars
10 - Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars
11 - Criminal (Single Version) - Britney Spears
12 - Electric (Radio Single) - Shawn Desman
13 - We Made You - Eminem
14 - Jamboree - Naughty By Nature
15 - Young, Wild & Free - Wiz Khalifa & Snoop Dogg
16 - What You Want - Mase & Total
17 - Work Out - J. Cole
18 - Ghetto Love (Extended) - Karl Wolf
19 - Headlines - Drake
20 - Closer (Main Mix) - Ne Yo
21 - Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode
22 - She Sells Sanctuary - Cult
23 - New Sensation - Inxs
24 - 500 Miles - Proclaimers
25 - Knee Deep (Single) - Zac Brown Band
26 - I Love This Bar - Toby Keith
27 - Patio Lanterns - Kim Mitchell
28 - Ridin' Solo - Jason Derulo
29 - What Dem Girls Like - Ludacris
30 - Hard - Rihanna ft. Young Jeezy
31 - Got 2 Luv U - Sean Paul ft. Alexis Jordan
32 - Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys
33 - Just A Dream - Nelly
34 - Moment 4 Life - Nicki Minaj ft. Drake
35 - Mo Money Mo Problems - The Notorius B.I.G.
36 - Gone Till November [Remix] - Wyclef Jean
37 - Five O'Clock - T-Pain ft. Lily Allen & Wiz Khalifa
38 - Lighters - Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars
39 - Without You - David Guetta ft. Usher
40 - So What - Pink
41 - Beautiful People - Chris Brown ft. Benny Benassi
42 - Memories (Extended Mix) - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
43 - Enjoy The Silence (Minimal Remix) - Yvan & Dan Daniel
44 - Say It Right (Quentin Harris Vocal Mix) - Nelly Furtado
45 - Personal Jesus (Dirty South Remix) - Depeche Mode
46 - Lazy (Mowgli Goes Deep Mix) - X Press 2 ft. David Byrne
47 - American Boy (DJ Perry Edit) - Estelle & Kanye
48 - He Got Game - Public Enemy
49 - So Good (Radio Edit) - B.o.B.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Embracing DJ Technology
There comes a time when you just need to let go of older technology. When I DJ at larger events my normal rig is to include the digital world and the analogue world. I lug with me my CD players, a case of CDs, my laptop, Dj controller and PA system. However, at these gigs I use my laptop 99% of the night. So why bring all this other equipment?? It is heavy and takes time to set-up!
When I first started DJing in my early teens I had two dissimilar turntables without pitch control. Myself and my dj partner scrounged money to buy vinyl records and we recorded mix tapes always starting them out by citing our DJ names through some cheap microphone trying to make ourselves sound cool... I would give to find some of these old tapes...I am sure they sound awful!
For a breif period of time I started getting recorded music onto cassette tape a format that I really did not like to use but was practical since I could not afford to buy countless albums of older tunes. I even recorded music from the radio...cutting out the announcer's voice...oh the sound quality!
But that didn't last. Pretty soon my buddy and I were working and soon after afforded our very first used Technic 1200s. We also frequented the local record shops on a weekly basis to get the latest 12" releases...we were the real biz now!!
Compact Disc did not come out till the early 80s and it took a long time before CDs and CDRs became main stream for DJs. It just made sense to carry a sleeve of CDs instead of milk crates to carry 12" vinyl (btw...the back of Becker's convience stores was a great source for crates...)
When I came out of University in 1997 I decided to get back into DJing and purchased my first dual-CD player the Denon 2500F! Full pitch control...loops...wow! I was blown away by the new technologies and the race was on to rebuild my music collection. I was at the local HMV constantly buying Various Artists CDs...and then came Napster...oh free music! I also joined the ERG music pool an easy way to get all the latest tunes legitimatly since I started to make some cash DJing.
At the time however the Technic 1200s were still going strong and vinyl was still the cool way to DJ so I purchased a brand new pair of Technic 1200s! I ordered house music off the internet and visited downtown weekly to buy some of the latest house releases. At $12-15 a track...wow that got expensive! An expensive hobby since I never brought the turntables out of the house!
When I first started DJing in my early teens I had two dissimilar turntables without pitch control. Myself and my dj partner scrounged money to buy vinyl records and we recorded mix tapes always starting them out by citing our DJ names through some cheap microphone trying to make ourselves sound cool... I would give to find some of these old tapes...I am sure they sound awful!
For a breif period of time I started getting recorded music onto cassette tape a format that I really did not like to use but was practical since I could not afford to buy countless albums of older tunes. I even recorded music from the radio...cutting out the announcer's voice...oh the sound quality!
But that didn't last. Pretty soon my buddy and I were working and soon after afforded our very first used Technic 1200s. We also frequented the local record shops on a weekly basis to get the latest 12" releases...we were the real biz now!!
Compact Disc did not come out till the early 80s and it took a long time before CDs and CDRs became main stream for DJs. It just made sense to carry a sleeve of CDs instead of milk crates to carry 12" vinyl (btw...the back of Becker's convience stores was a great source for crates...)
When I came out of University in 1997 I decided to get back into DJing and purchased my first dual-CD player the Denon 2500F! Full pitch control...loops...wow! I was blown away by the new technologies and the race was on to rebuild my music collection. I was at the local HMV constantly buying Various Artists CDs...and then came Napster...oh free music! I also joined the ERG music pool an easy way to get all the latest tunes legitimatly since I started to make some cash DJing.
At the time however the Technic 1200s were still going strong and vinyl was still the cool way to DJ so I purchased a brand new pair of Technic 1200s! I ordered house music off the internet and visited downtown weekly to buy some of the latest house releases. At $12-15 a track...wow that got expensive! An expensive hobby since I never brought the turntables out of the house!
 |
| Dual CD Player and my Technic 1200s |
While all this was going on CD turntables started to take over the market for even the biggest of DJs. Their larger platters were pretty good at mimicing vinyl so I just had to get some! In 2005 I bought a pair of Denon 3500 CD turntables and to this day still use them...a little bit...
 |
| My First CDTTs! |
I started dabbling with Native Instruments Traktor DJ software a few years ago and last year added a NI Traktor X1 control surface. I used these alongside my CD turntables at all my events. Having both would mean if one went down I would be safe with the other. I also joined a Digital DJ Pool... Zip DJ where I get all my latest music. This lead to me using my CDTTs a lot less at recent events. I am now using my laptop for 99% of the time.
So I think it may be time to say goodbye to the CDs...
In comes the Native Instruments Kontrol S2! I just bought this at the beginning of the week in hopes to totally switch to the digital world. I am still looking for a good back-up system which I am leaning towards our families IPad. Relying on computers is still a finicky business (really it's all about comfort level) and is why my switch has been slow. The S2 allows for an amazingly quick set-up...all the controls are there. There is of course a stigmatism that goes with being a DJ and looking the part and standing there with an iphone connected into a speaker system is not meant to be.
There is still a debate that Djing in front of a laptop is taking away from the Art of the DJ. I disagree...embracing these new technologies opens avenues to other ways of expressing yourself. I've more then paid my dues adjusting pitch faders to match speeds of music. Don't care to do it anymore...in fact has re-invigurated my love for DJing. Also for the mobile world it means lugging less stuff around. I figure the Kontrol S2 with scratch pad surfaces partnered with the X1 and a bunch of flashing buttons will still make the customer think they are getting what they paid for...that is...b4 I rock the dance floor :)
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| My new Kontrol S2!! |
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