The Dragon Bistro - April 21st

Here is my setlist from the Dragon Bistro last Saturday.  Been adding some older 90s hip hop to the set since I've been getting lots of requests for it.    The bar area was not crazy busy but had a great vibe going for it.  Had a particularily good time that night. 

Gonna continue digging to find new / old music that I haven't played...

1 - Grace, Too - The Tragically Hip
2 - Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band
3 - Three Little Birds - Bob Marley & The Wailers
4 - Grenade  - Bruno Mars
5 - Price Tag  - Jessie J ft. B.o.B
6 - 4 In The Morning - Gwen STefani
7 - Gnarls Barkley - Crazy - Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
8 - Come Over  - Estelle
9 - Cant Believe It  - T-Pain ft. Justin Timberlake
10 - Blame It  - Jamie Foxx ft T-Pain
11 - Ridin' Solo - Jason Derulo
12 - Im So Paid  - Akon ft. Lil Wayne
13 - Sabotage - Beastie Boys
14 - Naveed - Our Lady Peace
15 - Even flow - Pearl Jam
16 - Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
17 - Loser - Beck
18 - Work Out  - J. Cole
19 - Young, Wild & Free - Wiz Khalifa & Snoop Dogg
20 - Aston Martin Music  - Rick Ross
21 - Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys
22 - I'm Not Afraid  - Eminem
23 - Without You  - David Guetta ft. Usher
24 - Feel So Close  - Calvin Harris
25 - Memories  - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
26 - I Remember  - Deadmau5 & Kaskade
27 - Give Me All Your Luvin  - Madonna
28 - Levels - Acivii
29 - We Found Love  - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
30 - Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 featuring
31 - Intergalatic - Beastie Boys
32 - hip hop hooray - naughty by nature
33 - People Everyday - arrested development
34 - Jamboree - Naughty By Nature
35 - No Diggity - Blackstreet
36 - Gin And Juice - Snoop Doggy Dogg
37 - Good Life  - Kanye West ft. T Pain
38 - Keep on Movin - Soul II Soul
39 - You're The One  - SWV
40 - No No No  - Destiny's Child
41 - It Wasn't Me - Shaggy
42 - Romie - Beenie Man
43 - Punkie - Sean Paul
44 - Long Time - Tanto Metro & Devonte
45 - Never Gonna Be The Same - Sean Paul
46 - Cheers (Drink To That) - Rihanna
47 - What Dem Girls Like - Ludacris
48 - Sleazy  - Ke$ha
49 - Singing My Song  - Sean Kingston
50 - Work Out  - J. Cole
51 - Ghetto Love (Extended) - Karl Wolf
52 - Co-Pilot (Single) - Kristina Maria ft Laza Morgan
53 - Life Of The Party  - Aleesia Life Of The Party
54 - Dirty Talks (Single) - Wynter Gordon
55 - S & M Remix (Main) - Rihanna Featuring Britney Spears
56 - Yeah 3x  - Chris Brown
57 - Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
58 - Do You Remember  - Jay Sean
59 - Oh My Gosh  - Usher
60 - 121 Kid Cudi vs. Crookers - Day N nite (remix) -
61 - Higher (Main) - Taio Cruz featuring Kylie Minogue
62 - One Life Stand (Extended Remix) - Ian Longo
63 - Stereo Love (Extended Mix) 127BPM - Edward Maya
64 - Feel So Close (Extended Mix) - Calvin Harris
65 - C.R.E.A.M. - Wu-Tang Clan
66 - Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers - Crooklyn Dodgers '95
67 - Paid In Full - Eric B and Rakim
68 - Gangstas Paradise - Coolio feat l.v.
69 - Still Dre - Dr. Dre feat Snoop Dog
70 - Put Your Hands where I can see You - Busta Rhymes
71 - Insane in the Brain - Cypress Hill
72 - Juicy - The Notorious B.I.G.
73 - MC's Act Like They Don't Know - KRS-One
74 - Shake That  - Eminem
75 - Numba 1 (Tide Is High)  - Kardinal Offishal
76 - Numba 1 (Dirty) - Kardinal Offishall
77 - Look at Me Now (Dirty) 73BPM - Chris Brown
78 - Bottoms Up (Radio Edit) - Trey Songz ft. Nicki Minaj
79 - Headlines (DJ Intro DJ Outro Clean) - Drake

Soundspin03

Here is my latest installment in the soundspin mix series! 

The mix starts off with a few progressive numbers from the D-Nox and Beckers's "Distance Remix's Part II" EP and then transitions into a few tech house numbers in "Cyclone" and "Stay High Baby".  I can't seem to escape Maetrik these days.  In fact Maetrik and Maceo Plex are the same producers.  His Maetrik moniker is for the more hard techno releases and the latter for his more deep house / tech house affairs.  Either way I really like what this guy is producing.

You may notice "Poison" making a return which showed up in soundspin02.  This time I opted for the Original mix.  This version is more techy and I really love this track. 

One thing I started getting into is Mastering the mix.... in other words making the mix sound more uniform accross all the tracks.  Mastering is a science to say the least.  So with my few hours of experience I am hoping that with some tinkering with some of the default settings this mix will sound much better then what I have released before.  You should notice that acrross the whole mix you should not have to touch your volume control! 

Anyhow...please enjoy. Any feedback is appreciated!

Soundspin03 (Mar 2012) by Soundspin on Mixcloud

You can download the mix here.

Here is the track list:

1. I Will Rise (Guy J Remix) - D-Nox and Beckers
2. What I have (Uto Karem Remix) - D-Nox and Beckers
3. Cyclone (Noir FGD Mash Edit) - K Alex, Jamie Anderson
4. Stay High Baby - Maceo Plex
5. The Entity - Maetrik
6. Is Deeper (Marshall Remix) - Wally Lopez, Ismael Rivas
7. Opa Locka - Luigi Rocca, Manuel Del Mar
8. Gringo - Mendo Mendo & Andrew Butlano
9. Audition - Steve Lawler
10. Poison - Lauhauhs
11. M.U.G.E.N - Nicolas Masseyeff

On to the next mix!

Ongoings at the Bistro

Been a couple of weeks since I've posted about the Bistro.  These last two weeks I have been looking to change things up a bit adding some new...and by new I mean new...and classic tunes to the line up.  We celebrated a few birthdays as well and it was nice to see some of the regulars coming out to party. 

I have been digging around the archives to add to my collection since I've been getting a lot of requests for 90s hip hop..  Also for some reason had no Tragically Hip on my laptop...which of course is a Tragedy!!

The thing is I don't carry my whole music collection with me.  Especially easy listening tunes.  My music selection on my laptop is more geared for mobile events where I try to keep a dance floor full!  Although there is some dancing at the Bistro for the most part I also try and play some tunes that people can just listen to and enjoy their drink especially at the beginning of the night.


It's funny how in the internet age people think or expect that you have every piece of music out there and look at you funny when you tell them you don't have the track they are requesting!   I do however right down the requests and try and have it available the following week by getting the song legally...


Check out some some newer tracks from the last few sets (no particlular order) including some rock, hip hop and some old school reggae tunez....

1. New Orleans is Sinking - The Hip
2. Supersatellite - Our Lady Peace
3. Jeremy - Pearl Jam
4. Looking for a Place to Happen - The Hip
5. The Best of What's Around - Dave Matthew's Band
6. Hard to Handle - Black Crowes
7. Peace Frog - The Doors
8. Love Removal Machine - The Cult
9. Cheers (Drink To That) - Rihanna
10. Our House - Madness
11. Tubthumping - Chumbawumba
12. Murder She Wrote - Chaka Demus
13. Life (Is What you Make it) - Colonel Frighty
14. Action - Nadine Sutherland
15. Twice My Age - Shabba
16. Who Am I - Beenie Man
17. People Everyday - Arrested Development
18. Jamboree - Naughty by Nature
19. Hip Hop Hooray
20. Everyone Falls in Love - Tanto Metro
21. Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
22. Money Maker - Ludacris
23. Gin & Juice - Snoop Doggy Dog
24. Work It - Missy Elliot
25. No Diggity - Blackstreet 
26. O.P.P - Naughty by Nature
27. Coming Home - Diddy
28. Killing me Softly - The Fugees
29. I'm Not a Player - Big Punisher
30. Move for Me - Deadmau5

This weekend Yuk Yuks is back in so call the Dragon Bistro to make a reservation.  I will be there as well to play some tunes after the show.  See you there!

Some Funnies...

Came across some of these pics in twitspace. Enjoy!

Hoe Down in Kelowna

Late last year, I had a rare opportunity to fly out to Kelowna for a corporate gig. Along with my wife Tasha (who was hired to help as on site coordinator) we set out early on a Saturday morning to Pearson to meet up with the rest of the Hollywood Heaven entourage. There was Shania Twain, Garth Brooks & Alan Jackson - look-a-likes of course, Tammy the line dance teacher, Jena & Breanne - the cowgirls, Hector the Caricaturist and Brothers of Soul - a live 6pc band.

The Entourage arriving in Kelowna!

Now I have never had to fly to DJ a party so it was a learning experience on how to pack! Luckily West Jet allowed two carry-ons and with Tasha by my side I was easily able to pack my Laptop, Traktor Kontrol X1, Ecler Nuo4 DJ mixer, headphones and all cables to connect them up.

Kelowna resides in the beatiful province of British Columbia in the heart of the Okanagan region which made for a beautiful getaway for myself and Tasha...sans kids I might add! We stayed at the same hotel the event was being held, the Delta Grand Resort a 5-star sitting right on lake Okanagan. The area offers some great wine tasting opportunities and skiiing in the winter months. If you ever find yourself in Kelowna make sure to go to RauDZ for dinner...a superb restaraunt serving local foods. Oh and the Bohemian for breakfast...

My Gear in between the sound board & light controller

Guests were greeted by Jena & Breanne - the Cowgirls!

This event for a local credit union had over 400 guests. With the event's usually themed, this year country was in order which of course was fitting... we were in God's country! Cocktail hour and dinner music was a large selection of new and old country favorites. The awards ceremony was hosted by Shania Twain & Reba look-a-likes who also performed along side Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks.

Alan Jackson starting off the night!

Garth Brooks rocking "Friends in Low Places"

After the live performances, Tammy took over to teach the locals to line dance proper! I met Tammy last year at another Hollywoodheaven event - she is awesome! Both Breanne and Jena joined the dance floor to help with the teachings.

Myself with Tammy the linedance teacher...

Jena at the front of the class!

After all the country music during dinner, country music performers, and line dancing...it was time for me to take over the dance floor - however a change up was in order and I started off with "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5. The dance floor rammed up quickly and I followed that track with a half hour of dance floor favorites to warm up the crowd for The Brother's of Soul.

Getting the Crowd going with "Moves Like Jagger"

Brother's of Soul performing Live!

In all it was a great time. Got to see a beautiful new place in this massive country of ours. Had a mini vacation with my wife, and met some wonderfull people. Once again...if you are looking for some of the best look-a-like entertainment around visit Hollywood Heaven's website at www.hollywoodheaven.ca

Essential Cottage Gear

A little over a month ago I purchased the Traktor Kontrol S2 to use for smaller gigs for ease of transport. Great for house parties and of course to bring up to the cottage!

The Dragon Bistro - March 31

So a few weeks ago when I got back into Djing at the Bistro the owner Mike and I had a conversation about me just playing in the bar area...create a nice vibe for the people enjoying a drink...or drowning their sorrows after yet another Leafs loss and 8th playoff miss in a row...

One month later and we've somehow turned the bar into a nightclub!  We continued straight off where we left last week...well I tried to warm up the bar a bit...but didn't take long until the requests for new top40 dance started coming in.  A group of my local friends stopped by after they heard I was back so it made it a fun night!

Regardless... I go with the flow and have fun mixing it up.  This weekend was pretty top 40 heavy but I couldn't help but dive into some of the classics.  




Ummm we need a bigger dance floor...


Apparently there is a birthday party reservation for this upcoming Saturday.  So looks like a full house once again.  See what I can come up with this week...and we'll see you Saturday night!

Here is the setlist...my favourite track on the night...def goes to Soul II Soul - Back to Life!


1 - Falling Down (Single) - Duran Duran
2 - Love Story (Pop Version) - Taylor Swift
3 - Patio Lanterns - Kim Mitchell
4 - Take The Money And Run - Steve Miller
5 - Cherry Bomb - John Cougar Mellencamp
6 - Time Of Your Life - Green Day
7 - Someday - Sugar Ray
8 - Freedom 90 - George Michael
9 - F*ck You  - Cee-Lo Green
10 - California Gurls  - Katy Perry
11 - Teenage Dream (Single) - Katy Perry
12 - Do You Remember - Jay Sean
13 - Available  - Flo Rida ft. Akon
14 - On The Floor  - Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull
15 - Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
16 - Higher (Main) - Taio Cruz featuring Kylie Minogue
17 - Give Me Everything - Pitbull ft
18 - DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull
19 - Without You - David Guetta f. Usher
20 - If We Ever Meet Again  - Timbaland
21 - Only Girl (In The World)  - Rihanna
22 - Rock With You (Club Mix) - 1AM
23 - You Make Me Feel...(feat. Sabi) - Cobra Starship
24 - Good Feeling  - Flo Rida
25 - We Found Love  - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
26 - The Time (Dirty Bit)  - Black Eyed Peas
27 - Dirty Talks (Single) - Wynter Gordon
28 - S & M Remix (Main) - Rihanna
29 - I Got That Feeling (Radio) - Black Eyed Peas
30 - Party Rock Anthem (Main) - LMFAO
31 - One Love  - David Guetta
32 - Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
33 - Don't You Want Me - Human League
34 - Just Can't Get Enough - The Black Eyed Peas
35 - I Like It  - Enrique Iglesias
36 - Danza Kuduro (Single) - Don Omar
37 - Shake Senora  - Pitbull ft. T-Pain
38 - Suavemente  - Nayer ft. Mohombi & Pitbull
39 - Cinema  - Benny Benassi
40 - Beautiful People  - Chris Brown
41 - Firework (Radio) - Katy Perry
42 - Give Me All Your Luvin  - Madonna
43 - 2012 It Aint the End - Jay Sean ft. Nicki Minaj
44 - Co-Pilot (Single) - Kristina Maria ft Laza Morgan
45 - Moves Like Jagger (Clean) - Maroon 5
46 - Pumped Up Kicks  - Foster The People
47 - Down (Dirty) - Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne
48 - Superstar Remix  - Lupe Fiasco
49 - Real Love  - Mary J. Blige
50 - Back To Life - Soul II Soul
51 - Dynamite - Taio Cruz
52 - We No Speak Americano  - Yolanda Be Cool VS D Cup
53 - Day N Nite - Kid Cudi vs. Crookers
54 - Wild Ones  - Flo Rida ft. Sia
55 - Sexy And I Know It (Single) - LMFAO
56 - Tonight (I'm Loving You) - Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris
57 - Hold It Against Me (Single) - Britney Spears
58 - Work Out  - J. Cole
59 - American Boy - Estelle & Kanye
60 - It Wasn't Me - Shaggy
61 - Night Fever - Bee Gees
62 - A Little Respect - Erasure
63 - Come On Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners
64 - Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order
65 - Tainted Love - Soft Cell
66 - Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel
67 - Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
68 - Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
69 - Summer of '69 - Byran Adams
70 - Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
71 - Temperature - Sean Paul
72 - Action - Nadine Suntherland
73 - Twice My Age - Shabba Ranks
74 - Fat Boy (Radion Mix) - Max-A-Million
75 - Bust A Move - Young Mc
76 - Funky Cold Medina - Tone-Loc
77 - Let Your Backbone Slide - Maestro Fresh Wes
78 - Good Life - Inner City
79 - Follow Me - Aly-Us
80 - Pump Up The Jam - Technotronic
81 - Look at Me Now  - Chris Brown
82 - Ayo Kiss Kiss (DJ Sting Mashup) - Chris Brown vs 50 Cent
83 - Black and Yellow  - Wiz Khalifa
84 - Without You  - Chris Brown
85 - Oh My Gosh  - Usher
86 - Without You  - David Guetta ft. Usher
87 - Memories  - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi
88 - One More Time - Daft Punk
89 - Ain't Nobody - Chaka Khan / Rufus
90 - All Night Long - Lionel Richie
91 - Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
92 - SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
93 - Niggas In Paris  - Jay-Z & Kanye West
94 - Hey Baby  - Omarion and Bow Wow
95 - It Takes Two - Rob Base & Dj E-Z Rock