All of the elegant trappings of a wedding are in place. The dresses are bought and the tuxedos are rented. The hall is decorated and the food is being served. Everyone in attendance is dressed up and ready for a fun night. The Bride & Groom have thought of everything. They even thought to treat the guests with an open bar all night. That was the wrong thing to do in this case.
A few years back I was the disc jockey at a wedding that turned into a segment from WWE instead of the fairy tale it was supposed to be. The night was going great. People were laughing, dancing and having a great time but near the end of the night things took an odd twist. As I was prepping the next song two female guests converged in front of my DJ table to discuss another guest who had been saying some malicious stuff about the other. I watched as they traversed the dance floor to confront the guest in question. Seeing that they were clear across the dance floor I couldn’t hear what they were saying but based on the animated arm gestures and finger pointing I could tell it was not very civil. Then it happened. The ‘bad’ guest moved the bottle of beer that was in her right to her left and cold-cocked the woman in front of her with a vicious right hook. BAM!
As I said, the music was still thumping so not many people heard the ruckus that erupted just off the dance floor. As the final few notes of the last song faded away they soon realized that there was a battle going on. The Bride & Groom were in disbelief as to what they saw at their wedding and quickly ran out of the room. Within a few minutes the hotel’s crack security officer; an imposing figure resembling Barney Fife was in the room and ready to take charge. By that time more people joined in the melee while others tried to pull the women apart. “Barney” had the bad guest by the arm and was leading her out of the room while the other guests shouted some lively comments at her. Once outside of the room she made quick work of Officer Fife, shook loose and came barreling back into the ballroom throwing haymaker’s at the her opponents – ding, ding ~ Round 2!
Once the dust settled and all of the guests were properly restrained it was time to survey the damage. One guest, dressed in what was once a nice spaghetti-strapped gown, was now holding it up as one of the straps was now torn away. Another woman was headed towards the ladies room to tend to the (4) claw-like scratches that went from her tricep to her bicep. And another guest climbed atop the head table and continued to shout expletive laced comments at our ‘villain’ who was again being restrained by B. Fife.
Andy Griffith’s trusted deputy must have called for some backup as we were soon joined by 6-8 members of the local police department. After order was restored in the ballroom four of them stationed themselves near the hotel exit to make sure no one was leaving that might have been over-served. The others hung out in the ballroom enjoying the cake, coffee and tea that was setup after dinner.
It’s been almost ten years since that night and I am happy to say I have never seen anything that comes close to that.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Big or small - I've done them all.
For the twisted people who read the title of this entry; stop smirking and get your minds out of the gutter. This is a DJ blog.
Over the last 25 years or so I have worked a lot of great functions – big & small. I have been the DJ at weddings & events with over 300 people and I have done my share of small events but this weekend was by far the smallest of them all.
A while back I was contacted by a member from the Class of 1979 of a small New Hampshire high school. They were having their 30th class reunion at a beautiful hotel in southern New Hampshire. On Saturday I made my way up Rt 495 and Rt 3 and arrived at the hotel. There was a ton of activity going in and around the hotel. There was a big wedding going on in one ballroom, a dinner for members of the New Hampshire National Guard in another ballroom and a religious meeting in yet another ballroom. I asked the function director for directions to the ballroom I was to work in. I opened the doors to find three tables of eight setup – 24 guests. I had to chuckle a little. The person who contacted me said it was going to be a small turnout but I had no idea it was going to be that small. The bartender was busy setting up the bar when I commented to her ; “wow, small crowd. 24 total guests”. She replied “actually the count is 16 now, a few people backed out yesterday.”
Well the 16 people that did attend their reunion had a good time – at least it looked like they did. A few of the people from the wedding next door crashed and were dancing along with the Class of ’79. No one really cared who was who at that point. I think had they used nametags I probably could have known everyone’s name by the end of the night. You can’t say that too often.
Over the last 25 years or so I have worked a lot of great functions – big & small. I have been the DJ at weddings & events with over 300 people and I have done my share of small events but this weekend was by far the smallest of them all.
A while back I was contacted by a member from the Class of 1979 of a small New Hampshire high school. They were having their 30th class reunion at a beautiful hotel in southern New Hampshire. On Saturday I made my way up Rt 495 and Rt 3 and arrived at the hotel. There was a ton of activity going in and around the hotel. There was a big wedding going on in one ballroom, a dinner for members of the New Hampshire National Guard in another ballroom and a religious meeting in yet another ballroom. I asked the function director for directions to the ballroom I was to work in. I opened the doors to find three tables of eight setup – 24 guests. I had to chuckle a little. The person who contacted me said it was going to be a small turnout but I had no idea it was going to be that small. The bartender was busy setting up the bar when I commented to her ; “wow, small crowd. 24 total guests”. She replied “actually the count is 16 now, a few people backed out yesterday.”
Well the 16 people that did attend their reunion had a good time – at least it looked like they did. A few of the people from the wedding next door crashed and were dancing along with the Class of ’79. No one really cared who was who at that point. I think had they used nametags I probably could have known everyone’s name by the end of the night. You can’t say that too often.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Pay No Attention To That Man Behind The Speakers!
It happens every so often and I just laugh. A woman is out on the dance floor dancing with her friends and what not and somehow there is a wardrobe malfunction. Whether that be a simple slip of the top or the dreaded “wedgie”. What to do? Excuse yourself from the dance floor and potentially miss out on some good dancing? Nope. Have your friends encircle you quickly so you can make the necessary adjustments? Nope. Instead you turn your back towards the anonymous DJ and retrieve your upward creeping undergarments or face him straight on and take care of any slippage. Sounds like a good plan the only problem is that there is a (happily married)heterosexual male right there and he is bound to take notice of something like that happening in front of him.
Another more innocent thing to be aware of when dancing in front of the speakers is that when you talk to whomever is close by you need to raise your voice to be heard over the music. There is a very good chance that the DJ is going to hear what you say because being behind the speakers he or she doesn’t have the music to compete with. I only use that to my advantage. For example, if two people are out on the dance floor having a good time and one says to the other “it would be so cool if they played song X next!” Having heard that, I can quickly adjust things and have that tune come on next much to the delight of the dancers. There have also been times when a conversation is had on the dance floor that I hear and there is no way that I could ever repeat to anyone. It’s like dancer / DJ confidentially.
Another more innocent thing to be aware of when dancing in front of the speakers is that when you talk to whomever is close by you need to raise your voice to be heard over the music. There is a very good chance that the DJ is going to hear what you say because being behind the speakers he or she doesn’t have the music to compete with. I only use that to my advantage. For example, if two people are out on the dance floor having a good time and one says to the other “it would be so cool if they played song X next!” Having heard that, I can quickly adjust things and have that tune come on next much to the delight of the dancers. There have also been times when a conversation is had on the dance floor that I hear and there is no way that I could ever repeat to anyone. It’s like dancer / DJ confidentially.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Gain a son / lose some teeth.
Sometimes in the excitement of seeing your son &/or daughter getting married you perhaps go over board. This doesn’t always mean over indulging in alcohol. Sometimes it means in your dancing abilities. One FOB {Father of the Bride} was ripping it up on the dance floor and decided to take is moves upwards onto a nearby table. Everyone was laughing at this would be Tony Manero (John Travolta’s character in “Saturday Night Fever”) as he danced wildly on the table except the staff at the hall. They quickly told one of the nearby guests to please help him down from the table – quickly. As the guest extended a helping hand to guide the dancing man down he was shunned and was told, “It’s my daughter’s wedding and I’m dancing for joy!” The helpful guest reached out once again, grabbed a hold of the FOB’s arm and gave him a tug. The round, folding banquet table buckled and down came dear ole Dad smashing his face loudly on the dance floor. Not missing a beat he took a swig from the beer bottle he had clutched in his hand (which he did not spill a drop of during his descent) swirled the frothy beverage around in his mouth and spit out the bloodied mixture along with a few teeth.
At the end of the afternoon he came over to say goodbye and to invite me to the after party at the family house. I couldn’t help but notice his white tux shirt stained with blood and a slight lisp in his speech now.
At the end of the afternoon he came over to say goodbye and to invite me to the after party at the family house. I couldn’t help but notice his white tux shirt stained with blood and a slight lisp in his speech now.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Pass the cake - literally!
As many of you have seen at weddings that you’ve attended some brides & grooms have taken the tradition of cutting and serving the wedding cake to one another to a whole different level. Here is a tasty slice from the road.
I remember the cake vividly. It had off-white frosting with orange piping and stood three levels high. I took notice of it because I had to navigate around it with every load of equipment I brought into the hall. The bride looked lovely in her white gown and her groom was wearing a light gray tuxedo with an orange cumber bunt and matching bow tie. They asked for the traditional “The Bride Cuts the Cake” song. I start the song and everything is going great until it’s time to serve one another. The bride is the first to do to the feeding and she starts off delicately only to end up smashing the cake in her new husband’s face to wild cheers from family & friends. Now it’s the groom’s turn and delicacy is out the window. He winds up like Jonathan Papelbon and throws a sugary fastball right at his wife’s face. She is blasted and a little stunned. Once again the cheers are heard from all in attendance and everyone seems to think that it’s over but it is most certainly not. The bride reaches down, grabs a handful of cake from the upper layer and chucks it at her husband and with her follow through smears the white & orange frosting all over his tuxedo. A frenzied melee ensues and by the end of it; both bride & groom are covered in cake & frosting and the guests are left with no dessert. I can only imagine how the groom explained the situation to the tux rental shop.
I remember the cake vividly. It had off-white frosting with orange piping and stood three levels high. I took notice of it because I had to navigate around it with every load of equipment I brought into the hall. The bride looked lovely in her white gown and her groom was wearing a light gray tuxedo with an orange cumber bunt and matching bow tie. They asked for the traditional “The Bride Cuts the Cake” song. I start the song and everything is going great until it’s time to serve one another. The bride is the first to do to the feeding and she starts off delicately only to end up smashing the cake in her new husband’s face to wild cheers from family & friends. Now it’s the groom’s turn and delicacy is out the window. He winds up like Jonathan Papelbon and throws a sugary fastball right at his wife’s face. She is blasted and a little stunned. Once again the cheers are heard from all in attendance and everyone seems to think that it’s over but it is most certainly not. The bride reaches down, grabs a handful of cake from the upper layer and chucks it at her husband and with her follow through smears the white & orange frosting all over his tuxedo. A frenzied melee ensues and by the end of it; both bride & groom are covered in cake & frosting and the guests are left with no dessert. I can only imagine how the groom explained the situation to the tux rental shop.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
How It All Began
People often ask me how did I get into this line of work. What I tell them is that ever since I was a young boy I have loved music, all kinds of music. I used to listen to my parents albums all the time. Eventually they started to buy me my own records. When I was in high school I heard that the senior class was trying to plan a Valentine's dance. By this time I had a good collection of albums and 45 rpm's so I volunteered to help with the music and I also happened to know a bit about hooking up stereo equipment. After that fateful night I was hooked. I soon convinced my parents to allow me to buy some DJ equipment of my own and off I went. I started to do all of the school dances. The money that they paid me went towards buying new music. After high school I started to do private parties and weddings and I haven't stopped.
While attending college I spent a summer at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting where I learned how to be a radio DJ. I received my FCC license and started to work at some small radio stations in the area. Being on the radio was great but it wasn't that same as being face to face with people. There is something special about seeing a group of people getting together on the dance floor and having fun.
It's been twenty five years now since that fateful day and I have been a part of hundreds of functions of all different types and sizes. I have traveled all over New England, from the shores of York, Maine and Cape Cod to the busy cities of Boston and Providence, RI. I have been at elegant weddings and relaxed backyard parties and everything in between. I have met thousands of people throughout the years and I have a million memories.
While attending college I spent a summer at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting where I learned how to be a radio DJ. I received my FCC license and started to work at some small radio stations in the area. Being on the radio was great but it wasn't that same as being face to face with people. There is something special about seeing a group of people getting together on the dance floor and having fun.
It's been twenty five years now since that fateful day and I have been a part of hundreds of functions of all different types and sizes. I have traveled all over New England, from the shores of York, Maine and Cape Cod to the busy cities of Boston and Providence, RI. I have been at elegant weddings and relaxed backyard parties and everything in between. I have met thousands of people throughout the years and I have a million memories.
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