Brendan’s Blog

My last event for 2007 took place on Tuesday night, at the fantastic WaterPlace restaurant in Providence. It was a corporate holiday party for just over 50 people, and it was a fantastic way to cap off a successful year. I started the night playing a mix of upbeat Christmas music (including some of the tracks in my recent Top Five post). Later, I segued into some R&B, classic disco and then some current hits. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and I received a thank-you email yesterday from the organizer of the event saying that I did a great job.

As I was driving home after the party, I was thinking about what made it such a great time. Continue reading »

My last 2007 wedding took place Saturday night - it was Jean & Ada’s wedding celebration at the Hillside Country Club in Rehoboth. Hillside is a special place for me - it’s where Julie & I got married in September of 2006. So, it was great to be back.

The evening began with the wedding ceremony - it was a wonderful service, with music provided by Two Of Us, a flute/guitar duo. Afterwards, the guests moved into the main reception room and the party began. I loved working with Jean & Ada during the planning stages of their reception, because their request list had some of my favorite songs on it and I knew that their guests would love their choices (my most favorite was “If You Could Read My Mind” by Stars on 54). I was right! We had the guests join the brides for the second half of their first dance, and everyone loved it. Another big hit of the night was the dollar dance - many couples opt not to have one, but Jean & Ada decided to have one and contribute the money received to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. As photographer Dana Pierce noted, it was the fastest and most profitable dollar dance he’d ever seen (instead of playing slow songs, we decided that mid-tempo songs would work better). Seeing so many guests come up to dance and make their donations was really moving - I couldn’t not make my own donation after seeing just how generous Jean & Ada’s friends were.

The evening ended with a slow dance and LOTS of applause - it was a perfect ending to such a wonderful day. Congratulations, Jean & Ada!

Jean & Ada’s First Dance: Love Is All - Marc Anthony
Ada’s dance with her nephew Brendan: The Promise - Tracy Chapman
Last Dance: This I Promise You - N’Sync

From time to time, I’ll be filling you in about songs that I’m listening to and talk about the time-tested party hits that seem to magically bring people onto the dancefloor. However, in an attempt to be a little bit festive, I thought I’d start by sharing my five favorite holiday tunes.

1. “2000 Miles” - The Pretenders
This is one of those songs that lots of people know when they hear it, but they don’t know the title. I’m not sure what it is about this song that pulls me in, but I love it and can’t get through a winter season without listening to it at least a few times. Musically, it’s very simple - a three-chord progression that fades in as if the band had been playing it for a few minutes before you tuned in. When you hear it, you know: it must be Christmastime. Continue reading »

Friday night’s event was a small company party at Hawthorne Country Club. For me, it was sort of a deja vu moment, because I was the DJ at the same company’s holiday party last year at the same location. The advantage for me was that I already knew exactly what styles of music they wanted to hear (and even some specific songs), so it was an easy night. The guests enjoyed the music and most stayed right up until midnight - how many groups actually ask to hear “Piano Man” twice in one night?

I hope to be back at their party again next year. It’s a nice time.

‘Tis the season for office holiday parties! If you had asked me a month ago how the calendar was looking for December I might have told you that fewer companies are having holiday parties. Now, I think it’s the opposite - more companies are looking to celebrate.

I had two events last weekend - Friday night’s party was a holiday gathering for a local recycling company at the Tavern From Tower Square in Plainville. It was a nice time, with a little bit of singing, a little bit of dancing, lots of food and some cash giveaways, too. Among the attendees were Alicia and Jay, a couple whose wedding I DJed last year in Plymouth. On Saturday night, I was back at St. Bernard’s Church in Assonet for a holiday-themed church dance. We had prizes for the best-decorated Santa hats, and St. Nick himself made an appearance for the kids. Fun times!

I’ve got two events on weeknights this month; one of them took place last night at the Brae Burn Country Club in Newton - more than 150 attendees enjoyed food, drink and festivities, plus karaoke! As usual, the karaoke was a big hit - our singers covered everything from the Indigo Girls to Van Morrison, and we were also treated to a rockin’ version of Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”.

In between singers, I kept the dance floor moving with a mix of classic disco (Kool & The Gang, KC & The Sunshine Band), current dance music (Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Kat DeLuna), plus some salsa and reggae requests. As far as company holiday parties go, this was one of the best I’ve done - most of the guests stayed and danced right until the very end.

A lot of my blog posts are about the wedding receptions that I’ve entertained at in the past few months, so I decided to ask those recent newlyweds what they thought of my work. The survey was conducted through WeddingWire, one of my favorite new websites and a great resource for brides and grooms-to-be. The results so far have been overwhelmingly positive - you can read them here:

Reviews for B-Sharp Entertainment

I’m truly flattered by everyone’s kind words - I honestly had no idea how people would respond, or if they would respond at all. If I’ve been part of your wedding day and you haven’t received a survey invitation, you can still participate by clicking here.

My Sunday event was a daytime Holiday Dinner Dance for the students and staff at East Taunton Kenpo Karate. It was the second event I’ve done for them this year, thanks to a referral from my friend Jonathan Jacobs at Rawkstars, a program that helps provide music lessons to eligible kids in our area.

The party was held at Benjamin’s, and began with an awards presentation to celebrate the accomplishments of some of the school’s students. After dinner, I took over and took requests from the mostly 12-and-under crowd - they spent the entire afternoon dancing! I received a number of requests, too - from ‘High School Musical’ songs to “The Twist”. And just for kicks, I did play “Kung Fu Fighting”, too. :)

Michelle & Brian’s wedding took place Saturday night at the Crane Brook Restaurant & Tea Room in Carver, MA. It’s a beautiful location, with a very intimate dining area and plenty of room outside for summer tent weddings. I was really looking forward to this wedding for a couple of reasons: because I went to high school with the bride and hadn’t seen her in a very long time, and also because I got to work with one of my favorite photographers, Kim Heidke of Candid Casuals Photography. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kim without a smile on her face; that’s one of the reasons I recommended her to Michelle and Brian when they mentioned that they were on the hunt for a photographer. She’s one of the most genuine, caring people I know and she can make the best of any situation she’s presented with.

The reception itself was a little bit different from most, because it was very small (only 40 guests) and there was no dance floor. However, all of the guests enjoyed my mix of music, and a few couples actually found some room to cut loose once the dessert plates were cleared. One of the biggest compliments that I received that night came from the bride’s grandfather - he told me that he and his wife celebrated their anniversary with a party a few months ago, and he wished that I had been there for it beause he loved the songs I was playing.

Michelle & Brian’s First Dance: “Oh Love” - Brad Paisley feat. Carrie Underwood
Bride/Father Dance: “Someone To Watch Over Me” - Linda Ronstadt
Groom/Mother Dance: “Mama” - Monique Gonzales