Brendan’s Blog

Last night’s DJ networking night (mentioned in my last post) was enlightening on a number of different levels, but one point made by another DJ really got my attention. We were having a roundtable discussion about how to get more referrals from venues, and the DJ moderating the discussion suggested that when we help to increase liquor sales at the venues we’re performing at, those venues take notice and will recommend us more frequently.

The moderator then told us what he does when working an event: Continue reading »

Although I planned to spend most of Saturday preparing for Sunday’s bridal show, my wife had read about the casting call for an upcoming Martin Scorsese movie filming in Taunton and decided that she wanted to go to it (they were looking for 600 extras). Although I’m not a big movie fan (unless it’s a comedy with a great soundtrack), I went along just to see what it was about. So, we arrived at the BU student union building at 10:20 on Saturday morning and took our place in line.

A very long line. We were in it for two hours. Continue reading »

I just signed on to take part in another bridal show - it’s happening on Sunday, January 27th at White’s Of Westport from Noon to 5, and it’s sponsored by Fun 107. I used to participate in this show on a regular basis when I worked in radio, but I took the last few years off because I was seeing a lot of the same brides at the other shows that I do. I decided to go back to this show because it’s very well-attended, and also because fewer DJ companies are participating this year compared to years past.

If you happen to attend this show, please stop by and say hi. I’ll have my Bose L1 system set up for attendees to hear, and I’ll have plenty of time to answer questions and speak with prospective clients. I’m looking forward to it!

A few weeks before Christmas, I bought myself an XM satellite radio - the Pioneer Inno. I wasn’t too familiar with XM, but I noticed that a few of the venues that I work at had been using it for background music. I was also growing tired of my iPod, because I knew every song that was on it (even with 15,000 songs on shuffle mode, things got predictable). So, I found a great deal on the Inno, and I’ve been hooked on XM ever since. Great programming and DJs, and best of all, no commercials. Incidentally, my stress level has dropped considerably; I think it’s because I haven’t had to listen to a single Bob’s Furniture or Ernie Boch Jr. commercial in the past month or so.

My favorite XM station (and apparently, I’m not alone on this) is 80s on 8. Although I like just about every song that I heard in that decade, some of my most favorites come from 1985: Continue reading »

If every weekend was like this past weekend, I’d never have any free time. In fact, I spent much of last week just doing prep work for my Saturday and Sunday events (Friday night’s monthly church dance was simple, by comparison).

My Saturday event was an annual party for my friends at Seismic Sound and Electronic Bargains in Brockton. They throw one of the best parties ever, and this was my third consecutive year behind the DJ setup. I love this event for a number of reasons - first, I get to leave my speakers at home. Like last year’s event, we used a Dynacord XA2 concert system that sells for over $20,000 and puts out volume comparable to what you’d hear at some of the world’s best nightclubs. I also love this party because so many of the attendees are DJs and I can be as creative with the music selections as I’d like, provided that the dance floor stays packed. I do lots of work getting ready for this event, including tracking down new mixes of current hits. It takes quite a bit of work to impress a crowd of DJs! The party wrapped up at 1:30 am, and I was home by 2, asleep by 2:05 and up again at 7:00. Time for a Bridal Show! Continue reading »

It’s been a pretty busy time for me. I’m gearing up for my first events of the new year coming up this weekend, plus Sunday’s bridal show at the Hawthorne Country Club. So, I spent most of today testing my equipment and taking care of some things that I wanted to improve on but never seemed to get around to when I had a full schedule of events. It’s amazing what I can accomplish when there aren’t any emails waiting for my reply.

I’m really looking forward to 2008, but truthfully, 2007 was absolutely wonderful. My wife and I moved into our new house in May, we took a vacation to Italy in June, and by early August had adopted a Walker Coonhound that we named Lila. She’s great, and has become a perfect puppy in just a short time. September marked my 20th year as a DJ, and my first year as a husband. DJ Times magazine published a nice article about my accomplishments that month, too. October was my busiest month ever, I spent much of November working on my new brochures, and December went by way too fast for me to keep up with. That’s probably why I’ve enjoyed the past couple of weeks so much - there was plenty of time to get together with friends and family, and also to think about how the next 12 months can be even better than the last 12.

I’ve got plenty of ideas, and 364 days to implement them. Wish me luck!