Brendan’s Blog

I’ve got a couple of recent weddings to blog about, but I figured I’d break up the wedding recaps with this picture from the Patriot Triathlon that I provided sound for on July 5th. Go Pats!

I’ve been working on a number of projects lately and haven’t had much time to post here, but whenever I get busy with things, it’s generally a good sign. For example:

- I’ve been remixing a number of popular party songs to make them more dancefloor-friendly. When you’ve been playing some of the same songs over and over for 20 years, it’s nice to have a new rendition of a time-tested classic to play. I never like to change what makes a song popular or fun, so I only make subtle changes, like a different introduction. It freshens things up and keeps the energy moving on the dance floor.

- I’ve been moving over to a new event planning system. If you’re one of my clients, you’ll soon see some really exciting and new features when you access your event details online. Unfortunately, the switchover isn’t a one-click process for me, so I’ve been doing a lot of typing, moving everyone’s event details from the current system to the new one.

- I’ve expanded my light show. Although I don’t use it at every event (and very rarely at weddings), it’s fantastic. I’m planning to to use it at a school dance that I’m working tomorrow night.

One more thing to note - Congratulations to Mike & Kristie McLaughlin, whose wedding I attended last weekend in West Bridgewater. I’ve known them for years, and it was a wonderful celebration.

A funny thing happened a few hours after I wrote my “Painting By Numbers” post, and I swear I’m not making this up: the 60,000-song DJ company called me and asked if I might be able to lend them some reggae music for one of their upcoming events. I’m all for networking and I’ve got plenty of reggae, but I don’t share my music. Sorry!

On another note, I’m back in DJ Times magazine this month. There’s an article on how DJs transitioned from CDs and vinyl to computerized DJ systems, and their writer used some of my comments in his article. I realize that most of my clients don’t read DJ Times, but I’m really honored that my experience and opinion is valuable enough for them to keep featuring me. Sometimes I forget that I’ve been in this business for 20 years and counting - at 34, I’m too young to be a veteran DJ but I’m happy to be thought of as a seasoned pro!

I was flipping through a bridal magazine recently, paying special attention to the ads for DJ services. A few of the ads were put together very nicely. If the purpose of their advertising was to help brides paint a picture of the great entertainment services they provide, they’ve succeeded. However, there was something in one company’s ad that really got my attention:

“Over 60,000 Songs!”

I paused for a moment, and thought “Wow, that’s a LOT of songs”. But should a bride-to-be be impressed by that?

Not according to the thousands of DJ services which claim to have over 70,000 songs.

Or the guys who have 80,000 songs at their fingertips.

Or the DJ with 90,000 songs!

Or this company, which seems to have the leg up on everyone with their collection of over 100,000 songs.

Continue reading »

I had a fantastic weekend, working an 80th Birthday Party on Saturday night and speaking with brides at yesterday’s bridal show. I’ll have recaps of those events later on, but I wanted to take a second and do some quick networking. I’m a huge fan of both MySpace and Facebook, as they help me stay in touch with friends who might otherwise be “long-lost”. They’ve helped bring in some additional business leads, too.

If you’re on MySpace or Facebook, I’d love to hear from you. You can visit my MySpace page here. If you’re on Facebook, you can view my profile here.

I like to keep this blog updated pretty frequently, but in a lot of ways this blog is a lot like my style when I’m using a microphone: I keep things concise, and I never speak just because I like hearing the sound of my own voice. Take note: if you want a DJ who’ll be screaming needlessly into the microphone all night long like a rapper promoting his next CD, I’m not that guy.

With that said, I’ve been doing some really great things lately that I haven’t posted about yet. Here’s just a sample:

- A couple of weeks ago, I met with a business coach. We talked about my business, how I’d like to improve it, and what steps I can take to better communicate with my clients. I’m already putting some of his suggestions to work. Continue reading »

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!

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!