Brendan’s Blog

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.

My wedding this weekend was at Plimoth Plantation, and was a referral from my friend Kim Heidke at Candid Casuals Photography. Kim’s one of my favorite people to work with, so when she refers a couple to me I know even before I speak with them that they’re just as much fun as she is. Colleen and Ryan were no exception!

Although I arrived early to set up, many of the guests were already on-site and were enjoying the warm weather and scenic grounds. After a cocktail hour, dinner and parent dances, I opened the dance floor with a Joan Osborne rendition of “At Last” and then segued into an assortment of floor-fillers and dance party classics. As the night went on, the energy level in the room continued to rise, as did the number of guest requests - everything from “Disco Inferno” to the Outfield’s “Your Love”, “Soulja Boy” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl”. The evening ended with two big sing-a-longs: Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”, and a song on the bride’s “must play” list, “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys (the crowd’s reaction to this one really surprised me… they LOVED it).

I really didn’t want this party to end.

Introduction Music: “The Final Countdown” - Europe
Bride & Groom’s Introduction: “Theme from ‘Rocky’” - Bill Conti
Colleen & Ryan’s First Dance: “You’ve Got A Way” - Shania Twain
Song played during the Cake Cutting: “Love And Marriage” - Frank Sinatra
Bride/Father Dance: “Daughter Of Mine” - John McDermott
Groom/Mother Dance: “A Song For My Son” - Donna Lee Honeywell
Last Dance: “Last Dance” - Donna Summer

Gainsborough Hall at Plimoth Plantation - it’s beautiful.

The view from just outside the room:

Another packed dance floor!

The second wedding that I had last weekend was Amie & Aaron’s reception at Bittersweet Farm in Westport. As I’ve mentioned in this blog before, I love working at Bittersweet - the staff is always helpful and the food is amazing. Plus, the atmosphere is really unique compared to what you’ll find at most of the other banquet facilities in that area. Amie & Aaron hired me fairly recently - less than six months ago. Her dad encouraged her to meet with me after visiting Apponequet.com, a website that I put together many years ago to help my fellow high school classmates keep in touch.

The wedding guests arrived to the event a bit early, but I also arrive early and was ready to go well before my scheduled start time. Despite the early arrival, most of Amie and Aaron’s 125 guests stayed right until the very end of the reception. Both the bride and groom are into country music, so my song selections included more country songs than I’d normally play. Everyone loved it, whether they were dancing to “Friends In Low Places” or “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”. It was an outstanding event, and a terrific finish to a busy weekend!

Introduction Music: “Zoot Suit Riot” - Cherry Poppin Daddies
Amie & Aaron’s First Dance: “Me And You” - Kenny Chesney
Song played during the cake cutting: “How Sweet It Is” - James Taylor
Bride/Father Dance: “My Wish” - Rascal Flatts
Groom/Mother Dance: “You Needed Me” - Anne Murray
Last Dance: “I Could Not Ask For More” - Sara Evans

A new option at Bittersweet Farm: Your initials carved in fruit.

My setup - great sound in a very small space!

The dancefloor, as seen from my corner of the room:

Margie & Chuck’s wedding on Saturday was fantastic, although it required lots of preparation on my part. In addition to handling the music for dinner and dancing, Margie called me the week before the wedding and asked if I’d be interested in playing the piano during their cocktail hour as well. Always eager to share my talents, I accepted the invitation. I’ve been playing by ear since age 5 and took lessons until I was 13, but I’ve only recently started offering live piano music along with my DJ services. At some point I’ll have some samples of my playing available on my website.

The reception took place at the Wellesley Country Club, and it was an outstanding event from every perspective. The skies were sunny and clear, and the atmosphere was formal yet fun. The cocktail hour took place outdoors on the patio, where Margie & Chuck’s 240 guests enjoyed drinks and the sounds of my piano music coming from the adjacent club room. Later, we all made our way upstairs to Wellesley’s ballroom. The room itself only seats 200, so some of the guests were seated under a tent on the attached deck. This is where more preparation was involved - I used my wireless sound system on the deck, so that the guests there would be able to hear my announcements and the toasts by the best man and maid of honor. It worked beautifully.

The introductions also required some practice (one of the bridesmaids has a five-syllable last name and was impressed that I had nailed it without her assistance). After a delicious dinner, the dance floor quickly filled - this was definitely a party crowd! Margie and Chuck left for a short time to take some pictures, but when they returned they found almost every one of their guests dancing and ready to welcome them back. At the end of the night, Margie summed up her thoughts in three words - “We loved it!”.

Introduction Music: “Sweet Caroline” - Neil Diamond
Margie & Chuck’s First Dance:
“Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from ‘The Godfather’) - Andy Williams
Margie’s Dance with her brothers:
“Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World” - Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Chuck’s Dance with his daughter: “Forever Young” - Stoney LaRue
Groom/Mother Dance: “Young At Heart” - Frank Sinatra
Last Dance: “Turn Your Lights Down Low” - Bob Marley

The reception featured a subtle Red Sox theme. Each table was named for a player:

Here’s the deck area - it was a gorgeous day!

Here’s my setup, ready to go:

Here’s the dance floor - make room!

I made a trip up to Tewksbury for last Saturday’s event, a surprise 60th birthday party. The celebration was kept secret right up until the guest of honor arrived at the venue, so from a party planning standpoint, it was a success on every level. More than 70 guests joined the guest of honor and his family for a night of food, drinks, dancing and karaoke, and everyone had a great time. My music selections included lots of party favorites (”Mony Mony”, “Shout”, etc.), some traditional Irish and Scottish music (”Black Velvet Band” and “Scotland The Brave” - both were guest requests), and plenty of danceable rock classics, including “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “You Shook Me All Night Long”. A highlight of the night was a group lip-sync to “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” - from what I’ve heard, it’s not the first time this group has gathered on the dance floor to mime the Meat Loaf classic.

David and the other attendees all had an unforgettable evening, as did the two party crashers who mistakenly thought they were at a singles’ night. I guess the “David Through The Decades” banners, giant video slideshow and birthday cake weren’t enough of a clue that they were in the wrong place.

Happy Birthday, David!

The event that I did yesterday is one of the largest events for me each year - it’s a tradeshow for runners, swimmers and cyclists presented by Sun Multisport Events. This was my fifth year doing this event - for the first three years, the shows took place at Regis College in Weston MA, but the show outgrew the facility and so it’s now held at the spacious Zesiger Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. More than 3,000 attendees packed the show floor to meet with over 100 exhibitors. For me, the work was mostly logistical - I was providing sound equipment for the tradeshow floor as well as in the seminar rooms. I was also responsible for all of the announcements during the show. The event was a huge success for all of the exhibitors, and the sound throughout the gym was crystal clear as well as cable-free. Using my Sennheiser wireless systems, I was able to send the audio from my console to a number of remote speakers placed around the show floor.

Next year’s event is still in the planning stages, but I’m sure I’ll be back! I’m also running the sound for Sun Multisport’s other races this year, in July and August. Stay tuned!

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.

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My Saturday night event wasn’t a wedding reception; it was a Jack-And-Jill wedding shower for Matt and Tanya. I’ve known Matt since I was about 4 years old. In fact, he was probably the first person that I met when my parents moved into their Freetown neighborhood in the late 1970s.

(For those of you wondering what a Jack-And-Jill wedding shower is, eHow.com seems to have the general idea figured out).

The party started at 6 with a cocktail hour, followed by an incredible meal coordinated by Matt’s dad - it’s rumored that everyone in that same Freetown neighborhood had sirloin roasts in their ovens on Saturday afternoon in preparation for the party. It’s also rumored that the manager of the function facility where the party was held has offered Matt’s dad a job in their kitchen. Cooking for 150 guests isn’t exactly an easy feat.

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My first three events this month were pretty basic - March began with a church fundraising banquet, a swim team’s spring awards banquet, and my teen dance. So, I was very happy to be at Josh & Kelly’s wedding reception Saturday night at the Fireside Grille in Middleboro. Despite the wet weather, their 75 guests were in great spirits. The evening began at 6 with the wedding ceremony, followed by a cocktail hour, dinner, and then dancing. Everyone had fun, dancing to songs like Bobby Darin’s “Beyond The Sea”, Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”, and REO Speedwagon’s “Keep On Loving You” (a request from the groom’s mom).

Josh & Kelly had hired me fairly recently, but we clicked right away during our initial consultation. Kelly’s a big fan of John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band, because they were here first live concert experience. Coincidentally, the first concert I had ever been to was also a John Cafferty show (way back in 1986 - thanks Mom!). Needless to say, “Tender Years” went over very well, with the newlyweds sharing the dance with the parents of the bride.

Congratulations, Josh & Kelly!

Josh & Kelly’s First Dance: “Nothing Else Matters” - Metallica
Bride/Father Dance: “My Little Girl” - Tim McGraw
Groom/Mother Dance: “Simple Man” - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Last Dance: “(You Want To) Make A Memory - Bon Jovi