Happy 50th Birthday Linda

LIVE FROM Pensabene's Casa Grande!

Every now and then you meet a client that you just love. Linda is just such a client. I met Linda when Cheryl at Pascale's recommended me for her 2006 company holiday party. She is one of those people who can make you smile at every turn. She has such an energy and is so filled with a joie de vie that you feel like a long lost friend from the moment you meet her. The party was arranged and we had a blast thanks in no small part to a great ice breaker game called "Human Scrabble" and some really choice tunes requested by the guests. Linda told me at the end of the night that she was turning 50 in 2007 and that she would love it if her husband booked me for the party. Music to my ears!

I heard from Linda again about a month later when a friend of hers called to ask if I was available for her 50th Birthday party. She told me that Linda had confided to her that I was the BEST DJ she had ever seen and that if she wanted a really great party she should book me for it. I booked the gig and we had another great time. (Great 50th birthday game called "Older than/Younger than) It was at this party that I met Linda's husband and she insisted not only that he take my card, but that he better not even think of hiring anyone but me. That very night Linda handed me an envelope containing her request list...all 14 pages!

Her husband did indeed book me for Linda's not so surprise, SURPRISE 50th Birthday party. Another list followed via email....12 pages long (phew at least its getting shorter)

A week before the party Linda sent me through "snail mail" her final revised list....10 pages.
I sat down and programmed them into the laptop to get a feel for what I was dealing with. Linda had requested 9hr and 38minutes worth of music to be played during a 4hour party. She had indicated special dedications on about half of the songs for a total of about 5hours worth of stuff. Whats a DJ to do?

Well not panicking seemed a good place to start so I planned out the night as if I would have 10 hours to play. I always pre-program the music that I think I will need. This is a great overview of the flow of the party. It ALWAYS changes but its like a painter doing a rough sketch, or a novelist doing a synopsis you need to have the ideas sussed out to get a vision of where you'll go.
I then made note of all the special dedication songs giving them top priority. Weaving together a playlist is pretty cool. checking the starts and stops to make sure they flow is detail type work and I always throw in some "easter eggs" in the shape of themes - a string of songs that are related in some way that only I know. Once in a blue moon someone will come up to me at a gig and say..."I see what you did there.." but mostly its just for myself.

Pensabenes Casa Grande is nice place. I've done weddings there in the past and the staff is very friendly. It's an incredibly easy load in which is always nice to encounter.

The guests arrived about 45 minutes before Linda and gave her a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY as she came in. I got down to playing through the massive list of requests and trying to decide what stayed and what had to go. About 15min into the party I played "Stormy Monday" by the Allman Brothers Band which my notes told me was for Linda's brother. The tune is a bluesy sort of mid tempo deal with lots of solos and its over 10min long. About half way through Linda came up and says "What is THIS?" I showed her the request list and she said "Ugh - my brother - skip to the end of this - I want energy I want excitement!" and with that statement the request list trimmed itself to just over 4hrs.

You see most people when they are planning a music list go with songs they "like" and don't consider the way or the context in which they will be played. So a song that you love to hear cause it reminds you of something or someone is truly a great song, but may not be so hot for a party where you want people energized, excited and dancing. A good DJ with some decent experience will tell you that his or her personal music preferences play absolutely no part in crafting a great set-list. What matters are things people don't immediately think of when it comes to music...tempo, key, length, lyrical content, mood,genre. 2 great songs will not necessarily play well together. If the songs don't "mesh" then you kill the flow of the music and if you do that the dance floor will empty and you have to start over to rebuild it.

When Linda realized, and she could only have realized this on THAT night at THAT moment, that what she really wanted was high energy she eliminated alot of the mellow memory tunes from her list, which represented about half the list. Weddings can be even worse as everyone is so focused on love. I have received 30 song request list with 25 slow songs on them and 5 hip hop songs of the current charts. If you play that type of list you can be assured that the party will be a snoozer AND that the majority of guest will look to leave ASAP!

As it was we had a great time. The party reunited many old friends, some from quite far away, and Linda has told me that she's calling me soon to schedule this years company holiday party. Honestly I can't wait!