I recorded a great gig-log of that night as well:

The next weekend, 9/13, I DJ’ed another reception in Okoboji, IA at the Arrowwood resort. This was my third event that I have DJ’ed at this venue. It was another great night with a great couple. I tried out something new that I plan on doing more often in the future. I ran a line from my mixer into my computer and recorded all the special events (announcements, toasts, first dances, and the serenading of the bride from the groomsmen.) I plan on cutting the audio into sections and putting it all on a CD for the bride and groom. It will be a nice keepsake that only takes a little extra effort on my part. Again it was a great reception, and I was paid to stay an extra half hour (as late as the venue would allow.)

My next reception is on 9/27 in Mitchell, SD, and on October 4th, I am DJ’ing my sister-in-law’s reception in Crooks, SD (I’m also in the wedding.) Should be a good time!

There weren’t a lot of guests in attendance, so the dancefloor wasn’t as full as I would have liked, but everyone had a great time - that’s all that matters! Plus if you watch closely in the video, you will notice that hardly anybody is sitting down! I had almost all of them all out on the dancefloor - that’s my job!

Anyway, please enjoy the video.

Side note - In the video I mentioned that I would probably catch some Z’s in the Durango before driving home, this was not the case. I decided to drive all the way back to Sioux Falls. I rolled into my driveway, Taco John’s in hand, at around 6AM!

(Side note - I recorded the audio directly to my laptop and the volume was down on my main speakers, so nobody could hear it but me.)

Rather than bore everyone with all of the details, I recorded a “gig log” of the reception on the 28th.  Feel free to view it and post your comments!

This past weekend, I DJ’ed a wedding reception at Tailgators in Brandon, SD.  Tailgators is a very nice venue, but there is only a small amount of space reserved for the DJ.  Luckily, my setup is easily adaptable, and I was able to set up quite comfortably in the corner.

The bride and groom were a delightful couple, and the dancefloor stayed hoppin’ all night long.  Another great event.

This next weekend, I’m taking a little bit of a vacation and visiting my family in Missouri.  When I return, I have another wedding reception in Madison, SD on the 21st, and yet another reception the following weekend in Sioux Falls at CJ Callaways.

 On a personal note, I have a new addition to my family!   A “Pocket Puggle” named Daisy! 

Yes, she’s very cute, but we are having a little difficulty with the potty training!

The dinner portion of the evening was held on the stage, followed by a slide show on the big screen, and the dance in the lobby.  My equipment was setup on the level above the dancefloor, which was a first for me!  I had to pull a “MacGyver” and figure out a way to angle my speakers downward so that the sound would hit the dancefloor just right.  I turned them on their side and propped them up with a pole, and they sounded great! 

The bride and groom were absolutely wonderful, and the guests danced the night away.  The entire bridal party treated everyone to a “Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)” routine, and I joined everyone on the dancefloor later in the evening to show them how to do the “Cupid Shuffle.”

It was a great, great night, and I hope to return to the Orpheum in the future!

Here are a few photos from the event:

An outside shot under the marquee, notice the picture of the bride and groom on the right - pretty cool!

A shot of my upper-deck setup as seen from the dancefloor.  The lighting is set up to the side, shining down on the dancefloor.

The view from the rear of the room.  I lit up the chandeliers with my super bright moving head light.  I had them changing colors all night long, it looked pretty sweet!

A view of the dancefloor from the balcony.

The view from behind the DJ booth.  The light stand was set up on the side balcony, and I was able to spotlight the disco ball with my moving head light.

 I arrived to set-up over two hours early, and had everything set up fairly quickly.  While I was finishing up, the bride came over to me and asked if she could change her first dance song for later on in the evening.  She wanted a song that was not in my library, so I quickly grabbed my laptop, hopped into my truck, and drove into Sioux Falls.  I remembered Denny’s had free Wi-Fi, so I pulled over in their parking lot, downloaded her song, and headed back to the Izaak Walton League.  Now that’s customer service!

The ceremony went off without a hitch, and the dance got going later on in the evening.  There was a wonderfully diverse crowd in attendance and everyone danced the night away.  I was treated to some of the best Electric Sliding, Cupid Shuffling, and Cha-Cha Sliding that I have ever seen! 

 I was able to snap a few pictures later on in the evening that I’ll include with this post.  It was a great night.

 This next Saturday, I’ll be heading down to Sioux City, IA for a reception at the Orpheum Theatre.  I’m a sucker for historic buildings, and this one looks awesome!  I’m really looking forward to this one.

For the month, I DJ’ed 2 proms and a wedding reception.

First up was a wedding reception/anniversary party at the Cherry Creek Grille in Sioux Falls, SD.  The couple was actually married a year ago without having a reception, so they decided to have it one year later.  The party was great.  The lower level banquet facility at Cherry Creek only has 7′ ceilings, so I wasn’t able to crank my lights or speakers to their ideal height.  But, after changing things around a little bit, I had no problem adapting to the space.  The night went great, and I received many compliments on the music selection (there was a pretty diverse crowd.)  The bride and groom were very awesome people and I was honored to be a part of their special night. 

Next up was the Parker High School prom.  This was the third year in a row that I have been the DJ.  The students were awesome and danced the night away.  I had a lot of fun, and stepped out from behind my turntables a couple of times to lead the crowd in the “Electric Slide” and the “Cupid Shuffle.”  Everything went great and I hope be back again next year.

The next Friday was the night of the freak snow/ice storm and I was headed to Sioux Center, IA for the High School prom.  Like Parker, this was my third year in a row performing for the students.  Wow, what a great crowd!  They were so full of energy and danced the night away.  At the end of the night, a group of 5 or 6 guys performed a perfectly choreographed dance to an N’Sync medley.  It was a great way to end the night right before the last song of the night. 

Well, that one little thing that made the month not so great happened on the way home.  At about 2AM, I hit a patch of ice on a bridge about 4 miles outside of Sioux Falls.  My truck and cargo trailer slid all over the place on the bridge.  I thought I could save it and pull out of the slide, but I wasn’t so lucky.  My truck crashed into the rail and my trailer swung around and crashed into the side of the truck.  Long story short, the truck was totalled.  I had to lay my 2002 Durango to rest.  It was kind of sad, we’ve been to a lot of gigs together over the years.

I decided to move forward and bought a 2005 Durango last week.  I also bought a nice new trailer to transport all of my gear.  I’m excited to hit the road with the rig later in May.  I’ve got a Sioux Falls wedding reception on the 24th, and a Sioux City reception on the 31st.  Let’s jsut hope that I don’t run into any more freak storms!

I’m excited to announce that I have been featured in the February 2008 Issue of DJ Times!  Jeff Stiles did an excellent job writing the article, and I am very honored to be included in such a popular magazine.

I scanned and uploaded the article to my website. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ARTICLE