The Princess Bride

I played at a great wedding at Raven Verrado yesterday. This was a workin' family and the last daughter of the clan to be married off and the father of the bride was a bit emotional about it. In his toast, he commented that the wedding plans had been rather matter-of-fact and mechanical. He was just writing the checks. When the song started for the bride's processional, it hit home and he crrrrrriiiiiiii-ed like a weeeeee bay-beee! I'm well aware of the power of music too. I've been at this for 31 years now and even though I love to love my customers, I don't really have a vested personal interest and I don't know the history of their family etc. but I get emotional too when I see them celebrating something important in their lives and my music selections help give voice to the emotions of the day. It's very gratifying to me. The stage is set.

I always enjoy all of the behind the scenes preparations, the setting of linens and dinnerware, the sound and lighting equipment, food, flowers, photography, musicians etc. The payoff is when guests arrive and have the good time that we planned for and worked for them to have. The bride arrived in a horse drawn carriage but I should have photographed the horses left profile. Let me 'splain... The carriage was supposed to come from off in the distance and cross this bridge and arrive in front of the wedding party and drop off the Maid of Honor and the Best man and then the bride and her father would continue around behind and disembark and come up the aisle from behind. The horse couldn't navigate this bridge though. He made an attempt and as he got to the top of the hump he was now pulling the weight of the carriage and 5 adults and one kidlet. The driver helped the horse back down and they gave it a bit of a running start this time. He got to the top again and had no traction because of his steel shoes against the stone pavement. I was playing Pachabel's "Canon in D" which is a 5 1/2 minute song and if you know the chord progression, it goes on and on and on and on. I've already played it twice at this point and the bride isn't even in earshot of it yet! It was a song that she had chosen for this moment. A third attempt was made.

A few burly men dispatched themselves to see what they could do to help- perhaps pushing from behind. A couple of golf carts from the clubhouse were dispatched to assist as well if needed. I couldn't bear another round of "Canon in D" so I rallied the troops and played the "William Tell Overture" (Theme from the Lone Ranger) to an eruption of cheers and laughter.

Rather than risk the liability of someone getting hurt, it was ultimately decided to turn the horse around and go back around the lake (a substantial distance) and come in from a direction that didn't require crossing that bridge. When the bride got into earshot from the reverse side, I played her song again. The attendants disembarked and now the carriage had to go around the far end of the golf club (another substantial distance) to get in place behind the guests. This required the 4th airing of Canon in D. That's 22 minutes of that chord progression, plus 4 minutes of the Lone Ranger Theme and finally the bride's processional- Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." The bride and her father could have walked from the bridge but she wanted to ride that carriage. She'a a Disney fan and her recessional song was "So this is love?" from Cinderella. The guests were equally patient and gracious.

The ceremony got off nearly 45 minutes late but it was sure an adventure. In a strange way, things like this end up being rather charming in memory. It was not an ugly incident that would be remembered negatively but it will add some spice to things and it provides a story to tell. All of the kidlets and other interested guests got to go for carriage rides around the local streets during cocktail hour and into dinner and that was a real treat.

It dawned on me later... look at the pic of the horse again... I'll wait... muscular, fit, trim, beautiful... It was a one-horsepower carriage. I think that the steel shoes were the problem more than the strength of the horse. I overheard that there are rubber shoes for horses for such situations. I heard that something similar had happened a few weeks ago on that bridge with another carriage company but that a horse almost lost her footing and went in the lake. I think the venue should advise brides going forward that this may be the case. I wouldn't want the liability of anybody or a beautiful animal getting hurt and marring an otherwise lovely occasion. One of the groomsmen played an original composition for one element of the ceremony. He nailed it! I provided lots of theatrical lighting to showcase various elements of the room. I'm not a professional photographer so my camera doesn't do it any justice. This really framed the cake when viewed with one's eyes but the cake looks lost here. On that subject, I usually don't put pictures of the wedding party that are identifiable because there is usually a professional photographer on hand and I don't want a casual reader to think that this represents the professional photography for the event.

Also on that subject... the photographer was none other than Harley Bonham. He was recommended to the networking group that I own a couple of years ago and I liked him in the first two or three minutes that I got to meet him. We have crossed paths several times at industry functions and we've shared the stage on opposite pianos at a dueling piano club a couple of times but this was our first time working together in our professional element. I was at once intimidated but also really excited to work together. He has referred me to several of his customers and he did that blindlly trusting in my reputation and what personality he could detect in me in other settings- he had never actually seen me work and I feared he may discover that I am completely mediocre. It was as great as I had hoped it would be! He may be the nicest guy in this industry and he proved that he was also a brilliant professional to work with. We already have another common customer coming up in the fall.

Congratulations to Courtney and Eric. You guys ROCK! Thanks for letting me take care of the music for your wedding celebration.

Valentines Dance at the Mesa Academy

Before- It looks suspiciously like a school gymnasium...

After- There's nothing like some cookies, punch, lights and good music to make a bunch of teenagers dance.
They say that if you ain't the lead dog, the view is always pretty much the same.... I have a pretty good view in life!

Thanks Mesa Academy for a great time at your Valentines Dance!

The DJs new clothes

I had some new stage clothes made this month which is always a good perk of working in entertainment. I can wear some really great stuff and even if its over the top, it's like I get a free pass because I'm the DJ and I'm supposed to wear something outrageous. It's good that I've worn it on stage a couple of times and it seems to have good ju-ju and when somebody says how cool the outfit is I get to tell them that I designed it myself and had it custom made. The jacket and shirt were made in Scottsdale at Jean-Paul Jeune and the boots came from Spain and the pants in this photo were just out of my closet because the pants that I ordered for this outfit were coming from Ohio and they didn't' make it in time. In fact, it's been 50 days since I ordered them and they keep telling me that they are on the case...

I'm leading the timid masses at a big industry mixer for several professional associations and networking groups within the wedding and event and tourism and hospitality industry. I didn't expect any dancing at such a function so the fact that I got 4 people going was a bonus. I didn't want to bring all of the lighting rig and video projection and everything but I did relish the opportunity to show my industrymates what I had and what I could do. Special thank you to my buddy Andy DeLisle for letting me use this photo.

The trouble with distinctive stage clothing is that I have to be cautious where and when I wear it. If I wear it in front of a particular group, I have to make a mental note not to wear it the next time I appear. Those Hollywood starlets that wear a $10,000 gown and get photographed in all of the trade and gossip magazines can't wear that dress again.

I played at a really fun wedding last weekend at Raven Verrado Golf Club out in Buckeye. The ceremony actually took place in the city park in the center of town. Here's the bride and her dad walking across the park. She wanted a certain lyric to swell at the moment she arrived at the stairs about 30 feet in front of her in this shot. I nailed it. Even the minister's first comment was "Wow, that was dramatic!" It's sometimes hard to cue such things on the fly because in rehearsal, they walk one speed and at the actually wedding with the nerves and the adrenaline going, they often walk faster.
There is a really warm and cozy banquet room with great acoustics at the golf club but the bride chose to have her dinner out on the lawn and rent a tent. It was pretty charming with my lighting and everything. I would have liked to put up my dancefloor lighting rig but the top of the tent was too low to do it.
I think a few of the guests were rocking out to a Bon Jovi song here.
That night was the beginning of a string of consecutive Saturday bookings that won't stop until June 18th and they include events in San Diego California, Salt Lake City Utah and Heber Arizona.

Party like a rockstar

I played a very posh event at a private residence in Scottsdale last night. It was a victory celebration/political fundraiser for David Smith of Arizona's District 7 which includes Cave Creek and parts of Scottsdale I think.

This is Tony Vacca on the sax. He just played a couple of numbers with an mp3 file on an ipod as accompaniment through my DJ system. He was too good for his own good I'm afraid. It was so perfectly mixed and performed that I don't think that most people realized they were listening to live sax unless they actually saw him standing there. Here's Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaking to the crowd with David Smith on his left and event organizer Gia Heller on his right. My DJ booth is right behind them but I'm out taking this picture.
I'm over by my booth this time. Sheriff Joe and Mr. Smith.

Personal friend and industrymate Lanette Romero- the Cake Contessa- catered the event and she whipped up some coconut shrimp with a delicious mango salsa- Mmm Mmm MMM! Local celebrity, Raven Valdez, was tending bar to raise more money for the cause of the evening and Barry Goldwater Jr. (former member of the U.S. House of Representatives) was also in attendance and gave a short speech. I also met LeAnn Hull who recently ran for the U.S. House of Representatives.

I was brought on mostly to provide the sound system for those couple of speeches and announcements but I can't just do the minimum- it's just not my nature. I fired up some dance music and asked the homeowner if I could move a patio table out of the way and we had some dancing and even went a half hour over. How could you not want to dance when you are all dressed up for dancing?

In the beginning...

I had a visit from a DJ buddy from LA this last week- spent a couple of days at my house between Christmas and New Years- and we took a road trip up to Winslow where I grew up. We've become really good friends in the last 16 years since we met and he wanted to see if a visit to the place of my primary years could help him figure me out. Had a great chat on the drive up and back but I'm not sure he knows me any better than before. If you know pop culture or at least classic rock music, you know that Winslow, Arizona was immortalized in the Eagles song "Take it Easy." I'm not sure the song writer ever actually stood here or anywhere else in Winslow but the town has declared this corner to be the place and provided a photo opportunity. This is just a brick wall- a remnant of a building that used to be there. An artist has painted the windows and the signage and everything. If you look at the window on the left, there is an eagle perched, two windows over are two lovers embracing, the lower window reflects the flat bed Ford (remember the lyric, "it's a girl, my Lord, in a flat-bed Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me.) Just click on the photo to study a larger version of it.

This picture is where the Whipple's store used to be. The Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe railroad has an office on the left and Family Dollar is on the right but the two used to be the nicest department store in northern Arizona. Just out of the shot on the left- in the corner of the mall- was the corporate office for Whipple's. It's vacant now.

I'm standing on the spot that sparked my imagination and ignited my passion for the entertainment business. My DJ career started right here. It was a big retail promotion that my dad put on that was the biggest thing Northern Arizona had ever seen and probably hasn't been matched since. There was a 45' flatbed trailer parked on that spot for a stage and I got to introduce an appearance by Arizona TV legends, Wallace and Ladmo. There were about 1500 people there and I cracked a little joke and they laughed and when I told them to cheer, they cheered.

That moment changed my life.

The only thing that could have made that trip better would be if the Root Beer Stand had been open. I had a major hankerin' for a Taco Tangle.

Double Whammy!

I did two weddings on New Years Eve but I was home at 11PM. Try to figure that one out. I had a brunch wedding out at Raven Verrado in Buckeye and then hustled out to Dobson Ranch Inn in Mesa for an early evening wedding reception.

This may be the cutest flowergirl in the history of cute flowergirls. She was the niece of the bride and probably believed all day that SHE was the bride. If she has any memories of this day I hope they are fond memories. She was really well behaved and charming and cute. She was wwwwWWWORKIN' my tambourine on the dance floor in this shot.
The bride knelt down beside the dancefloor while her new husband was dancing with his mom and the FGIQ (flower girl in question) laid down beside her to take a break. They had to be done by 4P because another New Years party was coming in to that room for that evening. The wedding had been on the lawn at 11AM and lunch was served at about 115 so wrapping up at 4 was just right.
This was the evening couple- a second marriage for both of them. They had been married in the Mormon Temple in Mesa that morning and participated in a religious service and then friends and family gathered for dinner that night at a nearby hotel restaurant. We had family introductions and a couple of speeches and a prayer and some dinner and dancing and when the evening was winding down, we did an arbitrary New Years countdown and lit some sparklers and sent them off on their honeymoon.

It was a long day with some equipment and music logistics to be concerned with but I planned well and executed it well and had some satisfied customers at the end of it.

unrelated brain doodles in no particular order

Had a corporate gig in Scottsdale a couple of weeks ago and shared the bill with a great magician. We had lunch together last week. The event was for an engineering firm. This was my 3rd Christmas event for them. There was an engineer type who came up during cocktail hour, sucking on a soda through a straw, wearing an ill-fitting, out-of-date jacket and he looked incredulously at me and my equipment and asked if I really make a living at this. I got really serious and lowered my voice and tilted my head downward to his, squinted my eyes so they pierced him and I said, "I make more than you..." It frightened him and he walked away. I bet I DO make more than him. He's lucky I didn't respond with, "Do you really make a living sitting around an office doodling?"

People often approach me, who may be somewhat interested in what I do or how I do it or how the equipment works and there also seems to be some romantic notions about the life of a travelling entertainer with the lights, the stage clothes and everything. I know that what they are saying is, "This is really cool, you must have a great life, and I want to be close to you for a minute." But what comes out is, "Do you really make a living at this?" Or worse, they have to tear it down because it shines the light on their boring or otherwise out-of-control life and then what comes out is "When are you gonna play something we can dance to?" or "We can't dance to this, what WE want is..." I look at the dancefloor filled with 75% of the attendees and wonder who elected them spokesperson for those who ARE dancing? I just try to remember that what they are trying to say is- "This is really cool." I DO love my life and my chosen profession.

Since I'm on this subject. I have had two people in the last 2 weeks come up and request the very song that is playing. Are you even listening? They must have really thought it was cool and wanted any reason to come up and say hello.

Made a road trip to LA last month for a concert.

While in LA, had lunch with my son, Javin, he turned 20 this week, met his girlfriend, liked her.

I don't mind what speed people go out in the desert, but I'd like them to maintain it fairly consistently. The left lane isn't really called the fast lane- it's the PASSING lane. If you aren't passing, GET OUT OF MY WAY and let me pass! Don't use the argument that you are going over the speed limit anyways and I should just deal with it. I don't have cruise control in the DJ van but I can maintain a pace within about 2 MPH pretty well. I was in my car for this trip and used the cruise control and it was painfully obvious that people were more interested in texting and yakking than watching the speedometer.

Gary Numan sold out two nights at El Rey Theater and melted some faces! He played the entire Pleasure Principle album to celebrate 30 years since its release. It's an important album because it was the first rock album devoid of electric guitars. They strapped on some guitars for the 2nd half of the show and played some current music and other fan faves from the catalogue. Steve Harris is an unknown treasure in the guitar world- a madman on stage and I almost took a guitar to the face more than once. A few years ago at a show in San Diego, he almost took a tumble off the stage but I caught him. He looks fairly normal here. He's a specimen of manhood, the last time I saw him, he was shirtless and had a black line painted down his face and neck and chest like a zipper- pretty scary.

I had a backstage pass and I got to go to sound check and talk to Gary Numan. I pressed him about bringing the show to Phoenix in the spring when the new album comes out and he said he' would have liked to come this time- they did have some interested promoters- but that he has kids now and doesn't like to be away from them for so long. Next tour, he said he'd do the east coast and then spend some time with family and then hit a few more cities in the west than he did this time. He did thank me very genuinely for driving 6 hrs each way for the show and promised that he'd work hard to make it a a good one. It was.

I know he doesn't particularly like meeting fans but he does it because it means a lot to fans. I just thanked him for the music, got an autograph on a DVD and I let him go. At the height of his stardom in the 80s, he received a live bullet in the mail from a "fan"- a bullet is really hard to get in Britain. The note said that the bullet had been in a handgun (even harder to get in Britain) that was snuck into Wembley Stadium and he had intended to kill him but had such a good time at the show that he decided not to...

There was a photographer with the local music press up in front of the barrier at the Numan show that was a fit and trim guy but still looked a bit like a nerd. He had a shaved head and there was a glaring, long, curly hair growing from the top of his ear. Not a spot on the side of his head where he mistakenly missed shaving, it was ON THE TOP OF HIS EAR. It would seem that a photographer would have good enough vision to have spotted that in the mirror each morning. The stage lights made it really shine.

The opening act sucked.

I have about 6 little cases of ear plugs in my desk in my home office. I always buy a set for each concert I attend because I always forget to bring the ones I have. I protect my hearing pretty religiously. The drug store a couple of blocks down Wilshire Blvd from the El Rey Theater sold me a case of about 10 pairs of ear plugs. A few fans in the front row with me were plugging their ears in the first couple of numbers from the sucky opening act and I offered them my extra plugs. At first, they thought I was offering drugs or something. I had to point to my ears with the purple ear plugs in them. They accepted my offer.

My buddy Scott from Orange County was going to try to buy a ticket after the start of the show when the ticket sellers may be a bit more desperate. Out front, he had offered to snap a pic under the marquee for a dad with two teenage daughters attending the show. He got down on his knee and really framed the pic nicely. For his gesture, he got a spare ticket intended for the mom who was sick. Scott is 6'4" and he pressed/wrestled his way right down front anyway. You suck Scott!

Said hello to a fellow fan that I've seen at shows over the years... he's now a she.

Talk show host, Craig Ferguson and U2 guitarist, The Edge were in attendance- both proclaim Numan fandom.

Gary Numan was supposed to have headlined the Coachella Music festival but was stranded in Britain because of the Iceland volcano last spring. Craig Ferguson had purchased a $270 ticket for the festival and ranted on and on in his opening monologue the next night about not getting to see his hero Gary Numan.

Did a corporate gig for CelllularONE at Hon-dah resort up in Pinetop last weekend. They ain't never seen nothing like me up on the mountain. I sent 'em home in body bags. They had a singer for dinner hour and the hotel staff had man-handled a beautiful white Young Chang grand piano (rather expensive) into the space right beside me. I would have never climbed up there if it was in better condition but the hotel crew had no idea how to handle a piano and it was already pretty scratched up on each corner. It was the perfect platform for me to dance/rock out/do my Baptist preacher routine... They called me on Monday AM and booked me for next year.

The spouse of an attendee came up and told me that he's a DJ too and made a couple of requests that were way out in left field from the format of the evening- THE SONGS I WAS HIRED TO PLAY- I always wonder how good a DJ is when he's talking to me on a Saturday night and not working... Hmmm.... I think he was using cocaine too. I know I talk fast but this guy was going 100mph and couldn't hold still for a second!

Picked some limes at Uncle Dave's house in Pomona CA. Limeade for the last month or so. Juiced it all and made ice cubes out of it. They are in a freezer bag now.

The greatest Christmas songs ever

That's right, I said that and I'll say it again because I'm controversial. I'm like Geraldo.

Here they are, the GREATEST Christmas songs ever:

10) Styx- All I want

• Most artists either cover an existing song from the 50s or 60s when most of the really good Christmas music was written or they do an overwrought, contrived and unimaginative "original" song about how "it's Christmastime and the snow is falling down..." Falling down?!!???! As opposed to...? This one is a great original by a great band. My only complaint is that it uses sleigh bells. They are used very well mind you, but sleigh bells do not necessarily a Christmas song make and in the same way, merely declaring that it's Christmastime in the first line or two does not make it a Christmas song. In light of the fact that it is an otherwise solid, well-crafted, arranged and performed song, I'll slide it in at number 10.

9) Randy Travis- Jingle Bell Rock

• It's been covered several times but the song just lends itself to a country treatment and there's none better than the deep and smooth voice of Randy Travis.

8) Peter, Paul and Mary- Children, Go where I send thee

• A great song in the "Twelve days of Christmas" vein where you add an item with each verse and work your way down. You kinda should know your Christianity to get some of the references but if not, you have a reason to do some searching on who Paul and Silas are (in addition to other things) and why they are sung about together. I have a live performance of it and it is incredibly flawed compared to the quantized and overproduced music of today but that's what gives it some life. The song really does live and breathe.

7) The Osmonds- Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells

• It's just full of the joy of the season.

6) Jon Bon Jovi- Please come home for Christmas

• When Bon Jovi was on hiatus and Jon was doing some acting and other things in the 90s, he recorded this song and knocked it out of the park. It's a great vocal performance that only takes 1/2 of the song but he sang what he needed to sing and got himself out. This version clocks in at only 2:53 the rest of it is filled with a respectable guitar solo but it could have just ended early and been fine.

5 1/2) Amy Grant-Breath of Heaven

• What a powerful song. There is nothing you could do to change it. The reverent and religious message itself causes the chord progression to be what it is. The dramatic pauses are brilliant and it's kindof in a class by itself. It IS a Christmas song but not in the cutesy or secular-ish vein but it couldn't not be on this list... and no, I don't need no English lessons. Amy Grant nailed this one.

5) Dennis DeYoung- When I hear a Christmas song

• I already mentioned that all of the good Christmas music was already written and we just have the new artists rehashing what has already been done and done and done- this is really a new classic. Although it leans on the sleigh bells again, it's an otherwise perfect Christmas love song.

4) The Chipmunks- Christmas don't be late

• It's a well-crafted song that used cutting edge technology for the time, but still sounds superior to the electronically treated voices used in the recent chipmunks movies and musically it still holds up pretty well. Alvin... uh Alvin... ALVIN!

3) Amy Grant- The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)

• This is another one that has been covered by several artists over the years. Ms. Grant's version just captures the message of the song. It's romantic, it's spiritual and fun. It's a great slow dance.

2) The Carpenters- Merry Christmas Darling

• Karen Carpenter was before my time but her voice is just perfect. It melts me and it should melt you too.

1) Andy Williams- The most wonderful time

• It's ain't Christmas until ANDY says it's Christmas and he says it so well with this song.

31 years as a DJ

I just celebrated 31 years as a DJ this last week. My first gig was on November 14th of 1979.

This is the earliest picture I have of me as a DJ. This was taken in 1983. I was 17 yrs old and already 3 years into what has become my career. I didn't count myself a professional until about 5 years later when I did my first big budget event at one of the local country clubs in Riverside CA and I changed that event from a good event into a great event and that golf club became a regular customer for many years.
This is my current DJ rig. It can do about 20 times what that mess up there could do.
Here are some pictures from just this past weekend. I'm doing the Cha-cha slide with a young bridal party. I've got lots of new toys since that first gig back in 1979. This was at King Ben's Pavilion at Golfland/Sunsplash on Friday night. I attracted 200 of the 350 in attendance and I had to compete with Lazer Tag, miniature golf, fried food, a major arcade and a lovely evening with a full moon. Once they discovered that I was there under the tent and I meant business, they packed that space and stayed and danced until the wee hours of the morning.

FUN FACTS from 31 years in this industry-

Other than business cards, I never spent a dime on advertising until early 2007 when I was the new guy in Phoenix.

People I've met during my DJ career: Explorer Jacques Cousteau, Rock singer Huey Lewis, President elect Bill Clinton, Congressman Jeff Flake of Arizona, Governor Janet Napalitano of Arizona (now Homeland Security Secretary), Tommy Shaw, James Young and Dennis DeYoung of Styx, Teen idol Davy Jones of the Monkees, Electronic rock pioneer Gary Numan, Arizona TV Legends Wallace and Ladmo, DJ Kasey Casem, TV fashion expert Avril Graham, The Laker Girls, the San Diego Charger Girls, Guitarist Joe Satriani, British DJ/Producer Ade Fenton, Actor Paul Hogan, Director Steven Spielberg, French composer/musician Jean-Michel Jarre, Radio DJ Rick Dees, Teen idol Andy Gibb, Mormon Church leaders Spencer W. Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson, Fox Morning News host Alexis Delchiaro. Countless Mayors, political contenders, magicians, puppeteers, comedians, singers, jugglers, regional musical acts, special interest authors, school Principals and lots of other nice people who are out doing the things the world needs done whether it makes them famous or not.

Cool places I've played: Under the nose of Air Force One at the Ronald Reagan Library, Queen Mary, Disneyland, Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival, California School for the Deaf, The Boojum Tree, Huntington Beach- and I mean ON the beach, Bear Creek Inn, atop a San Francisco skyscraper with a perfectly framed view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Wrigley Mansion, The Sanctuary, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Tempe Center for the Performing Arts. I've worked at events in Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, Florida, Illinois, Connecticut and Texas.

Interesting situations encountered: A groom was unfaithful with a bridesmaid on Thursday and the bride discovered the encounter on Friday and decided that she didn't want to marry him on Saturday but she kept completely quiet and went ahead with the plans in order to embarrass him publicly at the wedding ceremony. When the officiant asked who thinks this couple shouldn't be married, she let him have it!

Only two major equipment failures to speak of in 31 years- New Years Eve of 1983, power amp blew up with sparks and smoke and everything. A guitarist in attendance had an amp in his car and we made it work. 18 months in to digital DJ work, in about 1999 or 2000, my computer software froze. I'm not a computer whiz but witnessed a miracle as the software re-loaded at the moment when I was about to announce the bride and groom first dance. I have redundancies in place against that ever happening again. I did have a lighting rig collapse during set up and as one of the truss bars came down, it narrowly missed hitting me in the head but it brushed against the front of my chest and sliced my left nipple rather severely. I'm pretty religious about the safety latches and pins but this was during set up when some of them weren't installed yet.

Prom at California School for the Deaf in 1993 and 1994. "Hearing" some of those songs in ASL was beautiful and moving.

A car entered a rural two-lane highway from a driveway and I crashed into the drivers door at about 50MPH and lots of DJ equipment came flying through my back window. I nearly careened down a ravine. Brought the truck to a stop safely several hundred feet down the road. The driver was injured and taken to a hospital for a couple of days. I was a mile away from a wedding venue and two hours from the ceremony start time. The venue operator dispatched someone to come and salvage the equipment from the back of the truck and went and set it in place as best they knew how. (it was a place that I worked regularly) Several road cases were destroyed but all the crucial equipment was intact or at least in working order. I showed up later and took care of the wedding. My truck was totalled. The wedding guests never knew anything was amiss.

Someone offered cocaine once and I refused and asked him to leave the stage because I was trying to work. He apologized but only thought I was upset that he was offering so openly so he offered again with his hand down by his hip and backwards- a bit more discreetly. I don't do drugs.

The fathers of the bride and groom got into a fist fight in the foyer in sight of the reception hall. Both left in handcuffs.

Music: I can't say that I've played Michael Jackson and the Beatles at every gig but I've played them at most gigs and I can't think of a gig where a song or two wouldn't fit in somewhere. I never tire of those songs and they always fill the dancefloor. I'm a huge Styx fan but I rarely play them. Not all that danceable. I do a pretty cool DJ mix thing with Lou Bega's Mambo #5 and Styx's Too Much Time on my Hands once in a while. First song I ever played as a DJ was Gary Numan's Cars. Click here for my previously shared thoughts on the impact of that song on rock music. Thank you Michael and Paul and John for the music. I love you guys! Honorable mention to Van Morrison and Glenn Miller.

I love what I do because everybody is always dressed up, they are celebrating something meaningful to them. You've got the food, the music, the lights, the occasion, the anticipation, the color, the heritage, the fun, the electric conversations, the flirting, the dancing and I get to be the Pied Piper and help them release all that celebration inside of their hearts.

Normally people would say "Here's to another 31 years!" when writing something like this. I don't know if I have 31 more years in me- maybe this will be me in 31 years when I'm 76 years old, but I do love what I do and as long as there are customers who want me to do it I'll keep doing it as best I know how or even improving it as new technology comes along. Thanks to all of you for the great life.

Halloween 2010

Had a great time at the Paul Mitchell School today. I go down there about once a quarter to have some fun. I barter for hair care and other products but it's really just a part of my overall marketing efforts. I just try to get myself in front of people when I can. There are a bunch of twenty-somethings going to school there, about 120 of them, that will likely be getting married in the next few years... I've already booked several events from my appearances there over the months.

I made a nice little gobo to project right in front of the check-in desk that they all loved.
This is Terry, one of the faculty there. I think I liked her better last year as Lady Gaga...This guy works at the front desk. He's dressed as 5-yr old "Stewart" from Mad TV. He's got the voice and the moves and everything. I don't know this student's name but she slid all the way across the floor in her socks- a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business. She's rockin' my guitar here.

This is student body president Stacy on the left of the shot and also various and sundry other students filling the rest of the shot. They were doing the Cupid Shuffle here.