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What’s your sound system?
My gear is neatly packed into a custom-built, two-foot case that sits on a tabletop. No lettering or advertising appears on this tidy black cube. See that slender gizmo on the right? It’s the latest marvel from Bose — the L1 Compact Speaker System — perfect in most rooms and for outdoor wedding ceremonies. I don’t know how they do it, but that’s why they’re Bose. Wait till you hear this beauty in action...
What’s in your library?
The hundreds of CDs that come with me to every performance include songs in all formats, all the way back to the early 1900s! You can view, search and print them from the Music Page of this website. Best of all, when it’s Party Time, your guests can get ideas for their requests from the music notebooks on my DJ table! Each decade has its own tabbed section in the notebooks, so folks can go right to the 2010s or 1980s or 1960s or 1940s...
Do you take requests? Not only do I take them. I encourage them. Here’s why... With over 15,000 songs on hand, we can take your party in almost any direction. The fun of working in requests is building little “sets” based on them. That’s where my experience comes in. Not being chained to “what worked last week” gives me the opportunity to delight folks with a song that’s special to them. How did I know it was special? I didn’t... until they told me.
Do you take breaks? Nope. There’ll be music from the moment the first guest walks in until the party ends. Breaks are for bands, not for DJs. And while the dinner music is playing, I like to visit each table and gather requests and dedications from your guests. It breaks the ice, makes them feel less shy about coming up later, and I enjoy it.
You’re not going to blast the music during dinner? I’ve never understood why some DJs do this. The point of background music is to be in the background, so your guests can converse without shouting! There’s a time to add energy and excitement. And it's later.
What kind of music do you play as background? A pretty wide variety of easy-on-the-ears artists — Frank Sinatra, Jack Johnson, James Taylor, Ray LaMontagne, Pink Martini, Bob Marley, Van Morrison, Anita Baker, Michael Bublé, Jason Mraz, show tunes — plus any personal favorites you really want to hear that might not be particularly danceable. We want your guests to get a feel for all the variety that’s available later, when the dancing begins. The key is to avoid “wasting” a song that folks would really enjoy dancing to. For instance, playing a terrific jitterbug tune like “In The Mood” or a great slow-dance song like “Wonderful Tonight” while your guests are munching salad is silly. But hearing “A String Of Pearls” or the unplugged version of “Layla” may get them thinking, “Hmmm. He's even got Glenn Miller and Eric Clapton…” It lets them know the colors we can paint with.
My parents are uncomfortable with the thought of a DJ! Perhaps they once saw (in a movie or on TV) a shaggy dude wearing ripped jeans, earrings and an attitude, “scratching” rap music. Maybe they actually endured an amateur who disdained requests and inflicted Axl Rose during dinner at maximum volume. We all make generalizations. One of the most rewarding moments for me happens at the end of receptions, when folks over 50 come up and tell me they never realized how enjoyable a party could be with a DJ (and how nice it was that I didn’t blast the music during dinner…). The “conversion” of parents and relatives is a common observation in the thank-you notes I get from couples. I only hope their next DJ experience isn’t some metal-head with cheap speakers!
What do you wear? Tuxedos are for the groom and the guys in the wedding party.
Do you have a video? I’m sure I’ve appeared in hundreds of wedding videos, but I don’t use them for promotion. Every party is — or should be — unique. Some feature “alternative” music. Or country music. Or disco from the Seventies. And the best moments of each reflect the personality of the guests, the spirit of the moment, and the dreams of the couple. Imagine 250 guests at the posh Willowbend Country Club breaking into a choreographed routine of the Texas A&M fight song. Or a fireworks display on the beach at Popponessett, accompanied by “When You Wish Upon A Star” — terrific moments I’ve been a part of, but not the kind of thing you’d find in a wedding video. If you do get a wedding video from a DJ, know what you’ll see? Yep — all the ingredients from some by-the-book reception: an introduction sequence, a First Dance, frenzied guests doing the Electric Slide, the Cupid Shuffle, “Hava Nagila”, “Shout!", “YMCA”, etc. Oh, and you’ll also see the biggest day of two people’s lives being packaged to promote someone's DJ career. Bad form.
Can we come see you perform? Hmmm. Let me put it this way... I wouldn’t feel right inviting strangers to use your wedding as a shopping opportunity. And that’s a courtesy I extend to all the couples who book me. But you’re certainly welcome to stop by my studio, tell me about the party you’re planning, examine my sound system & music library, and reassure yourself that I don’t have three heads! And please ask around about me. One of the nice things about performing here for all these years is that most of the Cape Cod function managers, caterers, photographers and videographers have seen me in action and can give you an unbiased report. They see all the DJs, and they’ll tell you who’s good (and who isn’t).
What do you sound like? Well, you may have heard me as the voice of the Soft As A Grape radio ads. And you can hear a real good approximation of my voice if you call me (508-771-1434) after 9am.
What are your rates? Please call or email me with your specific date, function location and the hours you want me, and I’ll be happy to quote you the exact price.
How do I book you? First, compare your wedding day with my upcoming bookings. If the day is available, call me at 508-771-1434 (9am-9pm) and let me know the specifics. I’ll quote you a price and send out a Performance Agreement right away. Thanks to the magic of email, you can have it as a PDF file within minutes. I only book 18 months in advance, so if your big day will be September 13, 2016, please call on or after March 1, 2015 — and I’ll be happy to send you a Performance Agreement then. Relax... no one else will be able to book me way in advance either! If you decide you want me to play at your reception, just sign the form and return it with your deposit. If no one else has booked me in the meantime, I’ll accept your deposit and send you a signed copy of our agreement. And yes, I can accept credit cards, so go ahead and rack up those bonus miles!
Then what? We’ll get together for a music meeting — usually in the last month before your wedding — to go over the sequence of events, the announcements, the music, and the style you’re most comfortable with (some folks prefer formality; some don’t). You can browse my music library and decide on the special songs by actually hearing them. These meetings take about an hour and are one of the more fun pre-wedding tasks you’ll have. Even future grooms come to this one with a minimum of arm-twisting.
How many songs should I select? Well, you’ll need a song for your First Dance, and perhaps one for cutting the cake (don’t worry, there are lots of fine alternatives to “The Bride Cuts The Cake”). You may also need a bride-and-dad dance, a groom-and-mom dance, a Bridal Party dance, and a song for your Last Dance. Some couples skip these formalities, some don’t. Whatever feels best for you... is what we’ll do! You can dedicate songs to guests who are celebrating anniversaries, engagements, birthdays, etc. And you can submit a list of songs you just happen to like — as well as a list of those songs you don’t like. So if you cringe at the thought of the Chicken Dance or the Macarena at your reception, simply put ’em on the Banned List! Even with non-stop music, only 18-20 songs can be crammed into an hour. And since the cocktail hour, dinner and the special dances consume more than half of a typical five-hour reception, you’re looking at a total of about 45 or 50 songs for the party itself. So don’t assign yourself the task of selecting every song. Give the party a little room to breathe, and let your guests get some requests in, too.
What if some songs I really like aren’t in your library? I think it’s great when you personalize your reception with your own style. And sometimes that means songs that didn’t chart, are long out-of-print, or were never released for sale in the first place. Even if it’s something you just saw on YouTube, relax, I can get it for you. If you’ve got special songs in your collection, just bring ’em (on CD, iPod or whatever) to our music meeting at the studio. I’ll make a copy and include them on the special CD that’ll be prepared for your reception. This CD will also include your entrance music, First Dance, Last Dance, cake-cutting song, etc. And it’s yours to keep when the reception ends!
And if one of your guests shows up at the reception brandishing one of your “must-play” songs on an iPod or smartphone, I can plug the device directly into my system. How cool is that? Incidentally, if you’ve got music or audio treasures on cassette that you’d like to transfer to CD for the event — or any elaborate medley you’d like to create (say, for a Father-Daughter Dance), the Time Capsule studio can work its wizardry for you.
Uh, what is "Time Capsule" My company (Time Capsule, Inc.) produces a radio series — one-minute "Guess-the-month-and-year" quizzes that have aired on more than 460 stations throughout the USA. Since my daytime job is National Sales Director, that’s why I may answer your phone call here at the studio with the greeting, “Hello, Time Capsule...” So please don’t be alarmed! You can visit our website and try one of the interactive, Flash-video quizzes for yourself. As you might expect, the Time Capsule studio has a pretty hefty music library. That’s where all those CDs come from... We also transfer people’s audio treasures from cassettes, 78s and reel-to-reel tapes to CDs. Authors, lecturers, sales trainers and narrators use our broadcast-quality microphones to record their books, presentations and commercial voice-overs. Oh, and we create websites (like this one). It’s a fun place to work!
How do I know you’ll be the DJ who shows up? My name is right on the contract, so you won’t be getting any trainees or underlings. And what if I get sick or hurt? From time to time, like everyone else, I do. But in all my years of performing, I’ve yet to be derailed by an injury or illness (move over, Cal Ripken...). The show has always gone on. No one is indestructible*. But my track record has proven to be mighty solid. *Should a calamity befall me, my company would refund your deposit
Our wedding and reception are at the same place. Absolutely. I’ve got New Age and Classical music for the half-hour before the ceremony, then some classics for your Processional, in both contemporary piano and formal...
Of course, the Recessional music need not be Classical. Couples have selected songs from the Beatles to the Black Eyed Peas to TV themes! Whatever you choose, My Bose L1 Compact speaker array will serve up the music beautifully and unobtrusively. Want the audio from your ceremony recorded? Great news! We can place my compact Zoom H2 digital recorder close enough to capture every vow in brilliant stereo (any coughing guests and crying babies would be more distant). Back at the studio, we can turn that audio into a CD and provide all the copies you’d like!
What if our ceremony is outside, away from the reception? When I mentioned this to Steve Jobs, he ordered his Apple engineers to invent the iPad...
So now my handy iPad2 can plug directly into a Bose speaker and — presto — whatever music you select for your Processional and Recessional will sound fantastic! And since I’ll be seated right alongside, the music will fade just when it should.
Besides weddings, what other functions do you do? When it’s summer on Cape Cod, who needs a wedding as an excuse for a party? The depth of my library is a big hit at 25th and 50th Anniversaries all year long. Class reunions always rock to songs I’ve chosen from their undergraduate days. And December finds me playing at Christmas parties for lucky employees who work for companies jolly enough to still indulge them. |
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Will you have guests from foreign lands who’d like to hear favorite songs or singers from their homeland? Even if you don’t have these songs, I can generally track them down within a few days.
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