Just back from meeting with Lucy and Dan at the gorgeous Fawsley Hall in Northamptonshire and I’m very much looking forward to being their professional wedding DJ at Fawsley Hall at the end of March.
I get to play quality wedding venues on a regular basis and I’m proud to be associated with Wroxall Abbey, Ettington Park and Hampton Manor to name just a few. Fawsley Hall is a stunning venue though and can only be described as quite grand. The Hall that greets you on entertering the venue is so large that you can only gape in awe. I’m sure my polite 3 bed semi-detached would fit in the room with roof and all! The snow on the ground only added to the fairytale theme of the venue and the mile long drive up to the hotel gave arrival a feeling of remote romanticism. What a gorgeous place to get wed and party.
Fawsley Hall. Just beautiful!
Lucy & Dan are definitely indie kids and I reckon that there’ll be a fair amount of moshing going on. What better juxtaposition to the surroundings that they’ve chosen for the day (and night!) Fab.
It was lovely to play for Mick & Mel Long again on Saturday night and their guests had definitely shaken off the January blues to celebrate at the couples wedding anniversary.
The only fly in the ointment was the venue and their parochial view of us, the entertainers. I say ‘us’, I should really say ‘them’. Yes, the cheap, tatty, unprofessional mobile DJ who tarnish our industry with their poor attitude to clients, guests and venues.
My clients were asked to pay a £700 behaviour bond to protect the venue against the likelihood of my volume upsetting the hotel residents! I mean, really, how simple is this? If you’re playing music THAT loud then the guests in the room would be deafened before the occupants of rooms on the 3rd floor started checking out! This has got me thinking. Just maybe there ARE ‘mobile DJs’ who are that poor.
There is a very simple rule of thumb that any professional learns (call it lesson 1) and that is when guests are leaning in to each other and shouting to be heard then the volume is too high. If the DJ can hear conversation over the music (apart from during a background set) then an increase is needed. Simple. I should point out lesson 2 here as well. The person most likely to complain about volume will invariably choose to sit in the chair nearest the speaker! This, sadly, cannot be legislated against
Amateur DJs take note - The volume fader goes down as awell as up.
Needless to say the venue (that shall remain nameless) gave my client back every penny of their bond and there were no complaints at all.
Volume is one thing that sets professionals above the ‘fodder’ and whilst I should applaud the existence of the very cheap mobile DJ (without quantity there will never be quality), I detest being treated as one of them by anyone. Am I a diva?!
Last night I was honoured to be corporate event DJ for Barclaycard at their annual awards show after dinner party at Chesford Grange in Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
Entertaining as a DJ at a corporate event could be described as a heady mixture of high excitement and utter boredom. The sitting around for hours, waiting for awards and dinner to finish is what the iPad was invented for (thank God for the ITV Player app!) As soon as entertainment is called for it’s in at the deep end with hundreds of overly tipsy party animals ready to move.
This was the case last night and with a massive overrun I had to craft my 2 and a half hour set into just 58 minutes! I always aim to mix up my set to keep momentum going and afterall the crowd have had plenty of blah, blah, blah, but last night called for some brutal mixwork!
Maybe a 1am extension would have stopped me being almost lynched at the Midnight turn off? Sorry guys! I was only just getting going myself…
As fully fledged punk rockers I was there to provide some ‘normal’ music for the ‘normal’ people as well as a little punk for the rockers. And what a night it was!
Punk covers band The Undercocks did two amazing 45 minute sets and bought the house down with covers from The Clash, Stranglers, Police, Sham 69… You name it! Here’s the guys in action with lighting supplied by us.
‘Normal’ wedding are fun but for a little indie, alternative, rock, beat or punk inspired madness, we’d be happy to help!H
Although Christmas is still a few days away the party season is over for me. All the Crimbo bashes are finished and it’s time to get busy with radio shows and winter weddings.
Congratulations to David & Janet who tie the knot and I shall be their DJ at Highbury Hall in Birmingham alongside punk band The Undercocks! That is gonna be fun – watch out for the video coming soon.
Between Christmas and New Year I shall be back to DJ near Solihull at the delightful Nuthurst Grange in Warwickshire. The entertainment for is Mary & Dane and their family & friends and I’m under strict instruction from the Mother of The Bride that The Monkees are expected. Does that mean my kids are invited…?
It was great to be back at Heart again yesterday and covering my old Drivetime show is always a pleasure. I shall be looking forward to hitting the East Midlands airwaves on Christmas Eve too, Gem 106 from 11am-2pm for a festive few hours if you fancy?
Last Saturday I was Sue and Nigel’s Professional Christmas Party DJ in a stunning marquee in Solihull. The champagne and cocktails flowed, the dancefloor rocked and the guests were treated to live entertainment by Lady GoGo. Lady Gaga, eat you heart out!
The evening was amazing with the marquee themed into a winter wonderland. The hi-tech lighting and sound that we use was the perfect accompliment to the environment and the guests had a full on festive do.
I’ve been invited to entertain and be the professional Christmas party DJ in Warwickshire for Cogent Elliott at the wonderful Wroxall Abbey tonight. The ‘Have I Got News For You’ themed party will be amazing in the festively decorated marquee at Wroxall.
The fancy dress theme is characters from the news stories over the last 12 months. This could throw up some very interesting ideas although I’m expecting at least 20 Prince Williams, 36 Princess Katherines and the odd Amy Winehouse. Either way the staff are a very young minded bunch which is typical of a media organisation and will make for a messy party
Happy Christmas to all at Cogent Elliott in Meriden and I’ll see you later for the Christmas do!
Well done to all who took part in the Solihull Santa Jog at the weekend and did their bit in raising an estimated £17,000 for the British Heart Foundation to continue the excellent work that they do.
I’m delighted to have been invited to host the Solihull Santa Jog by British Heart Foundation this year.
If you’re dressing as Santa and running the Malvern Park course tomorrow (Sunday 4th December) then give me a wave as you pass the stage. It’s gonna be a whole bunch of fun with hundreds of Silhillians dressed as Saint Nick to raise a fortune for British Heart Foundation.
I hear that the ‘apres-run’ is also pretty good with a Santa themed pub crawl planned and when the runners look like this (below) then I’m not surprised!
It has been my great pleasure to event host and stage present for Bridgestone UK at the NEC this year for Motorcycle Live 2011.
Now, as anyone that knows me even remotely will tell you, bikes are a HUGE part of my life. To be hanging out with top racers and technical gurus is a real pleasure and I even put up with the showgirls – all in the name of work! The crowds that attended the show were very keen to participate especially with a rake of ‘money can’t buy’ MotoGP prizes up for grabs. The crew from Bridgestone were also fab and kept the coffees coming. Perfect!
