Wedding Disc Jockeys

Why a "Wedding Specialist" May Not be the Best Choice

by Bob Moffett
No doubt you should seek out an experienced DJ who’s both mature and informed about wedding events and here with tongue in cheek I illustrate why the best experience would be measured both in quantity and diversity.

One of the common complaints about disc jockeys tends to follow in the wake of many self-proclaimed “wedding specialists.”  The issues that arise can often be attributed to the DJ having little or no diversity within their event portfolio. You may simply know it as the "same ol' same old" syndrome.   You're at the Celebration hearing that Old Time Rock & Roll while watching the Lady in Red  move like a Dancing Queen and thinking Oh! What A Night and is it possible I will Survive?  It's enough to make you Shout!

Limiting their exposure entirely to one type of event typically results in a DJ out of step with the ever changing social party trends, and a performance that is predictably stale and formulated.  Isn't that what we have iPods for? 

DJs never run out of music - bad DJs simply run out of ideas.

A DJ with no creative ideas and no sense of musical adventure is a jukebox.  No matter how much music is available they don't think and play well outside of that box. Published among disc jockeys nationally there is a coveted list of the DJ Top 200. These are not simply the long standing pop hits of western culture - they are the golden formula for large numbers of DJs with shallow music experiences and inadequate crowd reading skills. When things fall flat it is often because of this very lack of resourcefulness. 

Your wedding reception may include guests of all ages and tastes. Understanding how to engage with each and bring them together on the dance floor requires meaningful experience with trends and responses across a variety social settings and age groups. In this modern age of media saturation the age of your guests is not by itself indicative of their taste or tendencies. Only a diverse experience across all types of events from youth to retail and corporate events will keep a DJ in touch with the trends at play across differing social strata and provide the insight regarding where they intersect. That intersection describes how your DJ succeeds to bring most of the people together most of the time. Having this insight is crucial to delivering a pleasing program that fills your dance floor instead of rotating groups on and off with high turnover according to their age or discreet taste.

To really enjoy the benefit of a quality disc jockey seek out a DJ who can demonstrate a wide diversity of audience exposure and creative experience across many different platforms.While there's nothing wrong with any of those "Top 200" (they are top for a reason) no one reaches a given point in their life and says: "I got my fill of music in 1991. Love Shack completes me." 

Greater Boston & New England