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Window

A Window of Opportunity . . . to Learn a Lesson

A SCARY SATURDAY

(August 2018) July 14th was a busy Saturday for me, as I had both a ceremony and a reception to do. Each was in a different location, so that meant twice the set-up work. It’s not ideal, but it’s manageable, and something I’ve done probably close to a hundred times over the years.

This wedding week started off like so many others: a final check with the couple, programming music in the laptops, and then calling the banquet hall to review details with them to make sure we had the same itinerary and arrange a set-up time. Most often I try to get my equipment in and set-up the morning of the wedding to allow me to take my time, make sure everything is done correctly, and ensure all the cords are tucked away and the set-up looks neat and tidy, all before the first guests arrive. 

On this particular Saturday, the banquet manager told me I could get into the venue any time after 9:00 a.m., so I began loading my truck sometime after 8:00, then did my checklist as I always do (two speakers, two speaker poles, main unit, cable bag, etc.). Per the schedule, I was to arrive for set-up at the reception venue at 9:00, giving me until 10:00 to 10:15 for set-up, after which I planned to return to my home base to load the equipment for the ceremony, clean up, and head to the ceremony location. If all went well, I’d be there between noon and 12:15 and ready to begin prelude music by 1:00 p.m., if necessary, for the 1:30 ceremony. Since the ceremony was given a 30-minute allotment on the schedule, that meant tear down and the trip back home would take me to 2:30, after which I’d unload that set of equipment, change clothes, and be at the reception venue by 3:30 for the 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. reception.

Once my checklist was complete, I made the 12-minute trek to the site of the reception. My current work vehicle of choice for transporting equipment is a pick-up truck with a topper. For years it was a mini-van, but since my children are pretty much all grown up I was happy to retire from my mini-van days—and I find that I can utilize the pick-up for many other projects without worrying about how dinged up it may get on the inside.

The law of averages will eventually catch up with everyone.

I arrived at the venue just moments after 9:00 a.m., went to the back of the vehicle, and automatically hit the open button on the key fob like so many times before. Unlike those other times, however, when the locks popped open, this time they failed to move. I checked the back window on the topper and found that it was still locked tight. I hit the key fob again. Still nothing. I listened. All the other doors were responding to the key fob, but not the back hatch. I tried to reach alongside the window with one hand and pull as I activated the key fob with the other. Still nothing.

After several more attempts and what seemed to be an eternity, but more than likely was only 8 to 10 minutes, I realized that what I was doing was not going to work and that there must be a problem with the hatch, so I had to go to Plan B. That meant a trip home to see if I could figure out why the topper would not open. Once there, I tried the spare key fob. Still nothing. I tried to think of other options. I remembered when I bought the vehicle that it had come with a couple of other small keys. Maybe one of those would manually open the topper? I tried. No luck.

Finally, I decided to subscribe to the theory that two heads are better than one and enlisted the help of my neighbor Patrick, who is an engineer for the John Deere Corporation. I reasoned a scientific mind may have some better ideas than I was coming up with. We quickly determined that the problem had to be electrical and thought that maybe we could get into the bed of the truck via the sliding glass back window. But since we are both full-grown men and a little oversized to fit through an opening of approximately 18” X 18”, that was not going to happen. Were there any small neighborhood children around who could help out? A quick scan indicated no.

While looking through the sliding window, Patrick saw that there was a cable that, if pulled, would open the window. “If we could just reach back there with a stick or something,” he said.

When he mentioned that, I remembered that years ago my father-in-law (God rest his soul) had given me a tree pruner. It’s on a long pole with an “S” hook at the end of it. I gave that to Patrick and he was able to reach in with the pole and grab the cable with the hook while I went to the back and lifted the window as soon as I heard it unlock—and we were back in business.

Once the window was open we instantly discovered the broken wire that had caused the problem. There was no time to fix it then though because now I was nearly an hour behind schedule. I made it to the reception venue, did a quicker-than-usual set-up, rushed back to fetch my ceremony equipment, showered, and made it to the ceremony location, set-up, and was playing prelude music 20 minutes before the ceremony. From that point everything ran smoothly the rest of the day and it was a wonderful wedding day for the couple, who knew nothing of the issues I’d had getting there on time. On Sunday I unloaded the equipment and fixed the lock.

LAW OF AVERAGES

This was a first for me, although it was not the first incident that threw off my scheduled plans, and I guess the law of averages will eventually catch up with everyone. If you drive your vehicle enough eventually you’ll have mechanical problems, if you’re on a sports team eventually you’ll lose a game, if you do enough events eventually a detail will be missed or an incident like this one will happen. I’m not trying to be dismissive about a failure, but I’m not beating myself up for one, either. Earlier this year I did a golf outing that was a stretch from home. Once there I realized that I had grabbed my laptops, but had failed to put the power supplies in the bag at the same time. No problem, though, because I carry back up power supplies in my cable file bag. One time, though, just as I was leaving my home, I set my laptop bag down to retrieve something else and when I got to the venue I discovered I had everything I needed—except the laptops. I quickly determined I was not going to have enough time to return home and make the trip back and still be able to start on time so I made a call home to my wife and asked her to bring them to me (thank you, honey!).

MORAL OF THE STORY

The way I see it—or the moral of the story—is that we all need several insurance policies, and not just business liability. What’s yours? Do you have:

• ·         A checklist when loading your vehicle?
• ·         Back-up equipment you always take with you?
• ·         A checklist for on-site preparation?
• ·         Plenty of time for set-up to avoid any mishaps like the aforementioned?

• ·         A person you can count on to help if all else fails, whether that’s delivering a laptop or figuring out how to unhook a lock? 

What other policies do you have to cover all your bases? I’d love to hear them.

Until next month,

~ Michael ~

Money

The Cost of Money

(March 2018) Some years ago I was reading a post on a DJ chatboard (that should tell you how long ago it was) where a fellow Mobile DJ was telling the story of starting out on a family vacation. He pulled into a gas station to fill up and while there checked the voice mail on his cell phone and discovered that he had a call from his local country club, which was a good client of his. It seems they had an event that evening and the band they hired had not shown up and now they were in a panic. In haste, the DJ called them back, got the details, and told them he was on his way. He relayed the situation to his wife, turned the car around, and headed back home. Once there he loaded his gear and headed to the Country Club, only to discover the band was there! Sorry, false alarm, the country club tells him, but thanks for being so accommodating. Now he is miffed, his wife is not speaking to him, and his children are heartbroken, so he turns to the chatroom to vent. “What would you have done?” he asks.

Of course, under the cloak of anonymity and much braver with a keyboard in front of them, most of his fellow DJs told him what an idiot he was. I agreed, not so much with his decision but with the fact that he put it out there on social media for all the world to judge him.

Truth is, in the early days I may have done the same thing, and I’m sure many of us can say looking back to our early years there are decisions that we made, or events that we undertook, that we would not do again today. But in our eagerness to build our business, in our enthusiasm to be relevant in our market, we did make those decisions. It’s part of being in business, we reasoned. It’s the cost of money.

What is the cost of money?

We’ve often heard talk of balancing life between family and work, and I’m sure most of us will adamantly attest that we do exactly that—but if we put a stop watch to work activities versus family activities I’m guessing it would be quite revealing. I know myself I can boast that I was a member of our middle school’s PTA for several years, helped build sets for my children’s school plays, and took a family vacation every year, yet I also know there were family events, such as birthdays or anniversary parties, that I was not able to be present for, or be there for that photo-op moment when my son or daughters walked out the door as they headed for prom or homecoming. I looked long and hard for a quote for this article and could not find it, but I remember it came from Neil Diamond (and yes, I know I’ve quoted him before) and it went something like “We do what we do (chase success) under the disguise that it’s for our family, but in truth, it’s for ourselves and the family is the one thing it hurts the most.”

We often hear some variation of the phrase that we never arrive, 

Amen, Neil. I’m sure that explains somewhat the high divorce rate among entertainers—and it seems like there’s a song to be written in there somewhere.

We often hear some variation of the phrase that we never arrive, that we always must be evolving. Arrive where? Evolve to what? It’s like chasing the pot of gold on the other side of the mystical rainbow.

Spoiler alert: You’re never going to get there.

Recently after interviewing another DJ for an article, we talked a bit afterwards off the record. He mentioned a few of the annual DJ conventions he regularly attended and asked if I had been to those. One I had attended once, the others he mentioned I have not been to yet. He seemed a bit surprised, me being a “national industry columnist” and all. The truth is I am a big believer in education. On the book shelf in my office are books and DVDs pertaining to our craft. I’ve been to nearly a dozen national conferences or seminars. I’ve participated in several educational opportunities through our local chamber and I am a member of one of our local toastmasters groups. I have also participated in theater. But being in a mass group of DJs and their egos is sometimes more than I can take. At one seminar a fellow DJ was commenting, “I tell them the music and equipment are free, but it will take $1,750 to get ME to play at your wedding!” Yeah, that’s right, it’s all about you. Couples really get married not because they are really intent on living happily ever after per se, but because they want to throw a party and have YOU perform your magic for all of their family and friends. At another get together, a group of us went to lunch after a seminar. While discussing the just-completed presentation one in the group said he thought it went great—not because of the seminar itself but because while it was going on a bride-to-be texted him to see if he was open for her wedding. Yes he was, he replied. “Great, put me down” said the upcoming bride, and then asked about his uplights. “Sure, add them in,” she allegedly told him.

“So during that seminar I booked a $2,800 gig,” our compadre happily boasted to the rest of us.

Okay, we’ll go with that. Someone you have never met, never had a consultation with, is thrilled to drop nearly three grand just because you are all that. I could go on.

It sometimes gives you the whole Andy/Barney complex, you know, from “The Andy Griffith Show.” You attend a conference feeling like Andy, a big fish in your little pond, doing great in your market and getting tons of five star reviews. Then you attend a conference, listen to some of these stories, and leave feeling like Barney, a dope who may be your own worst enemy. I should add here that I’ve had the privilege of breaking bread with some of the most well-known and successful in our industry, those who are actually giving the seminars, and they are the most sincere and helpful people you will meet. They’ve long ago checked their egos at the door. I can tell you Mitch Taylor and Ron Ruth are the first two names that pop up in my mind, and there are others. The wannabes are a different story.

So that, and the fact that it takes a lot of time to attend these conventions and conferences, is the other detractor, and that is the true cost of money. The cost of money is time, and how much you want to make depends on how much time you are willing to spend on chasing it, and that is time spent away from family, time spent away from doing things that may really be you—perhaps participating in a sport you’ve always loved, or gardening, or camping. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in business for quite awhile now, maybe it’s because the bald spot in the back of my head is getting a bit bigger, but I’d rather now spend that time elsewhere. Last year I scheduled myself to be off at least six weekends for other activities and events—and I’m not talking just the “off” season. And you know what? All of the bills got paid and the calendar is just as full for this year.

The way I see it, if that country club would call me now with the same dilemma as our DJ faced at the beginning of this article, the answer now would be, “Sorry, I’m headed to the beach.”

Until next month,

~ Michael ~

WEEKEND

WHAT A WEEKEND

(Mobile Beat. Issue 94) Many years ago, when I first broke into the DJ business, doing two gigs in one day was a pretty common occurrence. As part of a large multi-op company, it was almost routine to do an early afternoon wedding and then pack up the gear and head to a high school dance, bar gig, or even another wedding on any given Saturday. Now that I have my own operation, with several associates, it’s pretty rare that any one of us has more than one gig on the same day. However, as I was reminded this past October, it can happen--and sometimes more than once within the same weekend.

I started Alexxus Entertainment ten years ago, once the multi-op owner I worked for decided not to convert the company’s record album collection over to CDs. As the years went  by, and I started feeling further removed from the high school and college crowds, the company’s focus has shifted to wedding receptions and company functions. While we still do some college and high school dances, they often fall to one of my associates. As a result, my shows are pretty much contained to every Saturday night and an occasional Friday night schtick.

That all changed on a weekend this past October

On this particular weekend I had five events booked. Unfortunately, one of my DJs also works as a service technician for a local company, and as it was his weekend to be "on call" he was unavailable to take a dance or two. My other associate was able to take one of my Friday night weddings, but had other commitments for the rest of the weekend. That left four dances, two days, and one DJ--me--who had never attempted that kind of schedule in his 12-year history as a mobile DJ. "Mobile" would definitely be the key word of the weekend.

My adventure began at 10 o’clock Friday morning. As part of its Homecoming festivities, one of our local universities had a mini festival to kick things off. My task was basically to play background music and make periodic announcements about other activities as they were going on. The hours went by pretty smoothly, although there seemed to be an enormous desire among the students to hear New Kids on the Block songs. Still, the clock was ticking. I tried to pack what I could early so that, when 3 o’clock arrived and the college gig was over, I could hustle across town to set up for that evening’s wedding. That left me just enough time to get home, grab a shower, and get into my formal gear before tackling job #2: The Friday night wedding.

It had been two years since I last did a high school event,

The reception was fantastic. In fact, in lieu of a dollar dance, we "auctioned off" the bride and groom, with the bride bringing in an astounding $400! I played until 11 o’clock, but by the time I packed everything up and made the trek home to bed, it was closer to midnight. Still, two dances were done. I only hoped Saturday would go as well.

Even though I had a full slate of Saturday dances, the day started off with a bridal consultation. After getting her questions answered, I headed out the door. The wedding reception started at one o’clock, and typically early afternoon weddings are a quieter affair. To my surprise, the guests were really energetic and weren’t afraid to drink a little . . . and then a little more. By the time the dance was scheduled to end, I realized I might have done my job a little too well, since they asked me to stay late. Under normal situations, I’d take that to be a big compliment, but on this particular day it meant every extra minute I played was one less minute to get to my final dance. I ended up playing 15 minutes longer before packing up the van and driving 30 miles to my final gig, and biggest challenge of the weekend: a high school Homecoming dance.

It had been two years since I last did a high school event, and although I was pretty confident I was up on all the new music, you never know what new surprises they might throw at you. I managed to get set-up before the first kids arrived. Half of the students filtered into the gymnasium where I was playing, while the other half headed into a makeshift photo studio for pictures. The early part of a dance like that is always a challenge. I knew I had to play enough "good" music to keep the place energized, while holding back the "good stuff" until everybody was there. Once the gymnasium started to fill, however, I knew I needed some kind of an ice-breaker to get things kick started, so I attempted something I routinely do at wedding receptions, but never tried before at a high school: a snowball dance. I called all of the student council members to the front of the stage and told them to find a dance partner. I then started playing a song, but every time I yelled "snowball" everyone on the dance floor had to go out and find a new dance partner to bring to the floor, thus doubling the people on the dance floor each time. The students responded tremendously, and I was on my way!

Early on I had at least three students request Madonna’s "Like A Prayer," so I knew there was something significant about it. When I finally played it the whole student body--approximately 300 of them--sang along word for word. A few songs later students formed lines from one basket hoop to the other as they all joined in the "Cha Cha Slide." There was never a lapse moment in the evening, and as it came to a close I ended with Big & Rich’s "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy," followed by an encore rendition of "Like A Prayer." The last two tunes created a scene that was reminiscent of the final scenes of the movie "Dirty Dancing." Over two dozen of the students rushed up onto the stage. They sang and danced and some did their best air guitar impressions, while in the middle of all of them was this 40-year-old plus disc jockey just getting lost in the crowd.

In all I spent 26 hours over a 36 hour period doing what I love to do the most, and I wasn’t even close to being tired . Since that weekend I’ve had to re-think my position on doing more high school dances. Sometimes weddings can be too routine. And sometimes company functions can be too stiff, with everyone more worried about keeping a "low profile" rather than enjoying themselves. In both formats it seems that there are times that only the amount of alcohol consumed dictates how involved the guests get. But there’s something about the sheer natural energy of youth that seems to rejuvenate us. And maybe I need to be rejuvenated from time to time.

When I first began doing this job 12 years ago, a veteran DJ who was teaching me the ropes told me, "This job is just like any other job after awhile. It gets to be pretty routine. But every once in awhile, maybe once out of every one hundred dances, something so wonderful, so exciting happens that it keeps us going."

Well, after last October’s successful marathon weekend, I’m good for another 99.

A bit of Advice

A bit of advice

(July 2017) A while back I met with a bride-to-be for a wedding consultation. While we went through the details of her event, I asked, “So why this day?” Her wedding was scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Up to that point, she had not really indicated anything about an Irish theme.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she responded. “I think spring is just a nice time of year. Everything is starting to bloom and turn green ….”

Then her maid of honor, who was present, spoke up. “Tell him the REAL reason,” she urged.

Again, the bride deferred to the time of year as being her favorite, but her maid of honor again nodded her head, smiled, and pressed for her to give me the real reason. She finally gave in.

“Okay,” she said. “We are at that age where we are going to 5 to 10 weddings every year now. We noticed when we go to the first couple of weddings of the year we are all in. We dance, we party … but by the time we go to those last couple we’re like ‘Okay, let’s stay through dinner and then we’re out of there.’

“Not only that,” she continued, “but we’ve found that those first couple of weddings we go to we’ll throw $50 into the card. By the last one, we’re like ‘Let’s give ‘em $20!’”

Aha! Good observation. That was a couple of years ago, and since then I’ve paid a bit more attention to what she observed. I’ve noticed that weddings in the early season (whatever your wedding season may be in your locale) do seem to have much more energy than those that take place in the last month or so. I’ve also noticed that many of my fellow wedding professionals seem to tire of the ritual routine by the year’s end: photographers and videographers are a bit more in a hurry to get their pictures so they can be on their way, bartenders and servers may have lost that friendly smile, and banquet managers might not have the same enthusiasm when the “finish line” is near.

“I just want to get through these last couple and be done for the year,” one said to me late last October.

"We noticed when we go to the first couple of weddings of the year we are all in."

I too have noticed it, and I try to fight the burnout. Now, with two daughters in college and getting ever closer to that average marrying age, I wondered what other advice I could give them that, hopefully, will be instrumental in creating a memorable wedding day?

With that thought in mind, I decided to ask a number of my fellow wedding professionals this question: What wedding day advice would you give (not marriage advice, that’s a whole different subject that I’m sure I’m not qualified for) to your children, friends, or relatives to help create their perfect wedding day? What did I hear back? Here goes:

From fellow writer and DJ Jake Palmer of Mankato, MN: “Identify YOUR priority (food, location, party, etcetera...) and find the right professional to help you create that experience. Also, meet with a vendor out of your price range before you make your final decision.... You will learn a lot and you might find that your priority changes.”

Scott Faver, Phoenix DJ: “Hire a professional planner. The right planner can save a couple money, [and] match the

right services/vendors with the right couple.”

Mitch Taylor, Wedding DJ specialist and author (Sales For Event Pros), as well as a fellow columnist: “Spend money on the things and services that are important to you. Prioritize before you do anything else. Want steak and lobster? DO IT. Want the honeymoon in Fiji? Go for it.”

John Young, publisher, Disc Jockey News: “Focus your budget on things which would give the greatest memories of the day. [Don’t] over invest vast amounts of money into things guests won't care about or remember.”

Susan Giles [Alabama Wedding DJ]: “Turn off the Lifetime Movies.... Put down the Brides Magazine.... Take that idea of your ‘perfect’ wedding and throw it out the window. Glitches will happen—Trust your vendors to make sure the glitches are handled well.”

Neil Smith [Tennessee DJ]: “Book the venue first. Don't try to cram too many things into your day, don't try to adhere to too strict a time line, and don't try to make it too long. Give it some breathing room and allow yourself to relax and enjoy the experience.”

And even from someone outside of our borders, DJ Nick Logan of Auckland, New Zealand:  “Brides shouldn't be afraid of asking ‘Why?’ of vendors. Why is it done this way? Why is this the BEST way? In turn the vendors should be asking ‘Why?’ too—why are you doing it this way and what are you wanting to achieve?”

I also went outside of our DJ community to get some perspective from other wedding professionals.

Ky Smith [wedding officiant]: “Even if you plan to DIY, understand that those things cost money and take time. Be realistic in what you want vs. what you can AFFORD. And make everything about YOUR day be a reflection of YOU, not someone else's idea of what it should be or what someone else did for theirs. From your officiant to the venue, flowers, food, décor, and especially the guest list—everything should be a direct reflection of who you are as individuals and as a couple—every day, but especially on your special day!”

Terry B. Marrow [Banquet Manager, Ridgefield, Conn.]: “Don't stress the small stuff. A wedding is a fabulous party you are throwing to celebrate a beginning. People want to remember the party and the love, so let little things go.”

Cheryl Pedley (Canadian wedding officiant]: “Those that matter don't mind and those that mind don't matter. At the end of the day you'll be married so don't stress. There is no reason in the world to give your guests party favours. You just bought them dinner.”

And here is mine: I agree with my bride who set this whole quest in motion: “Get married in the early part of the ‘wedding season.’ Both the guests and your vendors seem to be more in the moment. Also, avoid the urge for an outdoor event. There’s nothing more beautiful than being one with Mother Nature on a late spring or early autumn day—unless it rains, or gets unseasonably hot or cold, or the wind decides to blow all day.”

And finally, I would tell them, “Don’t be compelled to do something the way your vendors want you to just because that’s the way they always do it. Work with vendors who are open to your ideas.”

The way I see it, this is all probably good advice and may be a better fit in a bridal magazine, but these are tidbits we can share with our couples, thus positioning ourselves as a helpful expert for their wedding plans.

Until next month,

~ Michael ~

Michael J. Lenstra is a self-described Wedding DJ and is celebrating over 25 years in the Mobile DJ industry. He is a full-time DJ/Entertainer, and is owner of Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, Iowa

Charts? What Charts?

Charts? What Charts?

(November 2017)

WHO’S IN?

My wife and I became empty-nesters a couple of months ago. In August our oldest daughter headed off for her third year of college and just days later our youngest daughter joined her at the same school. After a couple of weeks of adjusting to the transformation of not having the hustle and bustle of kids’ activities, keeping our eye on the school calendar to see what was coming up next  and an eerily quiet house we adjusted to our new normal and it’s almost like the first year of marriage again.

One thing that has caught me off guard though has been the absence of not knowing what is currently in or trending like I did when children were under our roof. For years now we knew what the popular toys would be at Christmastime. We knew when Lizzie McGuire, High School Musical, Hannah Montana – and more recently – Stranger Things were the hit TV shows for the ‘tweeners. Of course, we also were kept in the loop with current music.

That, like the larger pile of laundry that accumulated every day, has disappeared now. For those of you that have children at home, do not underestimate the value they bring to you as far as keeping you up-to-date on what currently is trending. More than once in 2017 I have found myself at events saying “what,” “huh?” or “is that the name of the group or the song?”  when I get requests from those typical 12-20 year-olds. I then, of course, think to myself ‘where do they hear this stuff?’

CHARTS? WHAT CHARTS?

There was a time, like let’s say from the 70s to the 90s, where your local top 40 station was all you needed to tune into to keep up with the latest music and be prepared to slip those biggest hits into your music program at your next Saturday night wedding. There were exceptions of course: songs such as Greased Lightning, What I Like About You or, more recently, The Cha Cha Slide, never made it into the Top 40 pop charts, but yet were floor packers at parties. For the most part though listening to Casey Casem and the weekly American Top 40 a couple of times a month was enough to keep you abreast of what was sure to be requested at your upcoming events. Those days have disappeared like an evening sunset. Nowadays there are music downloads, streaming sites, internet radio, and YouTube videos. The obvious answer of course to staying on top of the music scene is to keep your eye on the charts – but then it has to be asked – what charts?  A recent peak at these graphs revealed that even they may not be able to reveal much to you. For example, viewing of several different notable music charts recently showed that the most popular songs on the Billboard pop charts were Rockstar/Post Malone and Bodak Yellow/ Cardi B, yet neither of those songs appeared on either the Radio Wave or Promo Only Mainstream Top Ten, respectively. Contrarily Liam Payne’s Strip It Down was listed at the top spot on the Radio Wave chart and number three on the Promo only Mainstream chart, but completely failed to appear in the Billboard Top Ten.

TRYING TO KEEP UP

Billboard Magazine, long considered the authority on record sales and popularity in the USA, has tried to keep up with all the changes in a digital world, as explained in Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles 1955-2015." Mr. Whitburn is considered one of the utmost authorities on the Billboard charts--his Record Research company specializes in books on music charts (primarily Billboard). Regarding the Hot 100:

For the most part though listening to Casey Casem and the weekly American Top 40 a couple of times a month was enough to keep you abreast of what was sure to be requested at your upcoming events. 

"On August 4, 1958, Billboard introduced the Hot 100--its first chart to fully integrate the hottest-selling and most-played pop singles. Ever since its introduction, the Hot 100 has become the nation's most accurate and trusted source of song popularity in America.

The formula for tabulating this chart has been revised several times over the years to account for changes in both the record and radio industries. From 1958-1991, Billboard compiled the Hot 100 from playlists reported by radio stations and surveys or retail sales outlets. On November 30, 1991, Billboard made the chart even more precise by using actual monitored radio airplay and actual point-of-sale information to compile the chart.

For the Hot 100's first four decades, an essential qualification for a song's placement on the chart was its commercial availability as a single in America. The record industry's practice of releasing singles for consumers declined dramatically in the 1990s. More and more radio hits were ineligible to chart on the Hot 100, as they were never released commercially as singles.

On December 5, 1998, Billboard debuted a completely revised Hot 100, which included, for the first time, songs that were not commercially available as singles. The revised chart now included all formats of music, so Country, Latin, and Christian music were well represented on the Hot 100. 

As physical record sales continued to decline, the Hot 100 became more reliant on radio airplay. With the introduction of Apple's online iTunes music store in 2001, record companies began to slowly offer paid digital downloads. Once again consumers were able to easily access their favorite songs for a low price. By 2004, this practice had revitalized the retail singles market. 

On February 12, 2005, Billboard began tabulating digital download data into the Hot 100. This helped restore a better balance of sales and airplay popularity to America's #1 pop singles chart. On August 11, 2007, data from streaming and on-demand services were incorporated into the chart. In February of 2013, YouTube views (from U.S. viewers) were added to the Hot 100 formula, making the chart an even more accurate barometer of how fans consume music in an ever-evolving world."

More recently Billboard announced that they would not be using Youtube as part of their tabulation formula in 2018 after there were some concerns of songs “hacking their way” to number one. Yes, even they are having trouble keeping up.

The Way I see it, I have one saving grace: my son is a seventh-grade teacher! He’s sure to know what is trending with today's youth and can pass the word onto me.

Until next month,

~ Michael ~

Michael J. Lenstra is celebrating over 25 years in the Mobile DJ industry, is a full-time DJ/Entertainer, and is owner of Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, Iowa.

  

Lesson Learned

Lesson Learned

(November 2013) One of our recent wedding receptions was at a 12,000 square foot beautiful home on a dozen acre homestead in the Galena Territories in northern Illinois (and if you’re not sure where Galena is I encourage you to check it out. After Chicago, it attracts more tourists than any other city in Illinois). It is an ideal setting for a country-charm themed wedding. The down side of that may be that because it is in such a remote area there are areas where no wifi is available, something that we have come to depend on.

Things were moving along well throughout the ceremony, dinner and reception at this wedding and our DJ, Brian, had the party going in no time. As things got cooking guests began to make requests and one of them approached him and excitedly asked if he had “The Fox?” Truth be told at the beginning of the week we had never heard of the song, which had become an overnight Youtube sensation, but by the end of the week, every one of our events had been asking for it. Brian told the gal he would look but was unfamiliar with the song. A check of his database did reveal that he did not have the track, and since no wifi was available he was not able to purchase it there on the spot. The now slightly tipsy guest came back a couple of more times, “Do you have it, do you have it,” she begged? And when Brian had to confess that he did not have it she had the solution: she could cue it up on her smartphone, plug it into our system and it will rock the house. Brian agreed figuring this would satisfy her and send her on her way once and for all. 

 Suddenly, as Brian explained to me, she was there nearly every two songs, paging through her phone,

The song did pack the dance floor and it would be great to say this is the happy ending to our story, but not so. The young lady was so pleased with the results that this only encouraged her to self-appoint herself as our events new music programmer for the evening. Suddenly, as Brian explained to me, she was there nearly every two songs, paging through her phone, professing to Brian, with that classic line that we all have heard if we’ve been doing weddings long enough, “the bride asked me to have you play this, the bride wants you to do this next . . . .” Brian held her off by explaining to her that there were some formalities on the bride and grooms planner that they needed to be worked in first, hoping that she would take the hint or get discouraged and move on. She would have none of that though and finally became angry, and became confrontational with Brian. The bride and groom caught sight of this, intervened and sent the young lady on her way but it did leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth  - and it did affect the dance for a while, but in time things picked up again and it ended with a great finish (although I’m nervously awaiting the survey comments).

However, this brings up a couple of Never Dos on my list. Personally, I never let anyone plug their phone into my system. We have been burned by this a couple of times. Once at a High School Dance when a student asked to play a song that another one of my workers was familiar with but did not have. Unfortunately, he did not realize there was an unedited version of the song and when it started tossing out the F-bomb the school officials were none too pleased. That and, like Brian discovered, it invites guests to take over your show. Just let one person play a song off of their smartphone and watch how many other guests begin scrolling through theirs expecting the same courtesy. Another time it was a song laced with the “N” word. Not cool.

Another practice I recommend against is taking a tip to play a song. Like the phone scenario, this only invites guests to take over your show. Go ahead, take that $5.00 to play a song next and see how much mileage that person tries to get out of that five spot. Like the gal that Brian had to deal with, this person will decide to be your assistant for the evening. That and the fact is that most often we are playing at a private party and the client has already paid for our services and taking money from their guests just might be a bit on the tacky side.

The way I see it, there are a couple of lessons to be learned from this wedding. One is the afore-mentioned phone policy and the other is I need to reiterate more strongly to my staff of the perils these situations may cause.

Until next time,

~ Michael ~

Michael J. Lenstra is a twenty plus year veteran of the Mobile Disc Jockey Industry, a full time entertainer, and owner of Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, IA.

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The Famous Final Scene

The Famous Final Scene

(June 2015) May seems to be the month of the Grand finale, maybe even more so than December. We have big TV series finales such as Mad Men and The David Letterman Show recently, college and high school graduations and proms. For my family personally, we had highs and lows this past month. Our daughter graduated from High School and was chosen to be one of two students to deliver the commencement speech to her class and I also had a cousin who graduated from medical school. Yay! Our first doctor in the family. On the negative side, there was the passing of an uncle who was the youngest of my mother’s family - and my daughter’s senior prom.

My oldest daughter has been to every school dance that has been held in her 13 years of school. From the school fun days and fundraisers in elementary school to the high school formals, her and her energetic and social butterfly friends have been to all of them. The Big One, their Senior Prom, was a big letdown.

For the record I have done several high school dances in the past ten years – but never one that our children attend. By this age it would be somewhat of an embarrassment for them to admit to their friends and classmates that the DJ up there was actually their dad. I’m not sure if they would have even attended if they knew I was going to be the man playing the music.  For this years prom our schools student council decided to make a statement that prom was getting too expensive and leaving the less fortunate out. They made the decision to cut the cost of the ticket price in half and have the event held in the school’s brand new gym rather than having it take place at one of the areas event centers like years past.

 I’m only guessing that they decided to cut the cost of the DJ as well.

Prom day started out following all of the traditions. There was an appointment at the hairdresser and then off to do make-up for my daughter before getting into her prom dress for the one and only time. And I guess I should explain here that I had never participated in the festivities of any of the formal school dances for either of my two children that have gone through High School because, of course, all of these dances are held on Saturday nights when I am typically at an event myself, but this year I promised my wife that I would blackout that first Saturday in May and join her for all of the revelries. So after the hair and make-up and getting dressed it was off to school to meet her group of friends and many of their parents for formal pictures. After that the parents escorted the group to other locations around town for more pictures before the kids said adios to Mom and Dad and were picked up by a limousine and made their way to dinner. From there it was off to school for the prom and then the after-party.

These are milestone moments where people are expecting great memories to be made.

I guess my first inclination that the students may not be in for a rocking evening should have come when, while at school for formal pictures, I peeked inside the gym to see if the DJ had set up yet and if I maybe knew who it was. I did not recognize the setup but what I saw was a mess. Two subwoofers were placed on the floor with a pair of top cabinets on a speaker stand directly behind them. However, the top cabinets were not set up high enough to be above the subwoofers and were partially blocked by them. There was a vast number of lighting effects but they were not set up on a truss system but rather T-bars, which is not a bad thing except that they were off-balance. There were three bars on one side of the setup but only one on the other. And there were wires and cables running everywhere – across the floor, hanging from the T-bars and under the table, which was not skirted or covered with a façade. I pride myself in not being too critical of others in the business. There are different styles, different routines and different ways to program music and I readily admit that I don’t have all of the answers, but still my first impression was not good and caused me some concern – particularly the exposed wires. How would the students get through the melee to make requests without tripping over the cords?

It was a late night for my daughter but when she did arise the next day we asked her all about Prom 2015: the dinner, the dance, the after-party. It was a good time she said, except that - and this was the first time in all of her school years that she said this - the dance was not fun. The DJ, she said, never really talked on the mic or interacted with the crowd, and he only played bump and grind music all night long. At one point, she said, the gang talked about leaving early, but this was there senior prom!

A couple of weeks later I ran into a cousin, whose son had attended the prom for the first time and I asked her how he liked it. The dinner and after-party were a good time he said, the dance not so much.  Just days later a friend, whose daughter had been to the dance, echoed those same sentiments. They live on a farm and are country music fans, and none was played.

The point I guess I’m trying to make here is that as DJ’s, Emcees and Entertainers we have so much more responsibility than just packing the dance floor. Whether it is a wedding, a bar mitzvah or even a senior prom these are milestone moments where people are expecting great memories to be made. And though some of these celebrations can be considered new beginnings they are also grand finales because most often you will not pass this way again.

The way I see it, sometimes we are the last ingredient that people add to their celebration, but we also are most often the last memory that people will have of that event. I hope as a community we take that seriously and give consideration on how we can help create those memories for everyone that is involved.

Until next month,

~ Michael ~

Michael J. Lenstra is a twenty-plus-year veteran of the Mobile DJ industry, a full-time DJ/Entertainer, and owner of Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, IA.

Let's Talk Music

Let's Talk Music

(December 2016) As DJs, we talk about lighting and sound equipment. We talk about sales and marketing. We talk about software preferences, grand entrances, and love stories. But the one thing we, as a community, don’t seem to talk much about (with the exception of the Wednesday night music show on DJNTV) is music. It certainly hasn’t been on the agenda at the few DJ conferences that I have attended, which is funny since the crux of our business is centered on music. It’s also been a topic that has come up more than once as I met with prospective couples in the past year and heard questions like these:

·          “Do you play any slow songs, because I was at a wedding and the DJ never did play any, and I was pregnant at the time and could not go out and dance to any fast songs with my fiancé?” said one bride to be.

·         “Do you play music that everyone can dance to, because at our first daughter’s wedding the DJ played a couple of classics at the beginning of the night, then we sat there the rest of the evening?” a soon-to-be father of the bride asked me.

·         “Can we have a say in the playlist because we were at a wedding and the DJ played like eight Rolling Stones songs?” another couple asked.

·         “Do you play the whole song, because we were at a party where the DJ kept ending the song early. Sometimes just about the time we would hear a song we like and get to the dance floor he would change it right in the middle.” was another comment I heard.

There may, of course, be reasons for those situations that the prospective client was not aware of (I certainly don’t know of any DJ that would play EIGHT Rolling Stones songs at a wedding purposely!); for example, they may have been dictated by those particular couples However, that too is just speculation.

So let’s talk about music. More precisely, how do we program it?

In my early days, I worked for a large multi-op company. The owner had a music programming formula that he encouraged the staff to use, and it went something like this:

• Six to eight up-tempo songs
• Two slow songs
• Novelties or traditions
• Repeat

The six to eight up-tempo songs were usually broken into two sets, with each set being a certain genre. For weddings, it was typical to open up the dance floor with a set of three to four oldies, often followed by a set of three to four country songs, then two slow songs. You never played fewer than two ballads, just to ensure that there weren’t couples who took so long to locate one another and make their way to the dance floor that they only caught the last 45 seconds or so of the song. However, you never played more than two, so as not to slow down the party too much.

Those were followed with a novelty, such as a line dance or the chicken dance. At a wedding, it may be a traditional moment like the dollar dance or a garter and bouquet toss.

I’ve long since strayed away from that early formula. Nowadays, I see several different options being tossed around as to how mobile DJs plan their music itinerary. Some still do sets in genres, grouping songs of a specific time period or style of music together. Some rely on matching beats per minute, and a newer method is matching songs by music key.

So I had to ask many of my fellow DJs: How do you program your music? Do you have a formula? How do guests’ requests fit into the picture?

I—like Steve—treat them as suggestions 

For longtime DJ Steve Saltzman, owner of Steve’s Mobile Music in Ames, Iowa, using sets is still his preference: “In most cases I think in terms of ‘sets’ between slow songs and program [them] to build energy (increasing bpm) within each set. Each set is typically one to two genres. I look at key occasionally, but mainly only when trying to beatmix and there is obvious clash between the two songs.”

As for requests, Steve offers a popular stance among DJs. “Usually requests are treated as suggestions rather than commandments and we try to fit them in when/where/if it makes sense with the overall plan (bride or groom might get higher priority in terms of immediacy).”

The cornerstone of Steve’s business is formal school dances and weddings.

Connecticut wedding DJ Jim Collins says it all depends on his mood.

“I try sets—sometimes by genre, sometimes by bpm regardless of genre,” he says. “Depends on my mood. Whichever way, though, I build the energy from the first song in each set to the last in the set.”

So sets and bpm seem to be the preferred methods for Steve and Jim. In Florida, Tampa Bay’s Jeffrey Evan Mufson has a completely different approach.

“I'd like to think that I'm a good (or adequate) programmer but I have a feeling I do it much differently than most of the DJ world,” says Jeffrey. “Because I use MixMeister, I have the luxury of being able to pre-mix, prepare, and pre-program many of my sets. In fact, I keep up to five different set templates for different event types: weddings, mitzvahs, youth, seniors, and general.

“I don't have any particular genre that I prefer or brand myself with, so when people ask me ‘what types of music do you like to play?’ I tend to get perplexed about the question, wondering if I truly am in a minority in that regard. I've learned not to pile up songs together of the same genre and/or rate (unless specifically asked, or if I'm in a club situation).”      

  

And Jeffrey concludes: “Again (normally) I believe it's best to keep the sets as varied as possible, especially if the age group is varied (like at a wedding)... a slow song here, then a faster song there, a 60's oldie there, followed by a Top 40 hit there.... I want to see crowds get up for one set, then switched by a different crowd at the next set. No, we can't please everyone, but I'll die trying.”

As for myself, I’m predominantly a wedding DJ and still customarily a sets guy. I most often will run a stretch of eight, ten, or twelve upbeat songs before I slow things down a bit, most often playing a ballad and then a traditional sing along song (“Don’t Stop Believing,” “Friends in Low Places,” “Sweet Caroline”). I like to start most of my dances off with something newer yet universal enough that most all age demographics know and will dance to (“Uptown Funk” and “Shut Up and Dance” are perfect recent examples), thus establishing to the younger audience that, yes, I do have new music, before I ease back into something a bit older. Club or hip-hop music will come later. 

As for requests I—like Steve—treat them as suggestions and I phrase my request pleas over the microphone to, “If there is something you would love to dance to, let me know what it is,” therefore planting the seed that I am looking for DANCE tracks and minimizing the chance that the guy with the grey-haired ponytail in the back of the room will approach me and ask if I can play “Radar Love” by Golden Earring… next.

But, the way I see it, programming music is an art. And like any form of art there is no right or wrong answer, as long as we all achieve the same result: happy customers.

Until next month
~ Michael ~

Michael J. Lenstra is celebrating his 25th year in the Mobile DJ industry, is a full-time DJ/Entertainer, and owns Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, Iowa.