Latest / The Preferred List: A Wedding Vendor Podcast / Episode 15 From Nightclubs To Best Night Of Your Life: Mint DJ Events & DJ Alex Nepa

Transcript

Episode 15 From Nightclubs To Best Night Of Your Life: Mint DJ Events & DJ Alex Nepa · The Preferred List: A Wedding Vendor Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to The Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days.
0:05
SPEAKER_01: I'm James, a wedding filmmaker.
0:07
SPEAKER_01: I've spent years in the industry working alongside incredible vendors, and this show is all about the real conversations with the ones who make it happen.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way.
0:22
SPEAKER_01: Let's meet today's wedding vendor.
0:24
SPEAKER_01: Hey Alex, how's it going?
0:25
SPEAKER_01: Hey James, how's it going?
0:26
SPEAKER_01: Very excited to be here.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: I'm glad to have you on.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you guys don't know this, but I ran into Alex a long time ago at a wedding for a friend of ours, mine.
0:34
SPEAKER_01: Maybe not.
0:35
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you did them before.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: No, I didn't know.
0:38
SPEAKER_01: But uh, Alex was DJing and I was listening to the mix, and I was like, oh, okay, this is what a legit DJ sounds like.
0:47
SPEAKER_01: And the party that you put on was just awesome.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited to dive into all things.
0:54
SPEAKER_01: DJ, what's a good DJ, what's not a good DJ, and the experience that you've had running your business.
1:00
SPEAKER_01: Um, before we jump into that though, we are here at Harmony Forge Inn.
1:06
SPEAKER_01: Harmony Forge is nestled into the Rolling Hills of Belfont, just about 15 minutes away from Penn State, and it features a historic house that was built in 1795, a newly remodeled Creekside Lodge, and a rustic barn with some modern touches.
1:21
SPEAKER_01: And if you haven't met Bill and Casey, the owners here, just fantastic people, and they really go the extra mile, I feel, to make a couple's day the best.
1:32
SPEAKER_01: It's it is a place to get married, but it's much more than that for them.
1:35
SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm just grateful for them for having me here and letting me host uh some episodes of the podcast here.
1:43
SPEAKER_01: Um and you've DJ'd here a little bit.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: I've I've DJ'd here uh under previous ownership and also with Casey and Bill um as owners, and they're a breath of fresh air, they're fantastic, they're doing everything right um from marketing to running the venue as well.
1:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it's super fun.
1:58
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but we're here, Alex.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh the story of me seeing you for that first time and hearing the mix and just seeing that for me something was different.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: You guys listening might not know, but I do have uh two degrees in music, which sort of get used a little bit in videography.
2:18
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's some of that music background that's helping.
2:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, but I do appreciate greatly when a DJ is not just fading songs and taking the effort into crafting a good mix, noticing what's going on on the dance floor and and just hosting a good party.
2:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, but like I say, with a lot of guests, at one point you were not a DJ, and then you were a DJ.
2:45
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
2:45
SPEAKER_01: So take me back back to that point where this all started for you.
2:49
SPEAKER_01: With I know you have mint DJ, and you kind of have your Alex Nepa, DJ Alex Nepa as well.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: But take me back to when all of that started.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: God.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, so first of all, thank you so much for the kind words and then remembering that day from so far back.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: It sticks out like a sore thumb.
3:03
SPEAKER_01: And when people ask who's a good DJ, I'm like that dude for sure.
3:07
SPEAKER_00: No, I really appreciate that.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, God, where it started.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: I I started in nightclubs and bars and fraternities at Penn State and um kind of evolved from there.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: And the wedding thing kind of became a progression.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: I would like to say that it was like, you know, planned out and intentional, but more so it was um just, you know, some couples had started seeking me out from playing the club and things like that.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, at first I'm in the lane of like, oh, what should what is a wedding DJ?
3:32
SPEAKER_00: What should I do?
3:33
SPEAKER_00: Do I play this all this old stuff?
3:34
SPEAKER_00: Do I play interactive group dances?
3:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, just trying to like wrap my head around all of that way back when.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, really my first wedding ever was more of happenstance.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, a couple that I knew, friends, um, their DJ had bailed on them, you know, the week of the wedding.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: And sadly, you hear about those stories way too much.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: And they had um basically reached out to me and I was like, I don't know what I'm doing.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: I've never hosted weddings, they are so much different than nightclubs and bars and other things.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: There's so much hosting and MCing and kind of navigating the format formal stuff.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: And I had no idea what I was doing there.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, I say myself because I rock the party still.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, but yeah, it just kind of grew from there.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: But going into like the difference between me and Mint and all of that, uh, 10 years ago I started actually actually 10 years ago, yeah, almost exactly 10 years ago.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: I started Mint DJ events or Mint DJ and Event Group as it's known now.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: And really, it just, you know, the demand for me at weddings was kind of outpacing my availability.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to surround myself with like-minded uh guys and girls or a crew and a team that, you know, were good DJs, real DJs that can actually mix music, be fluid, be creative, read a room, um, and not just be, you know, hosts that you know talk on the microphone and fade songs in and out.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: You know, I I think the party part of the wedding is really what people are seeking out for DJs.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: And some DJs tend to overthink, you know, what you know a wedding is and what people expect from a wedding DJ.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, there's Mint and there's me.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: You could book me uh through Mint or through my website, and uh yeah, we've got just a solid, like-minded crew.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: It's it's so cool to hear the experience, and even I mean, I'd love to dive more into like the decision to start um, you know, kind of expanding too.
5:18
SPEAKER_01: Uh but you started in the kind of club event kind of thing.
5:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'd have to imagine like some of the party stuff might kind of translate.
5:29
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: But but where did you kind of pick up the idea of like what's it look like to kind of host, do the MC, be on the mic for like the right moments, not say too much?
5:40
SPEAKER_01: Like, how did all of that kind of develop over time?
5:43
SPEAKER_00: So I've always been in love with the DJ culture and DJ scene.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: So it just so happened that I was networked really well with DJs in other markets and all across the United States.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: So it was a lot of you know, shadowing, uh asking the right questions, and trial and trial and error too.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: Um just to being total blunt, you know, you make a mistake once, you learn from it, don't do it again.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: But um realistically, I I was actually a general manager at another local company here in town.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: It was called Local Motion DJs, which was founded by the son of the uh gentleman that owns Acuweather.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: And I was working for him doing some weddings and and helping him run his company.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: And eventually I just offered to buy it um because of the back-end framework that existed and some of the contracts.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: So I bought that company and that's how I formed Mint DJ and Event Group.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: Dang, that's awesome.
6:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:32
SPEAKER_01: You don't probably hear a lot of wedding vendors buying businesses.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was it was an expense, an expense that I really couldn't afford at the time, but I made it work.
6:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: So was there a part in there uh in that decision-making process to be like, I'm gonna take this step, ask this guy if I can buy this business, where you were like, I don't know if it's gonna work.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure if this is gonna pan out.
6:57
SPEAKER_01: Like, how did that you you made a big decision to just jump into that?
7:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I never I never want to sound cocky, but I guess when you spend money in a large amount, you never really, or at least I never really have the mindset that it's not gonna work.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: It's like I need to make this work.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, there's no way this is not gonna work.
7:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of that is just believing in what you do, staying simple to start, don't put yourself in too many, you know, different pots.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and yeah, that was that was it.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it was definitely intentional.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: And um, to an extent, like it was a frustration.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: Like I was like, okay, I need to do something and I need the back end and the bones of a business.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: And um that company had that.
7:38
SPEAKER_01: What kind of um hardships did you kind of overcome or experience in those first like kind of growing pains years of like I know you kind of bought with a framework, but still like you're you're kind of starting something new.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: I think initially probably like one of the toughest parts was um, you know, so I I wanted to aggressively pay off that loan um so it didn't exist anymore.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: And I may have in some areas uh in some moments aggressively paid it off too much while keeping cash flow minimum, uh minimal.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: And that that kind of was never really painful to the point of a client, but for me it was stressful.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: I feel like we're we're like deep in the business mindset, and I love it because I feel like uh a lot of wedding vendors kind of get put in this category of like sort of business owners.
8:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
8:30
SPEAKER_01: Like we sort of do some businessy things, but not maybe everyone's like entrepreneurial mindset is super strong, but it seems like for you, you're thinking way more business minded as opposed to just like ah, I'm kind of a DJ that does some weddings.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: And it's it's funny.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, I am way more of a creative and way more of like a like a music nerd that loves to just go out and play music and and you know, sit behind my computer at home and make my own edits and mashups and things like that.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, you need to know the business end and the things that you're weak at.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: You need to surround yourself with people that are better than you.
9:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: So you were DJing, doing kind of like the nightclub thing, picked up this new business.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, obviously, the business was kind of tied into weddings already.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: Yes, those first couple weddings, were you like, yeah, I could see myself doing this for 10 years, or were you kind of still like testing the waters a little bit?
9:28
SPEAKER_00: No, I it was to me, like it felt like I'm like, this is fire, this is magic.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like yeah, I just I don't know, I just get so excited about it.
9:35
SPEAKER_01: What was it about those first couple that you're like, ah, I could totally do this for 10 plus years?
9:39
SPEAKER_00: So there were there was a point, and it was right around the time when I was started the business where I was still kind of like playing what I thought should be a wedding DJ.
9:48
SPEAKER_00: Like in my mind, I was like, I was like playing a character.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was like, oh, I need to be this to be a wedding DJ.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: Like, I need to play some of these, you know, brown-eyed girl things like that.
9:57
SPEAKER_00: And and music, you know, obviously evolves beyond that and it gets newer, and couples get younger and parents get younger too.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: So you need to evolve the music, and we could talk all about that later on.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: But it was a couple that hired me after seeing me in the club and was like, hey, we saw you at a wedding, we've seen you at the club.
10:14
SPEAKER_00: We want Club Alex.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: Um and it was like the first wedding I DJ'd like that, and obviously I still played some music for older guests and did it creatively and fun.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, it was like it was that moment, and like kind of the moment after that wedding, the couple was like, That was the best night of our lives.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: That was legit.
10:31
SPEAKER_00: And that was like the magic in it, that was the fire in it.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it seems like if people are seeing you now, are they getting more of the club Alex?
10:42
SPEAKER_01: Are they kind of getting a new version?
10:44
SPEAKER_01: Like if you could kind of describe the style a little bit.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: So, one thing to probably know, yeah, they're definitely probably getting the club Alex, but with the refinement of you know, of wedding presentation.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're not just like Yeah, yeah, and I'm not just playing F-bombs and everything like that.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, sometimes wedding after parties for sure.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: But um in DJ software, they've got folders or crates.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: Uh, they call them crates because it's the old school carrying around crates or records.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: But um, I delete my crates every year.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: So like I treat every wedding season not like a tour per se, but I always go in fresh with new ideas.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: I delete old songs that might not work anymore.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: I freshen up songs that are working, um, come up with new routines and creativity pieces and uh really do a lot of production to kind of keep myself energized, but also not become stale like a lot of I like I feel a lot of weddings DJs do.
11:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, it is, yeah.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: I can accurate.
11:42
SPEAKER_01: Because I know it's it's kind of a funny thing now that I'm thinking about it, like you're really only experiencing mostly your weddings.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: So there's not probably a lot of times where you're and maybe you're a guest at some weddings here and there, but like a lot of times you're not really seeing what else is out there.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: A lot of what's out there is fading into new songs, playing the entire song, which I cannot stand.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: And there's more that goes into it.
12:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so if someone's listening, they love the idea of like, man, DJ sounds sounds like an awesome job.
12:15
SPEAKER_01: How do they go from you know, uh well, I I I could create a playlist, I could let Spotify kind of like fade in and out the song to like you're reading the room, you're developing a set, you're you're mixing with intentionality, like how do they go from point A to point B?
12:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, so number one, um if I'm gonna defend if you're looking to become a DJ, um, do it.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: It's awesome.
12:40
SPEAKER_00: But realize you're giving up every Saturday, so you're gonna miss out on a lot of stuff.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: But if you're okay with that and and you're passionate about music and you want to be creative and you want the rewarding feeling of just rocking a party, and you don't have to be the front and center player.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: That's what I'm I'm very much an introvert, which is hilarious.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think a lot of DJs are, yeah.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: But I'm in the background, like and putting the couple in the middle of the dance floor and all of their guests in the middle of the dance floor, and that's what you get to do as a DJ.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: And that's what's so exciting is like you get this amazing rewarding feeling of playing songs that people are in love with and also reading them, like getting in their head and reading them and playing just that right song at the right moment.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: So if you're starting off and you you've got killer uh playlists and you're like, I think I've got something for music here.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: I mean, song selection is the most important thing.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: Like, I would 100% hire a DJ and I want DJs to mix, I will teach them how to mix.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I want a DJ that's gonna play the right song at the right moment versus like the most technical DJ who's like the cleanest mixer, yeah, but playing songs that nobody's feeling because that's what it's about.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: It's about a feeling.
13:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I love that.
13:50
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's a great point, um, sort of against like the super technical mixer and more almost more so focusing in on like reading the room.
14:02
SPEAKER_01: What would be the next best song to put into the mix?
14:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, literally, so that the party kind of keeps going.
14:10
SPEAKER_01: I'm curious though, you're balancing like that crowd interaction, seeing what's going well, but you also have some uh sort of list that the couple has said, like, hey, we want to hear these songs, or maybe you can kind of fill me in.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: Is it like 20 songs, 100 songs?
14:30
SPEAKER_01: But like, we want to see these songs be played, but you also have to like read the room, and maybe that song that they want played is not gonna be the best next song.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's that's a lot of that's timing.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: And um, as I'm planning things out with my couples and having the conversation of you know what's gonna happen at the weddings and where music is gonna go.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: We do have a back-end planning area, it's super cool.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: Some couples absolutely dive right in and and load it us, load us up with songs.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: Other couples are like, oh, weddings are so much work to begin with.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: This feels like more work.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: So we could chat it out, of course, if you don't like doing the online planning thing.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: But I I think the sweet spot for music must-plays, songs you love and music do not plays, songs you hate and don't want to touch at your wedding is like a dozen to 20 on each category.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, and some couples will actually share like a Spotify playlist of like hundreds of songs, and I like that.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: I just go into that thinking like, okay, I'm probably gonna hit a lot of these songs, but it's more like a Pinterest mood board for music.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: So it kind of like kind of gives me your vibe and kind of what you listen to and what you love and you know what you've had experiences too.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so from the mood board, you're like, hey, these kind of songs are gonna still fit in the style, but they might be a better song to play next.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: And then we can get to your must play in maybe a song or two.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: And and a lot of times too, when couples share like, you know, must-plays and big lists with me, I'll map out like the songs that I don't think are gonna hit on the dance floor as dancing songs at cocktail hour, during dinner, things like that.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: So when you're in that kind of developing stages of the playlist, um, some couples are like all in on it, some couples are like, Alex, we have no idea.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just like do it.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: Um, do you feel like there's a happy medium there?
16:16
SPEAKER_01: Do you like one as opposed to the other?
16:19
SPEAKER_00: Um I you know, if I was to pick one thing that is a must, tell me the songs you hate.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's I think that's if there was a one thing.
16:27
SPEAKER_00: But I think like in terms of you know the sweet spot of like songs you love, 12 to 20 is probably legit.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: Like I need to absolutely hear these songs, no exceptions.
16:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: I feel like it to me, 12 to 20 is like that's an attainable number pretty easily.
16:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:42
SPEAKER_01: Couples can come up with like it's just basic basically these are my favorite songs.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: And and if couples are having a tough time coming up with those, because sometimes being put on the spot's difficult.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, you're they're not DJs.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, I'll ask questions during planning calls.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: If they were a Penn State couple, I'll ask what bars they hung out at, and I know what years they graduated.
17:00
SPEAKER_00: I knew the bars, I'm very familiar with the Penn State bar scene, just being a DJ on the scene here.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, so you know, I'll know what music that bar was playing in that those years, and that'll help me out.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, if it's a couple that's not at Penn State, and if I'm traveling out for a wedding, I'll ask, you know, what concerts they go to.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, do you have any Spotify playlists you listen to for pregaming or, you know, if you're on a road trip, things like that.
17:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:22
SPEAKER_01: I feel like you from your years of experience, you probably can get a lot more than most from a Spotify list.
17:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:30
SPEAKER_01: For me, I'd be like, oh, there's a country song.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's a cool.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay, cool, cool, cool.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: But for you, you're probably like boom, boom, boom, like you're zoomed in.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I could be a super creeper too.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: Like if a couple shares a Spotify list with me, click on that username.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: Look at the rest of their playlists.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there you go.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: See what else is up.
17:45
SPEAKER_01: A lot of information.
17:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, what's that process look like?
17:48
SPEAKER_01: So a couple is like reaching out, they're are they setting up like a call with you?
17:53
SPEAKER_01: And then like, what's that look like kind of going into the wedding day too?
17:57
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: So um initially we've got an assistant, her name is Emily, and if couples like fill out a website inquiry, she usually texts them, just starts a conversation, but she always kind of pushes them to a meeting with me.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: Gotcha.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, so she's just kind of on the back end answering emails and texts and doing some admitting stuff.
18:13
SPEAKER_00: And I'm the one who has all the meetings with couples.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what are those that initial meeting?
18:17
SPEAKER_01: What kind of stuff are you like talking about?
18:20
SPEAKER_01: Do the couples have lots of questions in those meetings?
18:23
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: You know, like again, like weddings can be stressful and it's just a lot sometimes for people.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: So sometimes they won't know what questions to ask, and I'll ask them questions.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I really want to know about the about their vision, what they're picturing their wedding, you know, what they're envisioning their wedding to be.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, both musically and aesthetically.
18:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: Is there a a question or two like top of mind for you that like if couples are trying to find the best DJ, you're gonna help yourself by asking the DJ like this question or that question?
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Um making sure that DJ is more about them than themselves, I think is important.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and just vibing with a DJ as well.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, you never want to hire somebody that you're just not don't have any kind of rhythm with that just feels like you're checking something off of a list versus you know actually getting something that's inspired and and exciting.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: And that that's really what I look for.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: So um I'll ask a lot of questions like have you been to a wedding and you've seen something that's make you cringe or like get out of your seat and jump up.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: So um yeah, it's just just a matter of asking the right questions if they're not if they don't come to me with a list of questions.
19:30
SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times couples will, you know, get come for me with something from the knot or Zola or wedding wire.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: And they're a lot of times it's the same questions, but they're great questions.
19:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
19:40
SPEAKER_01: So your services are they kind of generally the same?
19:44
SPEAKER_01: Like you're kind of there for a ceremony and the party, is it kind of like the same amount of time usually, or is it kind of very some?
19:51
SPEAKER_00: I think one thing that makes us different, and both myself and Mint is that we actually do unlimited time up until 11 p.m., starting with guest arrival.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: So it's not like a Four or five hour package to me, like I made that decision in like 2021 or something around COVID era.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: And it was just, you know, rethinking like the old business, the way we always did things and kind of trying to find out ways to improve.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: And what I found out is, you know, weddings are 12 to 14 hour days anyway.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: So what's an extra hour or two?
20:19
SPEAKER_01: Well, and it's not like you're gonna go to another one after.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
20:23
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm I'm going home and I'm gonna have a drink and go to bed.
20:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:25
SPEAKER_01: And you're not gonna do anything before it either.
20:28
SPEAKER_01: No, no.
20:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh I I'd have to imagine that most couples, when they find that out, it's probably a breath of fresh air.
20:35
SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
20:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's cool.
20:37
SPEAKER_01: So when they're coming up with uh planning the music, maybe more of a couple that's like into music, they enjoy kind of planning for that.
20:47
SPEAKER_01: What are some kind of mistakes that they can watch out for when they're when they're kind of coming up with their their list?
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, definitely keep your guests in mind too, because as much as you're throwing a party for yourself, you're throwing a party for your best friends, you're throwing a party for your family.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: It's a celebration of you, but the music taste should represent everybody there.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, but self-awareness is important too.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, I am in my 40s, my wife is in her late 30s, my family is a bunch of Brooklyn Italians, her family is a bunch of central Pennsylvania rednecks, and no disparaging, like she would tell you the same thing.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: But um, when we were planning our wedding, just as a matter of being self-aware, like everybody's like, oh, what DJ are you gonna have?
21:24
SPEAKER_00: What DJ you're gonna have?
21:25
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I don't think I'd want to put a DJ through this torture.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: Just uh the music, my my father's very strongly opinioned, her father is too.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: And if he he's not hearing Merle Haggard and Hank Williams, and my father's not hearing, and no offense, dad, disco, you know, he's gonna be he's gonna be upset.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, just and my friends are, you know, obviously people with kids too.
21:45
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we just did something small, played, did a loungey thing.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: But uh yeah, self-awareness is super important.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: Just kind of take a take a moment to like think about the things that you like, the things that you remember your family and friends liking from whether it's from college, family reunions, family gatherings, and kind of putting those worlds together.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I would have to imagine it if they have the mentality to to maybe take into consideration all those things, probably more likely to just have more people on the dance floor for more time, which in my mind I I always love seeing the dance floor full.
22:17
SPEAKER_01: Me too.
22:17
SPEAKER_01: And the couple right in the middle, just having the time of their life.
22:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, stop and get a drink quick, but like just stay out there for as long as you can.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: That's the dream.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: And and a venue with a bar right next to the dance floor is always a win, too.
22:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
22:32
SPEAKER_01: Uh, there's bound to be times when guests come up and you're like mid-mix and they're like, Hey, hey, can you play XYZ song?
22:41
SPEAKER_01: And you're like, when you get those requests and they're not fitting the vibe, like, what's how are you handling that kind of situation?
22:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, so again, the majority is always the most important.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, number one, the couples, you know, and then making sure they're on the dance floor.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: You said, like, I I want my couple dead centered in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by their best friends and their family.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: That's just like that that picture is like what lives in my dreams.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, so DJs across the country that I network with and I'm friends with, um, they call me the request whisperer.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's a lot of DJs that don't take requests well at all.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: It's weird.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, to me, like it it kind of helps you.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, every once in a while you're gonna get an oddball that's just not gonna work, and you could politely decline to ask for a second request.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: But people are never really rude to me like about it.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: Like, I never get like with rare exception, I think New Year's Eve once in a big club, somebody paid$50 to get in, like, was demanding to hear their song, and I may have gotten a little bit of attitude and handed them a$50 bill, and here's your I said, here's your$50 back, even though I wasn't the one taking the cover or anything like that.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, that's an exception versus a rule.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: No, usually, usually the requests are all good.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: There's something that's gonna work anyway that maybe I had in my back of my head that I was gonna play.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, but uh yeah, again, if it's off the wall, if it's oddball, you know, I'll ask for a second or second or second request.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, sometimes too, you'll get three or four people come up with that oddball.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: And if they aren't just sending each other up, which does happen more in bars and weddings.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, hey, go ask them for the song.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, like to me, that's a trigger where I'm like, oh, maybe this, even though the song is an oddball to me, maybe it's special to them and their family.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: So I'll throw, I'll try it.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: I I have to imagine saying no to a request is probably not the most fun thing to do.
24:25
SPEAKER_00: And people just don't want to be told no.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but there is part of that where I feel like you are sort of the life of the party, for lack of a better way to say it.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: And if you play a not so fun song and everyone just disperses, like how hard is it to get everyone back out on the dance floor?
24:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, I I try my best to avoid that.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: Emptying the dance floor.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: That's like the opposite of my goal.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: So again, it is kind of handling the request with tact and and making sure that there are songs that are gonna work.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: Typically, the you're a DJ intuition.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: If you're uh experienced enough, you're gonna know what songs are gonna work and which ones aren't.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: And if something's a big tempo jump, you might hit it later.
25:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:05
SPEAKER_01: It is there sort of like a normal flow that you have.
25:09
SPEAKER_01: I know you you said like each year you kind of update your your kind of back end DJ system to be like a fresh new start.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: But are you kind of like kind of in a flow there, or is it you're really just reading the room, it's always different, it's always new.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's very much always different.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, because I mean, even though there's a lot of commonalities in weddings and ages and things like that, um, yeah, I I never want to do the cookie cutter wedding.
25:40
SPEAKER_00: Like I think um one of my DJ friends from South Dakota used the term.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: He's like, I don't want to do um one wedding a hundred times.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: I want to do a hundred different weddings.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
25:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:51
SPEAKER_01: I I have to imagine there's probably some DJs out there that are kind of stuck in a rut of, hey, that I've done it a certain way.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: It seems to work, people seem to have a good time.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: Why go through the effort it's gonna take?
26:05
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm sure I'm sure it's it's a lot of effort uh to not just stick with that playlist kind of mentality.
26:13
SPEAKER_01: What would you say to them?
26:16
SPEAKER_00: Don't be boring.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, I I just know that I I love what I do, and and part of the reason I love what I do is keeping fresh and and learning new music and feeling new music.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think one of the reasons, like I still DJ nightclubs, and I probably shouldn't, like, they don't pay that well and they're super late at night and I've got a kid.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, part of that is like me playing new music and not just playing it and knowing that it's a hit, but feeling that crowd's reaction to that music.
26:47
SPEAKER_00: Because once you've felt the crowd's reaction to that music, you're like, okay, I could apply this at a wedding, you know.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: Like, you should be playing new music at weddings.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's no rule that says you have to play stuff that's like 10 years plus old.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: Now it just so happens that we're in an era where like new music isn't as danceable as previous generations.
27:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I feel like that stopped with like the DJ Mustard hits in like 2019, 2020.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: And it'll come back.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: I mean, and there's exceptions too, Chapel Rone is is a good one there.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, Charlie XCX is another one, and then there's just a ton of female rappers that you know sometimes are inappropriate, but sometimes can work.
27:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes inappropriate.
27:25
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes people like that.
27:26
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes, yeah, late at night.
27:27
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes there's a there's room for that.
27:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: Uh when you're MCing, there's a part of your job where you're kind of uh just throwing down the tracks, having a good time, yeah, putting the music out there.
27:41
SPEAKER_01: But there's a part of the the evening where you know people are looking to you to kind of lead the stuff.
27:48
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: Uh talk me through like how that that's sort of changed for you over time.
27:53
SPEAKER_01: Like that first wedding, I had to imagine.
27:55
SPEAKER_01: Like you grab the mic and you're like, Oh yeah, hey guys.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: The very first wedding um I did, and I was friends with this, these guys.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: I called them when I introduced a couple.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: I I introduced them with the bride's last name.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: So that was my very first wedding long time ago.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Learned that he doesn't do that anymore.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: No, no, with you learn from your mistakes, you don't make the same mistakes twice.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, that's the most nerve-wracking part is somebody that comes from the club world and your mic work is limited to like, oh, drink specials are at the bar or put your effing hands up.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: You know, those those two, two.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: Those that's a way different world.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: And realistically, at weddings, and it's something I train DJs because when I'm hiring DJs, I want to hire good ass DJs that have the fundamentals of being a good DJ and teach them the formal stuff.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: So it's something that is very repetitious for me in terms of as an educator.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, at weddings, realistically, early on at as a DJ, you're playing the role of an event host way more than you're playing DJ.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: And realistically, if you're doing the ceremony, you're a sound tech as well.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: So you're a sound tech at the ceremony, you're an event an event host at the reception.
28:59
SPEAKER_00: And then when it comes time to throw a party, that's when you put on your DJ hat and just crush it.
29:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
29:03
SPEAKER_01: So you're mostly, if not solely, doing all of the events by yourself, or do you have kind of two people that are going sometimes?
29:11
SPEAKER_00: Mostly by myself.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, if there's somebody with me, it means that there's a ton of extra production or lighting that I need help with, or somebody shadowing me to learn.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because I do see some uh companies that are kind of sending here's the DJ who's mixing stuff and and putting the music out there, and then here's the guy who's gonna grab the mic and be extra personal, personable and like I think I'm good friends with the owner of that company.
29:36
SPEAKER_01: It's uh something that reminds you of a watch, right?
29:39
SPEAKER_01: There's definitely some other ones, even like farther out that I've noticed.
29:43
SPEAKER_01: Um do you do you feel like you know that's like a a good route for some people to go, or do you do you generally say like, hey, go do the whole thing because you can kind of keep a lid on everything yourself?
29:56
SPEAKER_00: I think um, and I I have actually sent out MCs and DJs before in the instance where um I'll tell you the best people to hire for MCs are school teachers.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: Number number one, their summer saturates are always great public speakers, their summer saturdays are always available.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: Um they're extra bubbly.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: So I mean, I I've definitely sent out like a club DJ that like can crush the dance floor part and had an MC in that instance.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, but ideally, I think it's better for the flow.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think the DJ kind of becomes faceless if they're not the host or MC early on.
30:30
SPEAKER_00: So I think it's better for the flow and trust of the guests at the wedding to kind of have that one role.
30:35
SPEAKER_01: I'd have to imagine too, business-wise, it's probably easier for them to recognize one person as like the face of the company, the DJ that you get in that scenario.
30:46
SPEAKER_01: It's not like, wait, are you the DJ or who's in charge?
30:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, the weddings I've seen, and and a lot of uh New Jersey DJ companies will do exactly what you talked about what you talked about.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: They'll have an MC and then a music mixer.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, the music mixer is kind of behind a facade, faceless, the MC is kind of out on the dance floor, introducing all the formal stuff, but also creating some hype.
31:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
31:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh working alongside other vendors, I for me, we get to the reception, and I for if it's good or bad, I don't know.
31:18
SPEAKER_01: But I'm like, okay, DJ's in charge.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: Like just tell me what you need me to do, where we're starting, what's going on.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: Do you how how does that uh for you process-wise work working alongside other vendors?
31:30
SPEAKER_01: It could be planners, videographers, photographers, maybe even sometimes catering is looking to you for some timing stuff.
31:36
SPEAKER_01: How's all that work for you?
31:38
SPEAKER_00: I think that number one, arrive early as a DJ, set up your stuff, and then have time to go up to the vendors, introduce yourself if you don't know them.
31:44
SPEAKER_00: Being in a small market, I know most people here.
31:47
SPEAKER_00: It's super cool.
31:47
SPEAKER_00: I get to work with my friends.
31:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, I mean, get to know your vendors, but also, you know, just walk up to them for it takes two seconds, just show them the timeline.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Does this look like kind of what you have?
31:57
SPEAKER_00: Most other vendors have their own timelines as well.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: So and I try to keep my timelines entertainment focused.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: But again, usually once the reception hits, we are running the show more or less.
32:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
32:07
SPEAKER_01: And what's the like entertainment focused timeline?
32:10
SPEAKER_01: What's that look like?
32:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, so we'll just start it with the grand entrance or the entrance of the wedding party.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: And and nowadays that is not a uniform thing.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: There's 20 different ways to do it.
32:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, but one of my favorite things now is the bridal bomb where the wedding party all enters at once.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
32:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: And the big thing reason there is like the groom has his friends, the bride has her friends.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: They might know each other, but they might not intermingle all that much.
32:33
SPEAKER_00: Some people might be married to other people pairing up, yeah, it's just it's just sometimes is weird.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: And it takes like way too long to be like so-and-so and so-and-so, and then you have to wait for them to clear and so-and-so, and so-and-so.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: And with all due respect, the only two people that anybody at that wedding cares about are the bride and groom.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
32:52
SPEAKER_01: Maybe the parents.
32:53
SPEAKER_01: The parents do, yeah.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, typically when you talk about the entertainment timeline for a wedding, I consider that the grand entrance or the introductions of the wedding party, your first dance, your parents' dances, um, your toasts, your speeches, um, things like that.
33:07
SPEAKER_00: And then uh, you know, cake cutting, which a lot of times now is done privately with a photographer and videographer.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: So that that's more of the entertainment timeline.
33:14
SPEAKER_00: And then from there, you know, and if there's any kind of specialty dances that take place on the dance floor.
33:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
33:19
SPEAKER_01: Has has the DJ scene for wedding specifically changed much over the 10 years that you've been doing it?
33:26
SPEAKER_00: Uh yes and no.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: I feel like for the people we mentioned before that are kind of just going in with the rhythm and repeating the same wedding over and over again, probably hasn't changed much.
33:36
SPEAKER_00: But there's definitely been some formality stuff that has changed.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: Like a lot of couples I mentioned before are doing private cake cuttings.
33:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, back when I started weddings, garden bouquet ceremonies and things like that were super popular.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: If you do weddings west of Altoona, the Pittsburgh Dollar Dance, which have you ever experienced that before?
33:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's like a half hour long.
33:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, but that's kind of disappearing a lot too.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: So a lot of those type of things, like I feel like people are more party focused.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: Like, okay, we want the formality and the elegance of a really nice wedding, but at the end of the day, we also just want to rage out and celebrate like the occasion that it is.
34:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we could pull the the Pittsburgh like cookie table thing.
34:13
SPEAKER_01: I would not be upset if that made it like this way.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: So it yeah, it still does, but the ones in Pittsburgh, man, I've won one.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: I've done I've done weddings like well, the one at the like the Wyndham Grand in Pittsburgh, they had a whole room full of cookies.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: Like I feel like grandma.
34:28
SPEAKER_01: If you don't see me behind my DJ booth for a solid three minutes, I'm just gonna usually I grab some on the way out.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: Like it's like just grab a couple and then I'll eat them in the van on the way home.
34:38
SPEAKER_00: But I feel like grandma and your aunts and everything like that start baking cookies when you're born and just freeze them until it's wedding day.
34:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's like a Pittsburgh thing through and through.
34:47
SPEAKER_01: Um I I just I love uh what I'm hearing from you so much is that you're creating a custom experience, like year after year, even wedding after wedding.
34:59
SPEAKER_01: Um I'd have to imagine like there there might not even be two songs that you mix together the same way between weddings.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: I do I do have little routines that I come up with every year.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: Um so like whether it's wordplay or kind of playing one song into another using the tones or keys from a song.
35:17
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
35:17
SPEAKER_00: So I do come up with those every year.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: And and but they're not rigid, it's not like I have to do that.
35:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't have to get my stuff in, like if the couple's not feeling that.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: Could you explain to DJs that are listening, kind of in that category of like, I want to try some new things, but I'm not really sure about it, where like you said wordplay, you said tone stuff.
35:36
SPEAKER_01: Like, could you kind of break some of that down?
35:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um if I guess I'm gonna kind of simplify the explanations for those.
35:43
SPEAKER_00: So for sure.
35:44
SPEAKER_00: Wordplay is taking one song that has a common word theme and kind of playing it into another song that has a common word theme.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, it's funny too, because if you're on the dance floor and you get it, it's like, oh, that's cool.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: If you're on the dance floor, you don't get it, it's like, oh, he's just playing two songs I like.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: But the same goes for tone play.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, this one is an interesting example, but I I did this and it's probably my most popular one.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: But um ABBA is huge with like brides and their moms, like so it's like this universal language.
36:09
SPEAKER_00: And I guarantee in like three years, everybody's gonna have ABBA on their do not playlist just because it gets overdone.
36:14
SPEAKER_00: But I took the tones from uh Mamma Mia by ABBA, which shockingly is the same exact, it's almost the same exact instrumental as N words in Paris by Jay-Z and Kanye.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: So I'll kind of key it out just on my um, if you've ever seen my DJ boards, they've got the little MIDI pads.
36:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I'll kind of key it into each other.
36:31
SPEAKER_00: But I have an edit where I've basically have like the key things mapped out just to make it perfect.
36:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's so fun.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: It I feel like there's a part of it that um I mean it's probably the same in any industry where it's like the Titans who have gone before us did it a certain way.
36:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's like but we could do it different.
36:51
SPEAKER_00: Yep, and that's that's what I want to be.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I want to be that guy every year that like puts myself out of business.
36:57
SPEAKER_01: Hopefully put yourself back into business.
36:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
36:59
SPEAKER_00: That was actually a sheets mentality.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I I I do a bunch of events for sheets, and their CEO once told me he's like when we have our meetings, we don't ever talk about like our competitors, we talk about like what we would do to put ourselves out of business to get to the next level.
37:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that.
37:13
SPEAKER_01: It thinking of like things changing, there's a ton more technology, I'm guessing, than when you started 10 years ago.
37:21
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
37:22
SPEAKER_01: Can you explain to me a little bit of like what's changed technology-wise?
37:25
SPEAKER_01: Everything.
37:27
SPEAKER_01: Nothing is the same.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: No, yeah, no, it's literally nothing is the same.
37:30
SPEAKER_00: I mean, like the elements of them are the same, but like I started off on turntables with records, then I switched to CDs, then uh this magical software called Serato came out that let me play with records while still having all my music on my computer.
37:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's what I use now.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, so that technology has changed.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: Lighting technology, we've gone from like bulbs that were hotter than the surface of the sun to LEDs, um, you know, lighting control software used to just like flick on your lights when you were DJing and they just blink and do random things, but now it's intelligently controlled by computer.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, and even like the presentation in DJ booths, like DJs are very the good DJs, in my opinion, aren't setting up on folding tables with ugly ass equipment.
38:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, bride and grooms and couples have put so much thought into like their layout and they take horror of the room that I think you should have a furniture style DJ booth of some sort to kind of not be the eyesore at a wedding.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it is accurate because I often don't want to shoot with a DJ in the background because it is very often like some sort of folding table.
38:32
SPEAKER_01: Maybe they have uh something to cover the table, some sort of tablecloth.
38:37
SPEAKER_01: But it's like what you're saying is get the booth, it's worth it.
38:42
SPEAKER_00: And there are companies like Horeboard from Germany.
38:44
SPEAKER_00: I've got a couple of their booths, they make wooden, beautiful DJ booths.
38:47
SPEAKER_00: I've got a TV cart DJ booth that I use primarily.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: That's my my setup, and it houses everything really nice, but I'm able to put like a monogram of the couple's names on the front of the TV, and it almost looks like furniture doesn't look like a TV.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, yeah, you just want to not be the eyesore and and kind of you know mat blend in with the furniture with their with their style and their stuff.
39:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because like you said, they're they're spent money and effort to get it looking a certain way.
39:13
SPEAKER_01: You want them to scan the room and be like, that fits in, yeah.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: And not like, oh, what did he why did and I even have like I was just telling Casey before we chatted here that I have now an all-white DJ setup that I can use if you have an all-white wedding, which is popular and sometimes.
39:26
SPEAKER_01: Oh, nice, very cool.
39:27
SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm I'm curious, like it seems like it it is more than just DJing for you.
39:34
SPEAKER_01: Um, it's more about the experience that couples are having with you.
39:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, what do you want that experience to be?
39:40
SPEAKER_01: Like, what do you want them to feel when they're working with you?
39:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, I God, that's a great question.
39:46
SPEAKER_00: I want I want, I guess I want everybody to feel seen.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: And that's everybody at the wedding.
39:50
SPEAKER_00: I want everybody to feel represented.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, but again, most importantly, the people are the couple and their wedding party.
39:56
SPEAKER_00: So that that's super important for me.
39:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and really, I just want you.
40:00
SPEAKER_00: to have the best party of your life up until that moment.
40:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
40:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
40:04
SPEAKER_01: I I feel like there's more if we had more vendors that were thinking like thinking forward like that, we'd probably be able to allow our couples to just have the best day, have better days than even they were thinking.
40:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
40:20
SPEAKER_01: Um which is I mean that that's exciting to me even even from my vantage point as like a videographer that we kind of get to experience a lot of DJ sets just because we're on the dance floor capturing all of the action and the motion um and I will say there's a difference between DJs.
40:41
SPEAKER_00: There's not yeah yeah that's I mean if you're shopping for a DJ and again you're just kind of checking off the boxes like you need somebody to play some music and make some announcements um yeah treat yourself better than that.
40:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
40:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
40:52
SPEAKER_01: Is there are there any red flags that you would have for couples that you know they're in that searching phase are trying to find the best DJ for them but they're they're just worried because honestly unless you have like a show reel of something or or they're gonna take the time to listen to a SoundCloud mix or something they're kind of just going off of what other people are saying.
41:17
SPEAKER_00: That is a good point.
41:19
SPEAKER_00: So you started off with talking about red flags right yeah and we kind of went into two different things.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: So I'll answer both but um red flags for me like nah if a couple is just like laid back and they want a laid back party that's probably not for me.
41:31
SPEAKER_00: It's not necessarily a red flag it's just personal tastes but just in terms of like what I bring to the table like that's that's probably not like like just just chill stuff is like I'm I'm I'm energy.
41:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:43
SPEAKER_00: So uh and and I'm a ball of energy at all times and it's annoying for the people my wife and my daughter sometimes but um yeah that that's kind of the big red flag for me but again there's nothing wrong with it's just personal taste and I'd be more than happy to rent you equipment and and let you plug into it for that you know because that's probably what you need for that type of thing.
42:00
SPEAKER_00: I definitely for couples that are trying to find the right DJ I I would just find somebody you vibe with but again like you mentioned about like photographers you could go on a photographer's Instagram and get a pretty clear view of what their work looks like videographers you can watch and I I love like myself a good eight minute wedding film.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah um way better than like four hours back in the day and they're just cinematic and they're magical and like but couples get to experience that and feel that um from a DJ unless you've been to a wedding where that DJ is played I mean you get to eat your cake you get to try your food so you get to experience everything ahead of your wedding except for the DJ.
42:37
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's like you're going in blind um so if you've been to a wedding where you've loved a DJ and you're getting weddings getting married soon get that business card get his contact information that's important.
42:49
SPEAKER_00: But if you haven't and you're kind of still going in blind ask friends ask your venue ask your planner those secondhand referrals can can hold a lot of weight and if there's a commonality between names that all these people are saying then maybe you've got a winner.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: But really just just have a conversation with them and see if you vibe with them see if they're flexible and adaptable see if they're willing to customize for you.
43:08
SPEAKER_01: I I do like the commonality though because uh there is not a direct correlation to like the photo example you gave where it's like you see the Instagram or you see the full gallery you're gonna get that and the DJ I and maybe you feel the same I mean they are the party.
43:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah and it's living or dying on how well or not well they're reading the room and playing good music.
43:35
SPEAKER_01: Definitely and you don't really get a sample of that like you said unless you went to a wedding or you're really relying on other vendors and friends like hey if they're all saying Alex like maybe Alex is the dude.
43:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah yeah or whoever whoever it is yeah but hopefully it's me.
43:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
43:52
SPEAKER_00: But um yeah another thing like I've got Spotify mixes online but it's there's so like a ton of not Spotify pardon me SoundCloud.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Soundcloud I I got a lot of mixes on SoundCloud and all my DJs do and MixCloud as well.
44:04
SPEAKER_00: But again like I would use those mixes as a way to kind of hear the way the DJ plays versus what they play.
44:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah because what they play should be tuned for you.
44:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah well that's a good point yeah for sure because it you might not like the music but if you like the way that it's flowing kind of picture and hopefully like some of it.
44:22
SPEAKER_01: If you don't like any of the music don't hide that you're gonna get a couple of those songs.
44:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah um no that's that's super good advice I I still like I'm still stuck on that like commonality if you're getting the same name from all the people you're talking to that's probably the one you're gonna go with it.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah yeah um especially like you said if you're vibing well with them uh there's bound to be conflict or things that pop up last minute um maybe it's from another vendor or maybe the couple is like hey we change our mind we don't want to do this can we do that I'm curious how you handle kind of that last minute conflict um I never I don't like the word conflicts for that just uh that just doesn't feel right to me I've never had a wedding where I've felt conf well let's say like a curveball like a last minute curveball if something changes I think stay calm take a deep breath um you know think if if a couple is just telling you they want to change something or ditch something or flip something around that's a pretty easy fix assuming like it's not the second of and you don't have Wi-Fi or something like that.
45:21
SPEAKER_00: Then it's like might be tough.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: But um you know communication and asking the right questions ahead of time and then where the area where there might be conflict or with other vendors sometimes.
45:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
45:31
SPEAKER_00: And just don't let them be confrontational or or combative.
45:36
SPEAKER_00: Like it's a team effort and realistically we each have a different task we're set out to do.
45:42
SPEAKER_00: But it's ultimately to make the couple happy and give them that day that they want.
45:46
SPEAKER_00: So um you know just kind of keep that in mind.
45:48
SPEAKER_00: But yeah there's definitely and I'm sure you've experienced it some vendors that might not probably shouldn't be in the business.
45:54
SPEAKER_00: Like if you don't love it and if you can't be flexible you can't be calm and adaptable this might not be for you.
46:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah there's someone there's someone in that category for me.
46:04
SPEAKER_01: Definitely but no I if you're there for the couple then you're probably not gonna be in that situation where it is conflict.
46:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah I mean think about it you get to DJ somebody's wedding like one of their biggest day in their life up to that moment.
46:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah I low key want to try it.
46:20
SPEAKER_01: But there's obviously not like a I can't just try it but I think it'd be so fun.
46:24
SPEAKER_01: It it is it is 100% yeah um and we were we were talking to the DJ at our last wedding well filming this it was uh this past Saturday and I was like yeah you got to convince my wife because she was there shooting with me that I can buy this like little$300 thing and he's like dude you got to do it.
46:43
SPEAKER_01: It's amazing.
46:43
SPEAKER_01: It's so fun.
46:44
SPEAKER_00: It is it really is and they have like Pioneer makes little tiny like they're$300 controllers and and they're a good starting point because you're gonna get the basics from I tried I tried to take we got a tip and I tried to take the tip from one of the weddings and convince her.
46:57
SPEAKER_01: So she's like no that's our fun money not your fun money what's your best recommendation for maybe not picking like the most used song but still staying true to like their style yeah um so you're asking me like if I'm giving a couple's advice on how to pick out those songs.
47:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah that's you know I we were talking off camera just about ChatGBT and I am a power user.
47:20
SPEAKER_00: Um give chat GBT open it up give it some context about your relationship um where you met concerts you've been to you know you might have to write a couple paragraphs but tell it to suggest some songs for you and uh if you're completely lost maybe that'll jog some memories and help you kind of like uh fill in the blanks there.
47:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah because I do feel like couples probably want the song to be meaningful 100% some will be like oh yeah this song for sure no question like I some people know probably before they were even engaged I knew this five years ago um but for those that are listening and they're like I have no idea I'm not a I'm not an audiophile I don't like I don't even listen to a lot of music but we have to pick something put all that stuff in the chat GPT and you'll get somewhere.
48:06
SPEAKER_01: Yep I'm assuming they can take that to you and you can be like hey this is actually a good song for it or uh that's not really gonna work.
48:14
SPEAKER_00: I don't really if it if it's special to them like so if they're on the fence and they're just kind of not in love with it but they have something like maybe I'll give some feedback on it.
48:22
SPEAKER_00: But if it's like totally heartfelt and meaningful to them and you know it feels like them then yeah let's do it.
48:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah let's make that work.
48:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah I mean there's two uh Luke Bryan's Luke Combs songs pardon me that sounded uh very identical uh hurricane and um man I'm gonna forget the second one but a couple like not gonna help at all no no but musically they're in the same key they're the same tempo like yeah I feel like maybe he used a template to get another hit and I'm a Luke Combs fan too but um yeah like I actually blended those two songs together in editing software and let them have both of them as a first dance song.
48:56
SPEAKER_00: Oh nice so there's definitely some magic we could create together if you have more than one song.
49:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah that'd be so it's a good idea to kind of open it's just more creativity.
49:06
SPEAKER_00: Yep you have a chance to kind of create and anytime somebody comes with a creep with a creative idea like it's never like oh I need X amount of dollars I'm like I'm like I'm gonna do this for free.
49:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna jump right in.
49:15
SPEAKER_01: You love it.
49:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah yeah I can tell yeah I could see you like at home just like I'm putting this together.
49:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah I I've got a wedding um in on the uh 26th Friday the 26th at uh Chautauqua Lake and I don't know when this is coming out so Friday September 26th 2025.
49:29
SPEAKER_00: Very specific date yes um but that's not important what's important is that like we're working on a first dance song he is um Argentinian and she's just a girl from New York.
49:39
SPEAKER_00: But you know they're doing a nice traditional first dance song and then we're kind of jumping into like an upbeat Argentinian song right after that.
49:46
SPEAKER_00: And we've we're on like version eight of it.
49:48
SPEAKER_00: We're just trying to get it right because we're practicing at home.
49:50
SPEAKER_00: Oh but like it's never like like I just love it.
49:53
SPEAKER_00: Like yeah let me keep on doing that.
49:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah no that's so fun.
49:56
SPEAKER_01: Alex it's been so great having you on thank you um from all that time ago we did that wedding together made that connection there and um it's so cool to hear the experience that you've had even from that point and growing your business and having mint having all these other DJs going out and doing events and then also having kind of like your own personal brand and and elevating your services um where can people find and follow along with what you're doing?
50:23
SPEAKER_00: Mint is uh Instagram at Mint DJ Events Mint DJ Events.com pretty easy both the same and myself it's uh just as easy Instagram at DJ Alexnepa or DJ Alexnepa.com.
50:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah well you definitely need to check out Alex go check out those SoundCloud yeah listen those mixes are all on the website yeah for sure maybe we can drop a couple in the description below too so um those links will be there for you to check out um and uh I'm curious you had that wedding that you're excited about is there any other things that are coming up that you're excited about man everything I like it I'm very excitable um yeah so uh just a bunch of really fun weddings coming up I've got one um for some politicians in DC that's gonna be super fun and hopefully not too political hopefully they just like let go of the politics just have a good ass time um but yeah actually one of your questions that I want to answer so he uh you sent some questions ahead of time and one of them was like uh do you have a dream wedding place and I actually put some thought on this actually researched it and um I've played Nemicolon and I'm a big fan I will play there we had John Mayer sing the father-daughter dance at a wedding there it was absurd like in the planner was like oh we've got somebody doing the father-daughter dance oh thank you and I'm like well I don't think she could tell me ahead of time but and I thought maybe it was like a cousin or uncle with an acoustic guitar.
51:35
SPEAKER_01: No John Mayer um but um Red Rock's ampathy are they do weddings oh my god that'd be amazing imagine shooting there yeah I couldn't and and the Brooklyn Botanical gardens those would be too uh like uh and the uh the aspiration list yeah that's so cool um I I've appreciated everything that you've uh you know enlightened us on on the DJ side of things and throwing a good party and um I hope you guys listening like you're hearing the passion here and um even learning some new stuff if you're a DJ that's stuck in the rut of playing the same playlist um I would I'm not a DJ but I'd feel encouraged to to try stuff do yourself a favor it's only gonna help you you're gonna love weddings so much more if you're keeping things fresh.
52:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah it's so fun um that's all for this episode if you'd enjoyed this episode with Alex and Mint DJ DJ Alex Nepa make sure you guys are liking the episode and sharing it with your friends because you guys want to hear more about what's going on in the wedding world tune in to our next episode of the preferred list and we'll catch you next time